AIM TO MISBEHAVE

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

The early cancellation of Joss Whedon's Firefly in 2003 meant that many of the backstories he was setting up in those early episodes went unexplored in the television series. He addressed the mysteries behind River Tam and the Reavers in the 2005 follow up film Serenity, but there were other mysteries left unexplored in the cinematic world. One of the biggest mysteries was the background of Shepherd Book, which was only hinted at until the comic Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale was released in 2010. In Aim to Misbehave, the ninth original Firefly novel, Rosiee Thor begins with a younger Shepherd Book, revealing more details of his youth and his associates, while still leaving some mystery for other authors to tackle.

The novel opens with a robbery conducted by Lyle Horne and Henry Evans that ends with Horne apparently falling to his death. Evans, according to The Shepherd's Tale would go on to become Shepherd Derrial Book. Horne's fall changes the way Evans/Book views the world and will have major implications for Book's character in the novel that follows, raising a question in Captain Mal Reynolds' mind whether he can trust the Shepherd who has been traveling on Serenity for several months. Aim to Misbehave, will reunite the very much not dead Lyle Horne with a very changed Henry Evans/Derrial Book.

The action takes place on the moon Brome, whose major industry seems to be mostly grass-based, although the Blue Sun Corporation has a factory on the moon. The foreman, Lyle Horne, treats his workers as indentured servants, turning the local villages into factory towns. Anyone who falls on Brome's bad side finds they are not able to eke out a living. Although Brome appears to be set up as the bad guy, he is the one who approaches Reynolds, unaware of the presence of his former partner, to ask him to look into the disappearance of some of his workers. Although leery of Horne, and cautious about Book's loyalties, Reynolds agrees to look into the missing workers, which leads him to Jenessa Leon, who calls herself the Governess.

The Governess claims she is trying to make life easier for the residents of Brome, treating them as her own charitable project while raising money from around the 'verse to help in her endeavors. While it is clear that Horne is not an upright citizen, the Governess fills a more enigmatic roles, which it is up to the crew of Serenity to discover. Unfortunately, her storyline, while providing a focus and eventually weaving into the main storyline, doesn't feel complete, leaving her as something of an enigma even as her goals and methods are revealed.

Thor manages to capture the speaking patterns of Serenity's crew, which has proven difficult for some of the authors in the series. There are times they don't seem to act in ways that appear consistent with the characters established by the television series, particularly when Reynolds finds himself face to face with a band of local teenagers who have interesting ideas of ownership. While Thor expands on Book's background, little enough is given that it leaves readers wanting more, and those who are unfamiliar with the 2010 graphic novel may feel the slight information provided is more of a tease than a revelation. Overall, Aim to Misbehave is a successful addition to the Firefly series, even if it does leave the reader craving more.

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