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.

TNSTAAFL

Dreamworld is an amusement park...along the lines of Disney or Six Flags, but seems to be themed around Beatles songs. It's the happiest, best place in the world, staffed with little people (midgets and dwarves) along with a few full size people. The book starts out with 12-year-old Mike breaking into Dreamworld with the intentions of never leaving. He soon meets Annie, an adult little person, who has been living "under" in Dreamworld for 13 years.

They develop a friendship and soon discover that something odd is happening in Dreamworld. Employees are counted as they enter and leave the park daily. Lately, more have been leaving than have entered. Annie is determined to find out why.

I really hate to give away more than that. This is science fiction. While one of the main characters is a 12-year-old boy, I wouldn't necessarily say it's a children's book. There are some swear words, but nothing too terrible or irrelevant. If I had an 11 or 12 year old wanting to read this book, I would let them. It's pretty fast paced, very imaginative, very thought provoking. I really enjoyed it.

No time is wasted in the beginning of the book explaining why Mike wanted to live in Dreamworld, nor why Annie has been there for 13 years. I love books that don't waste time with drama like that. When the time was right (towards the end of the book) the reader finds out why. All the questions are answered.

I love that the author narrated this book. I'm sure that no one could have captured it as well as he did.

Excellent

A mark of an exceptional novel is when you walk away wishing that fantasy could be the reality we live with every day. This story accomplished that for me. I could wish for a more interest-catching title, but at least it's a title that makes sense after the fact.
Robinson also does an incredible job at narrating. His characters come alive as only good voice actors can do. The fact he is also the author with personal understanding of the story and how it should sound just makes it better!

Very imaginative!

A good listen. Different from your average Sci Fi. Very well performed. Gonna look for more books from this Author.

intriguing and novel

Not a book to inspire me for days but it was I intriguing enough to keep me company while on a road trip. The book had some unexpected twists and interesting sci-fi theories I wasn't expecting.

meh

I just really didn't enjoy this book very much. I didn't enjoy The narrator/author's voice. I found the storyline kind of juvenile. just not a great book.