Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale

This was by FAR the best of the post-movie stories! It was as pure and fascinating and human as the series. It's like the best of ST:TNG, the kind of story Roddenberry liked to tell before he died and Berman flew the Enterprise into the ground. That's because The Shepherd's Tale is electrically-charged with ethical ambiguity, and the fact that there is no definable evaluation function for "Is act x good, or is it evil?"Interestingly, this story really couldn't be effectively told in any BUT reverse-time order. It was amazing how Whedon makes you love Shephard, then hate him, then love him, then hate him, over and over. It was truly outstanding. (And BTW, I confess I was wrong about Shepherd Book having been one of the "operatives" like the black guys in the last episode and the movie!)One thing about it makes me sad though: it's the very last Whedon-created Firefly story that will ever exist, EVER. If I were Bill Gates, I'd buy out the actors' contracts, pay off the shows they're currently in, recreate the set, and guarantee a minimum profit for seven years to the network that creates it again.If you dearly miss the show, you MUST read this book! It does deserve to be the only Firefly comic in hardcover....And always remember:There IS no "good".There IS no "evil".There is only FLESH....especially "flesh"!

If you are a fan of Firefly/Serenity and can't get enough (like me) then you must check out these graphic novels. Enough questions are answered here alone to make this worth it, especially as we finally get a true look at the history of the man known as Shepherd Book. Without giving anything away I will say that his back story will not disappoint, even if it leaves us begging for more.The tantalizing tidbits that help flesh out the Firefly universe, and shed light on secrets that the film did not, are not the only appeal of this volume. There is plenty of action, humor and adventure to go around, and the artwork is consistently stupendous. These elements work together to really pull you in and fully immerse you in the story, atmosphere, and most importantly, the beloved character, plucked straight from the screen and dropped into the middle of these rousing tales.As a fan, I hated approaching the end of each volume, as I knew it was one less Firefly episode to experience for the first time. And yet, I could not put this one down until I had finished it. It's that good.

I am a Firefly/Serenity fan. I generally like the Whedon-verse.One of the most intriguing characters in the Firefly series was Book, the religious figure.Given some of the actions that occurred in the Firefly series, you would have imagined that Book was a high placed intelligence agent for the Parliament.Not the case according to this book.Before getting to spoilers, let me give a quick, less revealing review.The Shepherd's Tale is done as a reverse time story. It starts in the presence with the end of Book and flows to the first independent actions he took as a boy.I loved the first two volumes. Honestly, this one is still interesting, and the production values are high, but it was a bit of a let down for me.*beware spoilers follow*My biggest disappointment was that none of the introduced plot lines converged or resolved.Book started life as an abused, sensitive boy with a mean caretaker, male figure.Over the course of the next few decades, he murdered someone and took his identity (the original Book), worked for the Browncoats as a cyborg spy, joined the Alliance, led an Alliance task force, was relieved as a disgraced commander, and eventually went to a seminary and became a shepherd.In the end, I'm not sure which views were supposed to be the "real Book."If Book continued to work for the Browncoats and purposely got all of those Alliance soldiers killed then the scene with Book being cared for by the Alliance in the episode from Firefly doesn't make a lot of sense. There is an attempt to do a plot fix in the graphic novel saying essentially that the Alliance just lets failures go.This doesn't fit with the rest of the mythology though.If you are a hard core fan then this book rounds out your collection.If you are just curious about Book then I don't recommend it.

Book's story was not completed here. But, in a sense, it would never be. Like all the memories of Firefly that twinkle, vanish, and yet refuses to go away, Book persists with his words, action, humour, pathos, enigmatic presence.Poignant, sharp, non-linear, jarring...Unforgettable!If you are a browncoat, I suggest you get hold of this book. This is essential read. And the art is awesome, as usual.Highly recommended, goes without saying.

excelente historia que complemente a la perfección la serie de tv y la pelicula. Cuidado, pues contiene revelaciones de la trama y del personaje que podrían arruinar el misterio de la serie

what a nice story - I love this series - I totally recommend it if you havent checked it out yet. While this book about "book" isn't as exciting and the anticipation, it is still nice to have.

Este cómic es un buen añadido para darle más profundidad a la serie de TV. ¡Si eres fan de Firefly recomiendo comprarlo! Si en inglés no es mucho impedimento claro.

Every Firefly fan should read this.It's short but perfect enough for your firefly fix !Kept me flying :)