Review by Booklist Review
The sequel to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Beggars in Spain (1993) stands independently of it, despite taking Kress' story of both human and societal evolution several steps farther. The world is now divided into the nearly superhuman Sleepless, the genuine homo superior (the genetically engineered elites who do much of the work), and the virtually unemployable masses. Apart from the struggle for power and survival among the three groups, the novel's future U.S.A. faces the threat of uncontrolled nanotechnology. Kress's work remains strongly character driven, an approach that in her hands raises social-speculation sf to about as high a level as one can reasonably expect. ~--Roland Green
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This welcome sequel to Kress's acclaimed Beggars in Spain (which itself was based on a novella that in 1993 won both a Hugo and a Nebula) picks up 13 years after the events of the earlier book. The genetically engineered SuperSleepless-who need no sleep and have vastly increased cognitive powers-have established a protected island enclave where they can work on their beneficent plans for humanity away from the prying eyes of the genetic-purity police. Meanwhile, in the States, sharply divided into the ``Livers'' (who subsist on the dole but consider themselves aristocrats) and the ``donkeys'' (genetically enhanced, highly educated public servants who sneer at the Livers even as they support them), society's infrastructure is breaking down because the machines that feed, clothe and care for the Livers have stopped functioning. As conditions worsen, so do tensions between the donkeys and the Livers. Events are viewed through several characters who must confront the collapse of their society and (perhaps) the birth of another. Kress takes an admirably complex look at controversial issues-genetic engineering, the distribution of wealth and power, racism and political hatred-while offering no easy answers. Based on the real possibilities of genetic modification, nanotechnology and current social and economic trends, her latest novel isn't merely an excellent and thoughtful work of science fiction but is also an important commentary on some of the key issues we'll be facing in the next century. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
As a byproduct of their genetic mental enhancements, the Sleepless neither sleep nor age. For those reasons, they are reviled by the unmodified majority of humans. Yet in a world of overpopulation, chronic joblessness, environmental depletion, and uncontrolled plagues of nanotechnological origin, the Sleepless may hold the key to humanity's salvation-if only they can be persuaded to come out of their self-imposed hiding. Kress's sequel to Beggars in Spain (LJ 3/15/93) fearlessly addresses a host of ethical quandaries while simultaneously relating a vivid tale of people trapped by their biological destinies. Most libraries should purchase this title. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
YAA futuristic fantasy that is frighteningly close to life as we know it. What is the morality of empowerment? In this thought-provoking novel, the genetically enhanced may have the ability to choose for all of usby giving us all the ability to choosebut do they have that right? Using a variety of viewpoints, Kress simultaneously develops characters and theme while maintaining a plot that hums like a high-tension cable. The miracle is that this excitement is generated by readers' own moral confusion. Is Drew right to feel manipulated by his super-intelligent lover, whose thought processes he can never truly understand? Which of Vicki's various moral stands is justifiable? Is there a workable future for Lizzie? For Miri? For Billy? The plot makes concrete the dilemmas inherent in a society where ``equality'' is no longer a possibility. Although this book is a sequel of sorts to Beggars in Spain (Morrow, 1993), it stands on its own and explores a new ethical swamp. Kress is unique in her daring charting of these moral morasses, and given YAs' fascination with morality, she is of particular interest to them. Beggars and Choosers will terrify, delight, enrage, and engage.Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the splendid Beggars in Spain (1993) Kress wondered what might happen if some people no longer needed to sleep. This sequel, with a depressing, written-to-order weariness, clambers aboard SF's current bandwagon, nanotechnology. In return for votes, gene- modified donkey politicians provide the unemployed masses of Livers with all the necessities. Meanwhile, the handful of SuperSleepless have retired behind impenetrable barriers on an artificial island in order to extend their already unimaginably advanced researches. As illegal and highly dangerous gene-modification labs spring up like weeds, a power struggle slowly develops among the government's ruthless Genetic Standards Enforcement Agency, the SuperSleepless (whose goals remain unknown), and fanatic fundamentalist revolutionaries, whose method is to capture illegal labs and use their often horrifying products against their opponents. So, as artificial viruses and nanomachines destroy the food, transport, and communication networks, and as lethal new diseases appear, the desperate Livers look for help to the godlike SuperSleepless, whose solution is to transform the entire human race. With plenty of new ideas but a plot deficiency, Kress's narrative dodges all the really tough questions to take refuge in windy patriotism. Measured by the author's own lofty standards, a grave disappointment.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
