Beggars In Spain

Author: Nancy Kress

How much more could you do if you didn't have to sleep? That's the simple question that starts this superb trilogy.In this near future world, a philosophy that is becoming ever more dominant is known as Yagaiism, after its originator, Yagai. It's a world view based on the ideas of Ayn Rand, and argues that someone's worth is a measure of their contribution to society. Against which, Kress asks through one of her characters, what do we owe to the beggars in Spain, the poor and helpless who have nothing but their need. This contrast between selfishness and generosity is dramatized in the trilogy by the conflicts arising over sleeplessness.Genetic modification has allowed some people to live without the need for sleep. Since they can spend a much greater portion of the day productively, the sleepless inevitably learn more, more quickly as children and become more productive and richer as adults. There are other advantages, as well, such as longevity. But there are disadvantages, mainly caused by the increasing resentment and suspicion of the sleepers. For instance, a sleepless athlete is banned from the Olympics because her extended training regime gives her an unfair advantage over other athletes. But as the sleepless band together, so the sleepers find themselves more and more becoming second or even third class citizens. Over the course of the two subsequent volumes, Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride, Kress catalogues the increasing discrimination and the political disintegration that follows on from the division of the country into sleepers and sleepless. It is one of the most carefully thought out and most compelling accounts of the near future you're likely to read. The original novella, that became the first part of the first volume, won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Its account of emerging technologies, particularly in the area of genetic engineering, is carefully researched and absolutely convincing.

Books in Sleepless Series (4)

Beggars And Choosers

Beggars Ride

Beggars And Choosers

Beggars Ride

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The Probability Series, which comprises Probability Moon, Probability Sun and Probability Space (the last of which won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award) concerns an expedition to a world where the natives have developed a form of telepathy. An alien artefact has landed on the planet, and though its powers aren't understood, it could prove the key in a war against an aggressive race known as the Fallers.

Given that Beggars in Spain is a reaction against the ideas of Ayn Rand, it might also be worth taking a look at Atlas Shrugged, so long as you don't take the Objectivist philosophy too seriously. It's a dystopian novel in which the government of the United States acts against the best interests of industry until John Galt organises a strike by the bosses which immediately brings the government to its knees and ushers in a sensible capitalist regime.