Firefly: Big Damn Hero

-James Lovegrove & Nancy Holder

The first original novel tying into the critically acclaimed and much-missed Firefly series from creator Joss Whedon.

The Battle of Serenity Valley was the turning point that led the Independents to their defeat at the hands of the Alliance. Yet the Browncoats had held the valley for weeks against all odds, before being ordered to lay down their arms. Command stated they refused to send in airpower because the ground war was "too hot." But the soldiers who were there insist that was not true...

While picking up a new cargo on Persephone, Captain Malcolm Reynolds is kidnapped by a bunch of embittered veteran Browncoats who suspect him of sabotaging the Independents during the war. As the rest of the crew struggle to locate him, Mal is placed on trial for his life, fighting compelling evidence that someone did indeed betray them to the Alliance all those years ago. As old comrades and old rivals crawl out of the woodwork, Mal must prove his innocence, but his captors are desperate and destitute, and will settle for nothing less than the culprit's blood.

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*sings: Take my love, take my land, Take me where I can not stand. I don't care, cause i'm still free, You can’t take the sky from me! My favorite space-opera TV show, Firefly, came back to LIFE with a new tale about the rag-tag crew! I read this story in all of their voices and could easily see them in my head while I was reading. It was like the show was never cancelled and the stories continued. Firefly has a loyal fan-base, surprising after only one season that didn’t even air all of its episodes. The series was expected to slowly introduce viewers to more character depth but cancellation halted that. Fans were so outspoken, a feature film was made to tie up the loose ends and provide closure. Contextually, this book happens in the middle of the short lived tv series, which means some jobs and events from the eleven episodes are referenced, but the great thing is a reader new to the Firefly franchise will not feel lost among the references. Authors Holder and Lovelace did an excellent job of including references for fans of the tv series without alienating an entirely new audience. The plot (re)introduces the reader to the cast and the world, and in my opinion does a good job of recalling the necessary worldbuilding framework to slowly bring you into the world of Firefly. I am looking forward to reading more of these books that flesh out the character story arcs. Overall: This was SHINY!