Biting the sun ebook

I purposefully Utopia: No death, no risk, no danger, no work, no money, just sheer comfort and fun and leisure forever. I purposefully picked this up after my latest Iain M. Banks, in order to explore a different take on utopian society.

The difference here is that the protagonist is deeply unhappy in the way that juveniles and adolescents are, but she truly doesn't fit in with the rest of her society. The first book, Don't Bite the Sun, is the weaker of the two because it feels like one very, very long drawn-out prologue -- but precisely because of that, it's necessary for what comes next. You have to see her trials and tribulations and false starts and flailing attempts to grasp meaning out of a life that has utterly lost meaning, and to gradually realise that there is no way out.

These attempts are what slowly make her more and more sympathetic and likeable, even in all her shallow, superficial airs and shenanigans. What starts off as youthful rebellion evolves into so much more.

She grows up. Which is where Drinking Sapphire Wine comes in, which is much stronger and plot-driven, and I strongly preferred it. I won't say much else, for fear of spoiling its developments, but it was very good -- the world-building throughout was strong and interesting, the voice witty and fun, and heartwrenching at times. And a note about the villain: view spoiler [The slow unveiling of the QRs -- the quasi-robots -- as the baddies was perfectly done, and plays right into genre tropes re: villainous AIs and the Hal-esque It's for your own good malice.

Moddik's reveal at the end honestly caught me offguard, though I should've seen it coming. Don't ever do that; it tempts some dark and evil force abroad in the universe. It gets cold in the desert at night, particularly up in the mountains; the stars hammer on the rock and strike frost. Danor and Kam sat close to each other, calm as could be, secure in their bond. I didn't feel jealous anymore, but a sort of hollow place had come in my heart, and notices stood on the bare sand of it which read: "Vacant, and never now to be filled.

It's rather neat. The Committee are responsible only for the error in my servicing, not for the bombs. I am responsible for placing the bombs, not for my malfunction. The right hand does not know what the left hand does, so neither hand is guilty. Two parts of a whole, independent of each other, yet they act perfectly as one.

But I digress. Maybe I should explain that the moment of my malfunction is several splits in the past, and the signals are already being issued. It will take exactly twelve splits more for them to penetrate the casings of the explosive and trigger the vital nerve. After which there will be something of a bang. View all 5 comments. Apr 26, Cheryl is busier irl atm. Really interesting to read just a week or so after Brave New World as they both explore enforced utopias.

In neither do we learn much about how this society developed, how it really works. Both are, of course, focused on one misfit. This is Really interesting to read just a week or so after Brave New World as they both explore enforced utopias. This is a much longer book with more interesting characters and is often entertaining.

The cover is kinda sorta It's not fantasy, and it's not really a 'girlie' book. Maybe better for younger folks though who can more likely empathize with the Jang and their prolonged adolescence. If you're interested, you really do want the omnibus. It's not too long or long-feeling, at least once you get past the first, ah, 60 pp or so. And so, if you're interested, I do recommend the pair.

If not, they're skippable. Loners need to be bossy. They quickly learn it's the only method they have of shoving people off their backs. View 1 comment. Jun 21, Sean rated it really liked it. In the far, far future, after most of the planet has been sucked dry, humanity lives in three colossal dome cities in the middle of the vast desert. There is no hunger, sickness or true death—suicide is a sport that has next-to-no consequences, since a new body of any shape, size or sex is always waiting.

Youth now lasts a century, and the disaffected young people now form a separate class in society: the eternally dilettante Jang, encouraged or required to be silly, selfish and profligate, to c In the far, far future, after most of the planet has been sucked dry, humanity lives in three colossal dome cities in the middle of the vast desert.

Youth now lasts a century, and the disaffected young people now form a separate class in society: the eternally dilettante Jang, encouraged or required to be silly, selfish and profligate, to change their bodies and their sex often, to sample every drug, food, music and sensation this hedonistic society has to offer, and never to think a serious thought or do anything that is not thoughtless and pleasurable.

But what if this existence chafes? What would such a society do to one of its own who threatens the cities' balance by trying to break free of the mold? I love how easily Lee can create depressed or unhappy characters without ever once saying so. Thus is the case with this book's heroine. The writing, as usual for Lee, was great, but again, as with most sci-fi I read, this wasn't for me. Sep 07, Rachel rated it liked it Shelves: high-fantasy , sff , dystopias-utopias.

Tanith Lee's books have this odd, undefinable, dream-like quality to them. They certainly have the same logic as most dreams, or at the very least feel as though they do. Biting the Sun, a science fiction dystopia in which the world is controlled by some form of robot and the majority of humans are encouraged to spend the entirety of their lives in blissful ignorance of the real realities of life and humanity there's a 'never growing up' metaphor that isn't quite a metaphor throughout the book Tanith Lee's books have this odd, undefinable, dream-like quality to them.

Biting the Sun, a science fiction dystopia in which the world is controlled by some form of robot and the majority of humans are encouraged to spend the entirety of their lives in blissful ignorance of the real realities of life and humanity there's a 'never growing up' metaphor that isn't quite a metaphor throughout the book , is no exception. It wasn't entirely to my taste I'm not much of a science fiction person , but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

A piece of advice - don't think about it too much. Just go along with it, like a dream. Nov 19, First Second Books added it Shelves: gina. This book has such a wonderful main character — though she has a desire for something greater in her life, for three-quarters of the book, she spends her time getting distracted from that by many shiny things — a new pet!

The author does such a good job humanizing her as a protagonist through that, because honestly, who really trusts a teenager who decides to ded This book has such a wonderful main character — though she has a desire for something greater in her life, for three-quarters of the book, she spends her time getting distracted from that by many shiny things — a new pet!

The author does such a good job humanizing her as a protagonist through that, because honestly, who really trusts a teenager who decides to dedicate their life to a greater something-or-other and then proceeds to focus on that to the exclusion of all else?

Nov 30, Kristen rated it liked it. This was a strange book but definitely a memorable one. I didn't think I liked it at first and I definitely didn't love it, but I did find my thoughts returning to it after I'd read it. It will be staying on my bookshelf for that reason plus admittedly, I'd be loath to get rid of it even so due to the lovely Kinuko Craft cover!

Jun 25, Sally rated it it was amazing Shelves: general-science-fiction , robots , dystopia. The questions becomes not whether they will find the answer they seek but whether society will let them. Characters in this world change appearance and gender on a whim. They get married and divorced within a week. There is a lot said here about sexual orientation, sex in general, gender identification, and so on.

But it can still be said that this book takes a lot of worthy chances by involving the idea of gender being transitory. The story also echoes the classic Brave New World , though from a slightly different angle. Where Huxley had an outsider appalled by what he witnessed in this supposed utopia, we have an insider who starts to see the sheen and glitter of their utopia tarnish. And in the most interesting way. Death is nothing in this world. Suicide is the norm, something people do so they can come back with a new body.

Yet our narrator suffers loses. The path she takes and most of her loses are suffered when she is in a female body makes it so she witnesses death in a very personal way. So that by the time we reach part two of the story, she is now a he and pursuing an entirely different way of life than those around him. As you can see, this book is hard to sum up. A future-world adventure with a narrator who starts out a shallow nuisance and becomes something their world has never seen before.

It has a rich plot and a great main character. Mar 24, Beth rated it liked it Shelves: sf-by-women , s-sff-by-women. Edit: added review for Drinking Sapphire Wine. Attlevey, oomas! What do you do when you grow tired of constant ecstasy? When every need is provided and all that's asked of you is your gratitude, and you're still filled with ennui and dissatisfaction?

Even your rioting and destruction seems expected of you, not dangerous at all, and doesn't provide the catharsis you're looking for. Maybe you should get a job? Try Edit: added review for Drinking Sapphire Wine.

Try out the arts? Have a child? Or impulsively join an archaeological expedition in the blazing desert outside your city-in-a-bubble. This short novel starts out tantalizingly weirdly, with strange language and cultural quirks with no explanation.

I had to skip back a couple of times to recall various events or characters because it was a little overwhelming. After a while it all settled in and was easy to follow, and I was able to sympathize with our unnamed main character's troubles in her glamorous, decadent world. The "disaffected youth" angle is not exactly original, and the revelation on the last page didn't seem to follow from anything that had come before it. However, the heroine's humorous, self-aware observation of her decisions and emotional state keeps things light, and there are hints of genuine affection between her and her "circle," and her and her stolen pet, which made for an oddly cozy feel.

I'm interested in seeing where the story goes in the second Four BEE novel published in this collected volume. Our unnamed heroine has done it this time.

She's been reading the materials in the Historical Library in Four BEE, started a duel, and as result committed the first crime in centuries.

The AI caretakers of the city decide to punish her by exiling her to the desert outside the protective walls. This and that happen, and our heroine half-accidentally, half by design, creates a green paradise outside the isolated dwelling the AIs have created for her. Her situation and her unique and, to be honest, unthinking revolt against Four BEE draw in other, voluntary exiles. There were a decent number of things that didn't work for me in this second half of the Four BEE duology.

The introduction of older Earth concepts to this now presumably post-apocolyptic utopia felt shoehorned in. After almost an entire book of episodic events that connected into an intriguing, weird whole, our author finally realizes that maybe we should have a plot, so there's a big explosive conflict, and then the the whole thing is capped off with one of the oldest SF chestnuts, the view spoiler [rebirth of Eden hide spoiler ].

On the whole, though, Biting the Sun is charming, and often mildly silly. The goofy animals, the heroine's self-aware and curious mindset, her exasperated dealings with those around her, all give the duology a humorous feel.

This isn't comedy in the Pratchett or Adams vein. It's less broad, and way less cynical, but definitely there, and for me it's the greatest source of the duology's appeal. Since this was a relatively early novel, I feel more indulgent of its flaws than I might otherwise have. It's tempting to move on immediately to Night's Master or one of the others of hers I haven't yet tried--and there are a lot! Jan 03, Kathryn rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction , sci-fi-fantasy.

All of the other books I've read by Tanith Lee have been so DARK, so it was refreshing to read something this light and fantastical with dark bits scattered throughout, of course.

This is actually a collection of two books, "Don't Bite the Sun" and "Drinking Sapphire Wine", but I'm glad that I read the collected edition, because I would have been extremely unsastisfied with the ending to the first book. I'm sure that was Lee's intention though; the entire story is about a character who can't f All of the other books I've read by Tanith Lee have been so DARK, so it was refreshing to read something this light and fantastical with dark bits scattered throughout, of course.

I'm sure that was Lee's intention though; the entire story is about a character who can't find any point to her perfect existance. The book is confusing at first, but it's in a style that I really admire when an author can pull it off.

The reader is basically thrown into a completely alien setting, with little to no explanations for anything: suicides as a fashion statement, BEE's, Older People and Jangs, with Jang slang there's a glossary of Jang slang at the beginning, but don't sweat it too much, the meanings are fairly clear anyway.

The first half of the book is like a fever dream, and I spent part of the time sympathising with the character for trying to find some meaning to life - which never makes her happy - and annoyance when she falls back on her old habits, knowing that they won't make her happy either. In the second half, the character manages in a few chapters to completely destroy her perfect life, and then spends the rest of the book putting it back together.

It was a little startling to see things coming together so well despite setbacks ; after reading the Scarabae trillogy, I'm more used to Lee's books being tragic, and slightly perverted. Oct 22, Angela rated it it was amazing. Probably the most original novel I've ever read. Tanith Lee has this wonderful way of drawing her readers into her world. She makes references to events and places, as if the audience is familiar with them, and she never provides too much background information.

As memories surface of his lifetime "in service" to Lord Darlington, and of his life between the wars, when the fate of the continent seemed to lie in the hands of a few men, he finds himself confronting the dark undercurrent beneath the carefully run world of his employer. Hailsham seems like a pleasant English boarding school, far from the influences of the city. Its students are well tended and supported, trained in art and literature, and become just the sort of people the world wants them to be.

But, curiously, they are taught nothing of the outside world and are allowed little contact with it. Never Let Me Go breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel. It is a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, and also a scathing critique of human arrogance and a moral examination of how we treat the vulnerable and different in our society.

In exploring the themes of memory and the impact of the past, Ishiguro takes on the idea of a possible future to create his most moving and powerful book to date. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased.

The first edition of the novel was published in , and was written by Tanith Lee. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of pages and is available in Paperback format.

The main characters of this fantasy, science fiction story are ,. The book has been awarded with , and many others. Please note that the tricks or techniques listed in this pdf are either fictional or claimed to work by its creator. We do not guarantee that these techniques will work for you. Some of the techniques listed in Biting the Sun may require a sound knowledge of Hypnosis, users are advised to either leave those sections or must have a basic understanding of the subject before practicing them.