Subject: Prograde Reviews--Nancy Kress:Beggars In Spain

From: [email-masked] (Aaron V. Humphrey)
Date: 8 Jun 1994 19:15:39 GMT

Nancy Kress: Beggars In Spain

A Prograde Review by Aaron V. Humphrey

How many times have you thought to yourself, "I could get so much more done
if only I didn't have to sleep"?

In _Beggars In Spain_, genetic manipulation has made it possible to make
this adjustment in unborn children, removing the need to sleep and any
detrimental effects of prolonged wakefulness; in addition, they become
virtually immortal.  The Sleepless soon get a tremendous advantage over
their Sleeper competitors, and prejudice begins to spring up.

The book focuses mostly on Leisha Camden, one of the first Sleepless.  She
is born with a twin sister Alice who, unmodified and unplanned-for, is a
mere Sleeper.  She becomes one of the few Sleepless who does not retreat
into the haven of Sanctuary, and remains in occasional contact with Sleeper
society.

The recurring theme of the book asks the question, "How much do the more
capable owe the less capable?"  The majority of Sleepless decide that they
owe nothing to the Sleepers who are capable of so much less; Leisha, who
disagrees, remains with the "Beggars".  The subrace of Supers, an even more
intelligent engineered offshoot of the Sleepless, begin to disagree with
the rest of the Sleepless.

Everything comes to a head when Sanctuary, an orbiting satellite, declares
itself independent from the United States...

This is a great book -- it has engaging characters, a gripping plot (in fact,
several gripping plots for the various sections of the book), extrapolation
of concepts that is the hallmark of grand SF, and it asks some pointed
questions.

About the only annoying thing about the book is that it takes some
concentration to keep track of what is referred to by "Sleepers" vs.
"Sleepless".  The words are just too similar, and one has to stop and parse
them every time they come up, to remember which is which.  But that's
extremely minor.

Out of the four Hugo-nominated novels I've read so far, this is definitely
the top.

%A Kress, Nancy
%T Beggars In Spain
%I Avon
%C New York
%D April 1993
%G ISBN 0-688-12189-6
%P 438 pp
%O Hardcover

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