scott@SCIRTP.UUCP (Scott Crenshaw) (08/22/85)
> > - An agent is supposed to pass himself off as Jewish, but isn't briefed > on the laws of kasruth (kosher). This isn't so unbelievable. About ten years ago, some Mossad (Israeli secret service) agents tried to pass themselves off as Satmar hassidim. They dressed in the traditional clothing of hassidim, but were so obviously ignorant of law,custom and traditon that it was obvious they weren't religious, much less hassidim. Considering the ignorance of many contemporary Jews wrt. Jewish law, this agent who tries to pass himself off as Jewish doesn't seem farfetched. ... -- (Scott Crenshaw @ SCI Systems , Inc.) {akgua,decvax}!mcnc!rti-sel!scirtp!scott The views expressed are my own, not necessarily those of SCI Systems, Inc., or Monty Python.
ecl@mtgzz.UUCP (e.c.leeper) (08/26/85)
DIASPORAH by W. R. Yates
Baen, 1985, $2.95.
A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper
Baen Books seems to find (first) novels with interesting ideas behind
them (FRONTERA, THE TORCH OF HONOR, THE CONTINENT OF LIES, and this one
come to mind). Unfortunately, the authors of most of them haven't learned
how to handle these ideas, and the reader ends up disappointed. (I have not
yet read THE CONTINENT OF LIES so it might not have this problem.)
DIASPORAH is no exception.
The idea--Israel and the Middle East are destroyed and Israel moves
into space--is a catchy one. I was hoping to see some political intrigue,
some discussion of how religious rules would be interpreted in space (there
have already been rabbinical rulings on how one determines sunrise/sunset on
orbital flights for purposes of prayer), all sorts of interesting ideas.
And what do I get? A bumbling U.N. agent (and this is NOT supposed to be a
comedy), some stock Jewish characters (note that I don't say "stereotypes,"
because it's not that blatant), a predictable ending, and some of the most
outrageous howlers to hit science fiction in a long time:
- In the back blurb, it says that the Middle East has been turned into a
"mass of radioactive slag. But unlike Islam, Israel survives."
Actually, Islam is far too wide-spread a religion to be destroyed even
if the entire Middle East were wiped out--it is found on all
continents, with especially heavy concentrations in Asia and Africa.
(This is the blurb-writer's fault.)
- An agent is supposed to pass himself off as Jewish, but isn't briefed
on the laws of kasruth (kosher).
- Chapter XII has a date of Elul 4 when it's obviously Tishre 1 (though
the rest of the dates seem correct).
- Yates's use of Hebrew and Yiddish terms (with apparently random
capitalization rules) indicates an unfamiliarity with them.
- The main computer is called "Gollum." Close, but no cigar--he means
(undoubtedly) "Golem" (an "artificial man" in Jewish legend, not unlike
the Frankenstein Monster). Actually, the glossary in the back has
"golem," with it original meaning, but in the book, the spelling used
is "Gollum."
- The glossary misses a lot of terms used in the novel, and seems to have
a lot that don't show up (maybe I just knew what they meant and didn't
notice them).
- A swimming pool would not also be used as a mikveh (there are water-
flow requirements that wouldn't be met), and certainly not for both
sexes if the users were Orthodox. Speaking of which, Yates doesn't
seem to understand what Orthodox means. He has a character talk about
how an Orthodox area is apparently becoming Chassidic, because many of
the men are starting to wear yarmulkes all the time.
- The computer seems pretty much like our computers today, but suddenly
it launches into a philosophical discussion with Greenberg, in which it
professes to be Jewish.
- When a character's radio antenna is snapped off, Yates says, "The
vacuum about them was filled with Hebrew curses." Sound doesn't travel
in a vacuum.
- Early on, Yates claims that the Middle East has been destroyed, but
later he says that Jerusalem is still standing (just heavily
radioactive). If as many bombs were dropped on Israel as Yates claims,
Jerusalem would be slag also--Israel is about the size of New Jersey.
- Yates can't decide if the United Nations controls all the atomic
weapons in the world, or if the United States and the Soviet Union
still have some power.
Yates had a good idea, but couldn't pull it off. Perhaps he will do
better next time. But perhaps Baen Books should not buy books if they can't
provide some editorial assistance where needed; they should have caught most
of the flaws mentioned above. Me? I'm going to go back and see if THE
TEXAS-ISRAELI WAR: 1999R was any better.
Evelyn C. Leeper
...ihnp4!mtgzz!eclmsf@rayssd.UUCP (Michael S. Frank) (09/18/85)
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