Let's get one thing out of the way: this "save the town" trope is now used for the third consecutive book, and while, yes, it is absolutely believable, yes, it is absolutely exactly the sort of thing that will happen to Serenity and her crew, it doesn't mean every episode would amount to that same idea ad nauseum. At the time of writing this is the latest published entry to the series, and hopefully, a 9th book is coming and will be more fresh with its plot and premise. Comparing to previous books does not really affect the rating this book deserves, so this shall be set aside.

This book surprisingly uses a lot of first-person storytelling. The new character interacting with the Serenity crew has entire chapters written from her perspective. Sometimes it feels like a diary, but it's really just a perspective shift. When chapters break focus away from her (Annie Roberts), the writing uses the expected natural flow. This is not a criticism but merely an observation, as it was a unique trait this novel exhibited. Initially I wasn't sure what to think of it, but after having read the novel, it was a nice touch and functioned well, integrating with the rest of the book's writing.

With Annie being new, she is meeting everyone for the first time and learning about them. Thanks to this perspective the personalities and morality of the infamous crew are called to attention and this was a fun part of reading this one. If I recall Mal had a lot of delightful dialogue in this one in particular, when speaking to Annie and the local lawman. Being such an iconic character, it is rewarding and pleasant to see a story with Mal being Mal exactly as we know and love him. This is not to say others in the book are diminished!

Also, I must mention that the role Wash and Jayne have in this is bloody hilarious. How unusual to pair those two together for one, and luckily they were, being the two most amusing. It's impossible not to visualise these two and how they were in their antics.

I have given perfect scores for all 8 books available up until now. I'm sure others will find less excitement or even less interest in some of these books, even though the books themselves are all pretty good. Naturally I have bias having immense love for the show and everything around its creation, but every book has been immersive, addictive, and deeply entertaining. Much like everyone who yearns for more episodes for the show that can never return as we remember it, these novels certainly can continue as we remember the show.

There is also the possibility of pushing the story into the future, exploring the plots extending beyond the events of the film Serenity. May Titan bless us by publishing even more entries to one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time.