The Color of Distance [Paperback]

Amy Thomson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

The award-winning author of Virtual Girl creates a strange new world of infinite possibilities where honor, sacrifice, and friendship between humans and aliens can mean many different things at once.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Juna is the sole survivor of a team of surveyors marooned in the dense, uninhabitable Tendu rainforest. Her only hope for survival is assimilation into the amphibian Tendu species. Now she must take on their life--and their fears--in a frightening world of alien possibilities. Amy Thomson's first novel, Virtual Girl, won the John W. Campbell award.

A portion of the proceeds of this book will be contributed to rainforest conservation.

Review

An energetic and entertaining first-contact novel, complete with charming, strange, dangerous aliens and two intelligent, competent, imperfect heroines, one human, one not. -- Vonda N. McIntyre, author of The Crystal Star

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Ace Trade; Ace ed edition (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441002447
• ISBN-13: 978-0441002443
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,184 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story about VERY unusual aliens!, April 22, 2000

By 

Diane D. Chen "PurpleDiane" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Color of Distance (Paperback)

This is one of the best SF books I have read in many years. Having the story told from the viewpoints of both Juna and the aliens was very different. It was fascinating to see the same things from totally different points of view, especially at the beginning before Juna realizes how intelligent the Tendu really are. I thought that the communication by colors and symbols was also very unique and well thought out. The amazing variety of the planet and the forest were very believable and the descriptions evocative - I want to go there! I highly recommend this book!

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly well developed alien culture, and then some, December 29, 1997

By 

Robin Duggar (Merrimack, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Color of Distance (Paperback)

The author does an excellent job developing the language, culture and ecosystem of the Tendu. I also felt quite comfortable with Juna, the human character who was stranded on the planet with the Tendu. I was utterly fascinated by the linguistic precept that the Tendu use 'skin speach'. Also, the stratification of the culture by chronological development was intriguing. When a friend recommended that I read this book, I was kind of dubious by the description. I'm not really into alien encounter stuff or make-me-think about ecology stuff. That said, I bought three copies of this book. One as a gift for my brother. One to loan out to other people, and one to keep in the house for myself! This one goes to the desert island with me.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very imaginative first contact story., February 15, 2001

By 

mirope "mirope" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Color of Distance (Paperback)

Amy Thomson has created an amazingly complete and complex alien culture in "The Color of Distance." The story is about Juna, a human explorer inadvertently stranded on an alien planet. She is rescued by the Tendu, a sentient race that adopts and cares for her until the humans will return and take her back to earth. Most of the plot is about Juna and the Tendu mutually discovering the fascinating differences between their two cultures. By far the most impressive part of the novel is Thomson's vivid description of the Tendu people and planet. She has skillfully created a complete cultural matrix that is very different from our own but that nevertheless makes sense in its own right. Particularly interesting was Juna's gradual discovery of the Tendu life cycle. That alone makes the book worth reading.

Even though I was impressed with that part of the book, I don't think the book is much more than a fun, entertaining read. There are no great themes here, and Thomson barely brushes upon the moral dilemmas inherent in the mutual discovery of other cultures. For a truly brilliant handling of that theme, read "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. My other complaint about "The Color of Distance" is that the ending was very cursory and little more than a set up for the sequel. Despite that, this is a fun read.