The Bees

Flora 717 is the narrator and heroine of this story. She is a bee, born a member of the lowest rank in society, the sanitation workers who must work tirelessly to keep the hive clean. But Flora 717 is not like the rest of her caste, she is big and strong and whilst they are mute she has the power of speech. Narrowly missing being killed for being a mutant, she is instead selected by the ruling class to help feed the babies and later is allowed the supreme honour of foraging for nectar.

In writing this novel, the author has creatively imagined the whole world of the bee right down to the smallest detail. Not only do we learn about their hierarchy and lifecycle, but their fears and joys. The joy of flying and foraging and returning with sacs full of pollen and the fear of invaders such as wasps and spiders.Dominating all is the worship and love of the Queen and the dominance of the Hive Mind in controlling all that they do. ACCEPT,OBEY and SERVE is their hive motto and mantra and one that the strong minded and ever curious Flora 717 must learn to live by.

There is some gorgeous writing in this book. I loved the description of the privileged male Drones carousing like medieval knights, gorging on honey and nectar in their hall and waited on by worker bees attending to their every whim. The struggle of the bees to survive a cold and lean winter was also heart wrenching and the concluding chapters are gripping and upifting.