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A review by davidr
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
4.0
Beggars in Spain was a fun, summertime read; fascinating, well-developed characters, and a plot line that takes on surprising directions. The book deals with the moral dilemmas associated with genetic engineering. In an expensive procedure, genes are manipulated to allow offspring to live without sleep, with an unanticipated benefit of living longer. The extra waking time gives the "sleepless" more time to study and become smarter. This, in turn allows them to design yet more sophisticated genetic engineering, which allows their children to become "super-sleepless", and thus super-intelligent. Everyday people are shut out from this "unfair" competition, so they feel resentful. Some of the sleepless find it necessary to wall themselves up into a sanctuary for self-protection.
The story often reminded me of [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]; it seemed like a version of Atlas Shrugged on science-fiction steroids! In fact, in the second book of this trilogy ([b:Beggars and Choosers|68334|Beggars and Choosers (Sleepless, #2)|Nancy Kress|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265486943s/68334.jpg|66235]), there is a fleeting mention of the character John Galt.
The parallels with Ayn Rand's book are not coincidental. In Atlas Shrugged, Rand describes her philosophy of objectivism. In Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress introduces a character named Yagai who invents a very potent, portable energy source, and whose philosophy (Yagaiism) is related to objectivism.
The story often reminded me of [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157143422s/662.jpg|817219]; it seemed like a version of Atlas Shrugged on science-fiction steroids! In fact, in the second book of this trilogy ([b:Beggars and Choosers|68334|Beggars and Choosers (Sleepless, #2)|Nancy Kress|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1265486943s/68334.jpg|66235]), there is a fleeting mention of the character John Galt.
The parallels with Ayn Rand's book are not coincidental. In Atlas Shrugged, Rand describes her philosophy of objectivism. In Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress introduces a character named Yagai who invents a very potent, portable energy source, and whose philosophy (Yagaiism) is related to objectivism.