The Aliens Among Us

The Aliens Among Us by James White is a collection of short stories. The cover featured a Sector General scene, so I thought many of the stories would revolve around this series, but no.

Only the first, "Countercharm," was actually set at the intergalactic hospital and featured his long-running hero, Dr. Conway. However, in terms of the series, this was an important story, because it's the first time Dr. Conway copes with an Educator tape and when he first really interacts with Nurse Murchison.

The other six stories connected to the Sector General universe by featuring alien species that recur in that series, such as the Orligians, and other minor aspects of the series. For example, "Occupation: Warrior" is the origin story for Major show more Dermod, as well as explaining the rationale behind the pseudomilitary branch of intergalactic government. Many of these are first-contact stories, usually beginning from a belligerent warlike stance, but then following the "appearances are deceiving" angle.

All of these were written during the 1950s and very much reflect the themes, technology, and mindset of the Cold War era, which is to say, they haven't aged well. Also, James White, while I admire his biomedical what-if inventiveness, is one of the most hackneyed sexist writers in the science fiction field. In this vein, I greatly appreciated (by which I mean, was irritated by), the general with cold feet on the eve of battle being repeatedly described as "womanish" in "Occupation: Warrior." This author is very much focused on the ideas, not the characters, who are the shallowest of vehicles for exploring the concepts and implications, which once again, I consider relatively reflective of 1950s science fiction.

So it was a real slog to read straight through six stories that completely lacked female characters (with the exception of a couple of superficial romantic interests in the first story), overtly tinged with aggression, dwelling on xenophobia (the better to overturn it in completely predictable plot twists), and absolutely flat and wooden prose. But if you want to get a feel for the anxieties and hopes, and dare I say alienation, of Americans at the beginning of space exploration and after atom bombs had become a reality, The Aliens Among Us is as good an example as any. show less

Science Fiction short stories, including one Sector General story.
I enjoyed the stories. Two of them seemed kind of similar. I liked the teddy bear aliens the most.

An anthology of short stories, only one of which is Sector General. A couple of the other stories are very good and memorable.

Don't be misled by references to Sector General on the cover of the book, or elsewhere in the media. There's one very short Sector General story, followed by some random short stories by the same author, which you may or may not be interested in. Quite disappointing.

F/SF

Damaged on corner

ZB13