Suppose that elves, gremlins, and leprechauns are really tiny aliens marooned on Earth for hundreds of years. They want to go home, and human technology finally can make it possible—if they can get aboard NASA’s Mars rocket and hijack it! Pity the poor human who has to help them with the big heist…

The voracious and merciless Horde roved the galaxies, stripping whole star systems of all life. As they advance on the Milky Way, a galaxy-wide force is hastily arrayed to stop them. But Miles Vander, the warrior sent by Earth to join the defense, must first convince his alien crewmembers that he is just as good a soldier as they.

Questa è una delle nostre storie preferite in assoluto (non solo di questo volume, ma di tutta la letteratura fantascientifica). È l’unico racconto sulle invasioni della Terra da parte di una razza aliena che troverete in questo libro, visto che abbiamo ritenuto più opportuno dedicarne uno intero a questo tema che rimane uno dei più affascinanti di questo genere letterario e quindi meritava di non essere confinato in poche pagine. È anche l’inizio di una serie, il cui secondo racconto, «Il bastone e il mantello», avrebbe portato a Dickson un altro premio Hugo un paio d’anni dopo la pubblicazione di questa commovente storia su una Terra dominata da un rigido oppressore ma in cui c’è forse ancora spazio per un soffio di speranza.

A master of science fiction examines what happens when powerful aliens meet puny humans—with results ranging from chilling to utterly hilarious. Getting along in the Universe can be tricky, but those monkey-boys and girls from Earth can get pretty feisty themselves when the situation calls for it. And if you bet on the side of the mighty alien armadas that have conquered half the galaxy, you might end up losing, as you've overlooked the winning human edge….

Accompanied by a leopard and a nearly autistic young woman, Marc Despard sets out to locate his wife, who, along with the rest of humanity, was swept away by a time storm.

Earth was only a primitive outpost, its people dubbed primitive “wolflings” by the rulers of the galactic empire. James Keil was sent to the High-Born rulers’ Throne World, with orders only to observe—until he cast away his orders from Earth and proved himself a Wolfling indeed.