Very Bad Deaths

Very Bad Deaths (2004) is the first SF novel in the Russell Walker series. It is set in and about Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, during 2003, with flashbacks to the 1960s. Except for the original premise, it is more of a mystery than science fiction. In this novel, Russell Walker is a newspaper columnist for The Globe and Mail of Toronto. He lives in Trembling-on-the Verge on Heron Island, a small isle within ferry distance of Vancouver harbor. His wife has died the year before and he is thinking of suicide. Zandor Zudenigo is descended from Serbians living in Croatia. He once was Russell's roommate in college. Nicknamed Smelly, Zandor was so odoriferous that you could see the fetor around him. Of course, Zudie had a good reason for his odor: he was an involuntary telepath. In other words, he couldn't shut it off and most thoughts from other people were painful to him. Nika Mandic is descended from Croatians. She is a constable in the Vancouver Police. Unfortunately, she is a public relations officer -- Officer Friendly -- the lowest ranked job on the force. She drives a pickup and trailer combination to schools and other community facilities and gives lectures on personal safety. In this story, Zudie knocks on the door to Russell' office at 3:00 AM, interrupting his consideration of suicide. At first Russell assumes that he is being raided by the police and hides his stash, but soon he recognizes his friend's voice and admits him. Zandor has some business to transact, but he first must do something about Russell's clinical depression. After the treatment, Russell doesn't feel any different, but he is interested in the story Zudie has to tell. Recently, Zandor had been peacefully pursuing his interests when a failing plane crosses over his island. The mind of the pilot is violently offensive, lashing Zudie with thoughts of torture and murder. The fuel line blockage -- according to Allen the pilot -- suddenly clears and the plane only bounces once on the water and then continues on to its destination. Zandor is left with the pilot's first name, but not his surname. After all, why would Allen have thought of his last name while facing sudden death? Zudie also knows about the family of four that Allen is going to abduct and torture to death in a cabin within the remote woods. Zandor does know what the curb cut for the cabin looks like on Route 99 -- the Sea to Sky highway -- but not its exact location. Now he wants Russell to help him rescue the threatened family from this serial killer. Unfortunately, Russell doesn't have any local contacts in the various police departments in Greater Vancouver. He is a columnist, not an investigative reporter. Moreover, his column is published outside the Vancouver area, so he doesn't even know any reporters with police contacts. After Zandor leaves to avoid the waking thoughts of the neighbors, Russell tries calling a few police numbers, but only reaches answering machines and

I consider this book one of Spider's best. Yes, Spider's heroes are often Spider-like. Heinlein's heroes were all some aspect of him too. And yes, Just like Heinlein's did, Spider's libertarian outlook permeates his fiction. But I don't know that I consider these faults, especially in the face of the book's virtues. The story is ultimately a story of weak, nearly powerless people risking not just their own painful deaths but the pain of knowing they might well fail in sparing someone else's painful death in order to stop a very evil thing from happening. Is the villian or hero believable? Maybe, maybe not. (You should meet some of my friends!) But the SPIRITS of the heroes are true to the core of humanity Spider values so much in his species, and the villian is very much the antithesis of that same spirit. And that makes Very Bad Deaths a Very Good Book.

Like a rock band tired of doing their old songs and wanting you to hear something new, Spider is weary of Mike Callahan and I think he's always wanted to be a detective writer anyway. There are many hints in this book that it is the first of a series. It is a fast read and very enjoyable. It is sparse - not as many characters are developed as in Lady Slings The Booze but it's set in Canada so fewer characters seems appropriate. I didn't notice any political statements . If you're so tightly wound you think a main character who smokes pot and criticizes Bush once or twice in the whole novel is politically extreme, please...Sherlock Holmes did coke (Subcutaneously, My Dear Watson) and how could you be a Canadian (or sentient, for that matter) and not bash Bush? I loved the flashbacks to the sixties when the main character was in college. There's Stinky, the telepath who cultivates his bad odor to keep people away. And Bunny, who...no, you'll want to discover Bunny yourself. Thanks, Spider. Please keep writing. If you could write a novel each week, I'd appreciate it. I loved the Callahan stories, but this new set of characters has great potential, too. And like a rock star, I think Spider will eventually revisit Callahan's so don't give up on that. He just needs a break. By the way, if you ever suspect one of Spider's characters might be real, I assure you it can be true. I met one of the characters from Callahan's Key - he lives here on South Padre Island and is as delightful in person as his cameo in the book.

Fiftyish Canadian Russell Walker writes "The Fifth Horseman" opinion column twice a week for the Globe and Mail national newspaper, but recently has found no joy in his work or his personal life, which he admits has been very good. As Russell hides inside his remote home on Heron Island near Vancouver, he is depressed and thinking about committing suicide as he has ever since his beloved wife and companion for over three decades Susan recently died. Russell's college acquaintance Zandor "Smelly" Zudenigo arrives needing help. In 1967, Russell met Smelly, an Einstein clone, who could read minds. Zandor needs Russell, the only mind that the genius can tolerate for more than a nanosecond as reading minds devastates the gifted; this skill turned him into a hermit. A low flying plane over his deserted island enabled Zudie to read the brain of a serial killer planning his next murder. He needs Russell to serve as his intermediary with the cops. Russell is blown away by the police categorizing him as a nut; only police officer Hilda Mandic helps, but though they close in on the killer, he is ready to become their predator. This fantastic paranormal serial killer tale contains four key characters, who seem genuine whether they are depressed, can read and influence minds, have doubts but take a chance, or just sadistically brutal. Russell tells the tale so the audience gains greater insight into him than the others as he somewhat filters how the remaining trio appears. Joyfully, Spider Robinson not so subtly hints this team will return. Harriet Klausner

Spider Robinson's iconoclasic view of North America from his chosen retreat in rural Canada always provides a useful distance to view the oddities of the modern world. This was clear in LifeHouse, and in his other recent non-Callihan's books. This extends the trend once again pitting a Spider-like hero against forces beyond his ability to understand much less conquer. It's a gripping tale, held me tight, and I read it in one setting. I only wish that the antagonist now did not live in the back of my head. I've avoided reading Hannible Lecter, or the tales of Ted Bundy, but now, Spiders take on evil is going to have residence in my head for quite a while. It was worth it. Five starts with an asterisk. Don't leave this one lying down where your precosious ten year old will come acrossed it late at night.