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blumbo's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
_ash0_'s review against another edition
4.0
The world building, hard science elements were the best parts of this book. It is about this group of rebels (or crazy people) who escape from Earth and establish a colony on an alien planet. These people are into genetic mutations and experiments etc which are not allowed on Earth. Now Earth is hunting for these colonists even after 500 years. Why exactly? I freaking loved the ending. The twist was amazing and I never saw that coming. I wish this was a novel, instead of being a tiny novella. The open ending reminded me of Arthur C Clarke’s books in a good way.
I am definitely going to read more from this author.
I am definitely going to read more from this author.
Spoiler
You have no idea who is saying the truth - one who claims to be a human from Earth or the narrator who is living on the colony. Who is right? Which of these two characters is an AI? Or are they both AI? Are the colonists crazy and have been butchering others like the guy from Earth mentions? Or is Earth trying to get its revenge? I loved this open ending.tani's review against another edition
4.0
It's the morning after the morning after Duke's 150th birthday, and he wakes to a terrible noise. He's the current President of Acadie, a space colony filled with radicals and deep thinkers. Their founder ran from Earth hundreds of years ago. She pioneered genetic research that allowed the creation of ultra-smart humans, at the expense of longevity, a huge ethical violation, and so the Earth still hunts her to this day. Which is why the most important task of the President of Acadie is to monitor the dewline and make sure that the colony isn't found. Duke, through an inconveniently timed absence during election time, currently has that honor. And when a probe from Earth is found well within the dewline, he has to face a devastating choice: risk discovery or uproot the entire colony.
The first thing that pulled me into this novella was the voice. It's written in an extremely engaging voice, and even though I wasn't sure what exactly was going on for a bit, the voice was more than enough to keep me interested. Duke is a lot of fun as a character, sarcastic and smart, and he's surrounded by other characters with similar features. It made the first half of the novella absolutely breeze by.
The second half slowed down for me, partially because I was getting distracted, but also because the story most definitely does slow down. Once the immediate crisis is past, I started to notice gaps, places where I would have liked the story to go a little deeper and explain a little more. However, when things pick back up, they do so with a bang. There are a lot of revelations at the end of this story, ones that I completely did not expect, to be honest. I think the unexpectedness actually made it more enjoyable. I was basically in the same place as Duke, just trying to puzzle through things and understand what's going on, so we got to take that journey together. And then that ending! I can't say much, but the last sentence of this novella puts the whole story into a new light, and I loved it.
Looking back, I actually like this story even better than I did while reading it. In retrospect, there are a lot of things that become clear, and I think I'll be thinking about it for a while yet. It's actually an extremely well-crafted story, but as a reader, you can't pick up on it as much as you should until you hit the very end. That's not actually something I say often, to be honest. It's rare that an ending makes me reflect back on the entire story and find that it works better that way. So kudos to Dave Hutchinson. I'll definitely have to read more of his work in the future.
The first thing that pulled me into this novella was the voice. It's written in an extremely engaging voice, and even though I wasn't sure what exactly was going on for a bit, the voice was more than enough to keep me interested. Duke is a lot of fun as a character, sarcastic and smart, and he's surrounded by other characters with similar features. It made the first half of the novella absolutely breeze by.
The second half slowed down for me, partially because I was getting distracted, but also because the story most definitely does slow down. Once the immediate crisis is past, I started to notice gaps, places where I would have liked the story to go a little deeper and explain a little more. However, when things pick back up, they do so with a bang. There are a lot of revelations at the end of this story, ones that I completely did not expect, to be honest. I think the unexpectedness actually made it more enjoyable. I was basically in the same place as Duke, just trying to puzzle through things and understand what's going on, so we got to take that journey together. And then that ending! I can't say much, but the last sentence of this novella puts the whole story into a new light, and I loved it.
Looking back, I actually like this story even better than I did while reading it. In retrospect, there are a lot of things that become clear, and I think I'll be thinking about it for a while yet. It's actually an extremely well-crafted story, but as a reader, you can't pick up on it as much as you should until you hit the very end. That's not actually something I say often, to be honest. It's rare that an ending makes me reflect back on the entire story and find that it works better that way. So kudos to Dave Hutchinson. I'll definitely have to read more of his work in the future.
rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
This seemed like an awkward length. It could have been much longer or much shorter.
satan_is_back's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jae_lou's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
blevins's review against another edition
2.0
Space opera novella that was a bit convoluted for my tastes. You'd think that something so short would be more direct...in this case, you'd think wrong.
damianetienne's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5.0
De comienzo lento, pero el final es una verdadera joya.
De comienzo lento, pero el final es una verdadera joya.
acrisalves's review against another edition
4.0
An ingenious space opera where a bunch of genetic engineers establish their own colony, away from earth authorities spite.
The president is chosen among the less political involved settlers and the current president could not be more displeased with his job! Particularly when a earth probe is found running in their direction.
This smart and enthralling story compels a fast paced reading until the final turnaround.
https://osrascunhos.com/2017/09/18/acadie-dave-hutchinson/
Envolvente e imaginativo, Acadie traz-nos um mundo colonizado por engenheiros genéticos que criaram um sistema política peculiar. Fugidos da justiça da Terra por terem ideias demasiado radicais para a evolução dos seres humanos, fundaram uma colónia num planeta sem grandes recursos minerais e por isso pouco provável de ser explorado pelos terrestres.
Para além dos engenheiros genéticos a colónia é composta por algumas pessoas que se encontravam na nave roubada a quem foi dada a possibilidade de se juntarem, bem como uma nova geração de seres humanos geneticamente modificados, de inteligência extrema, mas vidas mais curtas.
“They were just hardwired to see all the angles of a situation, all at once, in nitpicking detail. Some of the early generations had been shy, borderline Asperger-ish, but most of the more recent ones were fully socialized and you could have a normal conversation with them, even though you knew that, in their heads, they were simultaneously analyzing all the possible outcomes. It could be a bit spooky, if you let it get to you.”
A personagem principal é o presidente – a pessoa que menos se interessou pela política e que, por isso, acabou eleito. O gabinete que lhe é atribuído é o menos bem localizado, e o trabalho é chato mas simples. Pelo menos até ao dia em que aparece uma sonda terrestre que, quase de certeza, lhes denunciou a posição.
Com uma reviravolta final que não é totalmente original, Acadie consegue apresentar uma perspectiva interessante num contexto peculiar – uma colónia fundada por geeks
que se conseguem alterar morfologicamente, e que criam uma nova geração de seres humanos muito inteligentes, capazes de grandes revoluções tecnológicas.
I sighed and shook my head. This was what happened when a bunch of Tolkien geeks fot the power of life and death over an entire solar system, and I was almost exactly the wrong generation to appreciate it.
The line of figures moving along the white path resolved themselves into about a dozen elves dressed in silver armour and carrying bows and swords.
Sem ser uma leitura excelente, é uma história que escorre facilmente e que cruza engenharia genética com inteligência artificial, em que não faltam alguns detalhes geek para compor o conjunto.
The president is chosen among the less political involved settlers and the current president could not be more displeased with his job! Particularly when a earth probe is found running in their direction.
This smart and enthralling story compels a fast paced reading until the final turnaround.
https://osrascunhos.com/2017/09/18/acadie-dave-hutchinson/
Envolvente e imaginativo, Acadie traz-nos um mundo colonizado por engenheiros genéticos que criaram um sistema política peculiar. Fugidos da justiça da Terra por terem ideias demasiado radicais para a evolução dos seres humanos, fundaram uma colónia num planeta sem grandes recursos minerais e por isso pouco provável de ser explorado pelos terrestres.
Para além dos engenheiros genéticos a colónia é composta por algumas pessoas que se encontravam na nave roubada a quem foi dada a possibilidade de se juntarem, bem como uma nova geração de seres humanos geneticamente modificados, de inteligência extrema, mas vidas mais curtas.
“They were just hardwired to see all the angles of a situation, all at once, in nitpicking detail. Some of the early generations had been shy, borderline Asperger-ish, but most of the more recent ones were fully socialized and you could have a normal conversation with them, even though you knew that, in their heads, they were simultaneously analyzing all the possible outcomes. It could be a bit spooky, if you let it get to you.”
A personagem principal é o presidente – a pessoa que menos se interessou pela política e que, por isso, acabou eleito. O gabinete que lhe é atribuído é o menos bem localizado, e o trabalho é chato mas simples. Pelo menos até ao dia em que aparece uma sonda terrestre que, quase de certeza, lhes denunciou a posição.
Com uma reviravolta final que não é totalmente original, Acadie consegue apresentar uma perspectiva interessante num contexto peculiar – uma colónia fundada por geeks
que se conseguem alterar morfologicamente, e que criam uma nova geração de seres humanos muito inteligentes, capazes de grandes revoluções tecnológicas.
I sighed and shook my head. This was what happened when a bunch of Tolkien geeks fot the power of life and death over an entire solar system, and I was almost exactly the wrong generation to appreciate it.
The line of figures moving along the white path resolved themselves into about a dozen elves dressed in silver armour and carrying bows and swords.
Sem ser uma leitura excelente, é uma história que escorre facilmente e que cruza engenharia genética com inteligência artificial, em que não faltam alguns detalhes geek para compor o conjunto.