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I, Alien edited by Mike Resnick
01/06/2005 . Source: Pauline Morgan 
pub: DAW. 320 page enlarged paperback. Price: $ 6.99 (US), $ 9.99 (CAN). ISBN: 0-7564-0235-2. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check out website: www.dawbooks.com
This is an anthology with a good idea at its heart. In the majority of stories and novels that include aliens, they are portrayed from the point of view of the humans that encounter them. Mostly, this is a sensible attitude as it is difficult enough for us to understand the motives of our fellow humans without having to get inside the minds of a creature that may have a completely different way of looking at the world. For the sake of convenience, especially in fast-paced action novels, aliens tend to have a relatively similar morphology and mindset. They can breathe the same atmosphere and have the same ambitions. There is often a device that allows them to communicate with us. Deeper novels take the idea further. Iain Banks has humans interacting with strange looking aliens. Peter F. Hamilton has created entities that cannot understand our way of behaving. The problem is that if the aliens are too different we will have as much chance of communicating with them as we do with an amoeba.
This anthology is an attempt to redress the balance that currently and inevitably lies on the side of humans. Each of the twenty-seven stories is told in first person from the point of view of the alien. It is an ambitious idea but does not completely work. In part, this is due to the choice of the stories which are all original to the volume and in part by the constraints of the format.
None of the stories are bad. In other places they would add merit to a volume or magazine. Here, however, it is difficult to pick out anything that appears outstanding. Many of the authors have taken the humorous approach, revolving around a misunderstanding, others have taken a more serious approach, but the use of first person makes the story self-conscious, perhaps because it is not their usual favoured style.
One of the early stories in the volume, 'The Injustice Collector' by Kristine Katherine Rusch is a superbly written piece which involves misunderstandings on all sides. Neither the human settlers or the aliens they share the planet with understand each other's biology. The aliens have a very different physical development to ours and as a consequence, neither party recognises the others' offspring for what they are. Problems in the literal translations of nuances of language result in tragedy. The story is told from the point of view of the Injustice Collector who is presiding over the proceedings that result. As the humans are effectively the interlopers, the newcomers, they do not understand the purpose of the court or they way the legal affairs are conducted. It is a powerful, thought-provoking story. This anthology could have done with more of them, though.
'And I Will Sing a Lullaby' by Paul Crilley comes close. Here, the alien narrator is in the position of pet. Trying to integrate, the alien totally fails to understand its position within the human family but when tragedy strikes, it tries to mend the situation the only way it knows how and inadvertently makes the situation worse.
The concept of the alien can be profitably use as an allegory to highlight the way that the so-called civilised nations can, on occasion, patronise those whose ways of life are different without questioning the reasons why. 'Pedagogy' by Michael A. Burstein is not so much a misunderstanding but a consequence of not finding out all you can about other cultures. The alien is a teacher on a cultural exchange program and is having trouble controlling his class of human youngsters. The principal tells him to use the same methods he would use at home - with shocking consequences. It points up the arrogance of some people have when dealing with minority groups.
'Hi, Colonic' by Harry Turtledove is one of those serious seeming stories that rely on a good punch-line for its effectiveness. It is a bit of fun and offers an alternative explanation for all those supposed proddings and pokings that alien abductees are reported to undergo in the mothership.
A number of the stories have the alien narrator as a lone visitor to Earth. The occasional has a poignancy that is brought out by the loneliness of the situation, such as 'The Last Wave' by Kay Kenyon. This is a take on the Loch Ness Monster myth and works much better than the description suggests.
'Creature For Hire' by Paul E. Martens takes the idea of the alien as a star in film - playing himself, naturally - but later finding it hard to obtain work as he is effectively type-cast. This story works best if it is regarded as an allegory for the situation some actors find themselves in in the fickle world of Hollywood.
Similarly, 'Resident Alien' by Barbara Delaplace where a student of human culture becomes seduced by it and effectively quits his studies and goes native. The same thing can sometimes happen when young people leave home to study and end up spending more time on recreational activities than work. As long as this kind of story is regarded as a means of showing insight into human behaviour it is valid. On a more realistic level, it is highly unlikely for single aliens to be let loose in our societies. Both sides would regard the situation with suspicion.
Though none of the stories in this volume would be out of place in any of the major SF magazines in one volume, they become overwhelming. This is a book that it is better to dip into and sample rather than to read straight through.
Pauline Morgan
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