The Color of Distance, by Amy Thomson ★★★★

[mithriltabby]

Juna Saari is a xenobiologist surveying the rain forest on a new planet whose job changes drastically when her flyer crashes and she is rescued by the local sentients, who have been staying out of the way of the human visitors. The native Tendu have an astonishing innate talent for biotechnological manipulation, and helpfully rescue her from a fatal allergic reaction to the planet’s native proteins by adapting her to local life. This begins a five year odyssey for her among the Tendu, whose biology is similar to terrestrial frogs and who communicate through chromatophores in their skin with the adeptness of a cuttlefish. Juna is embroiled in everything from the ecology to the local politics.

Once you suspend disbelief on the magical biotech abilities of the Tendu, the tale is a fine work of ecological hard SF, with believably alien creatures and culture and a vivid depiction of the alien rainforest. (In the author’s note at the end, Thomson gives a bibliography of books on the terrestrial rainforests that served as inspiration for her writing.)

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

I read this book when it was new and was very impressed: I think it's the author's best. One thing that struck me was that it's very cultural, with much on the folklore and beliefs of the Tendu, yet remaining anthropological and never becoming mythopoeic. That's a legitimate approach, and I considered it well done.