Little Green Men―Attack!

An overall really enjoyable anthology of comedic SF stories built off of the classic SF trope that aliens are "little green men." In most of these stories, the aliens are in fact some combination of "little," "green," and "men," although not necessarily all three at the same time (and in one or two of the stories, the aliens are none of the three, exceptions that prove the rule if you will).There are some themes that recur (for instance, the idea that aliens learn what they know of Earth from our television transmissions or aliens who think looking like cats will help them conquer the Earth), but even so the stories are very individual. Some are gut-laugh funny, others are whimsical. Some are subtle, some are slapstick.To mention a few favorites:"Little Green Guys" by K.C. Ball. Given my love for "Guys & Dolls" and for Damon Runyon in general, how could I not love this Runyon-esque Roswell alien landing story? Really, how could I not wish I had written it? Absolutely my favorite story in the anthology. Great voice, great fun."Stuck In Buenos Aires With Bob Dylan On My Mind" by Ken Scholes starts out as a "shipwrecked" type of tale, with music as the tool that crosses cultural divides -- almost too well. Again, great voice, great subtle jokes, and a bit of a heart-tugger."School Colors" by Seanan McGuire. This is not the first story McGuire has written featuring the Johnson's Crossing Fighting Pumpkins Cheerleaders, but it might now be my favorite. Cheerleaders from Earth versus cheerleaders from an alien world? Cool."A Fine Night For Tea and Bludgeoning" by Beth Cato. Victorian setting, confused aliens, and proto-roller-derby of a sort. Again, another great character voice. Cato is fully in her element."Big White Men -- Attack!" by Steven H. Silver gives us a look at the Armstrong/Aldrin moon landing from a very different, and much closer-to-the-ground, perspective. Fun.I could go on: every story in the book has something to recommend it. Definitely worth seeking out!

One of the advantages of going to science fiction conventions is that you learn of books you'd never otherwise hear of. In this case, the book was Little Green Men - Attack!, which is a (mostly) humorous collection of short stories featuring, well, little green men.I learned of the anthology when Martin Shoemaker read his short story "Meet the Landlord." In it, humans have colonized Mars and 30-some years after that "Martians" show up looking for back rent. It was hilarious. Most of the stories were funny, although in "First Million Contacts" the joke was on the humans. In every anthology, there's a story that's the exception to the rule, which in this case was Steven H. Silver's "Big White Men - Attack!" in which the green dust kicked up by Armstrong an Aldrin on the moon isn't dust at all.This is the third anthology that I've read which was assembled by Bryan Thomas Schmidt, and I've enjoyed them all. Schmidt is becoming a mark of quality for me, and I recommend his stuff.

This is another solid anthology from Brian Thomas Schmidt (this time, co-editing with Robin Wayne Bailey). Schmidt has a knack for picking out great stories and putting them together in strong collections.My favorite stories included "School Colors" by Seanan McGuire, "First Million Contacts" by Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Alex Shvartsman, "Stuck in Buenos Aires with Bob Dylan on My Mind" by Ken Scholes, "A Cuppa, Cuppa Burnin’ Love" by Esther M. Friesner, "Day of the Bookworm" by Allen M. Steele, and "A Fine Night for Tea and Bludgeoning" by Beth L. Cato. These are just my favorites, though. With only a couple exceptions, I loved all the stories in this anthology, and the two I didn't love were still good.

Read this only if you want to laugh your a** off! What a great collection of riffs on the LGM trope. I laughed so hard I think I lost a few pounds in my tushie.

You have to buy this one! And get it in PAPER! The cover itself is Great! The range of stories is great!

This book had me groaning and laughing out loud. Not just a funny book it contains insight into human nature.