Spider Robinson just gets better and better. Or perhaps I'm just enjoying reading him more. In Lifehouse, he presents us with a complicated set of circumstances, a few plot twists and lots to think about.
Lifehouse is about three intelligent and resourceful couples and how their lives are drawn together when June Bellamy, one of the six protagonists, stumbles upon something she ought not have. What follows is a narrow escape by June (and Paul, her partner and lover) from one of the other couples and the pursuit of June and Paul by both other couples.
To say why they are being pursued by -both- couples would undermine Spider's story telling but the series of chapters on each couple's individual activities and thinking during the pursuit was a treat for this reader; and one just knows that somehow they'll all be together by the end of the story. And they are.
Spider Robinson seamlessly weaves their activities together in an adventure of profound proportions. The story flows easily from beginning to end, so easily that, if you're like me, it ends all too soon.
Fans of Spider Robinson's earlier works, such as the Callahans Saloon series, will recognize some familiar themes. Telepathy, sharing, time travel and an appreciation for intelligence are all there. And of course there are puns. One of the minor characters is named " Moe Lycott." Need I say more..?
Something new, to this reader, is Spider's ability to write about cyber topics. The purported Internet-shy Spider has been learning... and now writing about the Net. And it appears this Netizen is into Fandom!
Lifehouse is pure Spider Robinson, and that is more than enough to heartily recommend it.
Copyright 1997 Louis J. Rose All Rights Reserved.