Beggars in Spain (Sleepless, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

May 05, 2010 Kara Babcock rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2011-read, nebula-winner, posthuman, owned

I love to sleep. I prefer at least eight, preferably nine hours of sleep each night. Going to bed at midnight and waking up at nine in the morning is a perk of my madcap, Bohemian university student lifestyle that I will have to abandon once I become a stern, starched-collar high school teacher. For now, however, I like my sleep, and I will defend to the death my right to snore it. But if I did not need to sleep—had, in fact, grown up without ever knowing sleep—would I miss it? How would I be di ...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Sandi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, sci-fi, e-books

Beggars in Spain is exactly the kind of science fiction I love. It's about people and society and the impact of scientific breakthroughs. It explores the big questions of humanity, justice and prejudice. It did run a bit longer than it should have, but the ending was satisfying. The best thing about this novel is that it's a stand-alone. That's becoming so rare in SF&F that it's very refreshing. ...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf

A good piece of high concept science fiction, the kind that takes a Big Idea and explores its ramifications thoroughly. I've read some of Kress's short fiction, and one of her how-to books for writers, so it's interesting to watch her follow her own advice in a longer work. I feel like some characters and events got short shrift, but the scenes that did happen "on screen" filled in the blanks adequately. I think the beggars in Spain of the title were handled well in the first part of the book, t ...more

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Apr 12, 2011 Maree rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This story really felt like three in one with the three parts. I feel like I've already read the trilogy...what else could possibly happen? We've skipped through three generations, which is more than most trilogies tackle. But I suppose since (view spoiler) then it's not as big a deal to skip around the years.

The novel brings up a lot of issues such as jealousy and hate over something you don't quite understand in the beginning. It was real This story really felt like three in one with the three parts. I feel like I've already read the trilogy...what else could possibly happen? We've skipped through three generations, which is more than most trilogies tackle. But I suppose since (view spoiler) then it's not as big a deal to skip around the years.

The novel brings up a lot of issues such as jealousy and hate over something you don't quite understand in the beginning. It was really interesting to see how the views of the general public changed over the years, from jealousy and hate crimes over Sleepless ability to it not really making a difference because they're off floating somewhere in the sky. But shunning and hatred because other people are smarter or better isn't the way to go in my book. But of course, we have the inside view of the Sleepless and can relate to them because we see that they're like us. In books, people tend to assume they would have the same special abilities in fantasy and scifi books as the main characters (like Luke having the force, Harry having magic). But if we were actually Sleepers and the market was being cornered by Sleepless, how would we feel? I know if I went to school with someone who had the advantage of being able to study all night without that crash in the morning, I'd be not only jealous but resentful. But how does this really differ from people who are just smarter in general? They always are begrudged by people less intelligent than them. I think the difference with the Sleepless is that there is a clear line drawn in the sand, and no borderline that can be accepted. So in this way, I feel the novel was very honestly written in regard to people's reactions to the Sleepless.

I was intrigued about the way society worked in the second half of the novel with the Livers and the mules who got everything done. I was surprised that 80% of the population managed to be Livers; I didn't think they'd have enough money for it if they weren't doing anything. And I suppose it all eventually collapses, so fair enough. But I think this is very much the way society works today for the elite few who can buy their votes but care for nothing but their pleasure yacht races. It's just not 80% of the population.

Drew was an interesting character I didn't really know what to do with. I'm assuming he comes up more in later books, as he didn't seem to do much for the story here. Anyone could have learned the trick to make Miri and the others lucid dream; I'm not sure why it had to be someone close to the family.

I think the most interesting person was obviously Leisha and the way she stuck to her guns on law for so long before giving up. And Jennifer was just crazy about staying on top of everything. I had thought that she had a bunch of money growing up and was therefore never harmed or abused by Sleepers, so I'm not really sure what prompted her undisguised hatred of all Sleepers, aside from maybe Tony's death. But I thought she needed something a little more traumatizing to be so intensely out of control.

The thought strings for the supers were cool, and I liked their part in shutting down Jennifer, though I didn't really understand why they stood down at the end and needed Leisha's help in getting out when they had control of everything.

Lastly, for my random thoughts, I thought the beggar metaphor was used far too much throughout. If you name the book that, then we know it's significant, it doesn't need to keep being shoved into our faces. ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Daniel Roy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf, dystopia

What if we could engineer children that do not need to sleep? What advantages would they gain from this, and how would society at large react?

This is the mind-boggling idea that serves as the basis of "Beggars in Spain". The novel originally came out as a novella, included in its entirety in the novel as "Book One". This novella is the best kind of science fiction: it makes you dream, wonder, think. It makes you care about Leisha, a Sleepless girl, who grows up loved by her father while her Slee What if we could engineer children that do not need to sleep? What advantages would they gain from this, and how would society at large react?

This is the mind-boggling idea that serves as the basis of "Beggars in Spain". The novel originally came out as a novella, included in its entirety in the novel as "Book One". This novella is the best kind of science fiction: it makes you dream, wonder, think. It makes you care about Leisha, a Sleepless girl, who grows up loved by her father while her Sleeper twin sister, Alice, grows up in her shadow. Leisha's story, and her relationship with her sister, are awe-inspiring, and profoundly human, and Beggars in Spain is worth picking up if for Book One alone.

The greatness of Book One doesn't carry over into Books Two-Four, sadly. The last three quarters of the novel take place over the span of roughly a century, as we observe the gradual division of American society between Sleeper and Sleepless. The transition from Book One to Two is jarring: Leisha is no longer the POV character, and she gradually loses her central role in the events. By the end of the novel, she's just a bystander, growing old and cynical, left by the wayside of history. Book Two still has some redeeming qualities despite introducing a lot of new characters, and feels like a worthy, if somewhat inferior sequel to Book One.

Things get aggravating in Book Three, when the human story gets lost to an overflow of clumsy futurist predictions. Suddenly, we're stranded in a world that may have inspired Idocracy, with genetic classes such as "Lifer", "donkey" and (brace for it) "Superbrights".

By the time the novel's over, a lot of the goodwill and cleverness of the original novella has evaporated due to lack of focus on what made the base story so great. The first part promised a focused, engrossing story about human nature and intelligence, in the vein of Flowers for Algernon. Unfortunately, contrary to Daniel Keyes's masterpiece, Beggars misses its transition from novella to novel. ...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Carla Patterson rated it it was amazing

Loved this book the first time I read it, years and years ago, but probably loved it even more rereading it now. I have lived through a lot of things in the past 30 years or more which have made me think similarly to Alicia as she aged. I too took a little time out and then came back with more energy and more commitment to what I believed it in spite of all of the ways my initial dreams were dashed by experience and observation. I think it's pretty amazing that Kress was able to see into that fu ...more

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