Beaker's Dozen [Paperback]

Nancy Kress (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1999

"The twenty-first century, it's often remarked, will transform our knowledge of biology, in the same way that the twentieth century transformed physics. With knowledge of course, comes application. And with the application of all we are learning about genetic engineering come social and ethical questions, some of them knotty.

This is where science fiction enters, stage left. Scientific laboratories are where the new technologies are rehearsed. Science fiction rehearses the implications of those technologies. What might we eventually do with out new-found power? Should we do it? Who should do it? Who will be affected? How? Is that a good thing or not? For whom?

Of the thirteen stories in this book, eight of them are concerned with what might come out of the beakers and test tubes and gene sequencers of microbiology. Not everything in these stories will come to pass. Possibly nothing in them will; fiction is not prediction. But I hope the stories at least raise questions about the world rushing in onus at the speed--not of light--but of thought."

-- Nancy Kress from her introduction

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Although you can't judge a book by its cover, sometimes you can make a few good guesses about it based on the title. This is definitely true of Beaker's Dozen, a collection of short stories by renowned SF author Nancy Kress, who writes, "Of the thirteen stories in this book, eight are concerned with what might come out of the beakers and test tubes and gene sequencers of microbiology." What modesty prohibits Kress from adding is that all of the stories are excellent works by one of SF's finest writers. The highlights here are Kress's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning story "Beggars in Spain" (later expanded into an acclaimed novel of the same name), and the Nebula Award-winning story "The Flowers of Aulit Prison." --Craig E. Engler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A crucial aesthetic issue in SF is how well the science and fiction meld. In Kress's writings, there are never the crude info-dumps or token, thin characters endemic to much of the genre. Every story of the 13 reprinted in this volume has, in addition to the science?sometimes rigorous and detailed, sometimes extrapolated and fantastically ramified?compelling human beings (or other sentients) entangled with one another in ways that are psychologically real. Leading off is the Hugo-winning novella "Beggars in Spain" (1991), which led to Kress's highly regarded Beggars series of novels. From the simple premise of a genetically engineered ability to do without sleep, Kress weaves a compelling tale of factional and personal conflicts in a future meritocracy. Closing the collection is another novella, "Dancing on Air," in which Kress explores the implications of genetic enhancements against the perfectly apt background of stage mothers and their thoroughbred ballerina daughters. This story contains some of the best "alien" POV narrative anyone is likely to see, with the "alien" being a genetically enhanced Doberman. Nearly perfect is "Always True To Thee, in My Fashion," a parodic take on the fashion world in which mood-altering designer drugs go in and out with the clothes. Other stories explore chaos theory, alternate history and, exquisitely in "Summer Wind," the human experience of aging and the passage of time. A recurrent weakness is the crowding of thematic metaphors in a heavy-handed way, so that the plotting at times is greatly overworked. Subplots sometimes converge and provide resonance to the theme as if they created a mathematical proof rather than an organic story. Even in these tales, however, there is much to admire and fascinate.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031286843X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868437
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,135,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Collection of Short Stories by Nancy Kress, a Hugo Award Winner, August 29, 2005

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beaker's Dozen (Hardcover)

The novella, Beggars in Spain, the longest story in this collection titled Beaker's Dozen, earned Nancy Kress the Hugo award in 1991. Subsequently, Kress extended this story to a full length novel and created two sequels, Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride.

Beggars in Spain occurs in the near future when genetic modification of children has become possible, although it is generally available only to the wealthy. Roger Camden, a prominent financier, overrides his wife's reservations and has a genetic change carried out on their unborn daughter that eliminates the need for sleep as well as improving her intelligence. As might be expected, so-called Sleepless children completely outpace their normal counterparts (Sleepers) as they function at full capacity twenty-four hours every day. The story primarily focuses on the growing antagonism from the normal population as the Sleepless become an increasingly successful and powerful minority.

The others stores in this collection range from as little as three to about fifty pages. Like Beggars in Spain, these stories largely explore a future world changed by beakers, test tubes, and DNA sequencing.

Ars Longa is an unsettling look at how a dedicated teacher contributed to Walt Disney's success. Flowers of Aulit Prison pictures an alien world that is truly alien; it reminds me of imaginative stories by Ursula Le Guin.

Feigenbaum Number is a creative story about attractors and strange attractors, convergence and divergence, all in the context of iterated function theory as applied to linear and non-linear differential equations. Jack, a post-doc mathematician that studies chaos theory, is immersed simultaneously in two worlds, concretely residing in an imperfect, scarred, damaged reality, but continuously aware of a shimmering, overlapping image that offers worldly perfection. Although Feigenbaum Number does not deal directly with a future world modified by advances in the biological sciences, it is a fine example of the remarkable imagination of Nancy Kress.

The remaining stories range from good, to interesting, to not so bad. Beaker's Dozen is somewhat uneven in quality, but even the not so bad stories have potential to stimulate the reader's imagination. Beggars in Spain, Feigenbaum Number, Ars Longa, and Flowers of Aulit Prison are really quite good and warrant five stars. Overall, I gave this collection four stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Entertaining, Highly Intelligent Writing, May 7, 2002

By 

A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beaker's Dozen (Hardcover)

You don't have to be a science-fiction fan to enjoy the stories of Nancy Kress. In fact, you don't even have to know anything about science-fiction. If you enjoy well written, intelligent writing with remarkably believable characters, Kress is for you.

This collection starts off with a bang. "Beggars in Spain," the Hugo and Nebula winning story deals seriously with genetic engineering and prejudice when a group of "sleepless" children are born. Also outstanding are "Ars Longa" (about what it may have been like to have been Walt Disney's grade-school teacher) and "Flowers of Aulit Prison." All of the stories are very, very good, but these three are my favorites. If you like great characters and great writing, they may be yours also.

Kress has the amazing ability to communicate complex scientific ideas (like genetic engineering, microbiology, and cloning) and make them very understandable. Combine this skill with the ability to create characters that the reader really cares about, and you've got a collection of entertaining and thought-provoking stories.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beggars in Spain is the best novella I read thus far!, January 10, 1999

By 

Jaroslav Jelen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beaker's Dozen (Hardcover)

It's been a while since I read good SF book, so I was little hesitant ordering Beaker's Dozen. The novella Beggars in Spain just blew my mind. It has an excellen idea - and great philosophical beliefs. After I read it - I was completelly taken away - and had a feeling of great satisfaction!