The novel Bite the Sun and it's sequel Drinking Sapphire Wine were combined into the volume Biting the Sun.

Don't Bite the Sun

The unnamed protagonist of this novel is a young woman in a society where everything is taken care of and the young are expected, and obliged, to be frivolous and irresponsible. But what about those who want more?

This could be considered a coming of age novel, or perhaps even a dystopia. Everyone knows their place and the committee of benevolent androids oversees their behaviour and lives to make sure it alls goes as it should.

The main character tries to find meaning in her life, by looking for useful work (there is none), having a child (this too fails) and finally by exploring the planet outside the cities. In the end though, the closest thing she can find to happiness is dancing in the wild with her pet.

The main character has matured somewhat since the first novel, but still doesn't fit in. Her friends find her disturbing and confusing, and are often involved in arguments with her. When she accidentally becomes the first murderer in living memory she is exiled from the cities for the term of her life.

What she does with her desert exile, and what she learns about herself outside of the antiseptic confines of the city, are what makes this a most intriguing story of survival and love.