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Beggars and Choosers Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,171 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In Beggars and Choosers, Kress returns to the same future world created in her earlier work, an America strangely altered by genetic modifications. Millions of ordinary people are supported by the efforts of the handsome and intellectually superior genetically modified humans, who are in turn running scared in the face of the astonishing, nearly superhuman powers of the Sleepless, who have their own agenda for humanity. The Sleepless, radically altered humans, have withdrawn from the rest of the race to an island retreat, from which they periodically release dazzling scientific advances.
Most of the world is on the verge of collapse, overburdened by a population of jobless drones and racked by the results of irresponsible genetic research and nanotechnology.
The question arises as to whether or not the world can be saved but a bigger question remains: for whom?
Beggars and Choosers is a major work of hard science fiction and a rich, morally complex novel of a future world eerily like our own tomorrow.
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"This book picks up about a decade after the end of BEGGARS IN SPAIN and mainly follows the path of the Super Sleepless on Earth, specifically Miranda Sharifi, the brilliant granddaughter of Leisha's nemesis from the first novel. American society has become more stratified than before, where the wealthy working class called "Donkeys" literally buy votes by providing bread and circuses for a large uneducated welfare population called "Livers". Of particular interest is the character of Drew Arlen, a young Liver who wants to raise himself above his birth and be on par with the Super Sleepless. Drew becomes involved with Miranda's plots within plots to remake society as she sees fit."
— Melissa (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Takes an admirably complex look at controversial issues…[This] isn’t merely an excellent and thoughtful work of science fiction but is also an important commentary on some of the key issues we'll be facing in the next century.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A plot that hums like a high-tension cable. The miracle is that this excitement is generated by readers’ own moral confusion…Beggars and Choosers will terrify, delight, enrage, and engage.”
— School Library Journal -
“Kress’ sequel to Beggars in Spain fearlessly addresses a host of ethical quandaries while simultaneously relating a vivid tale of people trapped by their biological destinies.”
— Library Journal -
“Kress’ work remains strongly character driven, an approach that in her hands raises social-speculation SF to about as high a level as one can reasonably expect.”
— Booklist
Awards
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Finalist for the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Novel
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Nominated for the 1995 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
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Nominated for the 1995 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Beggars and Choosers Listener Reviews
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" It does what a lot of the best science fiction does... social commentary. "
— Keith, 1/15/2014 -
" Kress displays her flexibility and versatility in Beggars and Choosers by effectively alternating the narrative between four extremely different voices. Beggars and Choosers picks up about 15 years after Beggars in Spain ends. The world is further enmeshed in economic and social upheaval, and we now have the "Super-Sleepless" even more cognitively advanced than their Sleepless progenitors, and thus, more feared. More questions than answers here, but well worth considering, nonetheless. "
— Yosafbridg, 12/31/2013 -
" Part two of Nancy Kress' "Sleepless" series. Every bit as compelling as the first! "
— Foxglow, 12/8/2013 -
" I found it totally gripping. Slightly less good than the previous one, but still striking and thought-provoking. "
— Ari, 12/7/2013 -
" This is the second book in the "beggars" trilogy, and just as fascinating as the first. Much food for thought ... "
— Laura, 12/5/2013 -
" Love her characters. I also like the way the main characters shift as you go through the books - I thought that was done very effectively. "
— Rachel, 6/3/2013 -
" Not as good as the first one in the series but a great read. Interesting exploration of social and cultural implications of introduction of a "superior" group. "
— Sue, 5/10/2013 -
" This was a fabulous book,I thought. So much about women, society - relationships, it just rocked. I read em all - and fast! "
— Rachael, 1/8/2013 -
" Not as good as the first, I don't think. Still a great book. "
— Lesli, 1/2/2013 -
" A solid sequel to Beggars in Spain with continuing characters and story line. Very hard to put down. "
— Mike, 9/16/2011 -
" 4.5 stars. <br/> <br/>I am so happy Cindy recommended this series to me. It is awesome! I cannot wait to get my hands on the third book. "
— Heather, 5/22/2011 -
" Me gustó mucho más el primero. Los personajes no me enganchan hasta cerca de la mitad de la historia, y no comprendo qué los mueve a actuar. Mal desarrollo de personajes, historia poco creíble. "
— Jycel, 3/30/2010 -
" Love her characters. I also like the way the main characters shift as you go through the books - I thought that was done very effectively. "
— Rachel, 5/11/2009 -
" This was a fabulous book,I thought. So much about women, society - relationships, it just rocked. I read em all - and fast! "
— Rachael, 1/11/2008 -
" The second book is just as good or beter than the first. The story line is just so believeable/reasonable in how the populace reacts to the evolved superhumans. "
— Mike, 11/15/2007 -
" This is the second book in the "beggars" trilogy, and just as fascinating as the first. Much food for thought ... "
— Laura, 8/16/2007
About Nancy Kress
Nancy Kress is the bestselling author of numerous science fiction and fantasy novels, including Beggars in Spain, Probability Space, and Steal across the Sky. She has also published several short-story collections and and books on the fundamentals of writing. Kress frequently explores biology and genetic engineering in her fiction, as in her acclaimed Beggars series and her bio-thriller, Dogs. She is a six-time Nebula Award winner and the recipient of the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards as well as two Hugos. Her fiction has been translated into nearly two dozen languages. She teaches at venues including the Clarion Writers’ Program and, as a guest professor, at the University of Leipzig.
About the Narrators
Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices in 2012.
Cassandra Campbell has won multiple Audie Awards, Earphones Awards, and the prestigious Odyssey Award for narration. She was been named a “Best Voice” by AudioFile magazine and in 2018 was inducted in Audible’s inaugural Narrator Hall of Fame.
Mirron Willis—actor of film, stage, and television—is the winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2012 and a finalist for the Audie in 2015, as well as the winner of four AudioFile Earphones Awards for his audiobook recordings. He has worked extensively in film and television and on stage with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shakespeare Festival, and the Ensemble Theatre, among others. He has recorded some 150 audiobooks, including the Smokey Dalton series by Kris Nelscott and My Song by Harry Belafonte. He resides and records audiobooks on his family’s historic ranch in East Texas.
Kirsten Potter has won several awards, including more than a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards and been a three-time finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. Her work has been recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and by AudioFile magazine, among many others. She graduated with highest honors from Boston University and has performed on stage and in film and television, including roles on Medium, Bones, and Judging Amy.