Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Acadie, by Dave Hutchinson

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(SF Adventure) Even after 500 years, Earth is still after the founders of the Colony, so when a probe wanders into their system Duke has to find a way to get everyone to safety. (20,356 words; Time: 1h:07m)

Rating: ★★★☆☆ Average

"Acadie," by (edited by Lee Harris), published on by .

Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)

Pro: The twist at the end is incredible. There are plenty of hints, if you think about it. Why would Earth still be hunting them after 500 years? Only because the atrocities keep happening. Why make someone like Duke president? Only to give the AI a reason to think it was in charge.

The descriptions of the idealized colony are excellent, and they contrast sharply with the video of the actual one. It makes more sense that the longevity treatments were imperfect, and that a long-lived colony in a resource-poor system would be struggling, not thriving. Well done.

Con: The biggest problem with the story is that the first 2/3 of it are just background. The real story doesn’t start until Simeon’s ship enters the system and Duke wakes up. Everything before that was, essentially, just a dream.

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2 comments (may contain spoilers):

  1. I'm quite conflicted on this one. Really interesting idea, and the twist could potentially have played really well, but the end felt unfinished to me. It was very abrupt with the (admittedly very clever) repetition of the opening line to imply...something. I'm left worrying that I didn't quite get it.

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  2. Well, the last scene is the one right before Duke blows up the sun, so it's hard to see how much more there could be to the story after that. :-)

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