Publisher: Titan Books (UK)
Creator: Joss Whedon
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 1845760824
Number Of Pages: 160

Ok, I have been a Firefly fan since the first episode was shown on TV. And I still liked it, enough that I was often re-watching the episodes I had been wise enough to collect on VHS. So, when the DVD collection came out, I was hot to get a copy, especially with the extra scenes on it that were never shown.
I was one of the first in this town to see the film, and then I got this book from Titan. I wish I had read this first, not because it reveals to many surprises or clears up a lot of stuff, but mainly because the book is so good.
It tells a lot about the history of Mal and his companions as well as the universe they live in. Did you ever want to know more about "The Earth That Was"? And how the Unification Wars got started? Well here are the answers. Plus, all sorts of information you might want to know about the rest of the crew, from Inara to Jayne to the Tams, Book and of course, Kaylee.
The book is very well designed and put together. With high quality photos and reproductions of concept images and ideas, as well as finished product. The shots of Alliance ships were one of my favorites, along with the shots of the Reavers. In the movie it was hard to see them very clearly. Here you can see just what it is about them that is so horrible.
There are a number of interviews with Joss Whedon and he always seems to come across as an "Aw, shucks" sort of guy who is surprised at the way people respond to him now. Along with that are discussions with the cast and crew (I particularly liked Nathan Fillion where he told Whedon after reading about the character, "This is not me. Mal is hard, and empty and callous" but how he came to see Mal as just trying to hold on to what he believed in), and finally, the full shooting script.
Now, you could buy the book just for the pretty pictures, and there are a lot of them. But finding out so many of the ideas behind Serenity and Firefly just makes the show and movie that much more interesting.
You can find out how Serenity came to be as well as how Whedon originally came up with the idea of the TV series Firefly. It also talks about the problems of fitting a two-year TV show into a two-hour movie while still making the whole thing understandable to viewers.
Also, you get a brief history of the Universe of 2507A.D. as seen by Joss Whedon.
All in all, I was very pleased with this book. Titan once more proves what quality work they are capable of. If you are a fan of the TV show or liked the movie, or you are like me, a Browncoat, this is the book for you.
You can find it at all major booksellers.
You can't stop the signal.