Biting the Sun: A Novel
In a world dedicated to pleasure, one young rebel sets out on a forbidden quest. Published for the first time in a single volume, Tanith Lee's duet of novels set in a hedonistic Utopia are as riveting and revolutionary as they were when they first appeared two decades ago.
It's a perfect existence, a world in which no pleasure is off-limits, no risk is too dangerous, and no responsibilities can cramp your style. Not if you're Jang: a caste of libertine teenagers in the city of Four BEE. But when you're expected to make trouble—when you can kill yourself on a whim and return in another body, when you're encouraged to change genders at will and experience whatever you desire—you've got no reason to rebel . . . until making love and raising hell, daring death and running wild just leave you cold and empty.
Ravenous for true adventures of the mind and body, desperate to find some meaning, one restless spirit finally bucks the system—and by shattering the rules, strikes at the very heart of a soulless society. . . .
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Community Reviews
What can I say other than groshing ooma, absolutely groshing
okay, maybe I can add just a bit more....
This book came very close to ending up on my "did not finish" list.
If it hadn't come with such high recommendations and fervent insistence that I read it, I would have given up early.
But I'm glad I didn't.
I've come off of reading space operas with sweeping epic story lines. Or at least sci fi books where the fate of worlds of even universes rests on the leading character.
This book is different. It's almost more of a slice of life book. There's a little more going on than just that, but large parts of it are just the protagonist (who isn't named) doing their day to day thing. There isn't some big evil world ending enemy. And the people in this book live sheltered lives where suicide can be either a hobby and a way to get a new body. So their lives aren't generally in mortal danger. So in the first page sof this book I found myself thinking "blah blah blah, you're spoiled, immortal, and bored... I get it.. and I don't care".
And then a little deeper in and i was thinking "okay, I care a little".
That's when I just kinda relaxed, and stopped expecting anything momentous to happen and just enjoyed.
If you can relax and just enjoy the story as it unfolds at a leisurely pace, this story will pull you in over time. And it has what I thought was a nice satisfying conclusion.
Oh, and the slang is jarring at first and feels forced in the beginning. But by the end it feels natural, and it actually plays a part in the story. And as a bit of evidence on how well it works, I'm writing this review a bit over a week after finishing the book and i'm still finding myself using the slang terms from the book in my inner thoughts, how zaradann is that oomas?
okay, maybe I can add just a bit more....
This book came very close to ending up on my "did not finish" list.
If it hadn't come with such high recommendations and fervent insistence that I read it, I would have given up early.
But I'm glad I didn't.
I've come off of reading space operas with sweeping epic story lines. Or at least sci fi books where the fate of worlds of even universes rests on the leading character.
This book is different. It's almost more of a slice of life book. There's a little more going on than just that, but large parts of it are just the protagonist (who isn't named) doing their day to day thing. There isn't some big evil world ending enemy. And the people in this book live sheltered lives where suicide can be either a hobby and a way to get a new body. So their lives aren't generally in mortal danger. So in the first page sof this book I found myself thinking "blah blah blah, you're spoiled, immortal, and bored... I get it.. and I don't care".
And then a little deeper in and i was thinking "okay, I care a little".
That's when I just kinda relaxed, and stopped expecting anything momentous to happen and just enjoyed.
If you can relax and just enjoy the story as it unfolds at a leisurely pace, this story will pull you in over time. And it has what I thought was a nice satisfying conclusion.
Oh, and the slang is jarring at first and feels forced in the beginning. But by the end it feels natural, and it actually plays a part in the story. And as a bit of evidence on how well it works, I'm writing this review a bit over a week after finishing the book and i'm still finding myself using the slang terms from the book in my inner thoughts, how zaradann is that oomas?
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