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 Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
reviewed by XXXX
Original appearance: Albedo one issue ??, date?
The novella on which this novel is based, or from which it was expanded, won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards in 1991. Awards are great for sales and SF publishers love to slap Hugo and Nebula claims all over the covers of novels, where possible. Of course, the fact that the cover says Hugo or Nebula winner, or both as this one does, is not always a guarantee that the book in question has won such awards. Often you will discover that the awards were received by the author for other work. At least in this case the other work had the same title, premise and some of the same storyline. What the novel does have, by definition, is more words.
Now I've got nothing against awards, nor do I begrudge publishers their right to use them to sell a few extra copies of a particular book (or a lot of extra copies), but I have always felt that Hugo and Nebula winners are not always the most readable of books. I was personally never enamoured of Roger Zelazny's Lords of Light or Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar and, frankly, I couldn't get much further than forty pages into either LeGuin's The Dispossessed or Asimov's The Gods Themselves. So, ignore the reflected glories of Hugos and Nebulas and judge BEGGARS IN SPAIN on its own merits.
To make such judgement necessitates the purchase of the book and before going any further I have to state that I recommend it without reservation. The premise of the novel is original, the characters are beautifully realised and the future which Nancy Kress has created is both terrible and terribly believable.
The world of BEGGARS is one in which there is a sharp divide between the haves and the have nots, though on the face of it the have nots are better off than their equivalents in our current society. Kress' future is one dominated by the discovery of a cheap power source. The USA owns the patents and milks them for all they are worth. Every citizen is entitled to dole and there is no reason for anybody to go without the basic necessities of life, unless you consider the right to work or self respect a necessity.
Into this scenario Kress throws an artificially created overclass, genetically enhanced so that they do not sleep. Lacking the need to sleep for a student is akin to the use of steroids by athletes. In itself it doesn't make you smarter but you have an extra eight hours a day study time over your peers. So the sleepless progress more quickly through college and achieve better grades. They begin to monopolise the best jobs. They rapidly become the most sought after lawyers, accountants and scientists.
But all is not exactly rosy for the sleepless. The rest of the world (particularly the US's comparatively advantaged population) begin to think of themselves as sleepers and prejudice against the sleepless is rife. Nor is the prejudice one sided. The sleepless band themselves together and build a fortified dwelling space they name Sanctuary. Soon, the sleepless attempt to gather all their kind behind its walls.
In effect, BEGGARS IN SPAIN is the story of one particular sleepless, Leisha, who wishes to break down the barriers between her kind and the sleepers. To attempt this, she must remain outside the safety of Sanctuary and cut herself off from the friends she grew up with, her only intellectual equals. Eventually the economic conflict between the sleepless and the rest of the human race, in the immediate form of the US government, forces Leisha to side against her own kind and attempt to bring down their separatist society.
Although completely different in content and approach, Nancy Kress' novel reminds me in terms of flavour, pacing and sheer readability of this year's Hugo award winning novelist, Lois McMaster Bujold. For those who are unaware of the esteem in which I hold LMB, I must state that there can be few higher accolades which I can imagine (and it has nothing to do with the poverty of my imagination). BEGGARS IN SPAIN is a joy to read; one of the top five books of the year, currently shaded only by MIRROR DANCE. Anyone who does not rush straight out and buy this book (after finishing my other reviews, naturally) deserves to have their naughty bits rubbed with sandpaper.
Hurry while stocks last.
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