3.5
Big Damn Hero
ByPublisher Description
The 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.
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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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesBig Damn Hero Reviews
3.5
“A routine smuggling job quickly goes sideways when Captain Mal Reynolds vanishes without a trace.
With volatile cargo ticking down and Alliance attention closing in, the crew of Serenity are forced to split their focus.
Meanwhile, Mal finds himself facing ghosts from the war—and accusations that could cost him everything.
I had a great time with this. As a long-time fan of the TV show Firefly and the film Serenity, I went in hoping it would capture that same magic—and honestly, it really does. It feels less like a tie-in novel and more like a lost episode of the show, which is exactly what I wanted.
This is very much a character-driven story, with Mal front and centre, and I loved how it digs into his past as a Browncoat. The whole mystery around his disappearance and the accusations against him adds a nice bit of tension, while still keeping that classic Firefly balance of humour, action, and found family dynamics.
Lovegrove absolutely nails the tone and voices of the crew. The dialogue feels authentic, the banter lands, and all the little character moments make it feel like you’re right back on Serenity. It’s also packed with those familiar Western-in-space vibes, along with the usual dodgy deals, moral grey areas, and looming Alliance threat.
If I had one minor gripe, it’s that the plot can feel a bit predictable at times, especially if you’re used to the structure of the show. But honestly, that familiarity is also part of the charm.
A really fun return to the ‘Verse that clearly comes from a place of love. If you’re a fan, this is absolutely worth your time.”
“Nothing like reading a book written by a man after a whole string of 4+ star reads by experience female authors to remind you what you weren't missing. As a fan of the original Firefly series for it's writing, characterisation and setting - and less so for the behaviour of Joss Whedon, the perpetuation of offensive Asian stereotypes, the thinly veiled confederacy references and inconsistent feminism when it comes to the representation of women of colour - I was really excited about the idea of a more modern take on the short-lived beloved series that had the opportunity to flesh out the world and also do a better job of dealing with the issues of race and gender that Joss Whedon so crassly failed to. For me, this book failed on pretty much every account, and the representation of women, Zoe especially but also in the points of view of the main male characters, made it borderline unreadable. It's a true testament to the talent of the original cast and writers that Firefly is what it is and is so nostalgic in spite of it's flaws - and this book proves that it's just not enough to generate a weak and contrived plot and flesh it out with recycled lines and references to keep that world alive. I'm deeply confused by the reviews who felt that the characters were perfectly captured, or that failures of accurate portrayal were the fault of the audiobook narrator because since when was it the responsibility of the narrator to create a narrative voice or differentiate characters vocally when the source material cannot be bothered to offer anything to work with in the first place?”
About James Lovegrove
James Lovegrove is the New York Times best-selling author of The Age of Odin. He was short-listed for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1998 and for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 2004. He also reviews fiction for the Financial Times. He is the author of Sherlock Holmes: Gods of War, Sherlock Holmes: The Stuff of Nightmares, Sherlock Holmes: The Thinking Engine and Sherlock Holmes: The Labyrinth of Death for Titan Books.
Other books by James Lovegrove
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