A new science-fiction anthology, Jewish Futures: Science Fiction from the World's Oldest Diaspora, has just been released this week. I'm a science fiction fan and I've already added this book to my "to read" pile of books!
"The first Jewish diaspora began nearly three thousand years ago. Those three millennia have informed a rich story-telling tradition that will only continue to expand in the coming centuries. This volume-the literary heir to the Wandering Stars anthologies of the 1970s and '80s (and leading off with a very personal essay by Jack Dann, who edited those books)-extrapolates Jews and Judaism into a wide future. Sometimes moody, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, Publishers Weekly says these '16 appealing stories extrapolating Jewish themes into near- and far-future settings.... open diverse and challenging vistas for sci-fi fans-Jewish and gentile alike.'
"Between these covers, you'll find tales of the last Jew, Jewish space lasers, and the remarkable connection between brisket and zombies. You'll experience the breath-taking experiences of climbing Mt. Everest while religious, and of competing in futuristic sporting combinations in the Olympics. You'll explore the questions of just what will we do when the artificial intelligences controlling our homes become more religious than we? Or when aliens seek to convert to Judaism, and then try to return to an abandoned Jerusalem on a deserted Earth?"
Quoted from Jewish Futures: Science Fiction from the World's Oldest Diaspora
I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Jewish writers can probably be credited with having created the science-fiction genre in American literature.
Although I'm willing to debate this with anyone here who is interested.
"The modern genre of science fiction owes much of its existence to Jewish writers. The term itself was coined by Hugo Gernsback (originally: Gernsbacher), a Jewish immigrant to the United States from Luxembourg. He founded the magazine Amazing Stories in 1926, and launched the genre as we know it today. And in 1934, Gernsback created the Science Fiction League, creating chapters of young fans in cities around the United States and ushering in the modern era of fandom... Jewish writers flocked to this new literature. The most prominent was Isaac Asimov..."
Quoted from: Jews in Space: On the Unsung History of Jewish Writers and the Birth of Science Fiction
"The first Jewish diaspora began nearly three thousand years ago. Those three millennia have informed a rich story-telling tradition that will only continue to expand in the coming centuries. This volume-the literary heir to the Wandering Stars anthologies of the 1970s and '80s (and leading off with a very personal essay by Jack Dann, who edited those books)-extrapolates Jews and Judaism into a wide future. Sometimes moody, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, Publishers Weekly says these '16 appealing stories extrapolating Jewish themes into near- and far-future settings.... open diverse and challenging vistas for sci-fi fans-Jewish and gentile alike.'
"Between these covers, you'll find tales of the last Jew, Jewish space lasers, and the remarkable connection between brisket and zombies. You'll experience the breath-taking experiences of climbing Mt. Everest while religious, and of competing in futuristic sporting combinations in the Olympics. You'll explore the questions of just what will we do when the artificial intelligences controlling our homes become more religious than we? Or when aliens seek to convert to Judaism, and then try to return to an abandoned Jerusalem on a deserted Earth?"
Quoted from Jewish Futures: Science Fiction from the World's Oldest Diaspora
I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Jewish writers can probably be credited with having created the science-fiction genre in American literature.
Although I'm willing to debate this with anyone here who is interested.
"The modern genre of science fiction owes much of its existence to Jewish writers. The term itself was coined by Hugo Gernsback (originally: Gernsbacher), a Jewish immigrant to the United States from Luxembourg. He founded the magazine Amazing Stories in 1926, and launched the genre as we know it today. And in 1934, Gernsback created the Science Fiction League, creating chapters of young fans in cities around the United States and ushering in the modern era of fandom... Jewish writers flocked to this new literature. The most prominent was Isaac Asimov..."
Quoted from: Jews in Space: On the Unsung History of Jewish Writers and the Birth of Science Fiction
