July Books 16) Rogue Queen, by L. Sprague de Camp
A planet where human beings, for some reason, have started to behave like bees (as far as this is convenient for what the author wants to do with the plot): rival queens duel to the death in naked single combat, non-working males are brutally killed off, and the female workers who really keep things going are kept on a low-protein diet to prevent them from becoming fertile. Our subversive and intelligent heroine meets an expedition from Earth, eats meat for the first time and thus becomes a Real Woman; and society collapses into monogamy and nuclear families. I think there is some great analysis waiting to be done here.
I got this ages back from Arc Manor, who send a free ebook monthly to subscribers. I realised pretty early on that I would never have time to read them so I think this is the only one I have downloaded.
I got this ages back from Arc Manor, who send a free ebook monthly to subscribers. I realised pretty early on that I would never have time to read them so I think this is the only one I have downloaded.