MORE WANDERING STARS

Following Wandering Stars (1974), a second volume of Jewish fantasy and sf--a varied, sometimes obscure group of 15. Only two pieces can reasonably be described as science fiction: Phyllis Gotlieb's charming and beautifully-realized tale of the last Jew in the universe who, aided by a knowledgeable robot, reluctantly bequeaths his faith to hermaphroditic aliens; and Joe Haldeman's old-hat yarn about space colonies winning their independence from Earth. As for the fantasy, there's Woody Allen's well-known, hilarious Dead Sea scrolls parody; Harvey Jacobs (outwitting an alien invader); and Harlan Ellison (a son bothered by his interfering mother's ghost). Plus--a much heavier group which, along with famous stories by I. B. Singer and Cynthia Ozick, includes: Horace Gold's tale of a tailor who finds his pockets suddenly full of squirming things; a Biblical evocation by Howard Schwartz; a theological episode from Gardner Dozois (the Messiah arrives, and he isn't Jesus); and some hand-wringing juggling of symbols from Barry Malzberg. Well-crafted work, some of it far more challenging than mainstream sf, much of it available elsewhere--but those who enjoyed the previous collection probably won't be disappointed by this one.