13

I read this story back in the mid-90's, so this is all from 20+ year old memories.

The sci-fi collection book had a red cover with a large breasted alien/robot. Or maybe the alien was red but the cover was not.

The praying mantis story was called something like "A Day in the Life of Tsang Jueng" and was from the perspective of the praying mantis. She hunted and interacted with her environment. At one point she meets a spider and the differing hunting methods, net vs ambush, is discussed. She kills and eats a caterpillar.

I remember being enthralled.

1
  • I tried searching around on Google, but the best I found was... this question. Bah! Commented Mar 26, 2019 at 17:03

1 Answer 1

12

Probably The Empire of T'ang Lang, Alan Dean Foster, in the anthology With Friends Like These...

Similar title, protagonist is a mantis.

The story is also found in the anthology The Alien Condition, and this book has a cover like you describe:

The Alien Condition front cover

This one would be difficult to find using Google. Most searches for Foster and insects will return nothing but Thranx references.

2
  • This is exactly right. Thank you!
    – Colt
    Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 18:14
  • @colt please mark the answer as accepted. Commented Mar 27, 2019 at 20:42

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.