A very good collection - a good mix of stories, many very well written and engaging throughout. Definitely recommended for all fans of this sub-genre.

An interesting and diverse mix of voices here, from complete unknowns to Saunders and Diaz. Definitely worth a look.

This anthology had quite an interesting and promising premise for someone like me who enjoys both genre and literary fiction: fantasy/science fiction/horror/weird stories written by authors who are considered literary authors and are not usually associated with speculative genres. And although among the 22 stories there were four or five that I found quite weak, I did enjoy more than half of the stories, and I loved one of them: the fascinating and beautiful “A Precursor of the Cinema”, by Steven Millhauser. Not bad at all.
So, although it may have some misses, I think this anthology may appeal to speculative fiction fans and literary fiction fans alike.

Science fiction by writers not typically known for their science fiction - that is the essence of this collection of short stories.

For the most part, I found this to be a rather average collection. It is interesting from a 'uniqueness' point of view and most of the stories included are worth reading. The hard-core sci-fi fans may find this to be less than exciting, though those willing to explore for new authors may find some surprises here. Since reading a collection of W.P. Kinsella collection I've been quite impressed with his works and am always glad to read one of his stories. His "Reports Concerning the Death of the Seattle Albatross Are Somewhat Exaggerated" is by no means the stand out story of the collection, but certainly a surprising read from someone most of us would think of as a 'baseball writer.'

Eric Puchner's "Beautiful Monsters" is a wonderful sci-fi tale and as it is one of the early stories, it might strike some readers as a being written by someone who's written a lot of sci-fi. It deals with aging and a future where the 'problem' of aging has been solved, only to create a new set of concerns (particularly for those who still age.

"We Are the Olfanauts" by Deji Bryce Olukotun is one of the 'hits' of the book. Corporate culture and social media in the future are examined in an all-too-real possibility.

"In the Bushes" by Jami Attenberg made me chuckle, though there isn't much 'meat' to the story. It was a nice diversion from the often 'heavy' themes in sci-fi.

"Monstro" by Junot Diaz is a story that is not to be missed - but warning ... this is the first chapter of a novel that may or may not be forth-coming. Two college roommates and a girl whom one of them adores are together when a new plague breaks out. Cue a new zombie....

Over-all, a decent collection. It's a great gift for the sci-fi reader who might not normally pick this up because it doesn't have enough authors that are familiar to the genre reader.

This volume contains:

Introduction - Jacob Weisman
"Portal" - J. Robert Lennon
"Beautiful Monsters" - Eric Puchner
"The Squid Who Fell in Love with the Sun" - Ben Loory
"Five Fucks" - Jonathan Lethem
"We Are the Olfanauts" - Deji Bryce Olukotun
"The Region of Unlikeness" - Rivka Galchen
"A Precursor of the Cinema" - Steven Millhauser
"In the Bushes" - Jami Attenberg
"Fugue State" - Brian Enson
"Reports Concerning the Death of the Seattle Albatross Are Somewhat Exaggerated" - W.P. Kinsella
"Lambing Season" - Molly Gloss
"Conrad Loomis & the Clothes Ray" - Amiri Baraka
"Topics in Advanced Rocketry" "Chris Tarry
"The Inner City" Karen Heuler
"Escape From Spiderhead" - George Saunders
"Amorometer" Kelly Luce
"The Yogurt of Vasirin Kefirovsky" - Max Apple
"Monstro" Junot Diaz
"Minotaur" Jim Shepard
"Help Me Find My Spaceman Lover" Robert Olen Butler
"Near-Flesh" - Katherine Dunn

Looking for a good book? <em>Invaders</em> is an anthology of sci-fi stories by literary writers not typically known for their sci-fi and is worth a read for its unusual authorship and some quality stories.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Hits, Misses, No Real Errors

I approach an anthology like this in the same frame of mind I bring to one of those seasonal upcoming book samplers released by a publisher - curious about what the writers I recognize and admire are up to, and willing to look through a mixed bag of new talents, looking for a possible new interest. If you take that approach here, (and are willing to overlook the faint whiff of condescension involved in bringing "literary authors" to sci-fi), there are rewards to be had.

As I had hoped, the stories by George Saunders, Jonathan Lethem, W.P. Kinsella, and Steven Millhauser, (the writers I know and like the best), stood out from the crowd. To me the Saunders story in particular was worth the whole rest of the book. It exhibited the precise and yet almost offhand satire and the touchingly human grace notes that I most admire in his best work. Lethem's story was more unfocused, but was certainly loaded with the sharp, writerly bits that make him so interesting. Millhauser wrote another faux historical tale of a marginal artist, along the lines of Borges, and even though I still prefer Borges I'm always drawn in to Millhauser's odd and unnervingly real fictions.

There's a sample from Junot Diaz, who seems to be the sort of writer you either adore or don't warm to, and I imagine readers' reactions to his piece would follow that pattern. The rest of the authors were more or less new to me, and while there wasn't any single, sustained, stand out, there were some intriguing ideas, nicely executed, and some entertaining larks, that made the stories worthwhile. Some of the stories are distinguished by style, some by humor, some by premise, some by their settings - but most all of them were worth a look.

So, a nice sampler, with a few stable anchors. As to the "literary" angle, well, I was willing to think of this as a collection of sci-fi and speculative fiction by writers who don't usually try that genre. Whether the works were somehow more "literary" is an open question that only you can decide. (Please note that I received a free ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Some of the stories didn't grab my attention, and that can probably be attributed to timing and my state of mind more than anything else. I did, however, really enjoy the following stories: "Portal" - J. Robert Lennon, "The Inner City" - Karen Heuler, "Topics in Advanced Rocketry" - Chris Tarry, "A Precursor of the Cinema" - Steven Millhauser, "Monstros" - Junot Díaz, and "Near-Flesh" - Katherine Dunn. These explore the weirdness of human psyche and will linger in my mind for a long time.

A decent collection of science-fiction and fantasy short stories.
What intrigued me about this collection is that all the stories were written by authors not usually associated with these genres.

As with any compilation, some stories were better than others, but overall a good variety and thanks to this compilation, I discovered some authors I would like to read more of.