Avail Yourself Not One Of Us Written By Neil Clarke Available As Audiobook

novel was a good collection of short stories, I liked all of the stories with some being downright amazing, Most of the stories can be found in either other anthologies or online websites, None of the stories were the same with different alien types, and different plots with some featuring an alien invasion, some about first contact and some about life after the aliens have arrived on Earth either as humanity is enslaved or after humanity has driven the aliens away.
My favorite stories were The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill by Kelly Robson, Bits by Naomi Kritzer, Time of the Snake by A.
M. Dellamonica, and Reborn by Ken Liu,

Introduction by Neil Clarke
The introduction briefly talks about previous pieces of written/visual literature featuring aliens on/visiting Earth.
Interesting and short, I liked how Neil Clarke used old's and newexamples,

Touring with the Alien by Carolyn Ives Gilman
This story follows two people and an alien as the alien tries to learn more about humanity.
Great story with an even better ending, As much as I liked the main character I liked the secondary character Henry better,

Law of Survival by Nancy Kress
This was one of the saddest stories in the anthology.
It features aliens, dogs, and humanity on the brink of death, I think the saddest part was the MC's connection to the unwanted dogs,

At Play in the Fields by Steve Rasnic Tem,
This wasn't one of the best stories in the anthology, Instead of focusing on the aliens or why they came to Earth it focuses on the main character remembering his past.
The author was trying to talk deeply about home and what it means to have a safe place but I wasn't interested.


The Ants of Flanders by Robert Reed
This story reminded me of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, only serious without any humorous elements.
I didn't like the plot premise, I found it too unrealistic funny, coming from a novel featuring aliens.
Characters were interesting and well written,

Taking Care of God by Cixin Liu
This was such a unique and well written story.
I was a little confused in the beginning with the references to God but that quickly cleared up.
I loved the plot and story idea,

Water Scorpions by Rich Larson
Alright story about a genetically altered alien boy who lives with a human family.
Story focuses on the human brother as he trips to come to terms with his feelings towards the alien: anger, jealously and guilt.


The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill by Kelly Robson
Wow, just wow, That is one intense way to end a story, I loved the Canadian location too,

Men Are Trouble by James Patrick Kelly,
Story follows a PI who is trying to find a missing girl and solve a suicide.
I liked the background to the story, aliens invaded and removed/killed all men so only women are left.
I just wish we could have found out why the aliens fear men so much, Felt like there was too many elements to the story so it was a little jumbled,

They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass by Alaya Dawn Johnson,
Story follows two sisters who have to leave their small town to see a doctor, This was a good story, exactly what I expected to read in this anthology, The aliens and their motives are mainly unknown as humanity tries to survive with their presence on Earth.


Bits by Naomi Kritzer,
Not sure if this story was supposed to be funny or not but I still got a few good laughs from it.
It is the most liberal and sexual explicit story in the novel, One of my favorites.

And Nevermind the Watching Ones by Keffy R, M. Kehrli.
This story is told from numerous teenagers POV, Some don't feel like they fit in on Earth so they want to visit the alien's ship/planet.
Great main character and character development, Plot was okay but a bit dry,

Dark Heaven by Gregory Berford,
Story is about a homicide detective trying to solve a double murder, It was one of the longer stories in the anthology so it felt like it dragged in parts.
Great ending.

NineTenths of the Law by Molly Tanzer,
Story follows a woman who is in an unhappy marriage when her husband agrees to allow an alien cohabit in his body.
I found I couldn't relate to the main character, she is willing to accept too many unknowns with the aliens for potential happiness.


Five Stages of Grief After the Alien Invasion by Caroline M, Toachim
This story follows a married couple as they grieve for their dead daughter, It was a sad story with a sad, but realistic ending, The death of a child can destroy a marriage,

Time of the Snake by A, M. Dellamonica.
Great story about an alien and a human collaborator squad, It made me think of the french/polish/etc citizens who helped the Nazis, Ending was amazing.

The Fear Gun by Judith Berman
Story features a town that has survived out of from the government support for a year.
The story was alright. I found it left too many questions unanswered, and I dislike the antigovernment mentally the town had.


Tendeleo's Story by Ian McDonald
Long but great story about an alien invasion that is terraforming part of the planet.
I loved the plot and the discussion of power, refugee camps and the UN, Main characters were great, Tendeleo was interesting to read, The alien terraforming was beautiful, I could visualize it,

The Choice by Paul McAuley,
Aliens have made a peace agreement with humanity and then disappeared from everyday life, As such alien technology or artifacts are highly sought after, This story is part of a coming of age story and part adventure, The story contains an in depth look at the choices people make and their unattended circumstances,

Passage of Earth by Michael Swanwick
Story is abut an alien civilization that wants to understand humanity better.
Main character is a divorcee who has to work with is exwife again, I loved the interaction between the two, the hidden anger and bitterness there, Interesting concept of how aliens learn,

Reborn by Ken Liu,
Another great story in the anthology, It focuses on a detective who is hunting down a group of xenophobes, I loved how the story resolved around memories and personality and the past,

Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang,
Story is about a woman who tries to understand an alien language so she/the world can communicate with it.
The story also has flashbacks to her past, This story had the most technical details in it, as such it should have been places closer to the beginning of the novel as my mind had started to wander at this point of the long novel.
Okay story overall.

Thank you to Netgalley and Skyhorse Publishing for this ARC, This is an interesting collection of stories anchored by aliens either as the driving force of the story or in the background.
A couple of enjoyable aspects of this collection are the imaginative types of aliens that these authors came up with and how humans interacted or are affected by alien contact.
The stories cover a wide range of topics, including explorations of hot topics, such as climate change, immigration, and the plight of refugees.
I was disappointed with some of the stories because of their abrupt endings however, my dissatisfaction may have been the result of being into the story that I wasnt ready for it to end.
I think readers will find some stories in this collection more rewarding or appealing than others which is to be expected in such a wide ranging collection as this one, but all the stories should be appreciated for the inventiveness of each writer.
For me, some standouts were “Bits” by Naomi Kritzer, a fun story about sex and the aliens, “The Fear Gun” by Judith Berman, about fighting the occupation by aliens, and “Taking Care of God” by Cixin Liu, a wonderful look at aliens who created our world class me back for help and, well, the results are not what you may expect.
One of the strongest and moving stories is “Tendeleos Story” by Ian McDonald, a novella about alien occupation and western intervention through the eyes of a refugee.
Not a simple tale as it explores loss of home, culture, family, and the search to retain and reclaim what was lost.
This was a fantastic collection of stories! I enjoyed every one, My favorites were “Tendeléos Story” by Ian McDonald, Laws of Survival by Nancy Kress, Men are Trouble by James Patrick Kelly, Dark Heaven by Gregory Benford and The Fear Gun by Judith Berman.
There were variations on old science fiction tropes, but there were also a surprising number of plots and theories I hadnt read before.
I highly recommend this collection! Intricate and enchanting

A marvel of storytelling, The characters are so alive and theth century settings so finely described, I felt as if were truly a part of the action.
Eglantine is a wonderful heroine and Duncan is her perfect foil, The ending is a bit contrived, but is happy nonetheless, “Touring With The Alien,” by Carolyn Ives Gilman:,
A firstcontact story with that plays out its slightly implausible xenobiological implications thoughtfully, yet is otherwise enfeebled by the encrustations of emotional resonance barnacled to it.
These gestures at backstory do little to explain character actions the “betrayal” of humanity at the end ie allowing the alien spores to “invade” and often just are left floating ambiently the unreturnedto brother.
A solid collection of stories, As with any short story anthology, some stories will appeal to the reader more than others this will, of course, depend on the tastes of the reader.
Having said that, I didn't find a stinker in the bunch, I won't list which stories I liked best or least I personally prefer not to be influenced ahead of time, I won't do it to others, but I found no stories lower than.
stars, most wereorstars, Not One of Us: Stories of Aliens on Earth

by Neil Clarke 

Read in.


The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill / by Kelly Robson no star The copy I was reading failed to post BIGTIME trigger warning.
I was expecting aliens THIS WAS JUST TOO DARK, Read last year.

Passage of Earth / by Michael Swanwick,Read last year.

NineTenths of the Law / by Molly Tanzer,Read last year.

Touring with the Alien / by Carolyn Ives Gilman,Read last year.

At Play in the Fields / by Steve Rasnic Tem,Read last year.

The Choice / by Paul McAuley,Read last year.

Men are Trouble / by James Patrick Kelly,Read last year.

Laws of Survival / by Nancy Kress,Read last year.

Five Stages of Grief After the Alien Invasion / by Caroline M, Yoachim.Read in.

Bits / by Naomi Kritzer,I think I began this anthology with this, Naomi Kritzer will always have a warm fuzzy place in my heart because of Cat Pictures Please.
And this story lived up to my expectation, Read in.


Time of the Snake / by A, M. Dellamonica.This made me look up A, M. Dellamonica and her other Squid works! My second favorite story in the whole bunch, Read in.


Story of Your Life / by Ted ChiangI first read this in, One of my favorite short stories ever,






Read in June,

Dark Heaven / by Gregory Benford,

They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass / by Alaya Dawn Johnson,


Taking Care of God / by Liu Cixin,

Water Scorpions / by Rich Larson,

Tendeleos Story / by Ian McDonald,Probably one of the most interesting alien invasions I've read, But. There is something distracting about the idea of an author who is a white man writing a first person pov of a poor black girl.



And Never Mind the Watching Ones / by Keffy R, M. Kehrli.

The Fear Gun / by Judith Berman,The ending is the best part, Without that particular ending it would have been a meh,.

Ants of Flanders / by Robert Reed,

Reborn / by Ken

Liu,My third favorite story in the bunch, and it was the last one I read so it was a truly excellent way to end this anthology.
It has Greg Egan feels!


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