A review by rotorguy64
Asymmetrical Warfare by S.R. Algernon
4.0
Nice little story about respect during warfare. The protagonist, one of the aliens, becomes more and more impressed by the tenacity with which the invaded humans fight back against his own species, and eventually decides to be reborn on earth as he has grown to adore the planet and its inhabitants. I'm particularly fond of stories about alien mindsets, and this one has them. The exact same war is treated as a chivalrous joust on one side, as a total war for survival on the other.
Generally, I have a high tolerance for implausible premises, as long as a story follows some coherent internal logic. As far as weird premises go, this one isn't even that bad, not for an experimental short story. Aliens that can regenerate and thus regard themselves as immortal? That's outlandish, yes, but we already have jellyfishes that are biologically similar, and considering that human beings believe in some weird stuff, I wouldn't put it past an alien species to be a bit slowminded about the concept of death.
Generally, I have a high tolerance for implausible premises, as long as a story follows some coherent internal logic. As far as weird premises go, this one isn't even that bad, not for an experimental short story. Aliens that can regenerate and thus regard themselves as immortal? That's outlandish, yes, but we already have jellyfishes that are biologically similar, and considering that human beings believe in some weird stuff, I wouldn't put it past an alien species to be a bit slowminded about the concept of death.