The Churn
The Churn is another novella in the expanse, released between novels to fill in backstory and make the universe a little richer. This one in particular is an origin story of sorts for Amos Burton, possibly the most enigmatic character in the series.
Amos' background has only been hinted at, and I believe there's more of it in the TV show than the books. Or rather, the TV show is pulling from all of the books to make a more fleshed-out character, and that results in the audience gaining a bit more information through osmosis.
That said, this story also glosses over the things I learned from the show. Amos' early childhood (son of a prostitute, used as a prostitute from a young age) is only hinted at. He has a highly questionable sexual relationship with an older woman that is by no means consensual, mostly due to Amos' youth and the momentum of that relationship. He's been so abused that it never even occurs to him to say no.
But this story is about how he gets out. How he escapes his past, escapes Earth, and builds a new life for himself far, far away from what must have been a horrific childhood.
Because of the information provided in other books, it becomes clear pretty quickly how this one is going to play out. Once a few pieces fall into place, the entire picture is obvious. It was still an enjoyable story, made more so because Amos is a lot of fun to read about. He's an incredibly straight-forward character with almost no moral qualms. You don't think there are any lines he won't cross, and neither does he, until he comes up on one of those lines.
I wish the story had been a little longer (my kindle edition contained the first chapter of the 4th book, so I was caught off guard when it ended at 60% done). But it's whet my appetite for the next book, which was probably the real goal.
Amos' background has only been hinted at, and I believe there's more of it in the TV show than the books. Or rather, the TV show is pulling from all of the books to make a more fleshed-out character, and that results in the audience gaining a bit more information through osmosis.
That said, this story also glosses over the things I learned from the show. Amos' early childhood (son of a prostitute, used as a prostitute from a young age) is only hinted at. He has a highly questionable sexual relationship with an older woman that is by no means consensual, mostly due to Amos' youth and the momentum of that relationship. He's been so abused that it never even occurs to him to say no.
But this story is about how he gets out. How he escapes his past, escapes Earth, and builds a new life for himself far, far away from what must have been a horrific childhood.
Because of the information provided in other books, it becomes clear pretty quickly how this one is going to play out. Once a few pieces fall into place, the entire picture is obvious. It was still an enjoyable story, made more so because Amos is a lot of fun to read about. He's an incredibly straight-forward character with almost no moral qualms. You don't think there are any lines he won't cross, and neither does he, until he comes up on one of those lines.
I wish the story had been a little longer (my kindle edition contained the first chapter of the 4th book, so I was caught off guard when it ended at 60% done). But it's whet my appetite for the next book, which was probably the real goal.
Comments
Post a Comment