Reviewed by Kristin
Science fiction fans have a tendency to hold onto what they love,
going to huge gatherings, dressing up as their favorite characters, and
clamoring until they get more. The
television show Firefly may have only
been broadcast for an abbreviated season with 14 episodes in 2002, but its
cult-like following wouldn’t let it go.
Creator Joss Whedon then wrote and directed Serenity, a full length theatrical film in 2005, continuing to
follow the plucky crew of spacefaring adventurers. Over a decade later, readers have now been rewarded
for their relative patience with a series of novels based in the Firefly ‘verse.
Captain Mal Reynolds is at his best doing what he always
does, taking on cargo to make some coin, in order to keep his ship in the
sky. Take a job; keep on moving—that
seems to be Mal’s motto. He’s not
exactly friendly with the Alliance, who fought and won the war to extend their
control over the frontier planets around the outer edges of human
habitation. Mal was a Browncoat during
the war, one of many rebels fighting for the right to control their own
resources and livelihoods. If Mal had
his druthers, he’d just as soon avoid the Alliance.
On board, Zoe is still second in command; Wash is still at
the controls; Kaylee is still sweet-talking the engines; Jayne is still
crooning to his weapon Vera. Simon and
River Tam, the brother and sister being sought by the Alliance are still along
for the ride, as are Shepherd Book and Inara, the Companion who rents one of
Serenity’s shuttles. It’s a full ship,
but by this point it feels like family.
When
the Serenity crew takes on some potentially dangerous cargo and prepares for a
delivery run, Mal unexpectedly disappears.
Suddenly, his past compatriots are showing up and it looks like they
have a score to settle. Fortunately, his
loyal crew goes on the hunt to rescue him, showing up not a minute too soon,
either.
I am one of those aforementioned science fiction fans who is
dedicated to a wide variety of stories woven through time and space and
portrayed in print as well as on the screen.
I have to admit that it took me a while to get into the flow of this
book, but I expect that is due to my own distracted habit of reading more than
one book at a time. Once I began to
follow the storyline, it felt like I was right in the middle of a Firefly episode. The writing really fit what I expected, so
while I wasn’t absolutely knocked over by the story, it was a pleasant way to
fill my time and my science fiction Book Bingo block.
Big Damn Hero is the first in a planned trilogy set midway
through the timeline portrayed in Firefly
and Serenity. The Magnificent Nine is expected to be
published this month, and Generations is planned for October 2019.
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