Nor Crystal Tears

Nor Crystal Tears (1982) is a first contact novel written by Alan Dean Foster about the meeting of the insectoid Thranx and Man. This sets in motion the creation of the Humanx Commonwealth; the political body that is the union of human and thranx society which forms the foundation for many of Foster's science-fiction novels.

Nor Crystal Tears is written from the perspective of the Thranx and the cultural lens through which they encounter the monstrous, fleshy alien mammals known as humans. A primary theme is the paranoia and fear the two vastly different races naturally have for each other upon first contact, but also how individuals are able to overcome these innate fears and prejudices and set in motion the foundation for what would become Foster's Humanx Commonwealth.

Foster would further expand on this theme, using another (unrelated) alien race, the furry Quozl in their eponymous novel.

Nor Crystal Tears was published August 12, 1982 and is Foster's ninth book set in the Humanx Commonwealth. Given that Foster's first novel, The Tar-Aiym Krang was also his first novel set in the Humanx Commonwealth, Nor Crystal Tears both celebrates the tenth anniversary of his Humanx Commonwealth and his career as an author.