The Book Report #97

Episode #96

Firefly – The Magnificent Nine by James Lovegrove

Consulting Editor Joss Whedon

The Book

The copy I have is a 1st edition print hardback, published in March 2019 by Titan Books. A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd.

This book has 336 pages with acknowledgements and information about the author.

While away from home, I used an eBook copy on my phone.

What Did I Think?

This is the second adventure with the crew of the Serenity, and this time, Jayne Cobb is the protagonist of this story. And we get a brief glimpse into his past that may have caused some consequences he hadn’t banked on. An old flame reaches out to Jayne for some help.

On an outskirt planet called Thetis. A gang run by Elias Vandal is slowly dominating the area that the Alliance doesn’t care about. With his group known as the Scourers, he is taking the town’s water rights and selling the water back to the townsfolk. He has reached his latest town, Coogan’s Bluff, and has asked the mayor to hand over the water rights to him, or else. But beforehand. Vandal had allowed the mayor to prepare everyone before he took over.

Which was nice.

But during the mayor’s time to tell everyone about what is happening, Temperance called out for help. Temperance didn’t ask just anybody for help; she asked for help from Jayne Cobb.

The Second Book

Mr Lovegrove has done it again and has brought to life the crew of the Serenity. I would even say he has improved from the previous story, and what I noticed the most was the language of Malcolm Reynolds. It was spot on. Every member of the crew had a part to play, and they were all written well.

Jayne has to convince Captain Reynolds to help him with what could be a suicide mission. He offers up his most valuable commodity, Vera. His beloved and very special, overpowered gun. Malcom is reluctant, but after some persuasion from Innara, he still thinks it’s a bad idea.

They inevitably go and do what they can to help. It is an uphill struggle, as the townsfolk want nothing to do with being in an army to go against Vandal and his much larger group.

We get to see a vulnerable side of Jayne as he has to start to think in a new way when he meets a new person. And he has to deal with the potential of rethinking his life. But first, he has to deal with the threat from Vandal and the Scourers.

I really enjoyed this book, and going back into the universe of Firefly is always a comfort that I will happily return to time and time again. And with Mr Lovegrove’s help, I can continue that journey. So much so, I have searched and ordered the next book in the series.

Would I Recommend?

Do you like westerns? How about sci-fi? Do you enjoy a bit of action and maybe occasional comedy? If you said “yes” to all of these, you will enjoy this book. I recommend this book to everyone. As I am a browncoat (a Firefly fan), I may be a little biased, but I don’t care. Everyone should get a little taste of a show that was never given a real chance.

Please, give this book a go.

Would you like to purchase your very own copy?

You could try these online stores: Amazon UK/USA. Waterstones. AbeBooks UK/USA, Barnes & Noble, or eBay UK/USA.

Alternatively, you could try your local bookshop or even your local library.