Alan Dean Foster has a series (Humanx Commonwealth) starting with Midworld. No special machines in the first 4.
Cachelot is excellent and is about sentient space cetaceans after forming a treaty with humans.
Midworld is basically Avatar.
Nor Crystal Tears is about the Thranx side of meeting Aliens (humankind) in first contact.
Sentenced to Prism is about the concepts of non-carbon life forms.
Must books cover elements of humanity and what is humanity.
I'm an atheist because I went to a Catholic school and have seen enough to know sky fairies aren't real and it's a pretty good scam to make money.