Unnatural Diplomacy

The third Isaac's Universe anthology follows humanity's uneasy alliance with the galaxy's established starfaring races into new strain, as Harry Turtledove, Janet Kagan, Hal Clement, and others send Samians, Crotonites, and Cephallonians into smuggling schemes, stranded diplomats, and embassies caught between local peace and homeworld politics. Karen Haber's title story puts a Crotonite ambassador through the wringer, capping a collection built around how badly translation—cultural as much as linguistic—can go wrong between six very different species.