I've heard a lot about Cherryh, but this is really the first book of hers I've read. She does a wonderful job of writing an alien society and encapsulating what it might mean to communicate with beings who look something like what we do. but don't think that way.
Well written, well handled and science fiction the way I like it - character driven, but with a serious consciousness of the philosophical issues inherent in the genre as well as an appreciation for the science in the fiction.