Reviews - Beggars in Spain

195 reviews for:

Beggars in Spain

Nancy Kress

3.85 AVERAGE

bmlowry8's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

emilyb_chicago's review against another edition

5.0

Such a fascinating concept that was fully and completely considered. The novel is separated into three parts and the first part won a Hugo for best short story. It was the strongest of the three. I loved the evolution of the story and found the time jumps to be well done though that is something that normally I struggle with.

lunarflwrs's review against another edition

3.0

What bothered me most about this book is how spoon-fed information is, how bluntly themes are presented. The first two parts are actually quite enjoyable, but the other two are too insane to get behind.

makenziefranco's review against another edition

4.0

this one started strong, lost me a bit in book three, then finished strong in book four. even though I found book three a little slow, I still enjoyed this story enough to go on in the series. lots of interesting parallels that could be drawn to today's society - keeping in mind that this was originally penned in 1993. 4.5/5, would recommend to my sci-fi story loving friends.

mintyfreshsocks's review against another edition

4.0

It's hard to describe this book. At the surface: hard sci fi, investigating the social consequences of genetic modifications resulting in the lack of need for (and in fact, inability to) sleep. Below: so many beautifully interwoven threads, thoughts about time, intellectualism, aging, family, finding our tribes, community, individuality, excellence, passion, loneliness, self. Kress is definitely a master of the art. This is an intellectual book -- it doesn't have us rising and soaring with each character's arcs -- and that's its strength: It keeps you wrapped up in ideas and consequences, holding them to yourself and thinking, challenging, wondering. Exactly the book I needed.

(Also, the middle she draws between Rand and LeGuin? It's a great middle.)

casperpumpkin's review against another edition

4.0

The world building and character development felt flat, but the philosophical questions this book asked captured me and pulled me through to the end. An interesting thought experiment more than anything else, it made me contemplate community and equality and humanity and productivity in ways I hadn't before.