Occupied Earth: Stories of Aliens, Resistance, and Survival at All Costs

The 14 SF stories in this alien invasion anthology deliver plenty of action and little else. The editors’ “Hunter X,” about a plot to murder an alien war hero, provides a kind of frame story for the other works. Human EMTs practice small-scale defiance in Rachel Howzell Hall and David W. Hall’s “Do No Harm.” An old holiday that originated on Earth provides the crucial distraction in a rebel plot in Lisa Morton’s “Union Day.” Intrigue drives the action in Rob Hunt’s “How the Game Is Played,” Cliff Allen’s “Strange Alliance,” and Richard M. Johnson’s “A Day in the Life.” Craig Faustus Buck’s “Second Coming,” about an alien scientist’s plan to clone Christ from the Shroud of Turin, and Howard V. Hendrix’s “Location, Location, Location,” with its plot to alter alien “hearts and minds” through “guided oneironautics” and bad TV, are played completely straight for all their overt wackiness. This forgettable collection attempts to explore classic SF themes, but it’s hobbled by weak worldbuilding, lackluster characterization, and an enemy that feels in no way alien. (Oct.)