Beggars & Choosers

Nancy Kress

Book 2 of Sleepless

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Publisher: Tor

Published: Oct 2, 1994

Description:

The sequel to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Beggars in Spain is set in a future America, radically altered by technology, where the nearly superhuman powers of the gene-modified Sleepless threaten the security of all humanity.

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA?A 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 us?by giving us all the ability to choose?but 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
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.