mixed habitat & densely vegetated hiding places

This is the third and final part of my book club notes on Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction. [Part 1, part 2.]


"Paradise Last" by George Alec Effinger (1974)

( The totalitarian rulers of an assimilationist dystopia try to disperse the Jewish diaspora even further—to distant planets where they can't make trouble. )


"Street of Dreams, Feet of Clay" by Robert Sheckley (1968)

( A man moves to a model city run by an overbearing AI. )


"Jachid and Jechidah" by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1964) [tr. the author and Elizabeth Pollet]

( To those in Heaven, Earth is their Hell. )


"I'm Looking for Kadak" by Harlan Ellison (1974)

( Jewish aliens search for one of their own who abandoned Judaism. )


the end

There was agreement that this anthology is very much of its time and also reflects a specific narrow slice of Jewish culture (first or second generation American, Ashkenazi, not super observant, not Orthodox...) which is not a terrible thing but it makes you wonder what more could be added when thinking about Jewish SF more broadly. Several of the stories had very similar themes and some suffered for being presented together. It was noted that the way anthologies are put together has changed a lot in the subsequent decades; now there's more of an expectation that editors will go beyond authors they personally know and cast a wider net, and in that way you can get more diverse perspectives.

The group plans to continue with The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories, an anthology of sf/f by Chinese women and nonbinary people.