"Spider Robinson - C7 - Callahan' s Legacy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robinson Spider)

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS




This book couldn't have been begun without the assistance of my ingenious brother-in-law, John
Moore-who brought to my attention, and documented for me at great length, an existing force which
would be considered irresistibly destructive even by people who have been within meters of an
exploding nuclear weapon;

This book couldn't have been completed without the assistance of Montréal fan Steve Herman-who,
when I met him at ConCept '95, provided the key suggestion (actually, the way he phrased it was
perilously close to being an order) that made everything else fall into place at long last;
additional crucial advice, support, pity, and/or medication during the book's interminable genesis
were supplied by the Cultural Services Bianch of the British Columbia Ministry of Small Business,
Tourism and Culture, and by Don DeBrandt, Dr. Oliver Rohinow, Guy lmmega, Bob Atkinson, and just
about all the caffeine-inflamed members of the British Columbia Science Fiction Association's
Alternative-FRED Society;

This book couldn't have been contemplated without the support and assistance of my wife, Jeanne,
and daughter, Tern (it constitutes Jeanne's 20th wedding anniversary present-here you go, spice!
But yours was better. .

This book wouldn't have been as good without the help of my friends Walter and Jill of White Dwarf
Books~Dead Write Mysteries; the one-stop shop for Vancouver's serious word junkies; e~r without
Patrick Regan, habitué of Usenet's alt.callahan's, who unwittingly posted the Pat and Mike jokes
just when I needed them; and finally

This book would not have reached your hands without the sagacity, skill, and professionalism of my
agent, Eleanor Wood; my editor, Jim Frenkel; and the puissant sales samurai of my esteemed
publisher, Shogun Tom Doherty.-sama.

Thanks to the last-named three; by the way, I am happy to report that all of the first three books
of stories about Callahan's Place have just been restored to print by Tot in a trade paperback
omnibus edition called The Callahan Chronicals, for the enjoyment of you and anyone you know who's
having a birthday soon

-Vancouver, B C
28 November 1995


1 TOO HOT TO HOOT


The immortal storyteller Alfred Bester once said that the way to tell a story is to begin with a
disaster and then build to a climax. I'd like to-believe me, I'd like to-but this particular story
happened just the other way round.