The Trouble With Humans – Christopher Anvil, edited Eric Flint.

paperback , published Baen SF, 2007.

A collection with a very wide timespan. Most of the stories appeared in the 1950s-1960s in top pulp magazines, but one is dated as the end of 1990. The stories are entirely as advertised, unfortunate aliens having real trouble with humans, and they’re very funny. My favourites were Compensation, Merry Christmas From Outer Space, Underhandler (the 1990 one thus showing the author hasn’t lost his sense of humor) and Behind the Sandrat Hoax, which wasn’t only very funny, it was unpleasantly true. I didn’t quite get Duel to the Death, but that was the only story of the 13 I didn’t like. And the author undoubtedly has cats. In Compensation I noted the following lines… “The cat suddenly decided to get up. Ral (one of the aliens) didn’t let go. The cat put forth eighteen claws and got up. ” Ah yes, no one prevents a cat from doing as it wishes not even a visiting alien. This was an excellent colection and I recommend it. There is a companion volume The Trouble With Aliens. which may also bear investigation.

 

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