The Churn (Expanse)

Great short story that really added a lot of depth to Amos. If you've read any of the books in the Expanse series than this is a must. Explains a lot as to his personality and how he interprets the world around him.

Great look into the mean streets of Baltimore in the world of The Expanse and the struggles of some small time gang members as they try to survive a government sponsored crackdown on crime. Really great twist I should have seen coming but did not which proves again why this is one of the most enjoyable Sci Fi series going.

EXCELLENT READ. I HIGHLY recommend this, & any other Expanse books regardless of whether it's the "series," OR the "novellas." Also, the TV is the best SF TV show EVER MADE as well. Hope this helps.

Enjoyable exploration into an Expanse character's past. Helps build his back story and to better understand his motivations. Although I enjoy the Expanse novels, it's nice to be able to read about that universe in one sitting. The Churn was well crafted and immediately drew you in.

The ebook:
It was over-priced. imo, this should be a free tor.com story used just to wet your appetite for, and get you to buy, Cibola Burn. It is NOT a novella: it's length puts it at the upper range of a short story, lower range of a novelette. Half of the advertised pages are an excerpt for the new book. At $2.99, it's a total ripoff and I'd avoid buying it.

I'm all for authors making money, and they deserve every dime they ever make. But, when you pay $10-$15 for every 600 page novel (and you buy every awesome novel they write), then paying $3 (that's 30-20% of a novel charge) for a short story (5-10% the length, and 5% the story, of a novel) just doesn't add up. Honestly, this book was a marketing tool to sell the next novel (I doubt the authors would insist on charging for it). It should be conveyed as such and not packaged as a separate, valuable, product.

The story:
The story was cool. I love Amos, so his background was neat to read. This was told in a different style then the books or novellas; they used 3rd person omniscient mostly, I think. It wasn't bad; it was noticeable and different that their usual style, but the story still flowed and I still read it in one go.

A great next novel in the series. Gives first person from all the familiar characters and delves into some great insights into each. Enough action to keep it moving, but slow enough to get a taste for the time. Plus it's pretty clear that the story will continue!

I had always been interested to know how Amos got to be Amos. His life story. The events that made him who he is. This short does that and so much more. You get a better understanding for who he is and the "real" conditions of how folks lived on Earth.

Decent short story. It was tough to get into until the final 1/3. Good characterization of Amos and although the "twist" was foreseeable, it does help develop a character of a series I am very much in to. I liked this less than the Butcher of Anderson, but more than the Gods of Risk.

I really have enjoyed this series and highly recommend it science fiction readers!
Now that the door is open to exploration, humankind sets out to settle--or resettle new worlds, but not without trouble.

This review may prove to be quite brief, the reason being that The Churn is at its best when the reader is left to discover events as they are revealed in the story. That experience is easily ruined by the book description copy which gives away a major portion of the novella’s end in the advertising copy. I am most grateful I pre-ordered my copy long ago without glancing too closely on the store. If the publisher was the one who provided this blurb to sellers, it is a real shame.

This novella moves the focus away from solar system travel of the novels and places it Earthside, on the city of Baltimore. In doing so it provides an interesting, if sad, view of the state of affairs on Earth. It fits well within the confines of the story to paint a bleak future as part of the kick-in-the-butt humanity needed to reach out into the solar system.

The Churn focuses on a handful of characters in a criminal organization, who come under fire when the Star Helix security detail targets Baltimore for clean up. The writing team of James S.A. Corey are known for character-focused fiction with multiple viewpoints, which is how they approach this novella. Readers are introduced to the organization head, Burton, his former lover, Lydia, one of his henchmen, Erich, and a newcomer to the group named Timmy. It is of particular interest that the story is chock full of characters who are hard to root for, and yet the writers make you do just that, playing with your loyalties throughout the story. In the end you find yourself hoping for the best for characters whose behavior is nothing if not reprehensible.

Life in a criminal organization is grim, and no punches are pulled in painting the kind of environment in which these characters exist. This is dark, but not dark to the point of being a depressing read. The suspense picks up early, leaving the reader to guess at the direction the story will take while also thinking about the greater Expanse universe and how this story might fit in. Rest assured, it does fit in rather nicely.

I think it best to wrap this up before spoilers become impossible to avoid. My personal experience is that I received a great reading experience in exchange for the money I spent. It was brief, to be sure, but I did not feel cheated. I was able to get lost in the story to the degree that the end surprised me in the way that I expect the writers set out to accomplish. If you are a fan of the series, it is well worth taking the time to read this, as well as the other works of short fiction set in the Expanse universe.

As a huge fan and evangelist of the Expanse series it pains me to deliver such a low-rated review, but I'm going for honesty over brand loyalty here. None of the reasons that I've enjoyed the Expanse series were present in this book. The science fiction concepts were so minimal that the story could largely have been set in present day and they played no real role in the plot. The characters felt fairly flat to me - devoid of color, depth, and appeal - and the story certainly didn't leave me feeling like I knew Amos any more than before I started. In fact I'm left wondering how the character in this story becomes the character that we know from the series as the gulf in engineering knowledge and interest seems huge.

Beyond those facts, I just found the story background rather mundane and plodding. I kept reading in hopes that the S.A. Corey energy I knew would kick in and that the story would kick into high gear, but it never happened. I had to push all the way to complete the story. The vital take-aways for Expanse fans could probably be summarized in a sentence or two. The tale just didn't seem to justify larger format. The info could have been better presented as a candid Amos moment in a novel.

I'm very much looking forward to the next novel and have expectations that it will deliver as solidly as the three before it. But what I learned from this novella was not to impulsively buy Corey/Expanse by by brand, but to wait for reviews on future novellas.