What Makes Us Mighty (Firefly, #7) (2024)

This was a rather average Firefly novel in my opinion.

At it's core this is well written book and the characterisation is good, but the plot here is just too ruttin' similar to other books in this series, too similar to episodes of the show.
What Makes Us Mighty had what felt like an overly "safe" plot that didn't do much to expand, or put a twist on, what we all know and love of this series.

Firefly has such a strong combination of Space Opera and Western baked into it's DNA, and I feel as thought if you aren't going to lean heavily on either of those settings (and their associated themes), then you need to do something real weird with it. There have been books in this series that have done that, but this one really didn't.

What Makes Us Mighty felt as though elements of "typical Firefly plotting" were pulled from a hat and thrown together to form a very generic story - in brief; Inara has a client, the entire crew land hoping to have some R&R, Shepherd Book spends most of the book off-screen in an Abbey, the crew were tricked into smuggling something they didn't agree with, Jayne is a cold brute and worries about what he did back on Ariel, a localized civil war breaks out between two factions of the planet thus Zoe and Mal have flashbacks to the war, Kaylee and Wash stay with the ship, Simon does some doctoring and River is... well just River.
It really is rather uninspired. I would love to see more creative ways to use these amazing characters. Memorable adventures that take the members of the cast out of their comfort zone. Or for the story to take us to a world unlike all the others we've seen.
I love Firefly and I am so grateful we are still getting new material, it's just that this didn't feel new.

This all sounds like I hated the book - I didn't. It's ok. As I said before, the writing is good, the pacing was smooth and the character voice, as usual with this series, was really strong... I just really want to see more from these stories and this one felt completely forgettable to me plot-wise, which is a real shame.

2 stars.

Thank you for reading my review!

Least favorite so far of the series. Good aspects - the crew are tricked into a delivery in order for them to help a revolutionary group carry out a coup - so the action was there. But I felt there was a lot that was pointed commentary about societal dilemmas right now, when all I wanted was an escape from reality. I'm reading a action/adventure novel set in space, in the future, so the last thing I want is someone's agenda being imposed on my 'verse. Whedon's 'verse already accomodates and even instigates good discussions about society's values, but its in the context of this future world - a seamless part of that world.
Sorry, there's my rant. Strictly speaking the nefarious plans of the crew were up to snuff but the writing style wasn't my favorite.

Worst of the series so far. Disappointing

Ah, it’s that time again. I absolutely adore the Firefly books. It may be because I have such a fun love of the crew from the days when it was on public broadcast… but it’s a series that has been with me through various stages of my life. So here we go again. What I love is that you never really know what you’re going to get with these books. We’re at book 7 now, and the formulaic is much appreciated. This one feels a tad different in that the ‘hook’ isn’t so choreographed so simply at the beginning of the novel. You know somethings going on but it’s less of a straight forward story in that there could be two sides that are in the ‘right or wrong’. The characters are all absolutely, once again spot on to their on screen portrayals. This one has Kaylee on the cover…though to be honest it doesn’t seem to revolve around her as I was hoping it would. What I love is that the books have up to now taken turns sharing the spotlight on different characters. This book seems to be spreading the attention to most here. Mal, Book, Inara and Zoe are all getting some heavy time.. with Simon, River, Wash, taking a less pronounced role, but all are involved. The world they come to, with a strange orange sky (I again say that I love the world building… these books absolutely paint a better picture of the galaxy) I love how Mal off handedly says that maybe the Terraform process didn’t go well here… implying how the process isn’t an exact science, and that the technology in the galaxy is still very worn, and used.

Book splits off from the main group, and true to form, like the wandering priest he finds the sub section of the planets population, under very repressed and poor living conditions.

Meanwhile the other crew members are interacting with the ‘elite’ class and rubbing elbows, and we get two sides of a story here. The crew banter is as always spot on and it’s fun hearing Wash, debase himself and the loving relationship between he and Zoe. The unlikely pairing of super strong female and wishy washy, timid male is a dynamic I love.

We get a lot more showing the Companion ceremony, and how ritualistic it is.. Again the world building is so thick. So it comes out the there’s stage to a Companion visit..even a very sacred tea making and meditative phase…really cool.

The story does a nice job of picking a side and going with it. We see this deployment of this really horrible weapon that is so inhumane it’s banned from usage by the Alliance. It’s really interesting to see the morality of the Alliance show itself. Despite them being an oppressive group knowing that they have morals too is nice to see… The group here on this planet however used Mal and crew to smuggle the weapon to them and deploy it on their own citizens… Mal doesn’t take kindly to this so in a grim scene, they go out to the fields, and put a bunch of still dying victims out of their misery.

This then leads to some good ‘ol retribution and Firefly and crew team up with some resurgent and pretty much kick off a coup. By the end of the book the crew has pretty much evened out in terms of spotlight. Inara get some nice moments with her client and I like how meditative she’s portrayed in this book…

The book is short, I’ll say that much, and honestly I wish we had so much more. It’s a good complaint to have, but we usually get maybe 2 books at most a year so each one is pretty special. Each one never outstays it’s welcome. This is no different. A fun fun book, I enjoyed it just as much as the previous 6. I can’t say enough about these books as they fill and scratch a VERY heavy itch for me, the firefly sized hole in my heart…

M.K. England is able to capture the voices of all these wonderful characters and tells a good, but pretty cliched story about an uprising against the priviledged ruler of a planet.

The story is very much told by the numbers with no real surprises along the way. Also, the new female characters all seem strong and inspiring, while the new male characters mostly seem vile and misogynist, which is a bit much.

I LOVE Firefly but the other novels have been “meh” at most for me. This one was wonderful in comparison. Nothing super new plot wise but M.K. England more than compensates for this in their character and relationship building. Real, genuine female connections that aren’t hyper-sexualized, a look into the tea ceremony, delving into Zoe’s PTSD from the war, etc. all made this novel more than worthwhile.

I think this is my favourite so far of the novels. Don't get me wrong, the others aren't bad at all, but this just had something extra, I could see the novel play out as an episode in my head. Every character had been written just as you remember from the tv show.

2.5 Stars

As episodic books go, this was pretty standard and formulaic. Nothing much was added to the canon as far as worldbuilding or character backgrounds are concerned. There's a light touching on Zoe's PTSD from the Battle of Serenity, and a scene expanding on Inara's tea ceremony. Otherwise, there are just reinforcing callbacks to episodes that would have come earlier in the series. (i.e. referencing Jane's betrayal of the Tams, and Shepherd Book's willingness to shoot kneecaps--the latter of which was perhaps overdone a bit in the name of fan service.)

There are three major female side characters introduced. They're all presented as tough and competent leaders in their own right, on the side of righteousness against an inexplicably misogynistic rich guy and his pampered followers. (Handmaid's Tale in Space, anyone?) Though unfortunately, not enough time is spent on any of these women for one to grow particularly attached--and/or concerned for their survival.

This leads me to my primary criticism:
There simply wasn't much tension for a higher-action emphasis plotline. Obviously, there's already a bit of a challenge present--given fans know the ultimate fate of everyone on the crew (ala the movie Serenity), so there's no reason to worry for any of them on this job. There's a passing sense of injustice regarding the treatment of unknown civilians in the midst of a blossoming civil war, and some shock value added in terms of war crimes.
But to risk sounding as callous as Jayne here... the plight of the newly introduced characters never felt personal. (Indeed, Jayne's qualms over whether or not to kill his new drinking buddies when they turn up on the wrong side of things seemed more compelling than the overall plight of the common folk or their heroine leaders.)

Don't get me wrong; this was a more enjoyable ride than Lovegrove's Ghost Machine, and the characterization of Serenity's crew held up far more true than Lovegrove's Life Signs. (Here's hoping Tim Lebbon returns for another crack at this series.) I actually rounded up my rating because this installment portrayed Zoe and Wash's relationship with such respectful accuracy, I had to sit up and gratefully take notice. M. K. England is a competent writer--and I suspect from said writing, a fan of the show. This plot, and its execution, just came off more generic than I would have preferred.

Another excellent addition to this series. I can't wait for more. I'm happy they are episodic so I don't have to refresh my memory as new books are released.

The author did harp on about one particular thing a bit much. Not that I disagreed with the thing, but it began to feel a little forced.

Excellent narration.

Always love the characters. Felt too similar to other episodes of the series for me from a plot perspective. The villain was just a basic misogynist rich guy which seems to be the trendy thing to write about these days. Not just in the firefly series. Still, an enjoyable quick read.

Captures the characters and zeitgeist of Firefly quite nicely!

A perfect Firefly story.

Meh. The voices in this story didn’t feel cohesive with the others in this series as it was set over a somewhat forced and trite pseudo-feminist narrative which is why it gets one star.

I read this specifically for a reading challenge and I really enjoyed it! I have never read a spinoff book from a movie/TV series that I really loved and I was a little wary at first, but this was great fun. It really was just like a Firefly episode, which was a nice surprise. I chose this book because I've read this author before and they really made an amazing re-creation of the show and the characters and it worked for me so well. They are clearly a fan. This was a new and different reading experience and I enjoyed it. I may even read another Firefly book someday.

Browncoats forever! This was by far the best book in the series so far, which is saying a lot as I really did enjoy the Magnificent Nine. The crew of Serenity get what they think is an easy job delivering cargo to a planet called Kerry. The Noble is a genial man & invites the crew to stay for a few days & promises more jobs at the same rate of pay. Zoe is the only one that thinks something is off as the crew settles in for free food & liquor. This novel truly felt like watching an episode of the old tv series.

Another enjoyable book about one of my favorite series, Firefly. The narration is excellent; the narrator can change voices for his characters. He perfectly portrays the personality of each person. The story was intriguing and, as always, with this book series it kept me reading.

Another great Firefly book from M.K. England! Spot-on characterizations make it feel like watching new episodes of the actual show. Always high praise! This one was a pretty formulaic story that reminds me a bit of their adventure on Persophone. We don't get much of Simon or River in this tale, but the focus on Mal and Zoe is fine with me. I think this one takes on some important social issues without being overly preachy, though I will admit the villain of the story is a bit too generic mustache twirly for me. All in all, I enjoyed myself, and that's the point!

Nice to have the gang back together. Like another episode of the show, each character's personality is captured perfectly and took me comfortably back into the Verse. I look forward to more stories from our beloved Browncoats in the future!

Formulaic but entertaining fluff, as expected :)

Just another forgettable Firefly novel to be honest

This was one of my favorites.

1.5 STARS - Annnnd were back to OOC moments and at a lower level in the crafting.

What Makes Us Mighty in relation to the rest of the Timeline…

Serenity
The Train Job
Bushwhacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Trash
The Message
Downtime [comic]
Big Damn Hero
*What Makes Us Mighty
Better Days [comic]
Heart of Gold
Objects in Space
Generations
The Magnificent Nine
Those Left Behind [comic]
The Ghost Machine
Life Signs
Carnival
The Other Half [comic]

Yeah, so this is definately the worst of the series. Which is so disappointing because I love Firefly. Books like this are for entertainment. They are an escape from reality or a way to wind down. They are not a platform for beating people over the head and cramming your agenda down someone's throat. If I want that I will watch any news channel.

They do a job for an apparently slightly less shady guy who knows how to have a good time and is very hospitable and then all is not as it seems. The beloved characters also don't sound the same either. I felt Jayne, Inara, and Zoe were done a disservice in this book and all because someone wants to shove something down your throat that you don't want. I hope to God if anymore books comes out in this series this author won't be a part of it.

A very solid tale of the Serenity crew. I was particularly keen on seeing some more of Zoey in this novel, as we don't always get her internal dialogue.

This wasn't my favorite of the Firefly novels. The characters were spot on, and the plot was ok. I think there was just something about the storytelling that really came across as meh to me.

Ah, it’s that time again. I absolutely adore the Firefly books. It may be because I have such a fun love of the crew from the days when it was on public broadcast… but it’s a series that has been with me through various stages of my life. So here we go again. What I love is that you never really know what you’re going to get with these books. We’re at book 7 now, and the formulaic is much appreciated. This one feels a tad different in that the ‘hook’ isn’t so choreographed so simply at the beginning of the novel. You know somethings going on but it’s less of a straight forward story in that there could be two sides that are in the ‘right or wrong’. The characters are all absolutely, once again spot on to their on screen portrayals. This one has Kaylee on the cover…though to be honest it doesn’t seem to revolve around her as I was hoping it would. What I love is that the books have up to now taken turns sharing the spotlight on different characters. This book seems to be spreading the attention to most here. Mal, Book, Inara and Zoe are all getting some heavy time.. with Simon, River, Wash, taking a less pronounced role, but all are involved. The world they come to, with a strange orange sky (I again say that I love the world building… these books absolutely paint a better picture of the galaxy) I love how Mal off handedly says that maybe the Terraform process didn’t go well here… implying how the process isn’t an exact science, and that the technology in the galaxy is still very worn, and used.

Book splits off from the main group, and true to form, like the wandering priest he finds the sub section of the planets population, under very repressed and poor living conditions.

Meanwhile the other crew members are interacting with the ‘elite’ class and rubbing elbows, and we get two sides of a story here. The crew banter is as always spot on and it’s fun hearing Wash, debase himself and the loving relationship between he and Zoe. The unlikely pairing of super strong female and wishy washy, timid male is a dynamic I love.

We get a lot more showing the Companion ceremony, and how ritualistic it is.. Again the world building is so thick. So it comes out the there’s stage to a Companion visit..even a very sacred tea making and meditative phase…really cool.

The story does a nice job of picking a side and going with it. We see this deployment of this really horrible weapon that is so inhumane it’s banned from usage by the Alliance. It’s really interesting to see the morality of the Alliance show itself. Despite them being an oppressive group knowing that they have morals too is nice to see… The group here on this planet however used Mal and crew to smuggle the weapon to them and deploy it on their own citizens… Mal doesn’t take kindly to this so in a grim scene, they go out to the fields, and put a bunch of still dying victims out of their misery.

This then leads to some good ‘ol retribution and Firefly and crew team up with some resurgent and pretty much kick off a coup. By the end of the book the crew has pretty much evened out in terms of spotlight. Inara get some nice moments with her client and I like how meditative she’s portrayed in this book…

The book is short, I’ll say that much, and honestly I wish we had so much more. It’s a good complaint to have, but we usually get maybe 2 books at most a year so each one is pretty special. Each one never outstays it’s welcome. This is no different. A fun fun book, I enjoyed it just as much as the previous 6. I can’t say enough about these books as they fill and scratch a VERY heavy itch for me, the firefly sized hole in my heart…

This is the seventh Firefly novel I've read, and it's my least favorite of the bunch. It's not necessarily a BAD book, and you might love it. But the author, in my opinion, took too many liberties with the story and the characters, diverging from what was originally intended.

The story is a decent one, with Serenity's crew setting down on a planet to deliver cargo to a rich duke. They are treated to all the luxuries that the duke's people have at their fingertips, and quite a few of them find that they could get used to such comforts. Their trip has a fixed minimum duration, because the Companion on board the ship, Inara, has been hired by the woman who leads the duke's military forces. Inara and General Li are supposed to spend three days together.

But Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds' first mate and former fellow soldier, Zoe, is uneasy. She believes there's an untold story behind the duke's riches, and as the novel progresses... well, without giving too much away, of course it turns out she's correct. So all nine of Serenity's crew and passengers end up involved in efforts to right wrongs and improve lives. But along the way, there were little details that nagged at me.

I'm aware that Joss Whedon had a hand in all of these books, but I can't help but think that if he had any serious involvement here, he has fallen victim to the "let's change the past to match the present" trope. The author of this book is clearly one of the new generation of authors. Most of the time, their writing doesn't reflect anything in particular other than telling a Firefly story. But occasionally, they sneak in little "2020s" things like a little girl in the impoverished community minding the store while her daddies work in the fields, or a character named Ari who uses they/them pronouns. Now, this story supposedly takes place just before the penultimate episode of the TV series, so if it had existed then, it would have broadcast in 2003. I was there in 2003, and individualizing pronouns wasn't a thing then. Plus, non-traditional family structures would not likely exist in a hardscrabble community like the one depicted in the book. Those settlements would mostly be single males who were barely making it without adding a family to their responsibilities, or they would be traditional families who produce children because they need the hands to make the family's living. How two men would be able to adopt or otherwise come up with a child in the extreme poverty shown outside the duke's estate walls is beyond my ability to imagine.

These were minor annoyances, and if you read contemporary fiction of any genre, you're probably used to such things and they won't bother you in the slightest. But what I've loved about my favorite Firefly books is that they seem as though they're unproduced episodes (or, considering their length, multi-episode story arcs) from the original series. The characters are well-realized, to the point that in the best of the novels, I can actually hear the actors' voices saying the lines assigned to them in the novel. But this particular novel seemed less successful in doing that than the other six.

But don't let that stop you. If you love Firefly, go ahead and check this one out. Your results may vary.

Adventurous,emotional,funny,hopeful,inspiring,
lighthearted,reflective,sad, andtense.

Fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven?A mix
Strong character development?Yes
Loveable characters?Yes
Diverse cast of characters?Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus?Yes

4.5⭐

Out of the seven novels in this series that I've read, this was my favourite. It truly felt like I was watching an episode of Firefly...which would be AMAZING.

Every character was their counterpart in the TV series. The writtien voices were spot on.

The story was ALSO a typical (amazing) tale of how the crew of the Serenity was going to deal with being duped into bringing the counterband weaponry to the planet, it being used and many dying...then fixing the problem. Oh, so satisfying.

I could go down the line...for each character had their part to play in this story, which I greatly appreciated.

I'm a HUGE fan of the reluctant hero type, and Malcolm Reynolds is just the best.

Inara was her Companion self...being aloof, but still being at the center of the fix. Loved it.

River was as unique as she always is, but she too was instramental in putting things right.

Her brother Simon, though at times (most of the times) feels like an outsider, but in this adventure...he was very much needed by the crew and the people of the planet.

Zoë was, as always, amazing as a soldier, second in command, and as a wife to Walsh. I love their dynamic. Speaking of Walsh...he soars (pun intended) in this episode. Love all his interactions.

I'm not a big fan of Jayne. He serves a purpose...and he's very good at being disgusting and awful, but also an amazing shot and deep down...there is SOME good, buried oh so deep...that even he doesn't know it (most of the time).

Book again is part of the story, but by a back alley. He's really not supposed to know as much as he does...and having so many talents (that are buried...until they're needed).

and last, but NOT least:

Kaylee seems to be the most naive person (about relationships), but when it comes down to working on the ship...she's the expert in all things.

I truly love these characters...and am looking forward to the next book. Thank you.

This is an outstanding entry in the Firefly series. It has an engaging plot that feels like it would have fit right in with the show, and delves into some darker territory without the over-the-top morbidity that The Ghost MachineThe Ghost Machine had. Truly enjoyable.

And of all of the authors so far, I think M.K. England has done the best overall at nailing the characters. I understand that it can be difficult to capture nine different personalities from their live-action counterparts, especially when one of them is as complex as River, but to me these depictions were spot-on. I think that's vital to the success of this story in particular, especially given the personal choices that are made and some of the backstory and character development that we see.

Whatever the 'verse has in store for the future of the Firefly novels, I really hope this author continues to be part of it.

This was better than I expected, and my first of the novels. I loved that the female characters seemed to have genuine companionship that didn't revolve around men (e.g., Inara talking about Mal or Kaylee talking about Simon). I love that queer characters were written into the plot without shouting on a mountain about it. Including a subtle nonbinary character, who we only know is nonbinary due to their pronouns.

Seeing into the characters' inner dialog was fun. This was well done and well spaced out throughout the book. You'll find a lot of the language from the show like "shiny", cursing in Mandarin, etc. To nitpick, I did think shiny was a bit overused. In the series, they say shiny 43 time over 14 episodes, so about 3 times per episode on average. I didn't count, but it was definitely said more than 3, and it felt a bit forced.

The plot fit right into the Firefly verse, but it did feel a bit on the safe side. I hope the author continues to expand this universe and feels more comfortable getting more creative with the plot.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and a fun way to get new material.