Patricia Monk covers a lot of ground in her thoughtful examination of what aliens represent in SF, specifically in short stories. Her premise is that they're not just there as entertainment, a way to show off our theories, or as a thought experiment in exobiology, but that they can tell us something about how we view ourselves and our place in the universe. Written in fairly rigorous style, it's full of valuable insights into the relationship between SF and mainstream fiction, literary criticism, the development of aliens in fiction, and the deeper issues of self and other. It's hardly light reading, but recommended for anyone seriously interested in SF.

(Source: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.)