Elanor saved the world (more or less) and takes a night on the town. One thing leads to another and…

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Well that’s quite a story. It’s a near future dystopia with major Shadowrun vibes: magic is back and for the most part, it’s being treated as and integrated with technology–with varying levels of success. Corporations have all the power and are represented as the big bads. People get kidnapped off the streets and all manner of other troubles. Add to that the main character just training in her powers, but somehow a chosen one with powers she doesn’t even realize–and all manner of quirky allies along the way.

It’s not a particularly new story, but it’s an enjoyable enough framework. And they even get to hang a lampshade on it somewhat:

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And so it ends. As far as I can tell, this story takes place after Firely, Serenity, and any of the other graphic novels. We have everyone settling down into a new routing, Emma growing up, Inara in retirement (all down to Earth…). The main plotline follows the additional River-likes we saw last time around, but there are a few new twists. Enough that I could very well have seen a few episodes or a season of Firefly built around it. If only.

On top of that, we have hints at a more interesting past for Inara (we’d had this before, but never answers):

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The comics take place all over time. This one takes place after the movie Serenity, so Wash and Book are gone, Zoe has a baby (I know right?), and River is flying the ship.

Of course, after causing so much trouble, they have to be on the run:

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Huh. So just last book, I was lamenting the lack of a backstory for Book, and here we are. It’s a series of short stories, working backwards from his death (in Serenity). Finally, we get some answers.

There’s not actually anything terribly surprising. We all knew he’d done bad things and turned to religion, but it was still fascinating to read back through the stories and in a backwards sort of way seeing how Sheppard Book came to be.

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I’ll admit, I was perhaps a little hard on Clockwork Angel / Clockwork Prince . But Clockwork Princess is quite a bit better.

In one book, we have big battles, a conclusion to the automaton plotline, an actual resolution to the love triangle (I’ll come back to this), more politics, and answers for just what Tessa actually is and what that means for the greater universe. I can’t really think of anything in particular that I particularly would have wanted that was missing.

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Whoa. A heist goes right (for a while) and everyone gets to dream about what to do next.

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“…Borrower’s don’t steal."

“Except from human beings,” said the boy.

Arrietty burst out laughing; she laughed so much that she had to hide her face in the primrose. “Oh dear,” she gasped with tears in her eyes, “you are funny!” She stared upward at his puzzled face. “Human beans are for Borrowers - like bread’s for butter!”

Well that’s a wonderful, fun book. Tiny people that live under the floor and steal Borrow whatever they need to survive/thrive from the ‘human beans’ that live in the house above.

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We live and breathe words. …. It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them.

I’m not 100% sure why I finished this book. But I suppose that having finished it at all might just be a testament to … something?

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Seven freckles. One for every love she’d have, that’s what Estele had said, when the girl was still young. One for every life she’d lead. One for every god watching over her. Now, they mock her, those seven marks. Promises. Lies. She’s had no loves, she’s lived no lives, she’s met no gods, and now she is out of time.

Addie LaRue is a story about making deals with the devil. A story about living forever. A story about living a life where no one seems to see you for you or to pay you any mind.

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