Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction [Paperback]

Jack Dann (Editor), Isaac Asimov (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

Jewish science fiction and fantasy? Yes! The distinguished list of contributors includes: Bernard Malamud, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Harlan Ellison, Pamela Sargent, Avram Davidson, Geo. Alec Effinger, Horace L. Gold, Robert Sheckley, William Tenn, and Carol Carr.

William Tenn's futuristic story "On Venus, Have We Got A Rabbi" takes on the volatile issue of "Who is a Jew?"--a question certainly as timely in 1998 as he imagines it will be in 2533. Asimov's "Unto the Fourth Generation" takes on the issue of Jews as endangered species in America, a theme that is even more apparent today than it was in 1974. Davidson's "The Golem" humorously plants the Frankenstein monster of Jewish folklore right in the middle-class bungalow culture of contemporary Hollywood, California.

Wandering Stars reminds us that we are still studying, still suffering, still making jokes and myth, and still trying to figure out what it means to be Jewish. You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this clever book. We laughed out loud reading it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A delightful collection of stories that shows just how universal themes of inter-marriage, assimilation and other hot Jewish topics are. Science fiction fans will like it, plain old fiction lovers will love it." -- Enid Weiss, Baltimore Jewish Times

"A stellar achievement . . . a volume aglow with love, laughter, pathos." (Hadassah) "Heaven sent. . . . Brilliant." -- Stanley Elkin

"Delightful and deep, hilarious and sad. . . . Go and study it." -- James Morrow, author of Towing Jehovah

"This collection is magnificent." -- Chicago Tribune

"Unexpected, delightful, and delirious." -- Leo Rosten

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Lights Publishing; 1 edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580230059
• ISBN-13: 978-1580230056
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great to see this classic collection back in print!, January 22, 2004

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction (Paperback)

This book, first published in 1974, was billed as "the first time in a science fiction collection that the Jew -- and the richness of his themes and particular points of view -- will appear without a mask." Mask? What mask? The mask of non-Jewish pennames, for one thing. Did you know that "Clyde Crane Campbell" is really Horace L. Gold? Or that William Tenn is Phillip Klass? Heck, even "Jack Dann" doesn't sound very Jewish. As Isaac Asimov points out in his intro to this book, many Jewish F&SF writers of the pulp era used gentile-sounding pennames to get published, because antisemitism kept people with names like "Chaim Ishkowitz" out of print. Asimov was the first Jewish SF writer to use his own ethnic-sounding name because, as he explains in the introduction, "I didn't know any better." (Asimov's intro, entitled "Why Me?", is a real gem -- be sure to read it!)

Jews also come out of the closet in the stories themselves. In most F&SF of the time (and even today) you rarely see an openly Jewish character or theme. Here in "Wandering Stars," we meet futuristic rabbis, Hasidim, dybbuks, golems and more. Some of the stories are humorous, others are spine-chilling. "Gather Blue Roses" falls into the second category: Imagine a highly-developed empath trapped in a Nazi concentration camp... Then there's "Trouble with Water," which is more of a fantasy, as is the I.B. Singer classic, "Yachid and Yachidah." Two of the stories also deal with the theme of gilgul (reincarnation): "The Jewbird" by Bernard Malamud, and "I'm Looking for Kadak" by Harlan Ellison.

One thing which struck me about this collection is how many of the stories assume that Jews will still be persecuted in the distant future. William Tenn's "On Venus have we got a Rabbi" actually uses persecution as the definition of "Jewishness" on a planet of non-humanoids. In "Paradise Last," Jews who score well on standardized achievement tests are "rewarded" with a planet of their own -- and thereby removed from mainstream society. These are good stories, but I would like to think that there could be a better future-vision for my people. Still, this anthology was ground-breaking in its time, and remains a good read today.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, escapist, Jewish-culture fastasies, July 8, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Hollywood, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction (Paperback)

This 25th anniversary edition is very welcome. My 1974 paperback, which I have cherished and handled with care, deserves to be retired. My husband and I never tire of rereading some of the stories. His favorite is Malamud's "The Jewbird" and mine is Singer's "Jachid and Jechidah".

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a well-deserved reprint - highly recommended, May 22, 1998

By 

stochasticity (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction (Paperback)

This book has been long out of print (the copyright is 1974), so I'm very glad to see it back in print.

This is a collection of classic short stories by some great writers, both in and out of the SF field. They include William Tenn, Avram Davidson, Isaac Asimov, Carol Carr, Robert Silverberg, Horace L. Gold, Pamela Sargent, Bernard Malamud, George Alec Effinger, Robert Sheckley, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. It's notable also for the only laugh-out-loud story that I've ever read from Harlan Ellison.

My only complaint, if you could call it that, is that a newer version of this anthology is long overdue. I recommend this book highly and without reservations.