Finding the perfect comparison titles, the one or two books that perfectly encapsulate the ethos of a newly written piece of fiction, is the bane of many querying authors existence. For me, it was damn near impossible. As a writer of Jewish sci-fi, my options were severely limited.

The prevailing advice was to choose a popular sci-fi title, no matter its content, and tack on “but Jewish!” at the end. Somehow, it didn’t feel right.

I’d resigned myself to an imperfect match when someone casually mentioned that if I enjoyed Jewish sci-fi I should try a Phoebe North book. At first, I was skeptical. After searching so long for this very thing I was afraid if I didn’t love the story I would be crushed.

I should not have worried.

Starglass, and it’s sequel Starbreak, follow a generation ship populated by Jewish people struggling to preserve humanity in the face of Earth’s destruction. They are full of science and plants and aliens. All of which I love. But even better, they are uniquely Jewish. This is, in large part, thanks to their setting.

When the entire population is Jewish a story can be told without the looming specter of antisemitism. The narrative by default must include Jewish antagonists and protagonists. Shades of grey within Judaism will be present. Otherwise, there would be no plot. And believe me there is plenty of plot in these books. Tense, riveting, edge of your launchpad plot.

Words like gelt, talmid and Tikun olam, are rampant in these pages. You do not need to be Jewish to understand their significance. However, there was something heart achingly sweet for me about hearing the main character search for her Bashert, the life partner she has been promised. The one that possessed the other half of her hearts.

No other word can compare.

Somewhere halfway through the first book I simply could not wait any longer. I had to know how this novel, which so deftly bridged the sacred and the mundane, came into existence. It was too much of a unicorn to possibly exist. Not after all the horror stories I had heard about publishing and the daily twitter controversies I saw unfolding all around me.

I flipped to the acknowledgements, spotted the editor, and immediately understood. Navah Wolfe, whose taste in stories I have long admired, received a thank you from Phoebe North. It took a Jewish writer partnering with a Jewish editor to give me this book.

I am so glad they did. And not just for the comp title.

trigger warning: suicide on the page

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E Broderick is a speculative fiction enthusiast. When not writing she enjoys epic games of trivial pursuit and baking. She currently lives in the U.S. but is eagerly awaiting the day a sentient spaceship offers to take her traveling around the galaxy.