I didn't mean to imply that. Indeed, Portia!
So if you love Portia, I recommend Peter Watts' Echopraxia and (for a full-length focus) Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time.
So if you love Portia, I recommend Peter Watts' Echopraxia and (for a full-length focus) Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-tim...
This book really made me realise (once again) how strange and wonderful good science-fiction can be.
It's absolutely amazing, I love how the author constructed a civilization of sentient, tool-using beings that's qualitatively different than humans. It's one of the most original books I've ever read, and it rekindled my interest in insects.
[digs up his copy]
Edit: Doh. I last read that so long ago that I'd forgotten that they were large spider-like beings :)
... and yes, they hop, so maybe Portia. But I don't recall that Vinge ever says so.