The Color of Neanderthal Eyes/and Strange at Ecbatan the Trees (Tor Double Novel No, 16)

Tom Jared is tired out from long months in space as the telepath in a first contact party. He picks a world that was only visited once long ago to take a vacation. He sets down on the half of the planet that is not inhabited. He soon discovers that it is inhabited by a very gentle humanoid amphibian species when one jumps in his little rubber raft. They are able to communicate telepathically. Tom soon learns that this creature's name is Kamir and that she is a female. She is very beautiful by human standards. Tom learns that she is considered ugly by her people because she is too skinny. They fall in love almost instantly. Tom and Kamir spent many days being together and traveling from island to island. Kamir thought that she would never find a husband because she was so ugly. She is very happy and so is Tom. All too soon Kamir's brother tracks them down and asks them to return to the village. I gave this book a 99 out of 100 on my personal ranking scale. The only point I took off was for the ending. This was such a wonderful story, I guess I wanted it to have a happier ending. But if it did, it might not be as great as it is. I really liked the love story themes. They are at many levels really. Tom falls in love first with Kamir, then her people and finally the entire planet. He breaks all the Federation's Rules of Contact in order to save them. The story is very short being only 76 pages long, but it feels so much longer. I find myself wishing that there was a part two.James Tiptree Jr. is a pen name for Alice B. Sheldon. She used a male name to get her Science Fiction Published. The appears to be an older story that was finally printed in 1990.