The Free Lunch

By: Spider Robinson

Narrated by: Spider Robinson

Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Under the façade of the world’s finest theme park lies a secret which could alter the course of human history.

Mike and Annie, refugees from the world outside, find a home underground, behind the scenes of Dreamworld, a theme park where hope exists as it does nowhere else. But Dreamworld is threatened by a jealous competitor who kills what he can’t have. As if this were not trouble enough, the two discover that each day there are more of the “trolls” who maintain Dreamworld than there were the day before. As the trolls continue to multiply, they must discover why, or it could mean the end of Dreamworld -and the real world.

Knotted in conflict and turmoil, what was a wonderful, carefree place becomes a battleground on which Earth’s future is at stake. Only Mike and Annie, two unconventional heroes, can save it.

Spider Robinson, winner of three Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award, is renowned for his Callahan’s Place series of bestselling novels. With his wife, Jeanne, he has also written the award-winning Stardance series.

©2013 Spider Robinson (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“You get much more than you bargained for in this fun-filled yet serious novel. Spider’s the antidote for entropy, the blahs, and the pernicious notion that humor and good grace are absent from the SF field.” (Ben Bova)

“ The Free Lunch is a fast-moving homage to the lighter side of Robert A. Heinlein…Robinson knows how to generate tension without losing his sense of humor, a more difficult trick than you can imagine.” ( The New York Times)

“Mike and Annie are the kind of characters that return to mind long after the book is done, and the tale is as jaunty as only Spider can make it in his Callahan mode. How can you possibly fail to enjoy this one?” ( Analog)

Richly entertaining. Worthy of Heinlein

One of the most enjoyable romps in SciFi for a long time. I started my initial baptism into SciFi, indeed, reading, just because of RAH and HSsWT. Robinson acknowledges his own bias and does what any writer worth reading should do...entertain us, the readers. And he does! Thank you.

So good!

I'm so glad I decided to look for this one in audible, as I already own the paperback but haven't had the time to read it. I was delighted to find that Spider himself was the narrator, and that he is quite skilled at it too. The story is easy to follow, with distinct character voices and clear chapter delineation. This was a perfect road trip companion.

One of my favorite authors.

Got hooked on Spider reading the Callahan stories. Grabs your head and your heart, with humor.

Great, fun story

At any price, this is a fun read. For the price, it's exceptional. If this were a TV show, I would expect tv-14. However, it may be suitable for slightly younger kids.

Decent

Probably for YA and I am old.. Anyway a nice story, not complicated/advanced clarification regarding the plot and that was ok really.

Lovely story

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The park seems like a wonderful place. Well thought out, thank you for writing this.

Short, but excellent

Simply a fun small story. Not too grand in its scope, but expansive enough that it's still interesting.
Worth it.

Pleasant surprise

The story was entertaining, and the author is an excellent narrator. I’m glad I found this audiobook.

Just couldn't get into it.

I used to live Spiders books but this one just didn't pull me in. Maybe I'll give it another shot some rainy day.

Meh

Vaguely reminds me of The unpleasant profession of Jonathan Hough, or The door into summer.
Not bad but not great, just meh.