by James Lovegrove, original story concept by Nancy Holder

Titan Books, out now

On their never-ending journey through the black, Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew light on the planet Persephone, loading up a volatile payload for a kamikaze smuggling voyage through the ‘Verse. Flitting from job to job like the fireflies for which their ship is named, Mal accepts an additional offer from a questionable individual, which hurls him head-first into his youth, disturbing the skeletons which rest uneasy in his closet. It’s a race against time for Mal and his devoted crew before a “blast from the past” becomes all too literal.

Slotting effortlessly into the continuity of the cult-hit TV show, Big Damn Hero boasts such perfect characterization and vivid depiction of the Firefly ‘verse that the reader could easily forget that they’re not watching a newly-broadcast episode straight from the mind of Joss Whedon. The pace of the adventure drags the reader alongside Mal and his crew; yet the ratcheted adrenaline is sometimes cooled by the poignant message of the horror of war and universal inequality, which first touched the hearts and minds of audiences in the show itself. At the core of Firefly lies the slogan “Find a crew. Find a job. Keep flying.”, and Big Damn Hero brilliantly encapsulates this ideology of hope and perseverance in the face of futility.

Verdict: Accessible and energising to fans old and new, Big Damn Hero is an unmissable new chapter of the ever-evolving story of Serenity and its crew. 9/10

Sophie Simpson