After the Invasion of the Bug-Eyed Aliens

by Rachel Swirsky

Two ex-military nurses, one human and one alien, share a friendship in a city following an alien invasion.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Novella

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2025

About the author

Rachel Swirsky holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop and is a graduate of Clarion West. Her work has been short-listed for the Nebula, the Hugo, and the Sturgeon Award, and placed second in 2010's Million Writers Award. In addition to numerous publications in magazines and anthologies, Swirsky is the author of three short stories published as e-books, "Eros, Philia, Agape," "The Memory of Wind," and "The Monster's Million Faces." Her fiction and poetry has been collected in THROUGH THE DROWSY DARK (Aqueduct Press, 2010). A second collection, HOW THE WORLD BECAME QUIET: MYTHS OF THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, is forthcoming from Subterranean Press.

Reviews

[Lizzie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was beautiful <3

[MollyK · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
That was quite different, but I liked it.

[Aurora · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not for me, but it was so short, I pushed my way through. 😅 The central relationship, if we can call it that, wasn’t very compelling to me. And the “Isn’t it so tragic that the aliens eat their mates?” part did nothing for me, cause I’d already encountered that (done much better) in the anime Level E.

[Alex Sarll]

"The arcade had a lot of vintage games besides pinball, but Thi’ikx didn’t like them. Mantodeans could technically use the steering wheels, but she’d never managed it. Dancing games were too easy if you used all six legs, and too hard if you pretended to be bipedal."
Vignettes of life in the generations after the truce between humanity and the mantis-like alien invaders, a truce which hardliners on both sides have never quite come to terms with. Which on one level is obviously an immigration/multiculturalism parable, and plays to that, and the expected wafty sentiments about how it's much nicer when people aren't killing each other. But just as the X-Men's mutants as minorities metaphor has always had the problem that this is an oppressed minority where a lot of them really are incredibly dangerous, so there are clear issues here, like how the Mantodeans did invade Earth with lasers and such, and even after they've settled, the females do still tend to bite their mates' heads off. Part of what makes it work, though, is precisely the readiness to sit with how that jars, not to compromise the worldbuilding for the sake of a more comfortable analogy – even if I did notice that we never seemed to get an explanation of how exactly these giant carnivorous bugs were being fed. As is so often the way, it was the oldest protagonists whose segments (ha) moved me most.

[Fatima · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pairs perfectly with The Kite Maker by Brenda Peynado.

I adored this. Exploring what cohabitation could look like after war and invasion - especially with giant bug-aliens - and focusing on drilling down to the lives of simple beings just trying to cope and move on, was so meditative. Having a character in which we experience sex work, another becoming a priest to a religion belonging to a completely different planets, traumatized ex-military and those considered traitors for being war angels? I loved it all. I could have read this as a full novel, with chapters dedicated to each character.

[Horror Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is life like on Earth, some time after the invasion of the bug eyed aliens? This short story is like a collection of snapshots in the lives on both sides of the invasion. Two war time nurses sharing an apartment in an The Odd Couple-esque situation, a young and nerdy kid fascinated with pinball machines, traumatized soldiers lashing out, etc. Everyone feels like a well rounded character, even the ones who are only given a few paragraphs each. There are some tragic and hopeful moments here (and some dark humor too!), and the ending is just kind of open ended and hopeful.

[Radwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story.
It takes a look at earth after an alien invasin by giant insect-like creatures, and we see how everyone settles back to their lives after years of war between the insect aliens and the humans. it introduces a number of vignettes, between those who accepted the aliens, and those who still oppose them.
I loved seeing all the different point of view, and would've loved to see more from this world, like a full length novel!

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story consisting of the relationship between two nurses, one human, one Mantodean (aliens that look like giant mantises and behave like them) living with each other on Earth after a truce in a war between humans and Mantodeans. Through a series of vignettes in the story, we learn more about how humans and Mantodeans live on Earth after the war: initially wary, then acceptance and then the formation of new relationships and new ways to live together.

[Megan M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of snapshots in the lives of humans and mantis-like aliens coexisting after an invasion and war. I loved the way this author explored different facets, different people with different mindsets, and also how things change with time. I think this is a story that will continue to pop back up in my mind long after I've read the last words

[Katrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely in the running for the most beautiful short story I have read this year. I loved how she imagined all the sides of the possible aftermath of an alien invasion that ended in a truce, but in both species, eventually, it did learning to coexist -- and some who just couldn't. There are no perfectly "good" characters, but there are no unsympathetic ones either.

[Andrew Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of very short vignettes showing various interactions between people and the alien insect invaders after the war. Somewhat absurdist I think, because the aliens just aren't very alien, for all of being bugs. About half of them are various episodes in the lives of Mary and her bug friend, who were both nurses in the war.

[Adam G · Rating 4 out of 5]

An uplifting story of resident aliens, who are different but somehow familiar. How the world changes around its new residents and how the new residents are changed by the world. Well written and a pleasant story to hear, ideally while one can hear the crickets chirping in the distance.

[Jacob Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice 1.5 hour read that doesn’t ask for much from the reader. The absence of detail keeps the stories moving, but at the expense of becoming more invested. A lot of empathy is being assumed of the reader instead of building it. Still, a nice short story of stained unity.

[Pedro Marroquín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tras una invasión alien, gran parte de los supervivientes aliens se quedan en la tierra tras la guerra. Y vamos viendo con micho historias cómo la humanidad se adapta a convivir con ellos. Muy buen relato de esta autora, que se puede leer gratis en Reactor.mag. B

[S.A Reidman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A portrait of life after invasions, incursions, negotiations, peace deals, terrorist attracts, co-mingling, co-habitating, growing, ageing and losing loved ones in between.

If Praying Mantis ever evolve and take over, this'll be the next big diary of survival stories.

[Zoe L]

an interesting look at vignettes over time after earth has been invaded by a praying mantis type alien, and the various interpersonal relations that come up along the way. very on the nose but in a good way

[Per · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://reactormag.com/after-the-inva...

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt this was a little scattered narrative wise, and it didn't really come into a cohesive story for me. It was more a series of impressions.

[terryh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely adored it.

[Thia Reads A Lot]

4*

Just vignettes going forward in time, to show how things changed after the peace treaty that ended the war between humans and Mantodeans.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swirsky's ability to take an absurd premise (here: praying mantis aliens with ray guns invade Earth) and turn it into a deeply moving story (here: finding connection in shared trauma after war) is unparalleled. This is one of her best.