Rating: 
Summary: Another good reading
Review: I thought it was kind of scary. The thought of men creating better men... and those better men creating an even better one... wo, major wo. I liked the science part... the fiction part is OK. There is a part where the book becomes a little slow, but afterwards you cannot stop. Overall: a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: The BEST!!
Review: Nancy Kress takes her imagination to new heights with this one. I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting ideas, and this premise of the Sleepless certainly fits the bill. A definite MUST READ for any fan of fiction or science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Great food for thought
Review: Nancy Kress has written a solid piece of speculative fiction that grapples with some heady questions. First, how do we have an egalitarian society when not everyone is born equal? Second, how do we balance the needs of the community with the needs of the individual? In Kress' novel, the outsiders are the Sleepless--humans who have been genetically altered such that they require no sleep and, as a side effect, naturally regenerate their tissues such that they are practically immortal. Kress' vision of how the inevitable conflict between the Sleepless and the Sleepers plays out is not a pretty one. The Sleepless face discrimination, verbal harassment, and physical harassment that sometimes leads to murder. In defense, most of the Sleepless join a "defensive" community called Sanctuary. Unfortunately, the leadership of the community is willing to sacrifice everything and everyone for the good of the group and creates its own brand of discrimination and violence. This book could be quite depressing, but I wasn't depressed when I finished it. There are several key characters who never give up hope that humans can learn to live together despite their differences and Kress throws us an occasional plot bone such that we don't think these characters are entirely crazy for maintaing their optimism. There isn't a lot of character development. In most cases Kress builds types and moves them around like game pieces, but since characters aren't really the point of this speculative ficiton, I could forgive this. Overall, a good and thought-provoking read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea, but w/ plot and character problems
Review: Overall, I liked the idea, and the way it was developed - particularly the interactions between the Sleepless and their Sleeper counterparts. Unfortunately, the characterization was lacking. Few of the Sleepless are distinguishable from one another, except those with severe psychological problems (like Richard). When they speak, they all speak in the same, perfect, preachy didactic tone that wants to make you scream, "People don't TALK like that!" Kress' heavy-handed exposition in spots, particularly near the end, doesn't help. The motivations of Jennifer Sharifi and those who follow her were poorly drawn out. Sharifi's inner conflict over how she ran Sanctuary seemed shallow and contrived - we didn't see enough of her internal struggle over such seemingly despicable decisions as ordering an injured Super Sleepless to be executed because of an acquired deformity. And Leisha Camden - who starts out as a wonderful wandering child, trying to find a stake in the ground for her unique philosophy of life - quickly becomes marginalized, so that for the last half of the book she is no more than an ornament. It is a waste of potential far greater than any of the Livers display.
Rating:
Summary: Something I haven't seen for some time in SF.
Review: Kress starts out with a minimal "change" to the world as we know it: What if there were people who don't need to sleep? She then explores the consequences on different levels: The personal relationship between one of the "sleepless" and her "sleeper" sister is protrayed as well as the racial hate the sleepers feel for the "superior" sleepless. On the other hand, the political consequences are shown, as no longer "all men are created equal". Well-protrayed characters, fascinating story, and lots of food for thought, the book has it all. The only disappointing thing is the end: Some of the themes are too grand to be dealt with fully in the book. But: The "Beggars in Spain" cycle will continue, and I've ordered the sequel. Highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: A fine book; not just man vs superman
Review: I think there were truly some superb pages toward the end of the book, especially those studying the Sleepless Norms' changes to the Declaration of Independence, in their bid to declare independence. Some of the thinking is quite timely, in our current Republican-dominated universe: do those who have abilities and wealth really owe anything at all to those who don't? Despite their genetic enhancement and advancement, the Sleepless are rather rigid and linear in their thinking; they're limited by an inability to dream; they aren't interested in art. The Supers are in turn superior to the Sleepless, and their presence within Sanctuary allows the reader to reexamine the issue again in a nonlinear light. Authoritarian isolated monocultures are found to be unstable and dangerous, which is basically true. Beggars may have potential, as in the famous Milton line: 'They also serve, who only stand and wait.' We do need to preserve some compassion; rather than seceding from the mess, we need to be there, because we must. So, there is some nice coherence and thought toward the end; there are some early and mid-sections that drag, but in general it reads better than most SF. It would make a good discussion book on the late high school-early college level. I enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy successor to Huxley
Review: Nancy Kress's BEGGARS IN SPAIN, is, IMO, the best SF novel of its kind since BRAVE NEW WORLD. Certainly it's one of the most thoughtful to tackle the subject of DNA manipulation in humans in many years. Her eye for story + character is wonderful, as well as for the large & small details of her future world. I'd recommend this SF novel to people who don't usually like the genre. She covers the subject matter much more thoroughly & realistically than the film GATTACA, which owes more than a little to the sibling-rivalry theme in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Well, it didn't make blood flow out of my ears.
Review: Entertaining dreck. A dandy book for bus stops and a fine book to be left there once finished. If you're feeling a bit more lucid, and you're hell bent on reading a 'man versus superman' novel, may I suggest Olaf Stapledon's 'Odd John' or 'Sirius'. That is all. Carry on. Chop, chop
Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Couldn't it it down!
Review: A very detailed thurough expose of many social-political topics. Specifically prejudice/fear against a preceived inferiorness as well as prejudice/fear of a preceived superiorness. Kress adds alot of intersting twist along the way and perhaps a rather ironic table turning ending for the socitial group that is preceived as being superior. Implied throughout the entire book is a good expose of both sides of the arguements pro & Con of genetic research and just how far should it go... In Kress' world the genetists are so wound up with their new toy, gene manipulation, that they stopped to ask if they should be doing this... not to mention fully exploring all effects of their research on humans. Kress explores many ramifications of altered human genes and their social/political impacts on society as a whole. One of the most intriging, thought provking books I have read in a long time. I highly recommend it
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating novel, that explores many controversial topics
Review: Beggars in Spain is a rarity: a science fiction novel that simultaneously explores a number of issues in the spheres of science and politics, and yet that still has time for plausible character development and a "can't put it down" story line.
Incidentally, it's sequel, "Beggars and Choosers" is just as good... although I would not recommend reading it without reading "Beggars in Spain" first.
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