Short story ID, please. Octopus aliens, human refugees.

I read this one in a sci-fi anthology, at least 3 years ago, but I can’t remember which one. It was set on a planet by inhabited by cephalapod aliens (their homeworld?) and a small community of human refugees. Earth had been involved in a proxy war between the octopus guys and some other aliens. The octopus guys lost, and some of their human supporters moved in with them. IIRC, the plot itself revolved around a murder mystery type thing.

It was a neat setting and I’d like to see if the author ever returned to it. Any thoughts?

Oops. I had this answer all typed out and then I saw “anthology”. *

Yes. Two books by Donald Moffitt. (Genesis Quest and Second Genesis). You’re misremembering some details though (starfish, not octopuses, etc).*

That said, the plots are weirdly similiar.

Sounds quite like the novel A Darkling Sea (softcover due v.soon) by James Cambias.
I really liked the novel in hardcover and I’m sure some of it appeared as a novella or short story - probably The Ocean of the Blind although I’m guessing a little at which of his stories’ titles fits best!

The Ocean of the Blind was in Year’s Best Science Fiction 2005.

Here’s the ISFDB page for James Cambias, by the way Summary Bibliography: James L. Cambias. Looks like “Ocean of the Blind” was also in The Mammoth Book of Best New Science Fiction: 18th Annual Collection

Thanks, but that’s not it either. After checking the synopsis, I do recall liking Ocean of the Blind and think I will check out the novel.

I think the cephalopod aliens were at least somewhat humanoid, not wholly octopus-looking. Pretty sure they could breathe air and lived in wet, terrestrial cities instead of underwater.

This is driving me nuts.