Don't Bite the Sun

I first read this years ago, but still remember the world of "jang"(hedonistic teenagers) that is the focus of this book. The unnamed protagonist's journey to self-reliance is the ultimate rebellion against a society that encourages and rewards mindless pleasure-seeking, vanity and consumerism. The sequel, DRINKING SAPPHIRE WINE, is amusing, but not as good as DON'T BITE THE SUN. A classic in the sci-fi genre, no bookshelf should be without a copy.

I liked both of the books Don't bite the sun and drinking Sapphire wine, but I have to admit that I liked Don't bite the sun a little more. It dealed more with her struggle for identity and survival, and it brought across easier how someone who actually lived in that culture would think and feel. Every little detail was amazing, and Tanith Lee carries the story across like she actually vacationed in Four Bee , 4 boo, 4 Baa. At the end of the book, I felt like I had went there. This book is expertly planned out, not to mention incredibly witty. It had a very strong voice and I felt like I could hear the narrator speaking. Read this book, you have no idea how good it is.

Together with it's sequel, Drinking Sapphire Wine, this is one of the best books I've ever read. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where all work is performed by robots and androids, citizens are expected to spend their entire existance (which will last however long they want it to) sampling meaningless experiences and having fun. The predominiately female heroine (you can change your sex, body, appearance, etc. anytime you choose to) finds herself bored and searches for something that will give her life meaning. In the process, her discontent manages to alienate her from society, with its extremely rigid unwritten rules of behavior underlying an "anything goes" appearance. The robots (who are programmed to serve humanity's needs) are at first confused by her desire to do something important and ultimately threatened by her antisocial behavior. In the end, our heroine (we never learn her name) succeeds in escaping the sterile environment of the mega-city and recreates a new world for herself in the process. Tanith Lee (my all-time favorite author) offers a scathing satire of today's emphasis on fun and games, while writing a startlingly sensitive account of one woman's attempt to give her life meaning. You will be amazed by the simplistic beauty of Lee's writing, with prose that often reads like poetry. With just a few, well chosen words, she paints a vivid picture that you will never forget. Lee's style in these books is light and gay, fitting the world her heroine is expected to conform to. The ultimate message of the books lurks palpably just below the surface of the words, waiting for the reader to discover it.

The first Tanith Lee book I've read that matches up to her epic "The Birthgrave" in terms of quality, in overall style it couldn't be more different. The storyline concerns an enormous, sanitized, hyper-futuristic, domed city called Four-BEE and its "jang" (roughly the equivalent of teen-agers) residents, who are very cliquish and are able to change bodies and/or sex on a whim if they so desire. They are unable to die, so a quick way to get a new body (there is an imposed time-limit on how long one must remain in one body) is merely to commit suicide, get taken to "Limbo", and choose a new body. Since the "jang" period of ones life lasts the equivalent of a hundred years or so, one can understand the despair and boredom felt by the protagonist (who is unnamed, and is both female and male in the course of the book). The book is told from his/her point of view, and has the feeling of a personal diary. A clever condemnation on the shallowness and sanitization of modern city life, it's also ripe with bright humour. Recommended.

well the future comes to this: man lives to enjoy himself & procreate.Nothing special happens in the main characters life so she embarks on a self discovery tour where she learns that there is more to existance than pleasure. our hero's sorounding is semi surreal.she commits suicide several times and is brought back in the inferno she changes her apperance & sex ( she runs out of suicidal credits and wants to die from boredom but that scares the shit of the supervisiors).She wants a child but cand find someone to be a good creator so as a male she/he donates sperm and it all explodes. this is only a small fraction of her quest for understanding but she learns at the end. although i read a translation into hebrew i liked the fact the the book has it's own slang ( dictionary included ). cool things happen throughout the book and you get to know our young & troubled hero. ( she doesn't have a name )