SciFi Month prompt #7 is, “What’s your favorite SF book read in the last year”, which is easy: Influx by Daniel Suarez. The ending was too “make this a movie, you guys, Michael Bay will make it EPIC”, but the majority of the book was absolutely gripping. Begin with an interesting-as-hell concept and then move into psychological drama, then close with action: great stuff.

It’s business as usual aboard Serenity: money is tight, jobs are few, and Mal just escaped death from one of the many uber-rich criminals he’s angered over the years. But now something’s come up that derails Mal’s business-as-usual attitude: Inara, the Companion who once used Serenity to conduct her business, is gravely ill from cancer and not expected to last the month. Shaken, Mal grasps at straws and begins looking for an up-and-becoming medical researcher who, rumor has it, had invented a revolutionary new approach to cancer treatment that might’ve been universally applicable. Only…he angered someone in the Alliance, and has evidently been dispatched a frozen prison-planet where the conditions are so harsh there are no guards. Determined to do anything he can do to save Inara, Mal and the crew sally forth to invade this ‘verse’s version of Alcatraz and see if they can’t find this miracle-working doc. In due time half the crew is in peril on the planet and half the crew is in peril in space, but this is Firefly and they are used to doing the impossible.

James Lovegrove’s books have been my favorite in the Firefly series, thanks in part to how he handles the characters: he has an excellent ear for their voices, how they might react in a situation, and his books are careful to give each person aboard the Serenity their time in the spotlight. Here, the ‘bruisers’ of the crew are all on the planet, where Zoe finds a way to earn the trust of the prison-colony in a way that Jeeves would appreciate, if not its violent approach. On the ship are left Kaylee, Wash, and River, the latter of whom is forced to step up and pilot the ship after a nasty run-in with an Alliance corvette disables Wash completely. There’s an interesting dynamic between Zoe and one of the women in the prison who later becomes an antagonist, sort of a “great and worthy opponent” situation. Lovegrove does an excellent job of moderating tension: there are no dull moments here, only periods of relief between spikes in intensity. I zoomed through most of it in one night! I can’t believe it’s been four years since I read in this series, but will be continuing in it. This is an especially good novel for those who are into the Simon/Kaylee and Mal/Inara relationships.

Achivement Unlocked! Science Fiction Book Bingo: “A Ship and Crew”