He originally wrote it in the hopes of getting one of the two original Serenity novel slots from Pocket Books back in the day, before lackluster box office and Joss' resistance let them slide. Most authors submitted a proposal, maybe a summary, but since Brust really wanted to read a Firefly novel he went ahead and wrote one.
For the last few years he's been reading the prologue and first chapter at conventions, to riotous reactions, but has not been able to get it published since Pocket Books is no longer doing them. So, as he promised, he has released it online as fan fiction.
Really, really good fan fiction. Dead-on, I would even go so far as to say.
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
Oh my.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Tempting.
He's an established writer? He sure jumps between POVs a lot.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
He's not only an established writer but a fantastic writer.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Well, I think he's making a mistake rotating through everyone's POV. It means he has no right keeping whatever is secret a secret. It's very satisfying as fan fic, of course, except I don't know that anyone wants to know more about what Simon isn't thinking.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
It looks excellent. I don't agree with pooka's criticism.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
It works for me. I get the feeling he was experimenting with this, trying to get into everyone's heads.
I also know he wrote the first draft of this in 11 days, but he's certainly had plenty of time to polish it since then so this is certainly what he intended.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
The only thing I've read by him is To Reign in Heaven, which was amazing. This'll make two.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
People can switch around POV's a lot, it's not a sin by itself. He's just doing it awfully rapidly. It should be reserved for when it would be refreshing to do so.
The bit with Wash was very nice.
Okay, now he's lost me with what Jayne is supposedly doing on page 18.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Hmm.....
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
That was outstanding.
Posted by TL (Member # 8124) on :
quote:He's an established writer? He sure jumps between POVs a lot.
Where did you get the idea that jumping between POV's is the mark of an amateur? And why don't you know Brust? This is, like, crazy-talk, man.
quote:It means he has no right keeping whatever is secret a secret.
That's such a misguided statement. I so disagree. With you. On this issue. I believe, strongly, that if you are getting this stuff from a teacher of writing somewhere, and you're interested in writing, you should stop listening to or reading the stuff of this teacher immediately. I advocate that. If you're developing these rules on your own, it means you're observant and smart and even though I disagree with your conclusions, hey -- reasonable people can disagree. Carry on.
[ February 06, 2008, 05:08 AM: Message edited by: TL ]
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Finished it last night. Wow.
I do think the POV jumping got in the way, occasionally, of the narrative. Not because of the jumps per se, but because at times the need to visit every member of the crew meant that a single thought might take three or four POV jumps to complete, and that got jarring.
But the dialogue... Brust simply nailed the characters, in speech and action and thought. I laughed out loud several times, and marveled at the insight many more.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
Gracious.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
It was mostly my observation. A master can break all the "rules" they want if it doesn't detract from the story.
So the Jayne - Judas thing, was that able to be refreshed in some way? In Ariel, I believe Jayne got set off by River pulling a gun on someone. He isn't just greedy, he genuinely decided the Tams were a danger to the "family". He's crude, but Jayne still has to care.
Oh yeah, River stabbed him. I just didn't see an impetus like that in this story. And River seeing ghosts, wasn't that from "Bushwhacked?"
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
He'd been thrown off the ship.
Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
I like the multiple POVs. Makes it more like the experience of watching an episode.
But I still have a few pages left so I won't say more. Other than -- this is the fastest I've ever read a book on a PDA.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: He'd been thrown off the ship.
He chose to leave the ship rather than return something he stole. In the pilot, we learn that Jayne will turn down enough money to buy his own ship rather than betray the captain. Sure at the end Mal and Jayne talk about it, and whether there is a sum large enough.
Now I'd easily believe that in that moment, Jayne thought "well, if I bought my own ship, I'd have to get a crew and have all kinds of responsibilities." But that's just me.
If in this story it had been established in some way that Jayne's attachment to the crew was shattered by Inara's departure (either for her directly or via the weirdness of Mal) then there would be something go to off.
Anyway, I'm sorry to be so picky. This was just represented as being more than fan fic. The characterizations were pretty good but it's just not my thing.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Ah. You think Jayne is fundamentally a good, sensible person. I do not. Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :
quote:If in this story it had been established in some way that Jayne's attachment to the crew was shattered by Inara's departure
I think the series established and the fanfic reinforced that Jayne's attachment to anything is based on having a stronger, smarter person to provide opportunities to make money and get in a fight. I think that it's also been clearly established that Jayne often doesn't quite understand the lines that Mal draws in terms of what's right and what's not. But he goes along because usually things work out and because he understands that he simply sucks at being the thinker. Mal being off (because of Inara and because of returning to Hera) and Jayne getting greedy (and a little bit scared and also confused because he thinks he's a bad guy) led to an escalation that may not have happened under "normal" circumstances.
------ I enjoyed it. I'm not sure how well some of the River stuff fits canonically, but there were some fantastic moments. And some funny bits too.
Brust is exactly the kind of writer who is suited for the Firefly universe.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)