“Pico review” written for the SF fanzine OtherRealms (SF review zine by Chuq Von Rospach, June 1989): Callahan's Place and the White Hart aren't the only bars with unusual regulars and tellers of almost unbelievable tales. This short story collection includes famous and not-so-famous tales set in and about bars of every dimension, 22 in all (including a limerick). Most of the stories keep to SF settings or topics but a few stray into fantasy, though the editors decided to leave out the sword and sorcery taverns - there are probably enough of those for an entire collection of their own. Many well-known authors are represented here - Niven, Kuttner, Aximov, Clarke, Zelazney, Silverberg. My favorites: "What Goes Up" by Arthur C. Clarke, a tale about a real anti-gravity device; "One for the Road" by Gardner Dozois, questions asked in a bar; "Strategy at the Billiards Club" by Lord Dunsany, a cautionary tale from 1948 on the dangers of atomic weapons; "They Loved Me in Utica" by Avram Davidson, a down-on-his-luck bar entertainer is the same in every age, giving this story a quite surprising ending. ( )

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