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dreamofbookspines's review against another edition
5.0
An unnamed human who shifts fluidly between genders, this is a world where humans can change bodies on the regular, designing their new ones and leaving the old husks behind as easily as waking. The cover of this book is as colorful as the interior, and as beautiful. The slang is great. An incredible sci-fi masterpiece that I've read over and over again.
Estimated first read between 1999 and 2003.
Estimated first read between 1999 and 2003.
luxuryofsorrow's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
diesmali's review against another edition
3.0
An enjoyable read. A quite different and curious society opens up for a lot of interesting ideas. Could have gone a fair bit deeper, but it was still good.
deirdrekoala's review against another edition
5.0
[b:Biting the Sun|373009|Biting the Sun|Tanith Lee|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320466660s/373009.jpg|362927] comes very close to [b:The Diamond Age|827|The Diamond Age|Neal Stephenson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320415915s/827.jpg|2181158] as my new favorite science fiction novel. It took me awhile to get used to the world (a rather fascinating, hedonistic utopia/dystopia), but the unnamed narrator's voice is so strong, and her character so clear, that the novel drew me in right away.
sidhe's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
egoubet's review against another edition
5.0
The most underrated science fiction book!
I don't think my Uncle read the book's description at all back when he gave me this for Christmas long ago when I was 12 years old in seventh grade. I remember devouring it and thinking it was the wildest story I had ever heard. Probably too mature for me at that point but I sure didn't care. I read it several times throughout high school and then it has sat on a bookshelf for years collecting dust.
I picked it up again recently on a whim and once again felt like it was the wildest story I have ever heard. We think that making things easy is the secret to happiness. That a world full of only pleasure, no pain, will finally bring contentment. Tanith Lee argues, quite convincingly, that what makes life meaningful is not just pleasure, but pain and struggling. The challenge of life itself is what makes it so sweet. Having everything handed to us on a silver platter may not be as wonderful as it seems.
Devoured it in one day and think I'll make it a yearly read now.
I don't think my Uncle read the book's description at all back when he gave me this for Christmas long ago when I was 12 years old in seventh grade. I remember devouring it and thinking it was the wildest story I had ever heard. Probably too mature for me at that point but I sure didn't care. I read it several times throughout high school and then it has sat on a bookshelf for years collecting dust.
I picked it up again recently on a whim and once again felt like it was the wildest story I have ever heard. We think that making things easy is the secret to happiness. That a world full of only pleasure, no pain, will finally bring contentment. Tanith Lee argues, quite convincingly, that what makes life meaningful is not just pleasure, but pain and struggling. The challenge of life itself is what makes it so sweet. Having everything handed to us on a silver platter may not be as wonderful as it seems.
Devoured it in one day and think I'll make it a yearly read now.
greeniezona's review against another edition
4.0
One of the books I read in 2010, when I got horribly behind on reviewing and recording books. I had read a large excerpt from this book in my Gendering class in college and always intended to find the book and read the rest of it. I finally did. Many interesting ideas about gender, society, the value of work and the land.
ansate's review against another edition
4.0
Love love the world building, but it is strangely heteronormative for such a gender fluid society.[return][return][return]SPOILER, MILD[return][return][return][return]ends with some Nice Guy bullshit that I could really have done without.
sylyons's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I could give this a 3.5. I liked it but it wasn't 4 enough for me. I found the beginning of the book a little slow. Which is weird because the pace of the book is not that slow. But I felt that the narration of the main characters dragged out a little too much. I understand that the author was portraying the society of that time but I didn't think there needed to be that much.
It got a lot more interesting towards the middle of the first book and into the second book. It really showed how she was doing what she wanted to do regardless of what the Q-R were telling her. She decided to go with what she liked and not what the government was telling her to like. Very Wall-E.
Then when she started growing her garden, it got a lot more interesting. How she was learning to grow a garden to make the desert bloom and the different types of people that were wanting to join here, away from the city. Initially, I wasn't quite sure how to feel about the 3 Older androids and the confrontation. I felt like there would have been more conflict but the more I thought about it, it made a little more sense. The robots weren't sure how to handle the situation and decided to be passive aggressive about it. When that didn't work, they sent spies but that didn't work. And they gave up. Because they didn't have any other plans they may have stopped but I felt that they would have continued because it seems that the people at the Garden were definitely not wanted. Especially when more were showing up by the end of the book.
I did like the resolution between, the narrator and Hetta. He was persistent and had the patience for her to realize what he was feeling for her.
Overall, it was a good book and I enjoyed reading. I didn't think it needed to be in two books though.
It got a lot more interesting towards the middle of the first book and into the second book. It really showed how she was doing what she wanted to do regardless of what the Q-R were telling her. She decided to go with what she liked and not what the government was telling her to like. Very Wall-E.
Then when she started growing her garden, it got a lot more interesting. How she was learning to grow a garden to make the desert bloom and the different types of people that were wanting to join here, away from the city. Initially, I wasn't quite sure how to feel about the 3 Older androids and the confrontation. I felt like there would have been more conflict but the more I thought about it, it made a little more sense. The robots weren't sure how to handle the situation and decided to be passive aggressive about it. When that didn't work, they sent spies but that didn't work. And they gave up. Because they didn't have any other plans they may have stopped but I felt that they would have continued because it seems that the people at the Garden were definitely not wanted. Especially when more were showing up by the end of the book.
I did like the resolution between, the narrator and Hetta. He was persistent and had the patience for her to realize what he was feeling for her.
Overall, it was a good book and I enjoyed reading. I didn't think it needed to be in two books though.
lacunaboo's review against another edition
4.0
This is actually a series of two books included in one volume: Don't Bite the Sun, and Drinking Sapphire Wine.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first book better than the second. Lee created a very colorful and strange world here, and she throws the reader right into it without any introduction or warning. As a result, it takes a good long while for you to stop thinking, "What the HELL is going on here?!" Once you get the hang of it, though, you're kind of hooked.
I admired the tone of the first book. It relates the tale of a person (sometimes in a female body, sometimes male) who has become disillusioned with the hedonistic way of life provided in the cities of the Fours. Is life getting boring despite all of the available ways to delight your senses? Go ahead and kill yourself, you can personally design the body you next inhabit right away. Want to have love with somebody without tying yourself down? Get married for just an afternoon, freeing yourself up for other lovers afterwards.
Our protagonist (whose name we never actually learn) doesn't even quite realize what the problem is for some time, but understands only that something is missing. That something turns out to be any sort of meaningful connection to other living beings, or perhaps any meaning to life itself.
The second book tells of the beginning of a resistance to that way of life. It wasn't bad, but didn't seem to hold quite the same tone as the first book, and didn't take things far enough for my liking. In the end, though, this story emphasizes that it's what's inside that counts - an admirable point.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first book better than the second. Lee created a very colorful and strange world here, and she throws the reader right into it without any introduction or warning. As a result, it takes a good long while for you to stop thinking, "What the HELL is going on here?!" Once you get the hang of it, though, you're kind of hooked.
I admired the tone of the first book. It relates the tale of a person (sometimes in a female body, sometimes male) who has become disillusioned with the hedonistic way of life provided in the cities of the Fours. Is life getting boring despite all of the available ways to delight your senses? Go ahead and kill yourself, you can personally design the body you next inhabit right away. Want to have love with somebody without tying yourself down? Get married for just an afternoon, freeing yourself up for other lovers afterwards.
Our protagonist (whose name we never actually learn) doesn't even quite realize what the problem is for some time, but understands only that something is missing. That something turns out to be any sort of meaningful connection to other living beings, or perhaps any meaning to life itself.
The second book tells of the beginning of a resistance to that way of life. It wasn't bad, but didn't seem to hold quite the same tone as the first book, and didn't take things far enough for my liking. In the end, though, this story emphasizes that it's what's inside that counts - an admirable point.