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Acadie by Dave Hutchinson
Posted on: June 10, 2018
Acadie by Dave Hutchinson
published September 2017
where I got it: borrowed from a friend
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Acadie, by Davie Hutchinson, is a surprise package, and I mean that literally.
A tiny little novella, sexy space opera cover art, strangely generic back cover copy that seems to describe a story far too large to fit into this tiny book. It feels like something doesn’t quite add up. Of course I needed to learn this book’s secrets!
Your immediate enjoyment of Acadie will depend 100% on how you feel about the main character, Duke. Told in first person, if you enjoy Duke’s narrative voice, you will love the story. If you find Duke annoying, you should keep reading anyway. I liked Duke’s narrative voice right out of the gate – he’s sarcastic, he’s a not scientist surrounded by mad scientists, and he’s resigned to the fact that he can’t avoid meetings forever.
With a strong narrative voice, a post-scarcity community, humorous snark, and truly genius ending, Acadie will scratch your Iain M. Banks itch. Fan of Steven Brust’s Agyar? In a way, this book will scratch that itch too.
Duke is the ad-hoc President of a sort-of secret Colony. A few hundred years ago, a famous geneticists got in all sorts of trouble for doing all sorts of stuff, because she could. Instead of turning herself in, she and her disciples stole a colony ship, and set off for the stars where they’d be safe to continue their generic experiments. The colony has been living quite happily ever since, breeding new Kids with fancy genetics, and recruiting norms with specific skill sets from home space as needed. Duke is one of those norms, and he was chosen to run the joint because of his management background and his abhorrence for authoritarian leadership.
the Little Red Reviewer 
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