Not gonna lie: I completely forgot about the Firefly books. I have three of them sitting in my Audible library, untouched and unheard. Left to gather digital dust for years. I don’t even know why I dropped them; must have gotten distracted. For… three or four years.
Luckily, each one is about as long as one shift at work. So I know what I’m listening to for the next few weeks. Like watching a new season of the show!
Or the closest we’re ever gonna get…
Between jobs, Serenity receives a surprise message for the crew’s resident ruffian, Jayne Cobb. Temperance, an old business and romantic partner, has returned from the blue to beg him for help. Elias Vandal, a psychotic leader of an equally psychotic gang, is terrorizing her hometown on a distant rim world beyond Alliance protection. Now, it’s up to Jayne and the crew of Serenity to find a way to save the day. But things are far more complicated than they appear. Thanks in no small part to Temperance’s daughter: Jane.
Which was never confusing whatsoever when listening to the audio version. Yup. I could definitely tell which Jayne was Jane at any given time. Never once got mixed up.
By the by, the narrator, James Anderson Foster, is pretty good. Big thumbs up.
As for the story: I enjoyed this one a lot! A hopeless war for a desperate town? A classic Western setup with Firefly characters? Sign me up!
You may have surmised from the summary that this one focuses primarily on Jayne. A fact that makes me very happy. Jayne was always one of my favorite characters in the show, so seeing him take the spotlight was a delight! We see a more mature and loving side to Jayne as he tries to rise to the occasion, both as a hero and as a father. Plus, he gets some of the most fun scenes in the book. Such as when he got high on painkillers before sneaking into enemy territory for a daring rescue.
Only Jayne Cobb could be more competent when high off his ass.
Equally important is his supposed daughter: Jane. She’s basically a mini-Jayne (again: not at all confusing) with a smarter head on her shoulders. Her friendship with River is really sweet, and her back-and-forth with Jayne is equal parts wholesome and hilarious.
This isn’t to say the rest of Serenity’s crew sit around twiddling their thumbs. Simon and Jayne get some much needed development, Mal and Zoe tackle their Serenity Valley PTSD, Inara’s off setting up the last-minute save, Shepherd Book gets some cool pacifist-style action moments, Wash has a wildly entertaining brush with death, and Kaylee… gets to make googly eyes at a gay dude before disappearing for the rest of the book.
My favorite engineer drew the short straw this time around…
Tying it all together is our antagonist: Elias Vandal. A supposed former-Reaver, he’s a bitter psychopath and, for lack of a more delicate word: a pedophile. Right from the first scene, I hated this guy’s guts. Which made his climactic humiliating defeat feel just as satisfying as any villain’s downfall in the show.
My only real problem with the book is a twist that occurs near the end. It’s not especially shocking or surprising. Rather, it feels abrupt and unsatisfying. It doesn’t fit with the information we’ve been given or the actions the character it’s central to has taken up to that point. Even so, it’s a minor scene focused on a minor character. It does little to detract from the overall narrative. Besides, the actual plot twist we get at the end is significantly better and more impactful.
The whole book feels like a really good episode of the show. Shoot outs, moral quandaries, crashing space ships, quips, the whole shebang. If you loved Firefly, this book is more of it. If not, it’s a pretty fun sci-fi western book.
Man, now I want to go back and rewatch the show. It’s been… shit, ten years? Maybe it’s finally time to take off the rose-tinted glasses and give it another shot.
Jonah's Books & Rants 
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