Description:

The newly discovered planet of Senisran was a veritable paradise. Its vast oceans were dotted with thousands of lush islands containing vast deposits of rare-earths and minerals. But Senisran was also the Humanx Commonwealth's problem child, for each island was inhabited by a different tribe of aboriginal natives whose customs and tribal rites varied from island to island. Each had to be negotiated with separately for mining rights, and the Commonwealth was locked in a race against the vicious AAnn Empire to secure those rights.  

Now the clans of the Parramat Archipelago on Senisran were resisting entreaties by the Commonwealth and AAnn alike. So, xenologist and first-contact specialist Pulickel Tomochelor was dispatched from Earth to handle this  sensitive and stubborn negotiation. More comfortable with aliens than with his own species, and confident in his extraordinary ability to communicate with them, Pulickel looked forward to a short assignment and a triumphant return to Earth.  

But he hadn't counted on the incredible secret of Parramat: the strange green stones that the natives used to bless the crops, ensure plentiful fishing, heal the injured and ill, and control the weather. Within these stones lay an awesome technology the origin of which was lost in time, technology that had to be kept from the AAnn at any cost.  

In his previous travels around the planets of the Commonwealth, Pulickel had seen many wonders, but never any like this. And he had seen the effects of evil on both beings and planets, but he never expected to meet the very essence of evil face-to-face . . .

Enter the amazing world of the Humanx Commonwealth, the interstellar empire governed jointly by humans and insectoid Thranx aliens as New York Times-bestselling author Alan Dean Foster continues the saga that began with For Love of Mother-Not, The Tar-Aiym Krang, and Orphan Star!

From School Library Journal

YA?Like Foster's Cachalot (Severn House, 1994) and the popular "Flinx" series, this story is set in the "Humanx Commonwealth." Two scientists race against their vicious alien nemesis, the Aan, to secure a treaty for mining rights on the newly discovered planet Senisran. The aboriginal natives' sacred stones are found to have an immense power that the humans and the Aan will do almost anything to obtain. While not of the caliber of Foster's Nor Crystal Tears (Del Rey, 1982), this is an engrossing, well-written book. The author has again created believable, complex characters, and a vivid alien planet.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Foster here returns to the Commonwealth Universe, the setting for his Icerigger trilogy and Flinx novels, for this morality tale of first contact with aboriginal aliens. Two Commonwealth xenologists from advanced societies compete for a treaty with the Seni after discovering that they have sacred stones with unexplainable powers for healing, gardening, fishing, transportation, and other uses. The Seni must demonstrate to the humans why their cultural mores prohibit a treaty. Foster treats the Seni with compassion and respect, showing that primitive cultures are not necessarily destined for exploitation. A fascinating anthropological novel with complex characters that belongs in all sf collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.