How it all started
Brett Battles’ novella, Becoming Quinn, is a prequel to the
Jonathan Quinn novels.
Just before reading this novella, I
read a really poorly written novel about the origin of an action hero. That
author should read this author to see how clever and engrossing a back-story
can be. Battles started his story
with a botched hit. It was not at
all clear who was targeted and why.
The protagonist was a “cleaner” whose
role was to make evidence of the murder disappear, leaving a false trail for
the authorities. When the
situation deteriorated he had to act in haste, lacking enough time to double
check his tasks and tie up every loose end. Rookie Phoenix police officer Jake Oliver observed minor oddities
in the crime scene, but his training officer assigned him to crowd control
before he can share his observations with detectives.
Jake cannot shake the sense that
the presumed story is somehow false.
With the help of another rookie policeman, he initiates a personal
investigation that turns up other hints that the crime was not as obvious as it
appeared. When he finally tried to
share what he has learned, the authorities were more interested in Jake’s
failure to follow procedures than in what he has uncovered.
The group that organized the
assassination pressures the cleaner to eliminate Jake, but the cleaner has
developed respect for the raw skills, intelligence and persistence of the untutored
rookie.
The cleaner and the rookie end up
cooperating to face a common threat. Jake is presented with an opportunity he
did not expect.
Anyone wanting to create a
back-story for a character should read this book to see how well it can be
done. What "origin stories" do you recommend?
