The Far stars war

the long version

This is a collation of stories by several authors, all with the same theme; war with a octopod species called the Gerin, who hate humans and just about every other species of life but their own, with their objective to completely eliminate humanity and the other alien races. It is remarkably well done, each story neatly dovetailing in the one before and after it, right to the end. I was very impressed at the way way they all flowed together - perhaps the best such effort involving several different authors that I've ever read. Politics and war conduct, bravery and cowardice, ruthlessness and a lack of mercy - it is all contained in this work and I heartily recommend it to you.