Story Search request, human adopted by aliens

[fch]

I probably read this between 1974 and 1978. It might have been in Analog Magazine, or Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, my parents subscribed. Might have been a short story, novella, or serialized novel. All I remember is that the protagonist was an adult human male that had been adopted by an alien race or maybe a guild within the alien race. I think the aliens looked down on humans, but this guy was maybe the only human to ever have been adopted or have honorary status. I think he had a specific patron among the aliens. Individuals of the alien race typically lived maybe several times longer than humans. The protagonist was adopted because of some service he had rendered, possibly saving a bunch of the aliens. One theme was the aliens built things to last, unlike humans building out of concrete. I seem to remember the aliens were strong and had claws that could just rip up concrete if they wanted to. It's possible the aliens had armored bodies. The human protagonist might have gotten wounded and the plot involved the patron going to extreme lengths to save the human. That's all I can remember, and most of this is pretty foggy and I might be mixing up memories. I know this is a long shot. Thanks for any help.

 

[Pyan]

Hi, fch, and welcome to the Chrons!

Your description reminds me of this: Way of the Pilgrim - Gordon R. Dickson, but it may be a bit too recent (and large!).

Other people will probably be along with a better idea...

 

[fch]

Thanks pyan. Yeah, too recent.