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Alien Pets
This collection of stories focuses on the often-overlooked companions who travel the stars with their masters, human or otherwise. Tales of these faithful creatures vary from cuddly animals from Alpha Centauri, to genetically altered Earth animal, accompanying humans to the edge of the galaxy, and alien invaders disguised as loyal housepets.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
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July 31, 2022♥"Objects of Desire" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman READ 10/20/2016 (collected in Time Travelers, Ghosts and Other Visitors) re-read 8/18/2015
What Fluffy Knew • shortstory by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Diamonds • novelette by Michelle West
Not Exactly a Dog • shortstory by Bruce Holland Rogers
♦Winner Takes Trouble by Jane M. Lindskold
Thenagain • novelette by Gary A. Braunbeck
Bongoid • novelette by David Bischoff
As the Robot Rubs • shortstory by Dean Wesley Smith
Dog Is My Copilot • shortstory by Karen Haber
A Boy and His Alien • novella by John Helfers
The Pet Rocks Mystery • shortstory by Jack Williamson
In the Storm, in the Stars • shortstory by Paul Dellinger
Every Home Should Have One • shortstory by Tim Waggoner
Elmer • novelette by Peter Crowther
Watchcat • shortstory by John DeChancie
What Fluffy Knew • shortstory by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Diamonds • novelette by Michelle West
Not Exactly a Dog • shortstory by Bruce Holland Rogers
♦Winner Takes Trouble by Jane M. Lindskold
Thenagain • novelette by Gary A. Braunbeck
Bongoid • novelette by David Bischoff
As the Robot Rubs • shortstory by Dean Wesley Smith
Dog Is My Copilot • shortstory by Karen Haber
A Boy and His Alien • novella by John Helfers
The Pet Rocks Mystery • shortstory by Jack Williamson
In the Storm, in the Stars • shortstory by Paul Dellinger
Every Home Should Have One • shortstory by Tim Waggoner
Elmer • novelette by Peter Crowther
Watchcat • shortstory by John DeChancie
July 11, 2013
A very mixed bag of tales, both in tone and in age level -some would be perfect for the middle graders just getting into sci-fi, while others are decidedly more adult in tone. Given that, not sure who I would recommend it to.
February 9, 2023
Cute little book with short stories about aliens and pets. Aliens as pets, aliens having pets, pets that are in a way alien to us, stuff like that. Some stories were sweet, some were a bit more horror-like, none were very upsetting, or super surprising. A few made me chuckle.
Read it if you already have it in your stash, but don’t expect more than a light easy reading snack. I’ll be donating my copy to the second hand book exchange thingy, which means I don’t want to throw it away but I don’t recommend it to my friends either.
Read it if you already have it in your stash, but don’t expect more than a light easy reading snack. I’ll be donating my copy to the second hand book exchange thingy, which means I don’t want to throw it away but I don’t recommend it to my friends either.
February 22, 2022
Mostly enjoyable, but very mixed in tone and in intended audience. And mostly forgettable. Even looking back over them, I don't have anything to say about the individual stories, nor do the selections here motivate me to look for more by any other authors.
July 24, 2017
Forgot how much I love the old anthologies! Great variety of stories, from humans owning pets to pets owning humans.
December 17, 2009
Alien Pets is a novel about, well, Alien Pets. Contained within are stories that are warm and fuzzy, hilarious and downright heartbreaking (though most are on the lighter side). As is the case with most anthologies, some of the stories just couldn’t hold my interest (the more techie sci-fi based ones) but for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed these mini-romps with odd pets of all sorts and sizes.
Starting things off is Nina Kiriki Hoffman's "Objects of Desire" which tells the tale of a youngster named Kirby who wants a "skewlis" so much it hurts. Everyone she knew had one of the weasel-crossed-with-a-cat, lemon and incense smelling critters but her mom was down on her luck and short on cash. A "skewlis", the latest fad of the moment, was completely out of her reach. Kirby's surprised when her grandma gives her one as a gift. Grandma’s a bargain hunter so Kirby's skewlis isn't exactly top-of-the-line but Kirby loves her anyway. Of course, the skewlis turns out to be more than it appears and Kirby learns an important lesson about wanting stuff.
"What Fluffy Knew" is a creepy little tale about an alien invasion told from the point of view of a spoiled house cat named Fluffy who takes it upon herself to save her family when mini-aliens invade. "Diamonds" by Michelle West is a story of a lonely boy who was always told he "was a mistake". When he discovers a secret hidden away in his parents bedroom he finds a friend, learns the importance of freedom and eventually finds love and acceptance.
"Dog Is My Co-pilot" is one of my favorites of the bunch. It’s an often humorous tale about a lonesome pilot named Frank whose company decides to engineer the perfect companion for its employees. They’ve altered dogs that will live longer lives and speak their minds and ease the loneliness that often overwhelms their employee’s. Frank's pal is quite a character who changes his name to suit his many moods. Some days he's the dignified Charles, other days he's simply Charlie or Chuck but whatever he may be calling himself he always remains Frank's best pal. One day the two find themselves stranded without a ship and are "rescued" by a rogue dog who quickly abandons Frank and takes off with Charlie. Stranded and feeling horribly betrayed, Frank is taken in by a group of harmless looking aliens. All ends will for Frank and Charlie in this good humored tale.
Other notable stories for me were “In The Storm, In The Stars" which is a different spin on the legendary unicorn. It's a painful read for an animal lover like me and ends on a somewhat bittersweet note. And, "Elmer", a tale of a young boy who finds an amoeba-like creature while investigating what appears to be a crashed meteor. One fateful day he discovers it has miraculous powers. This story is a tad more gruesome than the others which tend to be on the tame side and it deals with some weightier subjects like death and grief.
I’d recommend this to any pet lover looking for something out of the ordinary.
Starting things off is Nina Kiriki Hoffman's "Objects of Desire" which tells the tale of a youngster named Kirby who wants a "skewlis" so much it hurts. Everyone she knew had one of the weasel-crossed-with-a-cat, lemon and incense smelling critters but her mom was down on her luck and short on cash. A "skewlis", the latest fad of the moment, was completely out of her reach. Kirby's surprised when her grandma gives her one as a gift. Grandma’s a bargain hunter so Kirby's skewlis isn't exactly top-of-the-line but Kirby loves her anyway. Of course, the skewlis turns out to be more than it appears and Kirby learns an important lesson about wanting stuff.
"What Fluffy Knew" is a creepy little tale about an alien invasion told from the point of view of a spoiled house cat named Fluffy who takes it upon herself to save her family when mini-aliens invade. "Diamonds" by Michelle West is a story of a lonely boy who was always told he "was a mistake". When he discovers a secret hidden away in his parents bedroom he finds a friend, learns the importance of freedom and eventually finds love and acceptance.
"Dog Is My Co-pilot" is one of my favorites of the bunch. It’s an often humorous tale about a lonesome pilot named Frank whose company decides to engineer the perfect companion for its employees. They’ve altered dogs that will live longer lives and speak their minds and ease the loneliness that often overwhelms their employee’s. Frank's pal is quite a character who changes his name to suit his many moods. Some days he's the dignified Charles, other days he's simply Charlie or Chuck but whatever he may be calling himself he always remains Frank's best pal. One day the two find themselves stranded without a ship and are "rescued" by a rogue dog who quickly abandons Frank and takes off with Charlie. Stranded and feeling horribly betrayed, Frank is taken in by a group of harmless looking aliens. All ends will for Frank and Charlie in this good humored tale.
Other notable stories for me were “In The Storm, In The Stars" which is a different spin on the legendary unicorn. It's a painful read for an animal lover like me and ends on a somewhat bittersweet note. And, "Elmer", a tale of a young boy who finds an amoeba-like creature while investigating what appears to be a crashed meteor. One fateful day he discovers it has miraculous powers. This story is a tad more gruesome than the others which tend to be on the tame side and it deals with some weightier subjects like death and grief.
I’d recommend this to any pet lover looking for something out of the ordinary.
March 18, 2011
Some stories are more interesting than others, but for the most part enjoyable.
March 22, 2013
I always thought that my cats were from another planet, after reading this book, now I know it is true!
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September 2, 2017A fascinating anthology. Some stories are better than others, but all are fun.
For more, read review #7 on my blog: http://superbooknerdthings.tumblr.com/
For more, read review #7 on my blog: http://superbooknerdthings.tumblr.com/
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews