Magnificent Nine

Firefly: The Magnificent Nine
pub. 2019 James Lovegrove
384 pages

Jayne Cobb is not the most conventionally faithful man aboard the good ship Serenity; he did, after all, enter Mal's service for purely mercenary ends.  But there's more to him than a surly hired gun; he is, as the show indicated, a man who works to support an ailing mother and brother. He has loyalties, and when he receives a wave from an old friend whose planet is being taken over by a criminal gang who ape Reavers,, that troth-keeping Jayne emerges.    Though Serenity is, as usual, flying on a wing and a prayer, with little reserves in food, money, or ammunition,   Mal is too good a man to pass up a hopeless cause involving fighting cretinous bullies.   When the old flame reveals she has a daughter....named Jane....things get complicated.

Magnificeent NIne is a straightforward action tale, though replete with the fun banter one expects from the Firefly crew, and  a couple of ridiculous situations. Lovegrove again displays a good grasp on the characters' voices and the interplay of their personalities;  Zoe and Wash are especially fun, but of increasing interest in this book is that between Jayne and River.  As with Lovegrove's previous novel, every member of Serenity has a role to play.  I thoroughly enjoyed the story, as well as the deepening of Jayne Cobb.