Jubilee

Jubilee : Going Under - Jack Dann Jubilee : Voices - Jack Dann Jubilee : Fairy Tale - Jack Dann Jubilee : Marilyn - Jack Dann Jubilee : The Black Horn - Jack Dann Jubilee : Bad Medicine - Jack Dann Jubilee : Tattoos - Jack Dann Jubilee : Camps - Jack Dann Jubilee : Da Vinci Rising - Jack Dann Jubilee : Kaddish - Jack Dann Jubilee : The Extra - Jack Dann Jubilee : A Quiet Revolution for Death - Jack Dann Jubilee : Jumping the Road - Jack Dann Jubilee : Blind Shemmy - Jack Dann Jubilee : Tea - Jack Dann Jubilee : Jubilee - Jack Dann Downed pilots held in diamond mountain prison. 4 out of 5 The voyage of the Titanic, as adventure tourism and ending mechanism. 4 out of 5 Boys investigate deadspeak. 3 out of 5 Jewish schtickster marries sidhe. 4 out of 5 A story I didn't care for at all, just wanted it to finish. I suppose it would help if you did have some interest in Marilyn Monroe. 2 out of 5 Judged by unicorn. 3 out of 5 Jewish guy goes sweat lodge. 3.5 out of 5 Psychic tatooist's self-portraiture penance. 3.5 out of 5 A young man, sick in hospital dreams of war camp life. 3 out of 5 Leonardo Da Vinci works on flight and flying machines, with some assistance from Niccolo Machiavelli. 4 out of 5 A man's struggle with family brings on religion. 2 out of 5 Time voyeur. 2.5 out of 5 Even if you lose some family members in a cemetery, there are still some left. 2 out of 5 A human rabbi goes to the planet Ulim and learns why the local Jews cannot be seen by the majority of the planet. 4 out of 5 Casino gambling for organs, with players linked telepathically. Very hard-edged. 4.5 out of 5 Tinfoil window woman meets German soldier of that sort for tea for tea. 3 out of 5 Alien ocean dreaming overtakes humanity. 4 out of 5

This seventeen-story anthology contains tales published over the last twenty-five years in a vast range of publications. The contributions are powerful entries that highlight how capable an author Jack Dann is in his ability to portray and describe the inhumanity of humanity. The tales never look out into the extended future, as they are either historical or present with even the near future feeling contemporary. They rarely leave earth, but even when Mr. Dann visits another orb, the characters are eerily earth-like. Besides the powerful tales that run much of the earthbound speculative fiction gamut, Mr. Dann includes a delightful introduction and afterward. Anthology fans will sing JUBILEE with this "best of" works from a strong science fiction author.Harriet Klausner

Jack Dann's stories are sometimes scary, sometimes funny, but always provacative forcing the reader to think about what the author wants us to understand. In this way, Dann remains with this work among the great science fiction authors who for whatever vagaries of the market, were never able to "breakout" onto the larger milieu like Harlan Ellison or Neal Stephenson. That is the loss of readers everywhere.Like a great craftsman, Dann understands that scifi's magic is to use a distant setting and wondrous event to explore very real challenges we all face in life. In one story of a judge haunted by a unicorn the author speaks to us emotionally about age and loss of identity. In another about a rabbi journeying to meet a race of alien Jews the author teaches about the strange symbiosis of Judaism, the larger culture, and anti-Semitism. Vivid characters bring each story to life but at the same time forces the thoughtful reader to become introspective, examining the world right here at home.My greatest hope is that, with this fine collection, Dann will at long last receive the attention of the larger audience that he has for so long deserved. A wonderfully fun read.