Aim to Misbehave

Firefly #9

by Rosiee Thor

The ninth original novel tying into the critically acclaimed and much-missed Firefly series from creator Joss Whedon.

It all started with the geese. The Firefly crew is eager to get paid for their latest job, but when payment arrives as a gaggle of geese instead of a purse, their stay on the planet Brome gets an indefinite extension. Don't matter that the geese will fetch a pretty penny once they get somewhere to sell them. Without coin, they can't buy fuel, and without fuel, they can't get off-world. Serenity is stuck.

Luckily the foreman of the local fuel refinery, Lyle Horne, wants to hire them, but not to work in the factory. A philanthropic authority known as The Governess has been kidnapping his workers. Lyle’s fixing to get them back—with the help of Mal and his crew. Only trouble is, Lyle’s got a mysterious past with Shepherd Book, one the preacher ain’t too keen to talk about.

Out of options and out of time, they launch a three-pronged plan: Mal will break into her fortress of an estate to retrieve the workers, Inara and Simon will pose as potential donors to the Governess’s charity as a distraction, and Jayne will stay behind to keep an eye on Lyle. But things never do go smooth, and soon the crew finds they have more than a few geese running amuck on Serenity.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Fantasy, Space, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2024

About the author

Rosiee Thor began their career as a storyteller by demanding to tell their mother bedtime stories instead of the other way around. They spent their childhood reading by flashlight in the closet until they came out as queer. Now, they write stories for all ages, including young adult novels Tarnished Are The Stars and Fire Becomes Her, the picture book The Meaning of Pride, and tie-in novels for franchises like Life is Strange and Firefly. Their short fiction appears in many anthologies, including the Lambda award nominated Being Ace, and they are the editor of Why On Earth: An Alien Invasion Anthology. Their debut cozy mystery, The Dead & Breakfast, is forthcoming from Berkley Press. Rosiee lives in Oregon with a dog, two cats, and an abundance of plants. You can find them online at www.rosieethor.com or on social media @rosieethor.

Reviews

[Konstantin Samoylov · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dropped the book at 50%. It felt too "woke" for the world of Firefly.

Picture this: a crew robs you, threatens your team at gunpoint, maybe even kills some of your people, shot you to kill and missed. You survived and your first priority is not your team, not your life, but to worry about teenage attackers harming themselves.
Does that sound like Malcolm Reynolds to you? Me neither.

And also empty emotional conversations as gap fillers.

[Joshua Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story and a very quick read. Shiny.

[Nerdybookshelves · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well... that was awful!
If you're into reading an entire book and waiting for something to happen, but it never does, then this is the book for you.

This author took all the original characters and changed their whole personalities in really bad ways.

There were tons of references to stuff that happened in earlier books and episodes, but it felt forced like the author was just referencing it all to engage us...but it all just came across like they know absolutely nothing about this beloved franchise, and it just ends up being a huge slap in the face of true fans of Firefly.

They really need to have Lovegrove return as the author in this series because he wrote everything to engage the true Firefly fans, and he wasn't just pushing their own agenda.

PS the geese were NOT funny... which means Wash's puns were even lamer!

[Georgette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed my ass off. If anyone says that geese aren't a great supporting character, I will point them to this as proof of otherwise. This was a fun book and she captured the characters' voices perfectly.

[Damian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The agenda of the past 3 authors has shown heavily in the stories, but this one.. the story-line just gets absurd. This is just fan fiction at a novels price.
Did Joss Whedon agree to have his IP changed by these authors as some metoo penance?
That would explain the direction the last few books took.

[PointyEars42 · Rating 2 out of 5]

1,5 stars. I'm not going to give this an inflated rating just because this is a Firefly novel. I can only hope that the next book in the series will finally cater to a reader who can handle deeper character explorations, heavier subject matter, and more complex storylines. I'm tired of this series being a Kaylee when it could should be a Zoe or an Inara.

I listened to this the day after I listened to book #8 (Coup de Grâce) and the strong similarities in plots and OCs doesn't do this book any favours. Even worse, it doesn't feel like Aim to Misbehave moves the series or the characters forward to any significant extent. If it was in comic form, fine, but to waste prose on filler content? Not only is this a missed opportunity to explore Book in detail, but we are unrelentingly subjected to the side of Mal who is all righteousness and no brains and I'm not impressed. Two characters mention that he is constantly endangering the lives and well-being of his crew, but they treat it like it is noble, instead of recognising it as a PTSD/suicidal streak resulting in poor decision-making and reckless behaviour. He is a bad father and his children love him too much to realise they deserve better. Without Fillion's looks and charm to distract you from the character's flaws, novel-Mal is not as worthy of an emotional investment as tv-Mal.

Also, I've taken a star off just for the mention of The Flying Spaghetti Monster that completely pulled me out of the story. (I appreciate His Noodley Goodness as much as the next critical thinker... but seriously now.) I'm deducting another star for queer-coding Book instead of being brave enough to state and explore it. It's 2025, ffs - let's stop pandering to fragile h'phobes. Let's also take another star off for rubbing it in my face that Inara, Simon, and River's more sophisticated, genteel crimes are far more fun than Mal's shoot-em-up farces.

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Greg Cox of Firefly authors here. Just awful. What I didn't like was the slow meandering plot that drags you along to boredom. The characters don't act at all like themselves and the only reflections are on past episodes to remind the reader that yes, the author, did watch the show. Every time Book speaks in Mal's presence he has to jump down his throat about God even though he didn't even mention Him. A very frustrating read and felt slow despite its length. Stop handing this franchise to terrible writers. There have been good writers in this series but then they have to pass it off to hacks like Rosiee Thor. The geese weren't as funny as you thought.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was shiny, captain tight pants. Just nostalgic Firefly fun.

It hit on all the notes it needed to: River oddness, Zoe/Wash love, Inara’s and Mal romantic tensions. Kaylee being Kaylee plus her and Simon having a moment. Simon being dense. What IS Books back story? Jayne and his guns. Plus animals! What more do you need? There were probably things to be more critical of but I don’t care. I love this crew. Keep flying.

I’m still not over Wash. I’ll never be ok with it. I love stories about him and Zoe so much.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another decent episode that had all the trademark stuff we've come to love and expect, solid 3.5.

Could've been a bit more fleshed out around the refinery operation. Supposed enforcers were name checked a few times but only appeared briefly once as if from nowhere and then forgotten about again after they served their single plot point. Almost pointless.

Also yet again far too many text errors, either additional or missing words. A proofreader was even in the acknowledgements, hate to think what it was like beforehand if this is what got signed off as fit for publishing.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Total spoiler you will not learn anymore about Shepard’s background. That being said this was another great firefly adventure. Part of me thinks they should ignore the film and just keep having adventures instead of trying to place all these novels in and around the first season. Plus, I read some second season episode synopsis and would love to see some of them be turned into novels. As far as this novel we get to see the crew facing down their usual fare which is really why we are reading these novels. Nothing really stands out or give any new character development just a fun adventure.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good concept but poor execution. The book spent more time on a random teenager than Book, who should have a lot more of a focus. Unfortunately, it’s probably my least favorite of the series, but it’s still great to read stories in the ‘Verse even if it’s uneven.

[Alex]

I'm now always going to describe the sound of chairs being moved out from under tables as "unfortunate".

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Out of gas on a distant cooony moon, on the trail of missing colonists under the influence of corrupt officials, and unsure what to do with the gaggle of geese they have as cargo…

Firefly: Aim to Misbehave by Rosiee Thor (great name) is the ninth published novel in the firefly series, set chronologically after the War Stories episode.

This is one of the better well rounded books in the series so far as it’s entirely set on a planet the crew of the Serenity happen to be stuck on (due to gas and goose situations), and nearly every crew member gets something interesting to do (no spoilers but I will say Simon gets to engage in some veterinary medicine).

All of the romantic and potential romantic relationships from the show are developed…hunting at the future eventually seen in the movie and later comics.

We even briefly get a hint of the past of Book, as the Shepherd encounters someone from his past. Thankfully this doesn’t acknowledge the bizarre Shepherd’s Tale graphic novel but it also doesn’t explain his connections to the Alliance hinted at in Safe…

Still, it was an all around good book with decent action and humor and heroism…definitely recommend…

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

In diesem Band (es wird doch nicht der finale sein :'( ?) kam am deutlichsten die Schwächen der Reihe zutage. Mehr Background, mehr der geliebten Charaktere - alles schön und gut, aber dadurch, wie sie angesiedelt sind, kann es auch nie mehr als das geben. Kaylee und Simon können nie zusammenkommen, schließlich tun sie das erst im Film. Mal und Inara können nie zueinander finden. Wash und Zoe werden nie ihre Familie gründen, über die sie hier reden und und und ... man erfährt hier mehr über Shepherd Book, der im Kosmos bislang ein großes Mysterium blieb. Hätte ich diese Backstory von ihm gebraucht? Vermutlich nicht. Ich fand es trotzdem wieder gut zu lesen, wenn auch nicht das beste der Firefly-Bücher.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An EXCELLENT Firefly novel. It took me a little while to get through, but only because work is so nuts in summer. Rosiee Thor has a PHENOMENAL understanding of the crew and the emotional revelations at the end of this are as compelling as key episodes like Ariel and The Message. (And I DON’T say that lightly, WOW, this was as satisfying as a trip to Cheesesteak Rebellion.) Once I hit the last 30 pages I HAD to finish it. I also LOVED having more LGBTQ+ characters.

WELL DONE ROSIEE THOR, if anyone from Titan sees this PLEASE ASK HER TO WRITE TWELVE MORE. ❤️❤️❤️😭

[S. Naomi Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

My rating : 4.5 of 5 stars

I honestly think this has been my favourite Firefly novel so far. All of the main characters get a chance to do their thing in their own inimitable way, and it's written in a way that genuinely makes it feel like a lost episode of the show, one they had a script for but never got around to filming. Definitely a worthy addition to the series.

[Carl Pavlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of the references seem a bit out of place in the Verse of Firefly (flying spaghetti monster, Brondo) the characters feel real and the crew helping the downtrodden fits. Not the best of the Firefly novels I've read, but nowhere near the worst

[J. Griff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Browncoats forever! This is the 9th book in this series by several differnet authors, I did find Thor's portrayal of the crew of Serenity very accurate to what I remember from the show/movie. The dialogue is spot on & even the story had a couple of nice twists in the plot.

Definitely recommend if you are a fellow Browncoat.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The crew is broke, out of gas, and stuck with a cargo of very angry geese on a downtrodden refinery moon (which is, of course, harboring a secret).

I much prefer these sorts of scrappy, everyday episodes over extended Inara melodrama.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love a good Firefly book — and this one did not disappoint!!

[Scott S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goodreads pulled my review. Censorship has come to my favorite app. If they thought that was bad, wait until they find out about the anti-Semitic books on goodreads. We can have a good ol digital book burning.

Slightly adjusted review below - let's see how long until I'm banned. My guess is that the author reported the original. We forgot to teach the "sticks and stones" song to an entire generation.

Despite various authors writing this series, I've been loving it so far. Until this book, each had been true to the series. But at the phrase "unhoused people" from a character that wouldn't have said "unhoused people", I had to look up the author. No surprise at what I saw. Expectations were instantly lowered.

It wasn't completely terrible, but this was my least favorite so far. I was annoyed to have a couple of my favorite libertarian badasses espousing lefty nonsense. Leftist always know how to spend your money better than you do 🙄

Excellent narration

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the Firefly series - if you are missing the show you'll want to start picking these up. This one gives us a little peek into Shepard Books past.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not a 1 because I finished it. This is another recent example of pop cultural subversion.

[Eric Copeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love love LOVE "Firefly." My wife and I were avid viewers of the show from the time it premiered (well, probably I loved it more than she did) and were dismayed when it was treated poorly by the network and allowed to flounder until it sputtered out. We went to the movie, also, and bought it (and the series) on video.

And I have been a big fan of the Firefly books. The early ones, especially, captured the characters and voices so well that it was easy to imagine the actors saying the lines as one was reading the novels. The last two novels, though, have been not so adept at continuing the marvel that was Firefly.

Don't get me wrong. The story here is fine. It doesn't really break any new ground, other than digging a little more deeply than before into the background of Shepherd Derrial Book, the preacher who was first a passenger and quickly became part of the "family" of people aboard Serenity. Not breaking new ground isn't necessarily a bad thing -- Firefly is, in many ways, a space western. Science fiction and westerns, individually, don't need to reinvent the wheel to be amazing, and when you combine the two that's even more true. The plot of this one is similar, in fact, to not just other Firefly novels but to many genre stories that influenced creator Joss Whedon's original storyline. The crew of Serenity, a Firefly-class spaceship, are smugglers and skirt the edge of the law, but their morals are stout and when they encounter people in need of help, they can't help but get involved.

That covers the basics, the bones, of the story. It's not much different from previous books but I don't need surprises to enjoy the story. If only... if only... the author had just stuck with telling the story. But this one, like the novel just prior, injects a lot of stuff that I realize is very fashionable now but detracts (in my opinion) from the story arc.

Without giving too much away, Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew find themselves stranded without fuel and low on cash after a job goes south. Their temporary base this time is Brome, a dustbowl of a moon that has as its main crop a plant called bromegrass... which is exactly as lush and useful as it sounds. As the crew (first mate Zoe and her pilot husband, Wash; mechanic Kaylee; and general muscle Jayne) and passengers (Shepherd Book; Inara, a high-class consort; and siblings Simon and River, on the run from government officials who would really like to continue their experiments... ahem, TRAINING of River) venture out into the barren community on Brome and discover that the factory that employs most of the residents has been losing a few of them. The visitors from Serenity have the chance to earn some money by rescuing these missing workers from a mysterious Governess who is apparently keeping them on an estate that is walled off and richly terraformed in contrast to the rest of Brome.

And here we start to see the inclusion of some details that the author inserted to keep the story "hip" with modern audiences. In gathering intel about the missing factory workers, we learn that one of them is in a same-sex marriage -- which is fine, except that she and her wife also have a child, which seems strange because I doubt there's much of an adoption industry on a barren moon like Brome. When our heroes reach the missing factory workers, one of them is an individual who identifies as they/them -- which again, okay, but I know when I see someone trying to rescue hostages, the first thing I'm wondering about is what the hostages' pronouns are.

As the book progresses, we're also treated to some rhetoric that sounds like the kinds of things college sophomores say when they've discovered both weed and "Das Kapital" -- I wouldn't be surprised that the factory workers espouse some Marxist tendencies, but I never got hints of that from the main characters of "Firefly," who always seemed too self-sufficient to really be interested in the top-down kind of government framework that would be necessary to make such ideas work.

Ah, well.... I talk a good game, but I'll probably still check out future installments in this series in the hopes that they'll be truer to the original concept. It's probably a fool's errand -- the Firefly crew hasn't appeared new onscreen anytime since the 2005 "Serenity" feature film, and after two decades I probably can't really expect these new authors to get back to the series' roots. I refuse to give up, though. Like Mal and Zoe's faith in their Browncoat rebellion ("May have been the losing side; still not convinced it was the wrong one"), I hold out hope that these books and their authors may someday again live up to my expectations.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the okay-est of Firefly stories. It was pretty interesting and lively at first with some of Shepard Book's backstory being revealed, and the setting being a dry, grassy plain. However, it got pretty dull, a bit predictable, and the writing became painfully redundant. Honestly, the best part of this story was the geese and how they interacted with the crew.

Redundancy, especially with regards to Mal, was rife in this book. I lost count of how many times the author felt it necessary to remind the audience about:
1) How Mal desperately wanted to know about Shepard's past.
2) How much he was being hyper possessive and protective of his ship (against a group of teenagers).
3) How infuriatingly he infantilizes Kaylee (see "Little Kaylee"), an adult woman.

There was also how horrifically shady the Shepard was being the entire time. It feels terribly out of character. It makes sense that he would be guarded at first, but there's a part of Shepard's life that he clearly feels deep-seeded shame about, and then there's the rest. It feels really trivial that he would be so secretive about his youth/teenage years. He's made it clear he wasn't born a saint, so it shouldn't cause a huge stir to say that he made some bad decisions as a teenager. It really felt like a non-issue that the author blew out of proportion for lack of plot devices.

I hated the teenagers-stealing-Serenity chapters that ended with the whole "we'll solve the problem by unionizing" brainstorming session. Don't get me wrong, I think all-in-all those were fine plot devices, but they were so poorly written. It felt painfully forced, like a bad 90's kids' television program with various moral values shoved in your face. I literally rolled my eyes throughout that entire section.

Gripes out of the way, there were several things I really appreciated about this story. The Zoe-Inara pairing was great. I feel like those two made great partners, and I wish they got more screentime as such. Glad to see it, albeit fleeting, in this book.

I really enjoyed seeing Kaylee and Wash stretch their skills to their limits to get Serenity flying despite having zero fuel. I liked seeing Jayne be highlighted as a slightly better person. He often gets the shaft as a good guy because of his general demeanor and criminal tendencies, so it's nice to see him written sort of positively. I LOVED River and the geese. Hands down, I would watch a "River's Flock" episode that focuses on the shenanigans they got into while everyone was off getting in trouble.

This was probably the second weakest story (after Life Signs) in the whole series. This one's a take-it-or-leave-it for me, leaning more on leave-it due to how dull it was.

[The Void Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

### Book Review: Firefly #9: Aim to Misbehave by Rosiee Thor

**Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️**

The ninth installment in the Firefly series, *Aim to Misbehave* by Rosiee Thor, delivers another thrilling adventure with the beloved crew of the Serenity. This novel excels in detailed character development and immersive world-building, capturing the essence of the original series created by Joss Whedon.

**Overview**

The novel follows Mal, Book, and the rest of the crew as they embark on a risky heist to free themselves from a treacherous web of lies on a remote moon.

**Stranded and Broke**

The story kicks off with the crew's latest job turning sour. Instead of receiving payment, they end up with a gaggle of geese, leaving them stranded on the planet Brome without the funds to buy fuel. Their predicament sets the stage for an unforgettable adventure.

**A Figure from the Past**

The foreman of a local fuel refinery, Lyle Horne, offers them a job to rescue his kidnapped workers. This mission unveils Lyle's mysterious past with Shepherd Book, adding depth to the plot and character dynamics.

**Plans Go Awry**

The crew devises a multi-faceted plan to infiltrate The Governess's estate. With Mal breaking in, Inara and Simon posing as donors, and Jayne keeping an eye on Lyle, the story is packed with suspense and unexpected twists. As always, things don't go as planned, leading to chaotic yet entertaining outcomes.

**Conclusion**

*Aim to Misbehave* is a captivating addition to the Firefly series, filled with action, humor, and the rich storytelling that fans have come to love. Rosiee Thor masterfully blends high-stakes heists with personal revelations, making this novel a must-read for any Firefly enthusiast.

Happy reading in the Verse 🚀📚

[M. K. French · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Serenity crew is paid in geese instead of coin, so they can't buy the fuel to get offworld, even though the geese could potentially be purchased for a lot of coin at an offworld market. Stuck on Brome, the crew is potentially hired by Lyle Horne to get his factory workers back from someone called The Governess. Lyle has history with Shepherd Book, and neither of them are talking about it. Without much choice, the crew takes the job and forms a plan, but nothing ever runs smoothly.

Rosiee Thor is a great author, so it was a double bonus to see that name on this book. The beginning references several episodes of the show and is set up like an episode itself. The glimpses of crew interaction and a hint of Book's past are tantalizing and remind me of the way that the episodes hinted at more depth to all of the characters. The missing people who Lyle asks to find are at the Governess' compound, but of course, Lyle never told the whole story. As the factory overseer, his management style tended toward authoritarian and coercive, adding to the distrust of everyone associated with him. The crew takes their multiple-pronged plan to try to fix the situation, which goes all kinds of wrong. We get to see how it all gets pulled together in the end, reminiscent of the show itself. This was a really fun story and makes me want to watch the box set all over again.

[Milan Pohl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Docela dobře napsaná Firefly knížka, která bohužel opět (přinejmenším už počtvrté) recykluje zápletku ve stylu "posádka přistane na zapadlé planetě, kde mají místní lidé problém s někým, kdo je vykořisťuje, a tak jim posádka pomůže". Copak v Titanu nemají redaktora, který by na tuhle repetitivnost upozorňoval už při schvalování konceptů zvažovaných knih...? Tady se s jedním předchozím románem navíc hrozně dubluje i jistá součást finále jdoucí proti charakteru určité postavy (bylo mi to proti srsti už v té dřívější knize a vysloveně mě to nutí považovat danou pasáž za nekanonickou).

Pozitiva: Rosiee Thor slušně zvládá charakteristickou řeč postav (což není u Firefly nic samozřejmého ani jednoduchého), umí dobře navodit humorné situace. Zápletka se hodně točí kolem Booka a jeho minulosti, šikovně rozvíjí jednu z kapitol jeho života, nastíněných v pohříchu stručném komiksu Serenity: A Shepherd's Tale. Věčná škoda té repetitivnosti s předchozími svazky (a jisté rozvláčnosti a, řekněme, nenapínavosti zejména v prostřední části knihy). S důslednějším redakčním vedením mohl být výsledek mnohem uspokojivější (což platí o většině posledních Firefly románů zhruba od Life Signs).

[Amber Fischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this universe and these characters. This book gets three starts just because I got to read about Serenity and her crew. With that being said, I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as I have the previous books. There was far too much filler information dumped into conversations or scenes between characters. If you have never read any of the other books or seen the show/movie, don't worry! This book will hammer you will character details from previous stories and events. It will also spell out their backstory so much that you forget the plot we are supposed to be in. Not that the plot is very engaging anyways. The entire story felt like I was waiting for something exciting to happen and it never did. Once I made it to the end of the tale I was flabbergasted. You're telling me that Mal would have no issue with teenagers shooting at him and attempting to take over his ship and crew members? Not only does he just breeze by that, but he also then mentors the leader of the teens...this book felt incredibly superficial and as much as I wanted to like it, it did not feel like the family of Serenity.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like the list of weird things that the crew of Serenity have been paid with instead of money is getting out of control. Most of the books, if I remember correctly, don't advance us too much and certainly don't change any of the fundamentals. This book, however, does start to reveal some of the mysterious past that Sheperd Book carries around, something which I think the series needed. We can't keep "oohing" and "aahing" at nothing forever and ever amen. Well, we probably would have been ok with that, but finally taking a peek behind the curtain was a delight.

And that was the real highlight of the story for me. Other than that, Rosiee nailed the characters, the vibe and the crew motivations. The mission is a classic, taking a job for dollars but finishing up acting on principle to do the needful.

I wonder if we'll ever find the crew all cashed up and well fed, Serenity full of juice, and a decent job underway that isn't going to be completely derailed. But I don't wonder too much.