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Providing a more complete back story for series characters is apparently the vogue for authors. Battles does it with this novella. Lee Child did it with The Affair and his short story Second Son and Vince Flynn's American Assassin goes back to Mitch Rapp's beginnings.

For my part, I really like it. Too much back story in the course of a novel detracts from the plot. Not enough and the reader, at least this reader, tends to be lost. It is also a way for the author to continue with a character series after the lead character has reached an age where he can no longer be a credible action hero.

All in all, this novella does exactly what it was designed to do by filling in the blanks in Quinn's past. Hopefully Battles will write at least one more 'fill in' novel or novella covering Quinn's apprentice period with Durrie.