Don't Bite The Sun

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 (an 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.