Rating: 
Summary: Walk a mile in an alien's shoes.
Review: From the gripping opening to the final denoument, Amy Thomson's "The Color of Distance" is a fine example of truly original thinking in what is fast becoming a rather crowded field. The story begins with a familiar scenario: our heroine is walking around on an alien world with her colleague, when problems develop in their suits. They must open their helmets but the native air doesn't suit them very well, and they swiftly lose consciousness. Two aliens encounter the two humans, one dead, the other nearly so.
It is at this point that Ms. Thomson grabs the reader, yanks hard, and refuses to let go. One of the two aliens touches our nearly dead heroine with nodules growing on his arms, to "taste" her, and what he finds surprises him. He realizes this creature simply isn't adapted for life in the forest, so he changes her into an alien by directing his own energy into her body and slowly causing it to lengthen her leg bones, thicken and toughen her skin, improve her immune system, and countless other alterations. She slowly becomes as the aliens, somewhat froglike creatures well suited to the forest in which they live. They have powerful legs enabling them to jump from limb to limb among the trees, though they have no language. No spoken language, that is. They communicate with patterns of color displayed on their bellies.
The culture of the aliens is at times puzzling, always intriguing, and often utterly fascinating. Thomson's lyrical prose is a joy to read, and as the heroine learns how to be an alien, we are gifted with rare insights into our own culture. The Color of Distance is inspiring in its complex conception of an alien society. I highly recommend it.
by Mark J. Rosen
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not what I was expecting
Review: I hate false advertising. I went into this book expecting (justifiably, from various reviews and blurbs) a story about a woman who faces the terrifying prospect of "total assimilation" into an alien species.
Not. Juna's desertion on the alien planet isn't even permanent, only a 4 year period between when her ship leaves and when the next one is scheduled to return. She is never completely assimilated into the native Tendu culture, only enough to survive in the harsh environment, and she always remains an outsider. The Tendu are barely even alien, aside from their physical appearance (the Tendu talk with their skin, flashing colors and patterns on their own bodies, hence the reference in the title).
That said, it is a good story, and Juna's transformation, while never separating her entirely from humanity, is intriguing. The Tendu as a whole aren't particularly likable, but that's OK - are aliens really supposed to be charming? There's a lot of description - of the ecology, of the Tendu, of their culture, etc - but it's interesting stuff, nonetheless, although the "alien" jungles sound more like the Amazon rainforest on acid than anything truly unique.
Lighter fare than most first contact stories, OK but not particularly thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but not what I was expecting
Review: I hate false advertising. I went into this book expecting (justifiably, from various reviews and blurbs) a story about a woman who faces the terrifying prospect of "total assimilation" into an alien species.
Not. Juna's desertion on the alien planet isn't even permanent, only a 4 year period between when her ship leaves and when the next one is scheduled to return. She is never completely assimilated into the native Tendu culture, only enough to survive in the harsh environment, and she always remains an outsider. The Tendu are barely even alien, aside from their physical appearance (the Tendu talk with their skin, flashing colors and patterns on their own bodies, hence the reference in the title).
That said, it is a good story, and Juna's transformation, while never separating her entirely from humanity, is intriguing. The Tendu as a whole aren't particularly likable, but that's OK - are aliens really supposed to be charming? There's a lot of description - of the ecology, of the Tendu, of their culture, etc - but it's interesting stuff, nonetheless, although the "alien" jungles sound more like the Amazon rainforest on acid than anything truly unique.
Lighter fare than most first contact stories, OK but not particularly thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: OK, but not what I was expecting
Review: I hate false advertising. I went into this book expecting (justifiably, from various reviews and blurbs) a story about a woman who faces the terrifying prospect of "total assimilation" into an alien species.
Not. Juna's desertion on the alien planet isn't even permanent, only a 4 year period between when her ship leaves and when the next one is scheduled to return. She is never completely assimilated into the native Tendu culture, only enough to survive in the harsh environment, and she always remains an outsider. The Tendu are barely even alien, aside from their physical appearance (the Tendu talk with their skin, flashing colors and patterns on their own bodies, hence the reference in the title).
That said, it is a good story, and Juna's transformation, while never separating her entirely from humanity, is intriguing. The Tendu as a whole aren't particularly likable, but that's OK - are aliens really supposed to be charming? There's a lot of description - of the ecology, of the Tendu, of their culture, etc - but it's interesting stuff, nonetheless, although the "alien" jungles sound more like the Amazon rainforest on acid than anything truly unique.
Lighter fare than most first contact stories, OK but not particularly thought-provoking.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, Startling, and all together wonderfully Alien
Review: I have to admit, I haven't ripped through a paperback like this in years--this novel is fascinating, puzzling, entrancing, expressive, impactful and all together alien--which is what it should be! If you're looking for something new and vibrant, definately written from a technicolor standpoint, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, Startling, and all together wonderfully Alien
Review: I have to admit, I haven't ripped through a paperback like this in years--this novel is fascinating, puzzling, entrancing, expressive, impactful and all together alien--which is what it should be! If you're looking for something new and vibrant, definately written from a technicolor standpoint, this is it.
Rating: 
Summary: An Interesting Encounter
Review: I liked this book. It kept me reading and maintained my interest even though it was not what I would call intense or compelling. Technically, the writing is good, and I liked the author's ploy of shifting the point of view back and forth between Juna, the main human character, and some of the alien characters. I was also intrigued by her idea of humans reacting allergically to alien life. Some aspects of this book were rather disappointing, however. First was the aliens, themselves. Scifi writers, in general, seem to have a difficult time imagining truly alien aliens. Most are all too humanoid, both physically and culturally. Scifi is rampant with intelligent reptilians. There are also lots of examples of intelligent and civilized doglike, catlike, horselike, and even birdlike species. The Tendu of this story are basically intelligent amphibians. Somewhere between tree frogs and salamanders basically, but structured much like humans. Their culture and environment suffer the same familiarity. Their environment is populated with trees, birds, snakes, lizards and other earthlike critters, but never anything really alien. The Tendu are technologically primitive, despite their intelligence, but very much "in harmony" with their environment. Much like primitive tribal peoples here. They are, however, very advanced in their understanding of biology. This is effcted through a form of physical and emotional linking called allu'a. This is a mystical ability and, though humans can participate in it, it is never clear just how it works or what the biological mechanism is that makes it possible. Another problem of this book is the lack of action. There's plenty of conflict, but it always remains at the verbal and emotional level. The Tendu have their disagreements, but they never really get mad. Everybody is always scrupulously polite. Almost the only physical action in the book takes place during the flood season, when an alien gets bitten by a predatory fish. A foot is lost, but it is regenerated, so no real harm is done. The reader never even "sees" the fish. This and one other incident, when Juna is briefly endangered by a pack of predators, are the only examples of action in the entire book. Taken as a whole, "The Color Of Distance" was a good read, but not great. The interplay between Juna and the aliens maintained a level of interest that kept me reading despite the familiarity of the aliens and the paucity of physical action. It could have been better, though, and I felt a bit let down at the end. As a first encounter tale, it was all too familiar and predictable. Still, relative to other scifi I have read, it was better than average.
Rating:
Summary: wonderful discussion of non oral communication
Review: I read a lot of SF by women, and I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and had good characters. It is basically a first contact novel, where the main character must learn to communicate with creatures who "talk" to each other by changing the color and patterns of their fur. Neat concept, well written.
Rating: 
Summary: A good effort, but hollow
Review: I seem to be the lone voice of dissent here... Well, Thomson *does* do a great job of creating a complex world with an ecology as rich and diverse as that of Herbert's Dune, but she fails to create any deeper meaning. Her book is pretty and delicious, but there is no substance beneath all the fluff. For all their apparent differences, the Tendu are disappointingly human. I bought this book anticipating a fresh look at alien first contact. Instead, I found a rather slow story about a woman who learns to "go native" in an alien society that's obviously modeled on earth's native tribes. What killed the book is that the aliens aren't really alien. Perhaps for many readers that is part of its charm, but not for me.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Story!
Review: I've read this book twice now and I still think it is one of the best Sci-fi books I've read. The story has a wonderful anthropological flavor. A Must Read!
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