Arbieroo reviewed Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress
Review of 'Beggars in Spain' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
In the brief introduction to this expansion of her novella of the same name, Kress says that she didn't believe Ayn Rand's philosophy as espoused in her fiction but equally didn't believe that Le Guin's Communist society in The Dispossessed was in fact possible, either. This novel is the result of Kress's attempt to figure out what she did believe.
The original novella was great but ended abruptly and there was clearly more to say and do with these characters, so I wanted to read this version ever since I discovered it existed. It was worth it - a compelling read that greatly extends and expands the story and its themes. Kress's twin counter-arguments to extreme Libertarianism and Communism are made clear. Along the way there's an interesting story that could be described as what The X-Men would be if the mutations were deliberate and the super-powers were not needing …
In the brief introduction to this expansion of her novella of the same name, Kress says that she didn't believe Ayn Rand's philosophy as espoused in her fiction but equally didn't believe that Le Guin's Communist society in The Dispossessed was in fact possible, either. This novel is the result of Kress's attempt to figure out what she did believe.
The original novella was great but ended abruptly and there was clearly more to say and do with these characters, so I wanted to read this version ever since I discovered it existed. It was worth it - a compelling read that greatly extends and expands the story and its themes. Kress's twin counter-arguments to extreme Libertarianism and Communism are made clear. Along the way there's an interesting story that could be described as what The X-Men would be if the mutations were deliberate and the super-powers were not needing to sleep and exceptionally high intelligence.
