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Alien Archives: Eighteen Stories of Extraterrestrial Encounters by Robert Silverberg is a very highly recommended collection of previously published short stories, spanning decades, all featuring extraterrestrials.

Any collection of stories of any type from science fiction Grand Master Robert Silverberg is well worth immediately purchasing. Silverberg "wrote these stories, the oldest one in 1954 and the most recent almost half a century later, with two beliefs held firmly in mind: 1) We are not alone. The universe is full of non-human life-forms. 2) We are never going to encounter any of these alien beings." The great thing about any Silverberg collection is that he writes a new introduction to all the stories documenting when and why they were written and other pertinent facts.

All of these stories are, naturally, well written. It is delightful to see stories published in pulp magazines side by side with more recent stories, documenting, in many ways, the history of science fiction stories. The plots vary greatly and highlight Silverberg's skill and diversity in presenting different characters and scenarios while telling a compelling, engaging story. Some stories, obviously, feel dated because they were written decades earlier, but they are all wildly entertaining.

Contents include: The Silent Colony; En Route to Earth; The Way to Spook City; Amanda and the Alien; One-Way Journey; The Shadow of Wings; Gorgon Planet; Flies; Sundance; Bride; Something Wild is Loose; Schwartz Between the Galaxies; Diana of the Hundred Breasts; Sunrise on Mercury; Alaree; The Soul-Painter and the Shapeshifter; To the Dark Star; Beauty in the Night

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Three Rooms Press.
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