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Making the Rounds
WHO CAN HELP...
...when a word decides to get up and leave your holy book?
...when you’re a mayor and your city is literally crumbling around you?
...when the evil Haman, villain of the Purim story, seems to have arisen from the dead to terrorize your town?
Eliezer ben-Avraham, wizard, Kabbalist, and kvetch, not only can but must help. Because he poked around in areas of forbidden knowledge, he is obliged to wander the world and use the powers he gained to perform good deeds—mitzvot—for anybody who asks, no matter how bizarre the task. Ably assisted by his trusty but cynical steed, Melech, Eliezer does what he can, although transforming into a bird and flying around is difficult when you have arthritis in your shoulder.
Humorous, philosophical, and very weird, Eliezer’s adventures as he makes his rounds demonstrate how important it is to be generous with your gifts, even to the craziest goyim.
...when a word decides to get up and leave your holy book?
...when you’re a mayor and your city is literally crumbling around you?
...when the evil Haman, villain of the Purim story, seems to have arisen from the dead to terrorize your town?
Eliezer ben-Avraham, wizard, Kabbalist, and kvetch, not only can but must help. Because he poked around in areas of forbidden knowledge, he is obliged to wander the world and use the powers he gained to perform good deeds—mitzvot—for anybody who asks, no matter how bizarre the task. Ably assisted by his trusty but cynical steed, Melech, Eliezer does what he can, although transforming into a bird and flying around is difficult when you have arthritis in your shoulder.
Humorous, philosophical, and very weird, Eliezer’s adventures as he makes his rounds demonstrate how important it is to be generous with your gifts, even to the craziest goyim.
- GenresFantasyShort Stories
202 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2016
2 people are currently reading
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 25, 2016
Author Allan Weiss, a scholar in the field of Jewish speculative fiction, is squarely in his wheelhouse with this delightful collection of stories about a Jewish wizard who pried too deeply into forbidden knowledge and must now pay the price.
As he makes his eternal rounds in the desert, Eliezer ben Avraham must use his arcane abilities to help anyone who asks a favour, no matter how trivial or weird the request might be, accepting nothing more than room and board as payment. From patching a roof to locating a word that has disappeared from the local holy book, this wizard is up for anything, ably assisted by his horse Melech who, thanks to a spell, is telepathically linked in.
The storytelling is top-notch, full of wry philosophical observations, sharply delineated characters, and well described settings. Despite its religious content, this book will appeal to an ecumenical readership. Meticulously edited and fluently written, Making the Rounds is now one of my favourites, and I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who likes to think and smile at the same time.
As he makes his eternal rounds in the desert, Eliezer ben Avraham must use his arcane abilities to help anyone who asks a favour, no matter how trivial or weird the request might be, accepting nothing more than room and board as payment. From patching a roof to locating a word that has disappeared from the local holy book, this wizard is up for anything, ably assisted by his horse Melech who, thanks to a spell, is telepathically linked in.
The storytelling is top-notch, full of wry philosophical observations, sharply delineated characters, and well described settings. Despite its religious content, this book will appeal to an ecumenical readership. Meticulously edited and fluently written, Making the Rounds is now one of my favourites, and I would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who likes to think and smile at the same time.
February 26, 2017
Title: Making the Rounds
Author: Allan Weiss
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (March 18, 2016)
Language: English
Kindle Unlimited:$0.00
Paperback: $19.95
Are there any new ideas in speculative fiction? Sometimes it seems like there aren't. Science fiction is dominated by space adventures and spandex. High fantasy often feels like a footnote to Tolkien, while urban fantasy often stops at vampires, zombies and misplaced fairy folk.
A couple of years back, I was on a panel at a con on whether or not there were new ideas in science fiction specifically. I believe that my main point then is relevant to all forms of fantastic literature: there are over seven billion people in the world, all of whom have unique stories to tell. There are many, many unique histories, many, many unique mythologies, many, many sources that could be used to create something truly novel. Indeed, original works of speculative fiction are often published by small presses, a kind of good news/bad news situation: they certainly exist, but they rarely break into mainstream literary consciousness (or,indeed, make much of a dent in the spec fic world.)
(The reason you don't see truly original ideas more often in mainstream SF publishing is that it is hugely market-driven. The big publishers know they can make a ton of money with work that makes incremental changes on existing formulas, and, if all else fails, you can't lose with a Star Wars or Star Trek tie-in book); why would they risk resources on original work that doesn't have a known audience? Of course, some of the blame for this situation rests with readers who don't demand more from publishers – oy! Don't get me started!)
One strategy for creating something new is to introduce into speculative fiction something from the past that you rarely find in the genre. Allan Weiss does this in his short story collection Making the Rounds, to highly entertaining effect. His idea is to create a series of fantasy stories around a Wandering Jew.
The Jew in question is a wizard named Eliezer ben-Avraham. As a young man, he pursued forbidden Kabbalistic lore; as a punishment for his hubris, he was condemned to wander the desert to help anybody in need as long as they were willing to supply him with room and board while he was helping them. This isn't epic fantasy with amassed armies of various creatures battling for control of territories; it’s about a guy trying to help people. I was totally enchanted by the premise. Making the basic idea of short stories helping people. Who knew such a thing was possible?
The time in which the stories are set is never mentioned; given the lack of modern technology and the desert setting, it could be 200 years ago, or it could be 2,000 years ago. This ambiguity gives the stories in the collection a timeless feel, a sense that their relevance will not soon be dated.
To ensure that we know that this is fantasy, Eliezer ben-Avraham’s only companion on his adventures is his horse, Melech (Hebrew for King). Not only can the wizard speak psychically with his horse, but Melech is more attuned to misapplied (read: evil) magic; he often knows what is wrong in a situation and advises Eliezer ben-Avraham on what to do (a case could be made that he is the real star of the stories). Melech exhibits a cynical view of humanity which is rarely proven wrong.
When we first meet him, Eliezer ben-Avraham is an old man, crotchety and constantly complaining about his physical infirmities. I found this to be somewhat stereotypical, but his voice, larded (if you’ll forgive the term) with Jewish constructions and Yiddish words and phrases, was wonderfully fun to read. Eliezer ben-Avraham’s narration also adds an undercurrent of melancholy to the book, inasmuch as he agrees with his horse about the foolishness of human behaviour. (The physical complaints, which become repetitive as they appear in almost every story, represents a common problem with short story series: you have to introduce basic character and situation details into most of the stories since you can’t be sure readers will have come across any of the previously published ones, but this can make for repetition when they are collected.)
As befits setting and character, the stories in Making the Rounds are unique: a Priest asks Eliezer ben-Avraham to locate a word that has left his sacred text; an idiot mayor of a town asks the wizard to create a Golem for him to solve a problem that is better solved by other means (because just about every problem is better solved by other means); Eliezer ben-Avraham comes across a 10 foot tall Menorah in the middle of the desert and is asked to help create and light the large candles necessary to celebrate the eight days of Passover).
Making the Rounds is a book that all should be able to enjoy. On the one hand, Jews should be delighted to read fantasy stories set within their culture. On the other hand, non-Jews might find the book exotic (not a bad thing for fantasy), but they will also find it easily accessible, with most concepts taken from Judaism explained for a non-Jewish audience. (It doesn’t hurt that some ideas in fantasy come from Jewish mysticism: the idea, for instance, that magic derives from the power of words has its genesis in the Kaballah, as is mentioned in more than one of the stories in the collection.)
Making the Rounds takes old ideas and makes them new and fresh. Highly recommended.
Originally published on the Amazing Stories Web site (http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2016/07/...) on July 13, 2016.
Author: Allan Weiss
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing (March 18, 2016)
Language: English
Kindle Unlimited:$0.00
Paperback: $19.95
Are there any new ideas in speculative fiction? Sometimes it seems like there aren't. Science fiction is dominated by space adventures and spandex. High fantasy often feels like a footnote to Tolkien, while urban fantasy often stops at vampires, zombies and misplaced fairy folk.
A couple of years back, I was on a panel at a con on whether or not there were new ideas in science fiction specifically. I believe that my main point then is relevant to all forms of fantastic literature: there are over seven billion people in the world, all of whom have unique stories to tell. There are many, many unique histories, many, many unique mythologies, many, many sources that could be used to create something truly novel. Indeed, original works of speculative fiction are often published by small presses, a kind of good news/bad news situation: they certainly exist, but they rarely break into mainstream literary consciousness (or,indeed, make much of a dent in the spec fic world.)
(The reason you don't see truly original ideas more often in mainstream SF publishing is that it is hugely market-driven. The big publishers know they can make a ton of money with work that makes incremental changes on existing formulas, and, if all else fails, you can't lose with a Star Wars or Star Trek tie-in book); why would they risk resources on original work that doesn't have a known audience? Of course, some of the blame for this situation rests with readers who don't demand more from publishers – oy! Don't get me started!)
One strategy for creating something new is to introduce into speculative fiction something from the past that you rarely find in the genre. Allan Weiss does this in his short story collection Making the Rounds, to highly entertaining effect. His idea is to create a series of fantasy stories around a Wandering Jew.
The Jew in question is a wizard named Eliezer ben-Avraham. As a young man, he pursued forbidden Kabbalistic lore; as a punishment for his hubris, he was condemned to wander the desert to help anybody in need as long as they were willing to supply him with room and board while he was helping them. This isn't epic fantasy with amassed armies of various creatures battling for control of territories; it’s about a guy trying to help people. I was totally enchanted by the premise. Making the basic idea of short stories helping people. Who knew such a thing was possible?
The time in which the stories are set is never mentioned; given the lack of modern technology and the desert setting, it could be 200 years ago, or it could be 2,000 years ago. This ambiguity gives the stories in the collection a timeless feel, a sense that their relevance will not soon be dated.
To ensure that we know that this is fantasy, Eliezer ben-Avraham’s only companion on his adventures is his horse, Melech (Hebrew for King). Not only can the wizard speak psychically with his horse, but Melech is more attuned to misapplied (read: evil) magic; he often knows what is wrong in a situation and advises Eliezer ben-Avraham on what to do (a case could be made that he is the real star of the stories). Melech exhibits a cynical view of humanity which is rarely proven wrong.
When we first meet him, Eliezer ben-Avraham is an old man, crotchety and constantly complaining about his physical infirmities. I found this to be somewhat stereotypical, but his voice, larded (if you’ll forgive the term) with Jewish constructions and Yiddish words and phrases, was wonderfully fun to read. Eliezer ben-Avraham’s narration also adds an undercurrent of melancholy to the book, inasmuch as he agrees with his horse about the foolishness of human behaviour. (The physical complaints, which become repetitive as they appear in almost every story, represents a common problem with short story series: you have to introduce basic character and situation details into most of the stories since you can’t be sure readers will have come across any of the previously published ones, but this can make for repetition when they are collected.)
As befits setting and character, the stories in Making the Rounds are unique: a Priest asks Eliezer ben-Avraham to locate a word that has left his sacred text; an idiot mayor of a town asks the wizard to create a Golem for him to solve a problem that is better solved by other means (because just about every problem is better solved by other means); Eliezer ben-Avraham comes across a 10 foot tall Menorah in the middle of the desert and is asked to help create and light the large candles necessary to celebrate the eight days of Passover).
Making the Rounds is a book that all should be able to enjoy. On the one hand, Jews should be delighted to read fantasy stories set within their culture. On the other hand, non-Jews might find the book exotic (not a bad thing for fantasy), but they will also find it easily accessible, with most concepts taken from Judaism explained for a non-Jewish audience. (It doesn’t hurt that some ideas in fantasy come from Jewish mysticism: the idea, for instance, that magic derives from the power of words has its genesis in the Kaballah, as is mentioned in more than one of the stories in the collection.)
Making the Rounds takes old ideas and makes them new and fresh. Highly recommended.
Originally published on the Amazing Stories Web site (http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2016/07/...) on July 13, 2016.
February 29, 2020
First off, this novel is definitely one of the more original I've ever read. Making the Rounds is a collection of short stories following the adventures of cursed Jewish wizard (Eliezer ben-Avraham), and his smart-ass horse (Melech) with whom he shares a psychic bond. I loved how each story took a look at different religious holidays in the Jewish faith. It was a great mixture of entertainment and learning.
I particularly liked the second story, "Unspeakable". This is because I'm pretty sure the city of Doron and its "rotund" Mayor was a loose allegory for Toronto and its rather infamous mayor Rob Ford (this is not too much of a stretch considering author Allan Weiss lives in Toronto). Either way, living in Toronto myself I really connected with this one.
Melech is a delight. I fell in love with this character immediately, and he improved every scene with his presence. Eliezer is a different story. He is, of course, meant to be a flawed character who grows through each story. He broke the natural laws by studying magic he shouldn't (leading to his curse where he must help all those who ask him), and he's very pompous and looks down on anyone who has a different religion. Also, he is a terrible misogynist.
I actually debated giving this book 3 stars because of Eliezer's staunch hatred of women. To be honest, it just felt... weird. There were several instances where Eliezer, who thinks of non-Jewish characters as being beneath him, being proved wrong. So of course I kept expecting at least one story to take his hatred of women and show that that, too, was misguided. But the only thing we get is Eliezer realizing that he probably also should have studied the female side of the Kabbalah as well. He does not say what makes him come to this conclusion (other than perhaps being afraid of a female angel), and he still doesn't come to any realization that woman are intelligent and capable people in their own rights... he just thinks he ought to study them more.
In the end I went with 4 stars though, because honestly the writing is very beautiful, and funny, and the ending almost made me cry. I would recommend this to any reader interested in learning more about the Jewish faith (with a fantasy twist, of course).
I particularly liked the second story, "Unspeakable". This is because I'm pretty sure the city of Doron and its "rotund" Mayor was a loose allegory for Toronto and its rather infamous mayor Rob Ford (this is not too much of a stretch considering author Allan Weiss lives in Toronto). Either way, living in Toronto myself I really connected with this one.
Melech is a delight. I fell in love with this character immediately, and he improved every scene with his presence. Eliezer is a different story. He is, of course, meant to be a flawed character who grows through each story. He broke the natural laws by studying magic he shouldn't (leading to his curse where he must help all those who ask him), and he's very pompous and looks down on anyone who has a different religion. Also, he is a terrible misogynist.
I actually debated giving this book 3 stars because of Eliezer's staunch hatred of women. To be honest, it just felt... weird. There were several instances where Eliezer, who thinks of non-Jewish characters as being beneath him, being proved wrong. So of course I kept expecting at least one story to take his hatred of women and show that that, too, was misguided. But the only thing we get is Eliezer realizing that he probably also should have studied the female side of the Kabbalah as well. He does not say what makes him come to this conclusion (other than perhaps being afraid of a female angel), and he still doesn't come to any realization that woman are intelligent and capable people in their own rights... he just thinks he ought to study them more.
In the end I went with 4 stars though, because honestly the writing is very beautiful, and funny, and the ending almost made me cry. I would recommend this to any reader interested in learning more about the Jewish faith (with a fantasy twist, of course).
December 12, 2022
This is a book of connected short stories about a Jewish wizard who looks too deeply into hidden Kabbalah knowledge and, for this sin, is cursed to wander the earth and do mitzvahs for strangers in exchange for room and board. Also he has a psychic connection with his horse. Don't let that dissuade you; both the wizard and the horse are excellent characters. Eliezer is very much a man of his time and place—he is cranky at his curse and his arthritis, he looks down on goyim and women and animals, he is tired of wandering. And yet there are moments of transcendence and true magic as this very fallible human brushes up against the divine. It's a very funny book, but it's also, by the end, a moving meditation on faith and what it means to do good in the world.
November 17, 2018
I bought this from the author at a convention. I was really interested in non-"traditional" fantasy, i.e, standard European, Tolkienesque constructions.
In Making The Rounds, the author takes Hebraic styles and philosophy and explores the ancient world through the eyes of a fascinating character who is bound to answer any call for help.
The premise works really well, and the philosophy is not a club hitting the reader. Instead, it comes across in motivations and the rare in character debate.
Looking forward to new stories from the author.
In Making The Rounds, the author takes Hebraic styles and philosophy and explores the ancient world through the eyes of a fascinating character who is bound to answer any call for help.
The premise works really well, and the philosophy is not a club hitting the reader. Instead, it comes across in motivations and the rare in character debate.
Looking forward to new stories from the author.
August 23, 2018
A very enjoyable fantasy featuring a Jewish wizard who uses the Kabbalah and his knowledge of magic systems to help the various citizenry he encounters. I thought this book was well written and interesting. It proposed moral dilemmas and was more thoughtful than most fantasy is.
November 9, 2020
A fun, low-stakes, easy-reading collection of stories.
November 30, 2016
A quirky and unique collection of short stories, Allan Weiss manages to bring a unique world where magic is real to life. Things that you would never expect but that seem perfectly plausible and to make perfect sense when presented. A definite page turner, Weiss spins a tale that's perfect for curling up with as the days get shorter and the nights get cooler. I greatly enjoyed reading this, and look forward to reading more of Weiss's work in the future.
Received for review
Received for review
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews