A MAN CAN'T EVEN DIE IN PEACE
Blind to the beauty of his island home in Canada, shattered by the death of
his wife of 32 years, American expatriate Russell Walker is ready to join her.
But Smelly won't let him!
Smelly—notorious for his refusal to bathe—was Russell's college roommate back
in 1967. He's lived a hermit's life ever since, and only Russell knows why:
Smelly reads minds, can't help it—and it hurts. After all these years,
Russell is still the only person Smelly can stand to be near. And now Smelly
urgently needs an intermediary with the police—suicidal or not.
He's learned that a serial sadist who would terrify Ted Bundy is at play in
the Vancouver area. Unfortunately, he's got only scraps of information that
aren't enough to ID either the killer or his next victims. And he can't even
come close enough to a cop to tell his story.
Against his better judgment, Russell brings this unlikely tale to Constable
Nika Mandic, a tough but unlucky Vancouver policewoman—and soon the
mild-mannered Sixties survivor finds himself conspiring with a telepathic hermit
and an uptight cop to track a monster to his lair.
But are the three together smart enough to stalk a creature who thinks of
himself as the first true scientist of cruelty If not, Russell's suicidal urges
may be fulfilled sooner—and much less painlessly—than he planned. . . .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Since he began writing professionally in 1972, Spider Robinson has won three
Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the
E.E. ("Doc") Smith Memorial Award (Skylark), the Pat Terry Memorial Award for
Humorous Science Fiction, and Locus Awards for Best Novella and Best
Critic. Twenty-four of his 29 books are still in print, in 10 languages. His
short work has appeared in magazines around the planet, from Omni and
Analog to Xhurnal Izobretatel i Rationalizator (Moscow), and in
numerous anthologies. In 2000 he released Belaboring the Obvious, a CD
comprising readings of excerpts from Callahan's Key, plus original music
performed by Spider with legendary Alberta guitarist Amos Garrett and top
session players.
Spider was born in New York City on 3 successive days (they had to handle him
in sections), and holds a Bachelors degree in English from the State University
of New York. He was book reviewer for Galaxy, Analog and New Destinies
magazines for nearly a decade, and currently writes occasional book reviews
and a regular op-ed column, "Future Tense," for The Globe and Mail,
Canada's national newspaper.
He has been married for 28 years to Jeanne Robinson, a Boston-born writer,
modern dance choreographer, and former dancer. The Robinsons collaborated on the
Hugo-, Nebula-and Locus-winning novel Stardance (included in the Baen
volume The Star Dancers).
Spider and Jeanne met in the woods of Nova Scotia in the early 1970s, and
have lived for the last 16 years in British Columbia, where they raise and
exhibit hopes.
David Drake 
