Golden Witchbreed

Novel by Mary Gentle.

Golden Witchbreed tells a first-contact story from the point of view of Lynne Christie, a diplomat from Earth to the planet Orthe. In Golden Witchbreed's universe, Earth politics are quite complicated, ftl travel is recent, and there are thousands or millions of populated planets, just being contacted by Earth, which is creating a sort of trade empire. Christie is a representative of (I think) the British government.

Christie becomes embroiled in local politics... (fill this out later)

(include some themes and links to other books with those themes or characteristics: anthropologists, first contact, cultural change, memory, immortality, gender, gender-switching, strong female protagonist, hardsf, genetic engineering, oppression, tensions around tech and hi tech and resistance to technological change )

The sequel to Golden Witchbreed is Ancient Light.