The Churn (James S. A. Corey)

The Churn
An Expanse novella
James S. A. Corey
Orbit
Fiction, Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: In a Baltimore half-submerged by rising seas, jobs are hard to come by, and hope nearly extinct. Those who cannot find legitimate work must subsist on basic income... but many are denied even that much, scraping life from the dark corners and crumbling alleys as the desperate always have since the beginning of civilization, trading in drugs or sex or contraband. Born into this harsh and loveless world, the unregistered boy Timmy seemed destined to be just another street thug, a role he seems well-suited for with his complete detachment from his own emotions and penchant for violent solutions to everyday problems. But a citywide crackdown creates a churn of changing fortunes, and those who survive may find themselves on trajectories they'd never imagined...
This novella takes place in the same universe as the Expanse series, by the same authors.

REVIEW: The Churn presents the backstory of one of the more enigmatic characters in the Expanse series, the possibly-sociopathic Amos Burton. Even without knowing the fate of one of the central characters, there's a certain predictability about the story arc, a few almost-too-obvious Chekhov's Guns prominently displayed in the early parts that must inevitably fire by the end. There's also an odd feel overall to the story, much of which is told in a distant overview/omniscient "telling" style; it almost feels like this was a rough draft that could've been fleshed out into a longer work, but was rushed out as-is to feed the franchise market. That's not to say it's poorly written, though - it creates a decent sense of atmosphere, an overpopulated, exhausted Earth where optimism and freedom are only visible in the vanishing boosters of spacebound rockets, a world of complicated and largely unhealthy relationships where only the harshest, most desperate hope or love can take root, and then more as weeds than flowers. The wrap-up felt a trifle forced, with a minor skip in logic that I can't elaborate on without spoilers. Overall, it's a decent addition to the Expanse canon, even if it may not stand up well on its own.

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