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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5 Stars
As per the blurb, when Mal wins a mysterious map during a card game, the gang decides to take a chance on seeing where it leads, especially since River is the only one who can decipher it. It’s not surprising that for the Firefly crew, nothing can ever be a simple grab and go.
Despite a potential treasure trove of historic relics to be taken, what’s also found is an Alliance secret that should remain hidden away for forever, lest all humanity perish. Delving more into River’s thoughts, the agenda of the Alliance, and the mysterious Hands of Blue henchmen, this definitely lends more insight to canon lore.
My only complaint - if you could call it that - was not much really happens in the grand scheme of things. No doubt there’s plenty of life threatening situations for each character and gory violence that is very par for the course, but I found motive, thoughts, and reveals repetitive.
Overall, I enjoyed this because how could I not? Of note, the first 3 books in this series were written by a different author and I can easily say that because these characters are so well drawn from the TV series and movie, that the spirit of Serenity continues to be captured, and Tim Lebbon’s entry here is no different!
As per the blurb, when Mal wins a mysterious map during a card game, the gang decides to take a chance on seeing where it leads, especially since River is the only one who can decipher it. It’s not surprising that for the Firefly crew, nothing can ever be a simple grab and go.
Despite a potential treasure trove of historic relics to be taken, what’s also found is an Alliance secret that should remain hidden away for forever, lest all humanity perish. Delving more into River’s thoughts, the agenda of the Alliance, and the mysterious Hands of Blue henchmen, this definitely lends more insight to canon lore.
My only complaint - if you could call it that - was not much really happens in the grand scheme of things. No doubt there’s plenty of life threatening situations for each character and gory violence that is very par for the course, but I found motive, thoughts, and reveals repetitive.
Overall, I enjoyed this because how could I not? Of note, the first 3 books in this series were written by a different author and I can easily say that because these characters are so well drawn from the TV series and movie, that the spirit of Serenity continues to be captured, and Tim Lebbon’s entry here is no different!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
We learn more about how the Verse came to be. An actual ship from Earth That Was. A terrible secret on the ship. I could see the action in my head. The characters were all true to themselves and there was some serious fun here.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm popping the rest of the Firefly book tie-ins to my 'want to read' list, as these have been scratching my itch something great.
While in [b:The Ghost Machine|49249066|The Ghost Machine (Firefly, #3)|James Lovegrove|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563500889l/49249066._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72181881] I lamented the lack of the crew interacting with one another, this had more of it. Yes, the crew did pair off when searching the ship (Mal and Zoe, Kaylee and Jayne- the latter of which was quite fun, I love seeing these two interact), but they were still interacting with one another a bit. Wash also got some time in the limelight, and I liked the handful of scenes we had with him talking to Simon and Jayne.
It still felt a little scattered in parts, but I loved the exploration of how the Firefly 'verse responds to Earth-That-Was, and how distant the world is now. Even the snippet of how things have changed was great. I'd like more of this.
The growth of the Alliance and the Hands of Blue pair being a creation in of... itself? Themselves? The two of them being referred to as we was great.
How I miss this show. And though I'm not a person who longs for a Firefly revival (it's been too long now), I do adore how its being continued like this.
While in [b:The Ghost Machine|49249066|The Ghost Machine (Firefly, #3)|James Lovegrove|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563500889l/49249066._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72181881] I lamented the lack of the crew interacting with one another, this had more of it. Yes, the crew did pair off when searching the ship (Mal and Zoe, Kaylee and Jayne- the latter of which was quite fun, I love seeing these two interact), but they were still interacting with one another a bit. Wash also got some time in the limelight, and I liked the handful of scenes we had with him talking to Simon and Jayne.
It still felt a little scattered in parts, but I loved the exploration of how the Firefly 'verse responds to Earth-That-Was, and how distant the world is now. Even the snippet of how things have changed was great. I'd like more of this.
The growth of the Alliance and the Hands of Blue pair being a creation in of... itself? Themselves? The two of them being referred to as we was great.
How I miss this show. And though I'm not a person who longs for a Firefly revival (it's been too long now), I do adore how its being continued like this.
I was a little nervous about the departure from Lovegrove... but Lebbon did a worthy job. So much so, I have to say this one felt the most like a true episode of all the books in the series thus far.
Serenity's crew has been hurting for work for some time, and it's been negatively impacting mental health and their pantry stores. So when Mal gets ahold of a map leading to an ancient ship, it's not much of a discussion as to whether they will attempt a salvage operation. The looming concern upfront is that only River can read the map... and there may be someone eerily like her on that ship.
Shepherd and Inara are separated from the crew by their own ventures for all but the very beginning, so that pares down the number of people we're keeping track of. And aside from Wash not being quite as funny as I might have liked... I have zero complaints about the characterization. The encountered bits of Earth-That-Was lore made for some fascinating worldbuilding. And we even get a bit more Hands-Of-Blue background to round out the whole experience. (Although really, the latter brings up more questions than answers... answers I hope we'll get one day.)
Lots of action scenes--all very competently handled with a cinematic vividness. The pacing is consistent, and the prose unobtrusive. The ending was a touch open, but still satisfied.
All told, I'd be pleased if Lebbon wrote more of these!
Serenity's crew has been hurting for work for some time, and it's been negatively impacting mental health and their pantry stores. So when Mal gets ahold of a map leading to an ancient ship, it's not much of a discussion as to whether they will attempt a salvage operation. The looming concern upfront is that only River can read the map... and there may be someone eerily like her on that ship.
Shepherd and Inara are separated from the crew by their own ventures for all but the very beginning, so that pares down the number of people we're keeping track of. And aside from Wash not being quite as funny as I might have liked... I have zero complaints about the characterization. The encountered bits of Earth-That-Was lore made for some fascinating worldbuilding. And we even get a bit more Hands-Of-Blue background to round out the whole experience. (Although really, the latter brings up more questions than answers... answers I hope we'll get one day.)
Lots of action scenes--all very competently handled with a cinematic vividness. The pacing is consistent, and the prose unobtrusive. The ending was a touch open, but still satisfied.
All told, I'd be pleased if Lebbon wrote more of these!
adventurous
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No