non-evil aliens book suggestions

Exactly!

Emo Otaku wrote:

namelessfly wrote:<SNIP>
Depending on the level of Alien technology, humans might have a chance. An Alien ship that had been compelled to sacrifice accelleration for specific impulse and delta vee might be far from omnipotent. This is especially true if humans had time to build Orion type ships powerredby nuclear explosives. An alien ship propelled by a light sail could devastate Earth if given time, but it would be very fragile, unmanauverable and vulnerable. My biggest fear would be an alien ship that was a precursor, scout and target designator for following KE projectiles.

Isn't that almost the plot of Footfall (also) By Niven and Pournelle?


For a fiendly alien species (Ok not truly alien as its an alternate earth story) what about the Destoyermen series?

And the inferior sequel to the "Mote in Gods Eye" , was "The Moat Around Murchesons Eye"

namelessfly wrote:Actually, if European diseases had not decimated the Indian populations, the early, small expeditions of Europeans would have gotten their asses kicked. In fact African diseases kept the Europeans off most of the continent until the late 1800s. The Europeans had iron and steel weapons, but they relied more upon their swords than their single shot, muzzle loading rifles and cannon. They could and often were overwhelmed by superior numbers. Remember how Captain Cook got killed in Hawaii?

The European ships were inarguably bigger and more sophisticated than the natives canoes. However; the Polynesians had a sail design that could tack against the wind. Polynesian voyaging canoes were sailing the Pacific 3,000 years ago while Europeans were paddling around the Mediterranean pond.

Depending on the level of Alien technology, humans might have a chance. An Alien ship that had been compelled to sacrifice acceleration for specific impulse and delta vee might be far from omnipotent. This is especially true if humans had time to build Orion type ships powerred by nuclear explosives. An alien ship propelled by a light sail could devastate Earth if given time, but it would be very fragile, unmanauverable and vulnerable. My biggest fear would be an alien ship that was a precursor, scout and target designator for following KE projectiles.

Northstar wrote:

Thank you all. Really.

Some of those I've got others I haven't. Mote is one I have, and it's less good sequel whose title I cannot dredge up.

I don't so much mind conflicts set where we're all generally tech equivalent. It is the we are as we are now and psycho aliens show up and play shoot 'em up with us or deceptive charades ... and ... why would they bother? It's like Columbus and his lovely friends vs the Caribe Indians. Tne Indians weren't gonna win and neither would we in a similarly lopsided tech scenario. I guess those sorts of stories lack credibility for me so they lose me instantly due to being stupid. Them, or moi, take your pick.

Anyway thank you all for taking the time to offer suggestions. Which I will write down and follow up with.

I would not put it past Euros, including Brits of then, to do the smallpox on a blanket thing quite intentionally ... oh wait .. they did do that intentionally. Which is sort of by intention or just by exposure to their germs rather like aliens zapping us with a disease rather than playing shootem up. So... my point still stands. Yeah, exactly like us Euros did to Indians back then.

I saw a cartoon once. It was a couple of Indian guys looking up at a flying saucer. One says to the other, ; Oh no, not again!"

Northstar wrote:I would not put it past Euros, including Brits of then, to do the smallpox on a blanket thing quite intentionally ... oh wait .. they did do that intentionally. Which is sort of by intention or just by exposure to their germs rather like aliens zapping us with a disease rather than playing shootem up. So... my point still stands. Yeah, exactly like us Euros did to Indians back then.

I saw a cartoon once. It was a couple of Indian guys looking up at a flying saucer. One says to the other, ; Oh no, not again!"

Ironically, it was an American (most definitely not a Brit) who was responsible for some of the worst pogroms against the (American) Indians.

George Washington.

There is a reason that several native AmerInd tribes refer to him as "Town Burner"...

Michael Everett wrote:

Northstar wrote:I would not put it past Euros, including Brits of then, to do the smallpox on a blanket thing quite intentionally ... oh wait .. they did do that intentionally. Which is sort of by intention or just by exposure to their germs rather like aliens zapping us with a disease rather than playing shootem up. So... my point still stands. Yeah, exactly like us Euros did to Indians back then.

I saw a cartoon once. It was a couple of Indian guys looking up at a flying saucer. One says to the other, ; Oh no, not again!"

Ironically, it was an American (most definitely not a Brit) who was responsible for some of the worst pogroms against the (American) Indians.

George Washington.

There is a reason that several native AmerInd tribes refer to him as "Town Burner"...

Correct and I was speaking racially more than 'bad Brits good Americans'. White folks. Like moi. And what we Americans -and my ancestors were here then so this is personal for moi- did to Indians was disgusting and horrible. Wars of conquest have happened throughout human history and that was gonna happen here, kinda regardless. Too many Europeans in the old world desperate for escape from there etc etc etc. The usual combination of greed and power and bigotry ... and on a regular folks scale just desperation to get out of hellish lives in the old world.. But the lying and cheating and treaty breaking and endless atrocities... those things are a shame on America. But... Brits and Euros were not choir boys either ... and neither were some tribes, frankly.

My point was the sort of beings who will do anything to steal something belonging to others are also not gonna play fair, be they white people coming to the Americas or likewise greedy and immoral space aliens, such people won't be going for fair fights. I have not a cow's foggy if any actual assorted space folks are good, bad, or what. I just do not believe stories in which bad space aliens do silly things rather than simply wipe us out from space without getting their pretty Mylar suits dirty and sweaty. Thus my complete boredom with stories with that sort of premise. Oh come on, ain't gonna happen. Not in any shootem up thing I've ever read sort of way. Though I admit the alien addiction to maple syrup in the Troy books was chuckle worthy.

Julian May's Unity series that starts with The Many-Colored Land features a variety of non-hostile, hostile and semi-hostile aliens.

Doorways In The Sand - Roger Zelazny
Isle Of The Dead, To Die In Italbar - Roger Zelazny

Red Planet, Between Planets, Stranger In A Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein

Code Of The Life-Maker - James P. Hogan

Stardance, The Stardancers - Spider Robinson

Jack Chalker's Well World series, and others

Most of E. E. "Doc" Smith's books had at least some non-hostile aliens.

Most of Clifford D. Simak's aliens were non-hostile.

H. Beam Piper wrote of aliens other than the Fuzzies.
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Don't open that!! It's the original can of worms!

Imaginos1892 wrote:Julian May's Unity series that starts with The Many-Colored Land features a variety of non-hostile, hostile and semi-hostile aliens.

Doorways In The Sand - Roger Zelazny
Isle Of The Dead, To Die In Italbar - Roger Zelazny

Red Planet, Between Planets, Stranger In A Strange Land - Robert A. Heinlein

Code Of The Life-Maker - James P. Hogan

Stardance, The Stardancers - Spider Robinson

Jack Chalker's Well World series, and others

Most of E. E. "Doc" Smith's books had at least some non-hostile aliens.

Most of Clifford D. Simak's aliens were non-hostile.

H. Beam Piper wrote of aliens other than the Fuzzies.
--------------
Don't open that!! It's the original can of worms!

Ooh, bunches of suggestions. Thank you.

I add the Jack McDevitt novels in both his Alex Benedict and Priscilla Hutchins series. These are set something like ten thousand years plus in the future and are not space wars generally... more like mysteries, some murder some other sorts of mysteries. Intelligent and interesting.

Rebecca Ore's Alien Trilogy. Becoming Alien, Being Alien, Human to Human.

Others worth considering, with much told from the aliens' point of view...

C J Cherryh - her Chanur and Foreigner series
David Brin - Startide Rising and sequels
Timothy Zahn - the Conquerors trilogy
Hal Clement - Mission of Gravity, Iceworld

Two of my favourites‘:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein
Freehold by Michale Z. Williamson
No nasty BEM’s, just a lot of nasty humans.