Enemy Mine (novella)

"Enemy Mine" is a science fiction novella by Barry B. Longyear.

Plot

Willis Davidge, a human fighter pilot, is stranded along with Jeriba Shigan, a Drac, on a hostile planet. The Drac are a race of aliens which are reptilian in appearance and reproduce asexually. Davidge and Jeriba Shigan, whom Davidge nicknames "Jerry," initially attempt to kill one another but quickly realize that cooperation will be the key to their survival.

Publication history

It first appeared in the September 1979 issue of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Later, it was collected by Longyear in the 1980 book Manifest Destiny. A longer, novel form was published, based on the film. It also appears in The Enemy Papers (Longyear anthology) in 1998. That version was labeled as "The Author's cut" and was significantly revised.

Awards and nominations

In 1980 it won the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Novella and the 1979 Nebula Award for Best Novella.

Adaptations

In 1985 it was produced as a science fiction film by Twentieth Century Fox.

See also

• None But the Brave (1965) and Hell in the Pacific (1968) two earlier films with a similar premise
• In 1970, "Survival", an episode of UFO, the Gerry Anderson series, had the same premise.
• In 1980, "The Return of Starbuck," an episode of Galactica 1980, the short-lived spin-off of the original Battlestar Galactica TV series has a similar premise.
• Episodes from 1989 and 1991 of Star Trek: The Next Generation entitled The Enemy and Darmok seem to have been inspired by the story.
• A 2003 episode of Star Trek: Enterprise, "Dawn", also has a similar premise.
• Time of the Hawk, the two-part season opener for season two of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century bears a resemblance to this plot.

External links

• Enemy Mine title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database