Sometimes the most difficult novels for a libertarian reader to deal with are not the ones that fall explicitly on either side of an issue. Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed is such a novel, sparking heated debate among libertarians for its "ambiguity." Another such a novel is Nancy Kress' latest, her independent sequel to Beggars in Spain, namely, Beggars and Choosers.

The dense, rich tapestries of the former novel traced in the intricate patterns of a semi-statist society very definite libertarian lines of thought. The wide-angle view of that novel gave insight into ideas about liberty possible perhaps only to a non-libertarian writer aware of, and perhaps very sympathetic with, libertarian ideas. It seemed that the sequel, promised by the author as even more libertarian, would fulfill that promise in a plasant manner, a nice affirmation of libertarian views. But that's too easy, and Nancy Kress is too complex a writer to slip into simple solutions.

Unlike its predecessor's century of change, the action in Beggars and Choosers spans approximately one year. The narrative view also shifts between several major people, only two carrying over from the former novel. The SuperSleepers, genetically created geniuses that some say are a new race, and thus fear and hate them for that fact, isolate themselves on an island built overnight by radical nanotechnology.

America spirals into seeming political and social chaos with two sharply divided castes of Donkeys (intelligent white collar workers who produce and decide) and Livers (the new occupational leisure class of poor, uneducated bread and circus people proud of their status). In the midst of this, the main characters fight a legal and moral battle over who should decide and control new technology.

The questions and manner in which several characters solve or try to solve this dilemma are the kind that make libertarians want to shake the characters or writer and say, "Look, you're creating strawmen; you're not able to shake the worldview that government is benevolent." Many might give up there, despite the many gems of promise within.

The pro-government slant in certain main characters disturbed me. Compared to the positive entrepreneurial attitudes so prevalent in the previous novel, many of the characters in Beggars and Choosers sound whiny and elitist. My own emotions after I finished the novel were mixed, and even as I read, awe and rage seemed to war with each other. I can only hope this is the second novel in a trilogy, and that many of the tantalizingly loose threads from Beggars and Choosers connect in a realization and exploration of non-government, voluntary alternatives.

Beggars and Choosers is a novel with more questions than answers, a fascinating yet deeply disturbing book about science and politics, social change and ideas; in all, a book that despite its flaws succeeds as a vibrant work of daring science fiction.