I of the Sun: A Journey into Southeast Asia and the Heart of Consciousness

Cold outside, early spring, the Sun barely above the horizon. I lay there for a few moments in the dead calm of dawn, dark shadows unfurling in the silence. After a lifetime of waiting, the day had finally come. This was it. I was leaving today. Alone into the world. I lay still for a moment, surprised at how calm I felt, not nervous or excited as I thought I'd be. I felt nothing. Just a quiet acceptance, a readiness for action. Just for a moment. Then I got up. The time is now.

In terms of your place in the world, it's your actions that define you. Every moment of your life you are always, necessarily doing something. And so the question is – why do you do what you do?

A young man travels on a one-way ticket to Southeast Asia to find out, in search of freedom and everything that comes with it. Free from responsibility, free from others, free from himself. He discovers paradise islands and electric cities, and gets hooked on crazy liquor, cheap pills, loose women and easy living. Navigating through a jungle of butterflies and ladyboys, socio-narcotic minefields, hustlers, mafia, mad men and mystics, he surfs the line between reality and imagination, sanity and madness, and life and death itself.

I of the Sun also voyages through many areas of philosophy, science and history, to discover whether or not we truly have free will – and if we do, then how do we control ourselves?

At turns hilarious and horrifying, beautiful and ugly, Richard Arthur's debut novel takes you on an epic journey following the Sun around Southeast Asia and into the very heart of human consciousness, in this literary and philosophical tour de force. It will appeal to fans of travel writing, particularly male readers who enjoy a party lifestyle.