Reviews and Comments

While some of the books in the Babylon 5 novel series might not be tremendously stellar, like actual episodes across all 5 seasons of the show, there is so much to enjoy with some stories shining more brightly than others. Luckily, authors are capturing the show's characters so well with their writing. One can almost hear the actors' voices again when reading dialogue creating the immersive atmosphere of conflict the show had done with remarkable proficiency which surely secured its position in sci-fi history.

Sheridan bears a lot of the stress in this plot as he is seen torn apart by his loyalty to the government he serves and his loyalty to his respect for life, morality, and rightousness. There was plenty to enjoy among the chapters involving the variety of crew of Babylon 5, particularly Garibaldi come to think of it, having a rather amusing subplot for him in this one.

The ending to the book was a tremendous reward reflecting that clever problem solving that was written for Sheridan in the original show. It further reinforced the authenticity of the book's quality of representing the overall plot and all its vividly rich characters. This book, like the others, has a healthy pace and was difficult to put down.

Let's get one thing out of the way: this "save the town" trope is now used for the third consecutive book, and while, yes, it is absolutely believable, yes, it is absolutely exactly the sort of thing that will happen to Serenity and her crew, it doesn't mean every episode would amount to that same idea ad nauseum. At the time of writing this is the latest published entry to the series, and hopefully, a 9th book is coming and will be more fresh with its plot and premise. Comparing to previous books does not really affect the rating this book deserves, so this shall be set aside.

This book surprisingly uses a lot of first-person storytelling. The new character interacting with the Serenity crew has entire chapters written from her perspective. Sometimes it feels like a diary, but it's really just a perspective shift. When chapters break focus away from her (Annie Roberts), the writing uses the expected natural flow. This is not a criticism but merely an observation, as it was a unique trait this novel exhibited. Initially I wasn't sure what to think of it, but after having read the novel, it was a nice touch and functioned well, integrating with the rest of the book's writing.

With Annie being new, she is meeting everyone for the first time and learning about them. Thanks to this perspective the personalities and morality of the infamous crew are called to attention and this was a fun part of reading this one. If I recall Mal had a lot of delightful dialogue in this one in particular, when speaking to Annie and the local lawman. Being such an iconic character, it is rewarding and pleasant to see a story with Mal being Mal exactly as we know and love him. This is not to say others in the book are diminished!

Also, I must mention that the role Wash and Jayne have in this is bloody hilarious. How unusual to pair those two together for one, and luckily they were, being the two most amusing. It's impossible not to visualise these two and how they were in their antics.

I have given perfect scores for all 8 books available up until now. I'm sure others will find less excitement or even less interest in some of these books, even though the books themselves are all pretty good. Naturally I have bias having immense love for the show and everything around its creation, but every book has been immersive, addictive, and deeply entertaining. Much like everyone who yearns for more episodes for the show that can never return as we remember it, these novels certainly can continue as we remember the show.

There is also the possibility of pushing the story into the future, exploring the plots extending beyond the events of the film Serenity. May Titan bless us by publishing even more entries to one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.

Despite having read this one more recently, being the 7th entry, it took a moment to recall much of the events of this book. Back in Shindig we got to see some glamour and a taste of the posh life in Firefly, as well as some of the more serious underlying facts of life in the 'Verse such as the incident with Atherton Wing, and the nature of working with Lord Harrow.

In a similar manner, this book has a superficial layer with a much, much deeper truth hidden behind it. Zoe shows her rebellious streak that emerges time and time again when she doesn't see eye to eye with Mal, and it is more profound here in this book, and for good reason.

It was nice to see Book having a very believable role in this story, and there were some more new details into the Firefly universe added by this story as well. There is a lot of good things to say deeper into the details, but it will sadly be one spoiling element after another! If I recall correctly this is the novel where a very fun dynamic is introduced by pairing up Simon and Inara, involving Simon in a way like his proposed heist on Osiris.

The crew get sucked into a much bigger picture beyond their originally intended involvement, but as Mal would know, that seems to happen often to him and the crew as they tend to have a fair amount of bad luck along with the good.

Being the 7th book, readers sticking to the series this far in have a good idea what to expect, and I certainly don't recall any disappointments here.

This is one of the most commonly favoured entries into the series among fans. While I'm not entirely sure why that is, I wouldn't discount this novel over it by any means. In typical Firefly fashion, Serenity's crew gets sucked into a situation they didn't ask for and have work to do to get themselves through it. As stated by the synopsis, Zoe and Book are kidnapped, which was a nice choice for this story. One reason is that these two have rarely been together in the overall Firefly story; not just the show but the comics and other novels. With 9 characters to work with, there are in fact numerous pairings that haven't been well explored, untapped potential for new and exciting interactions. Another reason is that Book is finally not just a support character or on the side-lines, and with his history better understood thanks to A Shephard's Tale, he exhibits more of his hidden talents alongside Zoe.

Shephard Book fans will definitely not want to miss out on this story! Overall, this was a great read. The environment of the world where Serenity visits, the situations and dialogue following the crew, everything was another satisfying experience. This is already the sixth book in the series and it continues to honour the precious legacy of Firefly.

The subtle hints to Inara's backstory from the show. Those comments, rather short, bore such foreshadowing. For those unsure about what from the show fueled the basis for this book, two such examples are as follows. When Simon evaluates Inara, being a doctor, he discovers the nature of her present condition, but as her doctor he maintains confidentiality, especially to keep the secret from Mal. Second, during the exquisite episode Out of Gas, Inara responds to a comment about dying in space due to suffocation with "I don't want to die at all". While this could be debated, it is often accepted that this was another clever hint to the backstory the show never had a chance to lead into.

This novel carries on the incomplete plot line, bringing it to the forefront. Her secret is out and clearly laid out, and the crew steps in on a dangerous mission, risking themselves once again in the hope to find resolution to this problem and save Inara's life.

Inara is a more difficult character to work with from story to story in Firefly. She tends to be a secondary character, a supporting helpful character for everyone else in the spotlight. While her delicate condition precludes her from being an active participant, obviously, the plot is because of her and thus she is the key focus. Where Serenity goes and what goes on cannot be discussed without spoiling, but it certainly was an authentic feeling story yet again.

This is also one of the longest novels in the entire series, and much like the others, this was another page-turner.

Before I begin I must state that this novel among the 8 currently released tends to be the least favourite among fans. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps it's the criticism over Mal's judgement of River's input regarding the unusual map he procured. Perhaps it's the dynamics between River and a new mysterious character exclusive to this story. Personally, neither were a problem and this is another welcome story without a doubt.

While the book begins with a classic western-style event in traditional Firefly fashion, much of this book is appealing to the sci-fi nature of the series. From the original show, Earth-That-Was was just the occasional reference, and the history of the known currently-occupied galaxy remains quite shrouded. After all, the years in which the events of Firefly occur are several hundred years in the future.

Thanks to Generations, this part of the story is finally explored, and through the crew of Serenity, the reader will learn more about the history of mankind since people departed from the Earth. This element alone makes this novel a valuable entry to the franchise.

Of course, the role of the new character with respect to River is unique and interesting. It also explores some of River's abilities and gives more insight to what she thinks and feels. I find that it must be the greatest challenge to write for River out of the whole crew of nine, given her remarkably complicated backstory and mental state as a character. Seeing dialogue for her written as cryptic and puzzling foreshadowing hits the right spot, and while I can't recall precisely whether this novel excelled at this more than others, I also can't recall being dissatisfied River here.

Even after 8 releases now in this series published by Titan, The Ghost Machine remains one of the few with a very sci-fi oriented plot. As Lovegrove had also written the previous entry, Magnificent Nine, I was quite optimistic going into this book as I had really enjoyed the second entry in this series.

Initially, as I recall, while reading this book, I felt a bit disappointed, and the only reason for this is because much of the story doesn't really happen. As the teaser states, a mysterious machine is somehow responsible for rather lucid dreams and that constitutes much of this book. However upon completing the novel, there were no regrets. This was based on a distinctly sci-fi sort of premise, which is great to help prevent the western angle from dominating the span of all Firefly stories, but most importantly, the dreams themselves are a huge contribution to the Firefly universe.

Being dreams they are not canonical history of events for anyone; nevertheless, they are rather precious because of what is in those dreams, and what is happening. For every character involved, the reader will gain immense insight into the lives of everyone. For some, it's about the past and their previous lives, while for others it will be about what they may have wished life was like, instead of what it is on Serenity. This is a massive dose of character development in the sense of learning so much more about the crew, and since that is one of the strongest suits of the entire show, it must be why this book might hold as one of the overall favourites among fans.

Additionally, River's role in this tale is interesting as it is crucial, but given her unique condition and backstory, any new development or insight about River Tam is always a treat. This is a rare opportunity to see River in a way she would otherwise never be seen before, but made possible thanks to the driving plot of this story.

Although The Ghost Machine does not ultimately build upon the story of Firefly going forward in terms of the ongoing lives of the crew of Serenity, this may be the one story that unveils more depth to the characters than any other single story ever will.

After Big Damn Hero, it seemed the bar of standards was set high, much like the original show and its legendary legacy. Magnificent Nine presents a plot that is very much reminiscent of the western formula that the show often called upon. Similarly to the first book, this plot is driven by the crew aiding one of its own members with a dilemma specifically involving him.

This plot will dive somewhat into Jayne's rather unknown past to increase the depth of his character beyond what was revealed in season one, and the main antagonist in this one was a real treat. There had been some criminals and other blokes that were more on the immoral side of the line such as Adelai Niska, perhaps Burgess, and "YoSaffBridge", but the one in this story makes a mark, too.

Introducing new characters must be a challenge for these novels, given that they will not have a frame of reference from the TV show by definition. However I felt Lovegrove executed the creation of this story's foundation with its new players as well as it deserved to be. Looking back on all the novels, this is one of the ones I would be most inclined to re-read. Another shiny novel indeed!

Despite an entire set of comics from Dark Horse to expand upon the Firefly franchise as well as the ongoing BOOM! Studios series, Titan has been publishing proper novels for this beloved franchise as well. Fortunately, having read all 8 that have been published until the time of writing, I can report that just about any Browncoat will be rewarded immensely to dive into the series. While each book may have its share of relatively minor flaws, some of which are easily overlooked, and the feel of characters, their fidelty through their dialogue and actions, may vary due to authors' styles, the overall genuine portrayal of everyone is quite wonderful.

The most common assessment for these novels is that they feel like new episodes, and they do. So far, each book occurs either within the timeline of the original show, or after the last episode of the show but before the events of the film Serenity.

Big Damn Hero was no exception. One of the great characteristics of the show was the depth of all nine characters aboard the Serenity and exploring their identities: their histories, their personalities, their influence and presence on the ship. In this novel, Mal falls into the role of the victim, which was not really done aside from the episode War Stories. The story is quite intriguing given that his captors are fellow Browncoats rather than the Alliance as one would intuitively predict, or even a vengeful contact sour over a job gone wrong.

This novel also explores so much of Mal's character regarding his history, which I felt was a bold move by the author, and greatly contributes to the appreciation of this story especially in the context of being considered a new episode in its entirety. It is difficult to comment further without spoiling something in particular; nonetheless I can say this was a smashing success in my opinion, a fantastic start to what will hopefully be a rich and long series of new stories.