The Planet of the Jews

In contemporary New York City, comic-book editor Judah Loeb gets a visit that turns out to be more like a visitation. A young Hasidic couple, Moishe and Esther Cassanofsky, present him with a story about Jews forced into a new diaspora in interstellar space, to escape Ukrainian neo-Nazis. The story becomes a hit, Loeb's editor clamors for more, and more appears--stories about the Jewish settlers failing to prevent the Holocaust through time travel, about their being visited by cheerfully larcenous aliens who take up Judaism with enthusiasm, about talking to the dead. By now the ""Planet of the Jews"" series is a Star Wars-size phenomenon, Loeb is a millionaire and massive conversions to Judaism are taking place. Then the Cassanofskys present a final story, with a strong note of ""It was all a dream,"" leaving Loeb high and dry. This novel says a good deal about the Holocaust (through the ramblings of Loeb's Uncle Max), Jewish identity, anti-Semitism and religious observance, but in a scattershot fashion. And in spite of the occasional touches of humor, Graubart is unable to achieve much credibility with plot elements already tired out from equally didactic use in conventional SF. (June) FYI: Graubart is a rabbi in Massachusetts.