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Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe (Smart Pop series) |
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Published: 2007-10-01 |
List price: $17.95
Our price: $12.21
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As of: November 19th, 2008 10:53:48 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A Must-Read
Anyone who's seen Firefly or Serenity and fallen in love with it will find this book thoroughly entertaining and worth reading. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with much of what was written, and wanting to argue the authors of other essays, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Each essay was clearly written by a fan of the show, and the love shines through in the writing. Though some of them just seem pointless or shallow ('Things My Husband and I Argue About while Watching Firefly'), most are good, often thought-provoking, and they all bring back memories of the show. Which is always a good thing.
Read it. You'll enjoy it.
 Serenity Found findings
Jacob Clifton's work alone would have been enough to get me to buy this, but I ended up enjoying nearly the entire book, even more so than its predecessor, Finding Serenity, which contained the silly "Firefly is like the Tick" essay, the ludicrous "Joss Whedon isn't feminist enough because Zoe loves her husband and respects her boss" essay, and the offensive as hell "Joss Whedon can't possibly be a feminist, because no thinking man would be" essay.
This second volume is better for following the movie, for one thing, giving the authors more of the full story to work with, whereas the first book had only the series with its unanswered questions to consider. There are still some weak points, such as the too-personal-to-be-terribly-interesting "Things my spouse and I argue about while watching Firefly" piece; and the script outline of 'Out of Gas' by a guy who thinks the structure should be laid out scene-by-scene to demonstrate how cool it is...that one really lacked a thesis; and the "admittedly I have a huge chip on my shoulder" exhortation to geeks to be proud of their geeky selves, in which it was actually suggested that David Krumholtz could be plausibly seen as other than hot....
But there were really insightful essays outnumbering the ones that had me rolling my eyes and mouthing, "Blah blah blah," as I read. Jacob's was great, of course (I refer to him by his first name because I am a huge fan of his work and knew him only as Jacob of TWOP long before I learned his surname). There was a really thorough examination of the Libertarian ethics portrayed in Firefly; a thoughtful discussion of the Unification War in terms of its deliberate reflection of the American Civil War and even more carefully depicted differences from it; an in-depth look at many of Joss Whedon's female characters who have been essentially weaponized by meddlesome men; and several other really interesting takes on the Firefly 'verse that aren't for whatever reason leaping to mind right now.
Both books could easily have been trimmed, and one big book might have included only the best of these essays rather than a hit-and-miss double collection. On the other hand, it's great to have new Firefly-related stuff to devour at intervals with the show and film in the past and no likely sequels on the horizon.
 a half decent read
I'm a fan of firefly and this book is decent. About half of the essays are great. Well written, clear points, funny (like firefly).
I recommend:
-Curse your sudden but inevital betrayal; its about a firefly fan's reactions to the show and arguments with her husband (not really arguments, though. He says something and she quips). Its pretty funny.
-I, Malcolm; by Nathan Fillion himself. Its funny, witty, but short.
-Catching up with the Future by Orson Scott Card. Insightful essay on sci-fi in general and how much it sucks compared to Firefly. Yay.
-Girls, Guns, Gags; response to first book's feminist essay. She's funny, makes a few good points, but half of it is off topic/point.
-Mutant Enemy U; written by a guy who did special fx for the show/movie. Discusses the ship design.
-The virtual 'verse; about the firefly video game coming soon. double yay.
Be warned, though. the rest of the essays aren't good in my opinion. They over analyze, make no valid arguments, or are just plain boring.
I'm walking away from this book with a little more knowledge, but burned out on analyzing firefly.
More Firefly goodness
Having also read "Finding Serenity", this volume gives you a little more insight into the Firefly 'verse, post BDM (that's Big Damn Movie, for you non-Fireflyphiles.) This is a highly enjoyable, intelligent, and thought-provoking look into the Firefly/Serenity verse. Highly recommended for fans and non-fans alike.
Just what I needed!
This book was just what I needed to help me with a paper I'm writing on Joss Whedon's Firefly. It arrived timely and in great shape. Thanks!
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