No, I'm not talking about the video game of that name, I'm talking about something entirely different that I'm really sick of. Science fiction shows in which all the aliens are just like humans, except for small cosmetic differences or extra powers. Every alien race from Klingons to Bothans to whatever race E.T. was - they're all bipedal two-eyed, two-eared air-breathing carbon-based life forms. Do science fiction authors really all think that if we discovered an alien species they'd really be that close to what we are? Or do they simply lack creativity?

While books like The Rookie and Phylogenesis have excellent insectoid alien races that are far different from humanity, they lack something that makes them really alien.

So what kinds of races would I cite as examples? I'll give you three. First, look at The Blob. Not the redone version where it was a bioweapon - I'm talking about the original green blob that fell from space in a meteoroid. It's got no limbs, no organs, no communication, no civilization. It simply feeds. It's so different from humans. So alien.

Next, for those of you who've played Half-Life 2, look at the Combine Advisors. They're giant flying slugs. They've got no limbs either. They're ultra-intelligent, and they function entirely through telekinesis.

Lastly, look back at Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The invasion came in the form of spores falling from space which bloomed into flowers, and the flowers could possess people. Now there's an alien that doesn't even have a body! The whole bodysnatcher idea is certainly no longer original, but an alien that exists only as a parasite is another intriguing idea.

Anyone else know of any aliens in fiction that are truly alien? Discuss.