Finally got around to reading this. Though, only read half, mostly the second half, because of the reviews from here. Read the ones most recommended by you guys and I really liked all of those. My favorites were Episode 22 and Dangerous Prey. Both are so unique and well written.
Episode 22 felt greatly integrated into the universe and made me want to read the CMTM again.
Dangerous Prey was out there yet not too much like some other stories IMO. Loved how the alien was represented there, it's nice to see the author put the effort into researching for this story. The blend between an intelligent, thoughtful being and a creature dedicated to the hive was quite refreshing!
I want to see both these authors in any future alien anthologies. The rest were very nice, but as mentioned before, a lot of stories needed more room to breath and wrap things up a bit better. So, after one (good) half of the book, really nice to see new ideas put forth in them.