Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, but not rereading
Review: A good friend sent me Beggars in Spain about a year ago, and I enjoyed it, but not enough for a reread. Kress is an entertaining writer, but she does not always give her characters the depth that they ask for, and I found her science to be less than believable at times. She falls to the trap of many science fiction writers and treats science more like magic in a fantasy book than like real science. It just happens. There aren't any magic wands, but there might as well be for the ease with which the characters tinker with genetics. A certain amount of suspension of belief is definitely required, but even then my logical side nagged at me as I read the book. Perhaps my quibble with the science of the book would not be so large if the characters and plot had been more engaging. Amusing, yes, interesting, yes, a good way to occupy a few hours, yes. But at the end of it all, I was left with that telltale feeling of disappointment and longing, as if the author could have done a lot more with her plot and characters. I cannot help but compare the book to Octavia Butler's excellent "Wind Seed," for their basic plots, if not their settings, are very similar. In "Wild Seed," the characters are so engaging and fascinating that whatever faulty logic may have existed was made nonexistant in the face of the conflict between two superhuman beings. "Beggars in Spain" tried, but failed, to do the same. If you read voraciously as I do, this is a good way to occupy a couple of hours. However, if you read less often I'd suggest you go for something with better quality than this, something that is great, not just okay.
Rating: 
Summary: A great work by a great author
Review: I was very impressed with Nancy Kress's "Beggars in Spain." The characters, the story, and the entire world created by Kress are an exciting look into the true nature of the human race. Kress pays quite a bit of attention to detail in creating the fictional world of Leisha Camden. Just the extent of technological development was amazing to me. She also developed her characters very well. The politics and conflict between the Sleepless and the Sleepers was very believable. I would recommend this book to anyone with an active imagination and an eye for detail. It's also a great read for anyone who ever wondered what it would be like to not have to sleep. Overall, I'd say this is one of the best books I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: For some... not others
Review: I'm not really a sci-fi fan, but a friend of mine bought it for me because he knew that I'll read just about anything. For me, personally... this book was okay. I felt as if some parts dragged on... the last 1/4 of the book I found really interesting. In conclusion, I think this book would appeal more to some people than others.
Rating:
Summary: ORBITING PARANOIA
Review: Here's that overused phrase again, brilliantly plotted. BEGGARS in SPAIN is a transcendental novel. Her ideas circle your cortex and bring you back to where you started, a little smarter. Perhaps, like the SuperSleepless in the story you begin to think in strings instead of circles.
I thought of BRAVE NEW WORLD REVISTED as a title. Kress takes the utopian thinking of the new class of Sleepless and brings it back to earth. Everyone knows that conflict is at the heart of all drama. Kress gives you a second helping of conflict with this nail biter of a story. Conflict so tense it reminds you of the Cuban Missile Crisis. There is a point near the end where both sides in this battle could go up in mutual annihilation.
Her treatment or use of lucid dreaming is beyond the pale. That the mentally defunct megalomaniac, Drew, could contribute a whole new dimension of thought to the world, and thereby, save the world is transcendental in scope. Hidden in the story is a philosophy that reminds one of Ayne Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. But here Kress puts the brakes on much of the B.S. Rand peddled. Kress shows how fallacious the slogan, "only the productive are fully human." You'll come away agreeing that the status of being human can only be achieved with great effort. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: A people divided.
Review: In the near future biological advances allow parents to choose certain biological traits for their impending children, one of which is sleeplessness. At the outset, this "child upgrade" is highly sought after. Parents soon realize that the amount of work involved in raising a child who never sleeps is astronomical; it also takes a high psychological and physical toll on both parties.
Once grown, the first group of sleepless is seen as a boon to society. Their advancements in science and economics are hailed as miracles. As more and more sleepless grow the "sleepers" start to realize that they are going to have to compete with a group that many see as having an unfair advantage. A schism starts to form in society between the sleepers and the sleepless.
The novel follows mainly the Camden sisters- twins, Liesha and Alice. Liesha is a genetically altered sleepless who's birth was planned. However, another egg is fertilized accidentally during the pregnancy. Alice is the product of that accident; she is a completely unaltered sleeper. Envy and animosity abound on both sides.
Nancy Kress has a real gift for characterization. One of the best parts on this novel is the incredible people and their realistic interaction.
It took me two weeks to read the first 80 pages and only three day to read the last 320. It takes awhile to warm-up but it is worthwhile. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves great writing, not only sci-fi.
Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST series of any genre!
Review: I am stunned by the naysayers, below, on this series. I thought it was absolutely BRILLIANT!
As an author who makes a point of reading award-winning fiction of many genres, this is at the top of my list, which includes thrillers (Grisham) and mysteries.
People who criticize this must be strict scientist/SF'ers, who've I've discovered from attending a number of CONs are overly critical.
If you're an average reader, this trilogy is brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: In the not-so-distant future, it becomes possible to genetically engineer children. This is the story of one such child built to the specifications of her wealthy industrialist father, Leisha Camden, who is beautiful, blonde, intelligent, and who does not need to sleep. The story follows Leisha's growing up in an America that gradually grows to hate and resent Leisha and her peers. Leisha is one of the most three-dimensional characters I have ever read, and I agonized with her over the moral decisions she was forced to make. Calls into question everyone's rights as citizens and human beings. Was there ever a good decision made by committee? Is any man good enough to govern another without their consent? Like Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, but without the mind-numbing twenty-page speeches. Every time I read this novel, I get something different from it. A perennial favorite, I cannot recommend it enough if you like a good moral dilemma.
Rating: 
Summary: Shoddy science and flat characters
Review: I first read `Beggars in Spain' six or seven years ago and I enjoyed it then. I've found that the better stories age well; come back a few years later and they still engage your heart and your mind. This is one of those stories. Nancy Kress illustrates a fast approaching issue - the impact of genetic engineering - with well-drawn characters in realistic situations. The premise is science has learned how to engineer humans such that they no longer need to sleep. Obviously, the "sleepless" have a huge advantage over the "sleepers," and Kress explores the chasm that develops between the two classes of humans. Not to give away the story, but the "sleepless" have additional gifts that notch up the intensity significantly. My only complaint is that the story seems to run out of gas toward the end. Kress has ably developed the issues, but doesn't bring the plot to a definitive climax. Nevertheless, `Beggars in Spain' is an excellent story, one that will stay with you over the years.
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