Books reading recommendations Five Sci-Fi Short Stories Told Through an Alien POV Clever, compelling stories filtered through a distinctly non-human consciousness By Lorna Wallace | Published on February 5, 2026 Image: Uninteneded Concept [via Unsplash] Comment 0 Share New Share Image: Uninteneded Concept [via Unsplash] One of the things I love most about science fiction is the space it provides for writers to stretch their imaginations. Aliens are a prime example of this. Sure, there are many sci-fi stories that are full of beings that are essentially humans but with blue skin or pointy ears, but every so often a writer will conjure up an otherworldly creature that feels truly alien. I find it particularly interesting to read from the perspective of such an extraterrestrial for two reasons. Firstly, it’s fascinating being placed into the consciousness of a being that sees and experiences the world in a totally different way to humans. Secondly, it can sometimes provide an outside perspective from which to view humanity, highlighting just how strange we ourselves are as organisms. Below are five such short stories that adopt an alien point of view. “The Monster” by A.E. van Vogt (1948) Enash and his fellow crew members land on Earth as part of a reconnaissance mission. Their species, the Ganae, have a rapidly growing population so they’re constantly searching the universe for planets to colonize. When they touch down on Earth (well, a far-future version of it), they find that all of the animals—including humans—are long dead. But before claiming the Earth as their own, the invading aliens need to know whether the planet itself had something to do with humankind’s demise (and that therefore might be a threat to them too). They’ve cracked the technology for resurrection, so they head to a museum where they can speak to humans throughout history in an effort to understand what happened. This backfires on them in spectacular fashion. Although the Ganae aren’t the most alien of all the aliens on this list, this role-reversed first contact story is still intriguing—in large part thanks to seeing how humanity has developed. Some of the ideas are admittedly a bit silly, but I think that just adds to the fun. “Odd Attachment” by Iain M. Banks (1982) “Odd Attachment” is told from the perspective of a large plant-like alien called Fropome. He begins the story lamenting the fact that the female plant he’s in love with doesn’t pay him any attention. He’s grasping at straws in his lovesick state, so when he sees what he describes as a “big seed pod” (i.e. a human spaceship) descend from the sky, he takes it as a sign from the universe that she actually does love him. Fropome is perplexed by the alien that comes out of the pod, but his thoughts are still dominated by his unrequited love, leading to a rather careless first encounter with humankind. Not only is it entertaining to view a human being through a sentient plant’s eyes, but this story also has a darkly funny ending. “They’re Made Out of Meat” by Terry Bisson (1991) For a story that is far more about humans than it is aliens, check out “They’re Made Out of Meat,” which can be read in just a few minutes. The entire story is comprised of a conversation between two aliens who have come across Earth. They’re utterly shocked to discover that, as the title suggests, humans are made out of meat. The physical form of the two extraterrestrials isn’t described, but given how horrified they are by humans, they certainly aren’t meat-based. This hilarious short story is likely to make you very aware of your own body and how strange it is. Plus, the ending provides one possible answer to the Fermi paradox—the discrepancy between the likelihood of extraterrestrial life being out there and at the same time, our complete lack of evidence for such life. “The Things” by Peter Watts (2010) “The Things” is a retelling of John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) from the POV of the Thing itself (okay… I’ll now try to limit my use of the word “thing”). We soon learn that the Thing extraterrestrial biomass is just as disgusted by humans as we are by it. From our perspective, it’s a body horror nightmare that, by assimilating us, erases our individual identities. From its perspective, we’re isolated beings and assimilation—or in its own words, “communion”—is a pleasurable feeling of completeness. Finding ourselves in the head of an otherworldly creature that thinks that the violent joining of cells is good, actually, is exactly as disconcerting as it is fascinating. While Carpenter’s film offers a buffet of horror delights, Watts’s short story is far more sharply focused on existential terror. It is possible to read this story without having seen The Thing, but I do think it’s more rewarding to be familiar with the human perspective first (plus it’s an incredible movie!). “We Have a Cultural Difference, Can I Taste You?” by Rebecca Ann Jordan (2016) This short story is set at an intergalactic school where the student population is comprised of an eclectic mix of beings from many different planets. But even at a school that is as accepting of differences as this one, Filo/Gee doesn’t really fit in. Most of the students are bipeds, while Filo/Gee is an amoeba-like being (although a fair bit bigger than Earth’s tiny amoebas) who experiences the world via sound and taste. The latter sense works best when they fully absorb objects into their gelatinous body, but that doesn’t go down so well with some of the other students. The story is a bit heartbreaking at times—with Filo/Gee being misunderstood and mistreated by pretty much everyone at the school, students and staff alike—but it’s ultimately an uplifting tale about overcoming differences. Please feel free to share your own recommendations of stories told from an alien perspective—whether they’re short stories (like the ones above) or full-length novels (like the ones on this list!).[end-mark] The post Five Sci-Fi Short Stories Told Through an Alien POV appeared first on Reactor.