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A review by weaselweader
The Return of the Black Widowers by Harlan Ellison, Charles Ardai, Isaac Asimov, William Brittain
5.0
Vintage Asimov understated humour!
The drill with Asimov's Black Widower mysteries (in music circles, one might call these "divertimenti") is well known to dedicated fans. Six members of the Black Widowers Club (chauvinists one and all, "no women allowed", if you puhhlease!) meet once a month at their club for a gourmet dinner. The members of the group - a lawyer, a cryptographer, a math teacher, a chemist, a mystery writer, and Henry, their inestimable waiter - never fail to ferret out an interesting mystery, theft, disappearance, swindle or some other form of interesting puzzle during the grilling of their dinner guest which invariably starts with the formula question "How do you justify your existence?" Despite the collective intelligence of the group (which Asimov humorously portrays them as being inordinately proud of), the solution of the puzzle always seems just beyond their grasp. Henry, in a quiet, self-effacing manner that doesn't quite succeed in covering his own serving of pride, comes to the rescue with the solution and the explanations for the other members and readers alike!
Readers of previous Black Widower shorts will be thrilled to return to the publication of this posthumous "best of" collection plus a handful of previously unpublished works by the good doctor! Cynicism, word play, jokes, puns, locked room mysteries, irony, sarcasm and other quiet diversions take centre stage. Don't look for violence, mayhem or thrills in this collection. They're just not there. Almost certainly, readers will twig to some of the solutions before Henry provides the answers and those brighter armchair sleuths will undoubtedly indulge in a little chuckling at the expense of the members. Other times, Henry's explanation will result in the proverbial slap in the forehead - "Now why didn't I think of that!" In either event, every story in the collection will provide ten to fifteen minutes of thoroughly enjoyable diversion from this hectic work-a-day world and a satisfied smile at its conclusion.
Give yourself a treat and add some of Asimov's gentle humour to your bookshelf.
Paul Weiss
The drill with Asimov's Black Widower mysteries (in music circles, one might call these "divertimenti") is well known to dedicated fans. Six members of the Black Widowers Club (chauvinists one and all, "no women allowed", if you puhhlease!) meet once a month at their club for a gourmet dinner. The members of the group - a lawyer, a cryptographer, a math teacher, a chemist, a mystery writer, and Henry, their inestimable waiter - never fail to ferret out an interesting mystery, theft, disappearance, swindle or some other form of interesting puzzle during the grilling of their dinner guest which invariably starts with the formula question "How do you justify your existence?" Despite the collective intelligence of the group (which Asimov humorously portrays them as being inordinately proud of), the solution of the puzzle always seems just beyond their grasp. Henry, in a quiet, self-effacing manner that doesn't quite succeed in covering his own serving of pride, comes to the rescue with the solution and the explanations for the other members and readers alike!
Readers of previous Black Widower shorts will be thrilled to return to the publication of this posthumous "best of" collection plus a handful of previously unpublished works by the good doctor! Cynicism, word play, jokes, puns, locked room mysteries, irony, sarcasm and other quiet diversions take centre stage. Don't look for violence, mayhem or thrills in this collection. They're just not there. Almost certainly, readers will twig to some of the solutions before Henry provides the answers and those brighter armchair sleuths will undoubtedly indulge in a little chuckling at the expense of the members. Other times, Henry's explanation will result in the proverbial slap in the forehead - "Now why didn't I think of that!" In either event, every story in the collection will provide ten to fifteen minutes of thoroughly enjoyable diversion from this hectic work-a-day world and a satisfied smile at its conclusion.
Give yourself a treat and add some of Asimov's gentle humour to your bookshelf.
Paul Weiss