The Callahan touch

http://tpi-reads.blogspot.com/2009/01/spider-robinson-callahan-touch.html ( )

Fourth in the series, and the first set not in Callahan's but (for reasons abundantly clear to anyone who's read the previous installment) but in Jake Stonebender's new establishment, Mary's Place. The cast is largely the same, however, and the atmosphere (though starting to become a little impenetrable for those new to the series) is the same as ever: funny, humane, and occasionally--as in a debate about the origins of AIDS and the implications thereof--deeply thought provoking.

Some fans of the series point to this volume (published nearly a decade after the previous one) as the point when it began to decline. I disagree. A bit of the freshness is gone, but the quality is still there . . . and will be for one more volume at least. ( )