I’ve done a fanfic Firefly novel. If anyone is interested, it can be found (free for download) here.
Note from Kit to Boing-Boing visitors and other new arrivals (2/18): Hey all, welcome and enjoy the novel. Things have been busy in the Dream Café since we released this, and so we unfortunately did not prioritize fixing the typos our readers have sent in or putting up other file formats. Please check back soon — by Wednesday I hope to have a bunch of mobile friendly formats available, and to have corrected the typos you’ve sent in.
Note from Kit (2/22): Welcome to New York Times visitors and other new arrivals. Thank you to all the readers for your patience — I’ve corrected all the typos I was sent and updated the files on our website. The book is also now available in HTML format. Hopefully, other mobile friendly formats will arrive soon.
Second 2/22 update: a .prc version of the file is now available for mobile devices.
125 responses so far ↓
1 kit // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:15 am
I’m SO excited to finally be able to share this with my friends. This novel is totally kickass — and I don’t just say that because you’re my punalua. I was especially impressed with how you got inside River’s head.
Please share this with all your Browncoat friends.
BTW, Steve has requested you email me if you find any typos, errors, etc in the files.
2 TexAnne // Feb 5, 2008 at 6:27 am
Thank you thank you thank you!!! I was just wondering what to read on my upcoming trip.
3 Jason // Feb 5, 2008 at 6:34 am
Downloaded. And the word has been spread. If there are any typos, I’m sure to see them. It’s my curse.
4 Matt // Feb 5, 2008 at 6:55 am
WOW! Worth the wait! … and I don’t want to comment in case people don’t want spoilers. Masterfully done, just what you’d expect from a Brust/Firefly mix.
(I just spent 4 hours reading this thing!!!)
5 squidnurse // Feb 5, 2008 at 7:14 am
Huzzah! Huzzah, I say!
6 Bawrence // Feb 5, 2008 at 7:25 am
I’ve notified the local sci-fi community, tell your server team to brace themselves.
7 Tirwhan // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:04 am
Fantastic addition to the Firefly universe, had me laughing out loud by the end of the second passage. I have been excited by the thought of you writing a Firefly novel ever since I heard of the project. The fact that this now came out under a CC license is a plus as far as I’m concerned, I wish more authors would go that way. Thank you a lot!
Now, is there any way you can accept money for this book, or does that somehow violate the “fanfic”ness and put you in hot water with regards to the Firefly copyright holders? I’m asking because I would certainly have bought this book if it had gone on sale via the usual channels and the fact that it’s CC only makes me want to pay for it more. If so, how to send it?
8 skzb // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:10 am
Many thanks for the kind words; I’m very glad you liked it, and that you took the time to tell me so.’
It’s good of you to ask about donations. There is a donate button on the web site (although we removed from the download page so it wouldn’t look like we were hinting or something).
Again, thanks much; glad you liked it!
9 Sandy // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:38 am
skzb: I haven’t had a chance to read yet, but it is a very difficult choice to go to work today and not stay home and devour this!
I think you can expect to see people linking directly to the novel’s page from high-traffic blogs/planets, slashdot, etc, very soon. These people will not explore dreamcafe.com, and so it is probably best to have a “donate” button right there. I think you’ll be surprised at the response.
Is your server ready for such traffic? I want to share this with everybody but I don’t want your server attacked before you’re ready. :-)
10 kit // Feb 5, 2008 at 9:01 am
Since it’s fanfic no money can be accepted for the novel. OTOH, if, after enjoying the novel, someone wants to follow the little donate link to the donate page and toss some money into the Dream Cafe coffers because Steve is such an awesome guy, it’d be much appreciated.
11 kit // Feb 5, 2008 at 9:18 am
Go ahead and link away. The server is as ready as it will ever be. If it gets overloaded we’ll link to a mirror somewhere.
12 kellie // Feb 5, 2008 at 9:32 am
Thank you so much for doing this!
13 Rene // Feb 5, 2008 at 10:11 am
Thank you times a billion for making this available. I was so excited to hear that you had written it, and now to be able to read it…! The level of Cool Stuff in the world has definitely gone way up. Thanks again.
14 Bruce // Feb 5, 2008 at 10:20 am
A few dollars in the pot in thanks from a long-time fan. Thanks for doing this!
15 attjen // Feb 5, 2008 at 10:29 am
I hate to say it but my initial reaction to the post and link was a disappointing:
ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod…
When it obviously should have been “Shiny”.
16 Dennis Gray // Feb 5, 2008 at 11:06 am
New to the ‘verse (got the series DVD set for Christmas and watched ‘em 4 times since) , but absolutely hooked after just a few pages! You have really captured the feelings of JW’s Firefly. Well executed and very much appreciated.
You can take me out of the world anytime!
17 Bastlynn // Feb 5, 2008 at 11:09 am
No fair! I’m at work!! Ok – have to go share the pain over AIM with all my other Brustian-converts who are also at work and will have to wait till at least 5 before getting started. :)
*bouncebouncebouncebounce*
18 Stephanie // Feb 5, 2008 at 12:37 pm
OH HELL YEAH.
*dies of the squee*
19 cabri // Feb 5, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I’ve been waiting for this ever since you read parts at ConFusion over two years ago. It’s a darned shame they wouldn’t let you publish it for real, but I’m so glad you’re letting us read it and I’ll devour it as soon as I get home tonight after my stupid Arabic test. *kicks stupid Arabic test*
20 Nicole // Feb 5, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I’m just glad you’re writing in a world pre-Serenity movie.
21 Johan // Feb 5, 2008 at 1:38 pm
The first novel I’ll even try to read on the screen. I would have loved to see it published so I could’ve bought the book, but this is far better than nothing.
//JJ
22 Schadenfreude // Feb 5, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Mr. Brust, you are my kind of author. Just finished the first chapter. >:D
23 Mack // Feb 5, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Speaking as both a former fan fic writer and as a current lawyer, I’d say be very careful about accepting donations. You could be sued for profiting off a copyrighted work. I would not want to see that happen to you, but companies take the acceptance of money very seriously. Moreover, you’re easy to find; your real name is out there in public, linked to the work, and you’re asking people to redistribute it.
Mack
24 Chris Olson // Feb 5, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Yay! Now I can share with people the awesome Firefly love! Now they can stop being jealous!
Can’t wait to read it again.
Thanks for sharing (and for writing), Steve!
Chris
25 C. A. Bridges // Feb 5, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Me, I’m hoping this gets more attention to szb’s other works. If you like Firefly, you’ll like Vlad…
26 skzb // Feb 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Thanks, Mack. I didn’t realize that was an issue, but, in any case, I am NOT taking donations for that book–that’s why Kit pulled the donation button from the download page.
27 Kate Nepveu // Feb 5, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Question: the introductory text on the page says, “You are free to download it and share it with your friends as long as it is not used for commercial purposes.” However, the CC license includes an additional “no derivative works” requirement. Which of these was intended?
28 Oooh… Interesting! | A Slight Apocalypse // Feb 5, 2008 at 3:18 pm
[...] Brust, acclaimed sci-fi author, has written a Firefly novel. And that’s not all; it’s published under a Creative Commons license, thus making it [...]
29 skzb // Feb 5, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Kate #27: When I asked about that, I was told “no derivative works” means no permission to alter the text. If that’s true, there’s no conflict.
30 Kate Nepveu // Feb 5, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Yes, the no-derivative license prohibits alterations to the text. It also prohibits works that transform or build upon it, such as other stories that refer to events in the novel.
(Which, to digress a bit, it seems a bit of a hole in the CC licensing scheme. I can imagine an author who didn’t want people altering the text by, say, deleting random chunks just to vandalize, yet still wanted to give permission for people to write fic building on the story. OTOH I suspect it’s an unusual enough situation that CC doesn’t need a license for it, and someone could just explicitly give additional permissions in addition to the CC license.)
31 skzb // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Yeah, I didn’t realize that. The idea of someone fictionally building on what I did is cool; I certainly wouldn’t want to stop that.
32 Tegan // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Can’t wait to read it!
So I take this to mean that you are also not hostile to fanfiction based on your books (noncommercial, of course)? If so, awesome!
33 skzb // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Hostile? No. As I understand it (and I don’t understand it very well), I can’t actually “give permission;” there is the danger of me actually losing some rights if I do. But it isn’t like I object.
34 YuriPup // Feb 5, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Only read one fifth or so so far, but my one request, in the intro, tell us when this is set. From my experience with FanFic most writers place the story in the time line explicitly at the beginning. I started out ok Before the movie, but after War Stories, but before Objects in Space…
35 Super Doomed Planet » Blog Archive » A Cool Thing // Feb 5, 2008 at 7:22 pm
[...] the meantime, let me point you towards a Cool Thing: a Firefly fanfic novel… by Steven Brust. It sounds like it started life as some kind of official tie-in novel [...]
36 Constantine // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Having been through the whole thing at this point, I can only offer this:
Mr. Brust, you sir, are a Browncoat above ‘coats. Your story is excessively shiny.
Thank you for sharing.
37 amysue // Feb 5, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I downloaded this at work but am finally home (it’s nearly 10pm) and finally through the various night time routines that end with me in bed, under a warm fluffy duvet all set to curl up with this shiny, shiny novel and perhaps some tea. I tried to get the pdf into my Kindle but failed miserably-I printed out a hard copy instead (which is just as well as everyone inour household wants to read it-even (in theory) my 9 year old.
Thank you!
38 Anna the Piper // Feb 5, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Hi! Coming by to thank you profusely for sharing this, I will enjoy reading it immensely. Yay, Firefly novels!
39 Cass Marshall // Feb 5, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Thank you
40 Danjo // Feb 5, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Holy sh*t. Brust’s entire career has been one big setup for that story. It stays more honest than honest with the source, while leveraging all the best aspects of prose in a way that just f*cking melds with Firefly. The prologue felt a bit loose, but after sweet stuff. I laughed twice out loud, and there’s one line that just resonates in way that would be difficult to shake if I had a mind to.
41 kit // Feb 5, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Danjo: What line was that? I’d love if you shared, in the spoilers thread.
42 Nodgarb // Feb 6, 2008 at 1:02 am
Great Read! Very Shiny! I give it two Fruity Oaty Bars up!
43 Ryan // Feb 6, 2008 at 9:33 am
In case any one is interested, I converted the novel to Books.app format for reading on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can get it here.
44 » Blog Archive » Steven Brust’s Firefly novel now out for FREE! // Feb 6, 2008 at 9:39 am
[...] Heck yeah. This novel was a pitch for a Serenity novel that got stopped when Whedon said he didn’t want others toying with the Firefly universe. So what we have is a very very very good Fanfic by one of today’s best authors. You can download the novel here [...]
45 Bb's RealTech | Highlights for February 5th through February 6th // Feb 6, 2008 at 10:26 am
[...] Firefly novel — Words Words Words — The Dream Cafe Weblog – A fan's Firefly novel, via Dan Lyke [...]
46 Cat // Feb 6, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Wow – combining two of my very favorite things: a Steven Brust novel and Firefly. This was an absolutely wonderful read – thanks for writing it!!! (and as blindly loyal as I am to Joss, he was a fool for not jumping on a chance to have you writing in his universe)
47 Karla // Feb 6, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Goddamn, Mr. Brust. Thank you so much. Fantastic.
48 Michael // Feb 6, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I downloaded this yesterday evening… So, of course, I’m exhausted today! =^D
And let me just add that Whedon and Co. were crazy for not buying this.
49 raaven // Feb 6, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this!
50 reader // Feb 6, 2008 at 5:45 pm
“They way Jayne…” should be “The way Jayne…”?
(page 162 PDF)
Love the narrative. Thank you for sharing.
51 Firefly Novel!? « King of the Nerds!!! // Feb 6, 2008 at 6:25 pm
[...] Firefly Novel!? Apparently it was written as a proposal in 2005. Penned by Steven Brust, known for his Vlad Taltos novels, it is now available online….for free. [...]
52 beer_crafter // Feb 6, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I downloaded this last night, shared the IRL with friends and associates, and am printing the thing out right now so I don’t have to sit at the computer until my butt falls asleep. Thank you!
53 zandperl // Feb 6, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Would you consider either (1) modifying the “No Derivatives” license to allow the creation of an audiobook version, or (2) creating and distributing an audiobook version yourself? I am under the impression that the creation of an audiobook version, even if machine read, would violate the “No Derivatives” aspect of the Creative Commons license.
My daily commute is two hours round trip, and I always listen to audiobooks. Because I have little free time otherwise, I will not get to read the text version of this for months, but if I could generate a machine read audiobook version, I could start it tomorrow. Making this available digitally does allow people with visual disabilities to read the book, so having an audiobook version is not as crucial for that reason, but I’m sure it would be appreciated by the blind community none-the-less.
54 Yancee Hickman // Feb 6, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Thank you for writing this, I hope it grows into another and so on. I stayed up all last night printing and reading. Seriously cool you did this Mr. Brust!
55 Loth // Feb 7, 2008 at 9:17 am
Read it yesterday. As usual with Mr Brust’s writing it was incredibly hard to break away until it was finished.
Nice work as always.
Though in the interests of all things Green I did not print it.
56 Firefly fanfic by Steven Brust - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums // Feb 7, 2008 at 2:28 pm
[...] Firefly fanfic by Steven Brust I haven’t read this myself yet, but Steven Brust is a pretty darn good writer (see the Taltos series and the Khaavren Romances, for example) and he has written a fanfic Firefly novel that can be found here: Firefly novel — Words Words Words — The Dream Cafe Weblog [...]
57 skzb // Feb 7, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Zandperl :: 52:: I’ll talk to Kit about the audiobook thing. I’ve no objection, I just know nothing about licensing and such.
58 Kaba // Feb 7, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I’m on page 85 and lovin it so far.
But I’d like to repeat the question sb. already posted above:
“Is there a definite point in the timeline when this takes place?”
Alos I’ve been reading at various places, including here, that this was a novel proposal that got rejected or some variation of that theme.
Any chance for a nice little post clearing that up Mr. S.K.Z. B.?
59 twoluvcats // Feb 7, 2008 at 4:03 pm
please please please make a Palm version available soon! (though I may not be able to wait lol)
Thank you!!
60 Kaba // Feb 7, 2008 at 4:14 pm
By the way, the novel seems to be getting ever growing attention from the scifi-blogo-community: most recently io9:
http://io9.com/353893/firefly-novel-from-steven-brust-is-action+packed-and-fun
Rejoice, oh fellow Brustites, for if this keeps going the mighty Whedon himself will descend and give his most holy blessing.
61 skzb // Feb 7, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Kaba::57:: I heard there might be novels, and I suck at proposals, so I just wrote the book. I knew very well that it might not publish. For one thing, we were told the novels would be set after the movie, and I wanted mine set between the end of the TV show and the movie. But I wrote it because I wanted to read it, and published it as fanfic when I became convinced publication wasn’t going to happen.
I hope that answers both of your questions.
62 Kelly // Feb 7, 2008 at 7:32 pm
For people who care about such things, the book was written in emacs on a box running Mandrake Linux, then I used OpenOffice to format it for printing. The final layout for online publication was created with Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat. People who care about such things need to get a life.
Ahem. As someone in the process of formatting and otherwise mucking about with her first book, I quite care about how others handle it…
…which, come to think, doesn’t exactly disprove the needing to get a life thing. But I appreciate the information, at any rate. ;-)
63 Scott Abfalter // Feb 8, 2008 at 11:46 am
*gasp*
I just finished Dzur to get my fix of Steven Brust writing (my favorite living author, and my second favorite next to Zelazny). As always, I’m hungry for more.
And then I find out that there is a whole novel, available and free, right now! And in sci-fi!
Seems too good to be true! This really made my day.
64 Madison Stark // Feb 8, 2008 at 2:27 pm
i don’t even know what to say…
this just made my day a lot lot better!
it’s amazing how so many years later firefly is still remember and loved by all the fans.
forever a browncoat! forever remember….
i’m a lost browncoat in portugal ;)
65 Timmah // Feb 8, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Excellent work. I started reading it before driving home and finished it off as soon as I got back. It was almost as if I could hear the theme song playing in my mind.
It is definitely way to soon to state, but I want more!!!!
Based on this I will be looking to pick up some of your other work on Amazon.
66 When Geeky Worlds Collide (plus, food talk) « 13Directions’s Weblog // Feb 9, 2008 at 10:35 pm
[...] I have no graphic. It’s a Steven Brust Firefly fanfic novel. Much [...]
67 danya // Feb 10, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Thanks so much for posting this. I plan on settling down and reading it as soon as possible. I’m doubly excited because it is set prior to Serenity, so all the big da*n heroes are still alive (if not necessarily on Serenity). It might be too early for this, but I hope you’ll write more firefly inspired works.
68 Corey // Feb 10, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Thanks so much for your effort in writing this. I have been so hungry and devoured as much Firefly related material over the past couple years, the series DVD, movie, graphic novel and this is another great addition. I am so looking forward to reading this. Kudos!!!!
69 The metal thing holding the leaves of my mind together › links for 2008-02-11 // Feb 11, 2008 at 1:28 pm
[...] Firefly novel — Words Words Words — The Dream Cafe Weblog Heh. Steven Brust wrote a fanfix Firefly novel. And released it as a free download under a CreativeCommons license. Neat! (tags: books free toread firefly StevenBrust) This was written by shawn. Posted on Monday, February 11, 2008, at 12:25 pm. Filed under Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. Follow comments here with the RSS feed. Post a comment or leave a trackback. [...]
70 Skwid // Feb 11, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Thought you guys would want to see the glowing review up at my buddy Chris’ page, Shards of Delirium.
Thanks for Sharing, Steve!
71 Goner // Feb 12, 2008 at 4:03 am
Excellent review Skwid thanks for that. Thoroughly enjoyable read, just couldn’t but the book down until I finished which was the day I bought it, the only bad thing is it’s left me wanting more…sigh.
72 Browncoats have reason to celebrate » The Sly Oyster | culture & entertainment on the sly » Blog Archive // Feb 12, 2008 at 7:44 am
[...] novel is My Own Kind of Freedom, which can be downloaded here. Spread the Word: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
73 sparky van buren // Feb 14, 2008 at 2:47 pm
now that is an amazing piece of something. i read it in just a few hours and right after i had to watch the dvds! I was amazed at the wit and the convoluted plot (much like a vlad book) and the way the characters sounded just right…it was a might bit creepifying. as everyone has said, you got into river’s head (something i bet you had a hard time unraveling the trail back home), got mal’s honor and code exact, jaynes …jayneness, well you know you got it all and you got it right
I want to thank you…Thank You!
74 Adam // Feb 18, 2008 at 9:16 am
Hey there just like to say that I enjoyed your book even though i haven’t finished yet I am very impressed with it so far and am glad to see it in book fromat.
As a trainee writer myself I have found this very inspiring and I am now planning my own firefly fanfic which I hope to get made into a book one day.
any pointers you can give me and well done on a great book.
75 A Directory Of Wonderful Things » Blog Archive » Steven Brust’s unauthorized Firefly fanfic novel // Feb 18, 2008 at 12:20 pm
[...] Link [...]
76 Just wonderful things » Steven Brust’s unauthorized Firefly fanfic novel // Feb 18, 2008 at 12:55 pm
[...] Link [...]
77 bfwebster // Feb 18, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Long time fan, followed a link here, downloaded the book — and just read it in a single sitting, in spite of more pressing (and lucrative) things to do. You made me laugh out loud, and you made me mist up with a few key lines, carefully set up. Doesn’t get much better than that. ..bruce..
78 Karen // Feb 18, 2008 at 5:30 pm
The book sound great, and I’m excitedly downloading it now. I’m curious, though, if the novel is really unauthorized fanfic, why did you put it up under a CC licence?
I ask because fan fiction writers traditionally… don’t. The copyright law around fic is blurry, but it’s generally understood that as we’re borrowing characters, setting and backstory without permission, putting a legal stamp on our writing is at best pointless and at worst asking for problems. (There have, of course, been instances of people taking credit for another’s work or being otherwise dishonourable, but the community has evolved methods of dealing with that.)
Is it because you expect the story to reach an audience outside of the fanfic community, one which may not know the etiquette that has evolved? Or is this a line in the sand; the story is yours, the form is fair use, and Firefly’s copyright defenders should take up bonsai gardening.
79 jonesy // Feb 18, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Thanks for doing this – I’m sure there are many people like me who wished for more adventures from this great series and won’t get caught up in the minute details that often become argument fodder for the rabid fanbase. I am looking forward to reading it and wanted to say thanks before I started, because the effort is important and if the results are as good, then there is even more to love about this.
80 kit // Feb 18, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Karen@76: We chose a CC license for a few reasons, one of them which you state — this novel is circulating outside the fanfic community because of the reputation of its author.
One reason we chose this license was that we were wanted to make it clear to everyone that you are not only free to share it but we positively encourage it. At the same time, we would prefer that people leave the book intact and leave Steve’s name on it.
I think also in the back of our minds was the idea that a CC license makes it clear that while it is free for noncommercial use, the writing still belongs to Steve and if someone were to officially publish it someday they’d have to pay him money, just like any other book.
As has already been made clear by Steve in this thread, Steve doesn’t care if you write a sequel to this book, or other fanfic related to what happens here. That is a derivative work, but unfortunately there is no CC license which says ‘you can’t change this work but you can create something else based on it.’
81 Irène Delse » Un “simulateur de personnes” dans le cerveau ? // Feb 19, 2008 at 7:05 am
[...] fonctionne un auteur de SF ? Eh bien, prenez Cory Doctorow, par exemple. Partant d’un roman de Steven Brust, une fanfiction (non autorisée) dans l’univers de la série Firefly, Cory s’interroge [...]
82 howtobrew // Feb 19, 2008 at 8:45 am
Thank you Steve!
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I was glad to see that we got each character’s viewpoint, rather than just one. (Although seeing the entire story thru Wash’s viewpoint would have been interesting too.)
After enjoying your stories for more than twenty years, I was gratified?? (greatly satisfied??) to discover that you are a Firefly fan too. The ‘verse is in sync. Looking forward to Jambalaya!
83 Jorg // Feb 19, 2008 at 9:47 am
Would it be ok with the licence to print a few copies using lulu.com and give/sell to my friends as long as we only charge the actual cost of printing and shipping? Could even be set up so everyone who wanted could buy a copy at cost. What do you think?
84 skzb // Feb 19, 2008 at 9:40 pm
Much as I like the idea, Jorg, I have to say no. Any time money is changing hands, we’re on shaky legal ground. And, with everthing else happening right now (I’m in the middle of filing bankruptcy), the last thing I need is legal hassle with Universal or Mutant Enemy or someone else.
I’m sorry, because it sounds nifty.
85 CelticBear’s Musings » Blog Archive » “Professional” Firefly fanfic. // Feb 20, 2008 at 12:27 pm
[...] with great trepidation I started reading Brust’s Firefly fanfic, My Own Kind of Freedom. I’m a few chapters in, and I’m disappointed, I’m very sad to say. To be fair, I [...]
86 Kezzy // Feb 20, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I loved it! Thanks for taking us back to the ‘verse for a little while. I hope you end up writing more eventually.
87 Chris // Feb 20, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Celtic@82: why wouldn’t you want your fanfic characters to reflect the TV characters as acted? These aren’t “actors’ interpretations” of preexisting characters, the actors’ presentation is definitive.
If Firefly was a production of a previously written work, that would be something. But it is correct to have fanfic characters be recognizably similar to the TV actors’ portrayals in a show like Firefly.
88 Liam // Feb 21, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Chris@84: That’s an excellent question.
The issue isn’t whether a character is like the source character found on screen, but HOW it is like that source character.
Obviously the fanfic character must be similar and exhibit the same characteristics, or else, what’s the point? The problem is a little ephemeral and admittedly personal: When certain key elements are taken from the “original” which when placed in the fanfic context feel more like characterizations rather than the characters themselves.
As in the example of in the first several pages of the novel we have Mal saying a very iconic line: “Why are we still talking about this?”, River sticking her tongue out, Wash complaining about needing a vacation with Zoe regardless of her deference to Mal and her assumed chain-of-command.
These are actions and lines taken directly from the show and have the feeling of being injected into the fanfic not as a natural development from character, but more like using an archtype of the character.
Like in a melodrama how you know the characters by the villain mustache. Character is replaced by a cardboard simularum of character as a means of telling the reader, “See, these are the Firefly characters.” Like their lines and mannerisms are clipart to be snipped from the show and placed here and there to AFFECT character as opposed to create character.
89 Chris // Feb 21, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Ok, I could see that bothering a reader, if the impression it gives him is “the author isn’t in these characters’ heads, he’s just throwing in mannerisms to save himself some work in convincing us.”
It’s not clear to me that this is the case–in my mind Steve’s story showed a profound understanding of the characters, in a way that their thoughts and actions felt consistent with (as opposed to imitative of) what I gained from watching the series/movie, in which case it would be odd for these characters not to display the appropriate mannerisms.
In the case of Mal using the “Why are we still talking about this?” line, I believe that (given other elements in the story) Steve wanted to suggest that it’s a line Mal would use often, and it’s unfortunate we only got to see it the once in his 14 appearances on screen. If that’s the case, it’s a liberty with the character that some might not appreciate. But then, fanfic is never canon, someone’s not going to like it if it wasn’t in the shows.
But I don’t think it was an accident, a blunder, or evidence of laziness–I think it was a calculated decision that not everyone will agree with.
As for River sticking out her tongue… River is cute when she sticks out her tongue. Why would we want less of it? :)
90 Tartfuel // Feb 21, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Okay, I resisted putting in my two cents because I thought this was truly just a fanfic story and not written by a professional writer. Imagine my surprise t find not only is this gentleman published – he has quite a series of books to his name. I have not read any of those novels so this review is only of “My Own Kind of Freedom.”
I am afraid I am aghast that this was written by a professional. It is gimmicky, lacking in narrative and in desperate need of editing. The mistakes are those of a fanboy, not a novelist. Before I bare my teeth – lets start with the good, shall we?
The characterization (if not the overly-gimmicky introductions) of each main player is dead on. I can hear the actor’s voices and see the characters as clearly as if they were still on TV. The idea for the story is solid as well. Then you lose me.
1) Zero description of the rooms and passageways of the ship. WTF? To assume that everyone who reads this story knows the ship intimately means you are alienating everyone who has never seen the series or has only brief knowledge of the ship. It’s lazy and why on earth would you NOT want to describe that amazing ship? Serenity is a character in the Whedenverse and you gave her the short-shrift.
3) You took an interesting way to introduce a character and beat it to death by introducing almost EVERY character that way. Very One Trick Pony. Which brings me to the two supposedly major characters you brought to the table:
3) Kit Merlyn and Sakarya. Who ARE these people? I mean Kit is as close to a Mary Sue (or Gary Sue as the case may be) as you can be but there is no backstory. No development. Nothing. The whole Sakarya story was so vague and completely lacking any build-up or emotion. Where are the memories of Mal and Zoe with their beloved leader during the war? Where is the conflict that leads to the surprise at the end? No where.
4) The rampant overuse of the word “Gorram.” Yes, they used it fairly often on the show and in the film, but there were around 60 “Gorrams” in one story and it think there are other words available even 500 years in the future. Same for the word “humped,’ by the sixth time it was used, I was getting angry.
5) Although the dialogue sounded like the characters we have come to know, so much of the dialogue goes absolutely nowhere. I am all for verbosity in the right situations. Aaron Sorkin and Joss Whedon are both known for their wordiness – but in the finished product, all the dialogue says SOMETHING. Not here. Having the characters speak just because it sounds nifty is a novice mistake.
It would be interesting if the writer took another pass at it, maybe showed it to an editor to help guide him, and released it again. The story idea was terrific. Unfortunately nothing else was.
91 Kamilion // Feb 22, 2008 at 3:07 am
Amazed to see Bruce F Webster (#75) posting here himself!
For those not in the know, Bruce was the main man behind “Sundog: Frozen Legacy” for the Apple IIs in 1984 and later ported to the Atari ST in ’85. It shares a lot of similarity with the Firefly ‘verse, and it’s been one of my all-time favorite games.
It’s a GTA-style-free-roaming top-down space-trader game, you’ve inherited a starship and must trade goods and trade laser burns with pirates to make some cash and finish your contracted mission of assisting in building a colony on the planet you begin the game on.
When I first watched the Firefly series, it immediately reminded me of Sundog.
Check it out if you’re inclined, free disk images are floating around the ‘net.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunDog:_Frozen_Legacy
It’s the next best thing to a firefly game :)
Back to reading the book, need my Brust fix!
92 Nolly // Feb 22, 2008 at 10:55 am
Dude! NYT! Well, a NYT blog, but how cool is that?
93 skzb // Feb 22, 2008 at 11:01 am
This is me trying to act like it’s no big deal.
This is me failing.
Thanks for the link.
94 Liam // Feb 22, 2008 at 11:02 am
Chris@86:
“As for River sticking out her tongue… River is cute when she sticks out her tongue. Why would we want less of it? :)”
I can’t agree with you more. =)
As I said, this is my personal opinion, and I bring it up with trepidation. These are elements that seem inherent in fanfic, and to complain about it is like complaining about soap opera because hospital patients always have perfect hair and makeup, or Westerns because stuff is dusty.
And, like I said, I’m only a few chapters in. Being a BIG fan of Brust, I feel certain that the story and writing style will overcome my personal dislike of character affectations as shortcuts to show character.
(Yeah, it does suck we only have a half season of episodes to draw from. All this would probably be moot if we had two whole seasons or more.)
95 The metal thing holding the leaves of my mind together › Bookmarks for February 2nd through February 21st // Feb 22, 2008 at 11:12 pm
[...] Firefly novel ? Words Words Words ? The Dream Cafe Weblog – Heh. Steven Brust wrote a fanfix Firefly novel. And released it as a free download under a CreativeCommons license. Neat! [...]
96 Null Sequiturs » Blog Archive » Firefly Fanfic // Feb 23, 2008 at 7:17 pm
[...] author Stephen Brust has penned a Firefly-based novel entitled My Own Kind of Freedom. You can download it for free at the link I’ve so [...]
97 Nymeria // Feb 25, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for this great read :) I really enjoyed it after having watched the series in one go. I’m wondering if there’ll be any more Firefly books coming from your side?
98 Steven Brust’s Firefly Novel - My Own Kind Of Freedom « In the Shadows // Feb 25, 2008 at 4:49 pm
[...] My Own Kind of Freedom [...]
99 Firefly still alive in print | wongaBlog // Feb 26, 2008 at 4:49 am
[...] written by Joss Whedon and will1 be released on 12th March. There’s also a free, full-length fanfic novel by prolific sci-fi author Steven Brust, which I’m hoping will start a [...]
100 Skip // Feb 28, 2008 at 7:34 pm
That was a terrific story!
Your writing has always been among my favorite, and when I heard about this fan novel I couldn’t download it to my PDA fast enough.
I’m not sure what good etiquette is in this case- I feel like I should contribute something for this kind of quality, but I don’t want to violate the spirit of the ‘creative commons license’.
So maybe I’ll just have to buy another copy of one of your books that I already have.
Wonderful, wonderful work; here’s hoping you write more.
Warmest personal regards,
Skip
101 TofuPunk.com | The beast of Yucca blogs » Blog Archive » RIP Teo Macero // Feb 29, 2008 at 5:04 pm
[...] * Fan fiction reaches a new level of legend– and bandwidth breakage– when a Nebula nom releases a Firefly novel online. [...]
102 Electric Children » Blog Archive » Serenity Novel // Feb 29, 2008 at 9:10 pm
[...] A new fanfic novel set in the Serenity/Firefly universe has just been released online. It’s called My Own Kind of Freedom by Steven Brust. [...]
103 Bob Finegold // Mar 6, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Enjoyed your work from your earliest days to present. Thus, I have been anticipating with great pleasure “My Own Kind of Freedom” when I first heard you had written it and were reading the first two chapters at cons awaiting the opportunity to publish it. [Note: It is also appreciated that established authors like yourself and Orson Scott Card are Browncoats--and I wonder if he has given thought to penning a story in the 'Verse, understanding it is akin to the free medical care I provide as part of my own practice (and, I submit, just as needed >smile<)]. As expected, “My Own Kind of Freedom” was an enjoyable read, many degrees better than the common fan fiction on which we feed in desparation. I particularly enjoyed the dialog between characters (perfectly captured), and your beautiful rendition of River’s broken mind. Thank you for writing this and for making it available to us to enjoy.
Perhaps 11th Hour, Jason Palmer, or one of the other Firefly fan artists will be inspired to create a presumptive dustjacket.
Respectfully,
Bob
104 skzb // Mar 7, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I just want to say thanks to everyone for the kind words about the Firefly novel. I’m glad it’s finally out there, and people seem to be enjoying it.
105 schmwarf // Mar 7, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Just downloaded it and starting reading when there are quite moments with my newborn.
Reading the prologue made me want to by some ginseng tea.
You really really should put out a cook book.
106 Letori // Mar 19, 2008 at 4:40 am
This is ridiculous. Not even a week ago I was working a shift at Chapters thinking, “It’s a damn tradgedy there’s no Firefly books for me to sink my teeth into,” while staring in dissapointment at the movie tie-in novel (which doesn’t count).
Fast Forward to last night: Can’t sleep, so bored. StumbleUpon, relieve my boredom!
stumble…
stumble…
HOLY HELLFIRE CARNATIONS!
Mr. Brust, I have seen your books around my store, though never read them, but thanks for having the balls to write a Firefly book for those of us who lament the show’s passing.
107 marc farnum rendino // Apr 18, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Wow; just finished reading “My Own Kind of Freedom” – nicely done; thanks.
108 Elizabeth // May 22, 2008 at 9:06 am
i have been writing storys since i was a child and this will be my second book i have finished wrighting with an ending the first one was about fairies and this one my latest one is about a priestess who turns out to be a princess and goes on dangrous missions and falls in love with these two worroirs who surve her.
She finds out that she has a twin, and she has to find her memories who were feathers and she has to learn about her past, when she does she learns that her mother was killed by her sister and her father.
109 Elizabeth // May 22, 2008 at 9:11 am
the farie story was about a group of fairies nambed, fire, water, light, dark, star, flower, ice, earth, wind, storm, and flames sister of fire they’re twins.
110 Wizard’s Blog » Blog Archive » My Own Kind of Freedom // Jul 2, 2008 at 2:27 pm
[...] from WikipediaIn February, Steven Brust published an unauthorized Firefly fanfic novel on the Internet. I’ve only just got around to finishing [...]
111 michaelr // Jul 29, 2008 at 2:11 am
thank you very much for this great read. absolutely loved the way you captured the characters. from river’s lovely cookieness to mal’s moral views (dilemas?) of what is right and wrong. you’ve acquired a new fan. can’t wait to read more of your work. again thanks!
112 skzb // Jul 29, 2008 at 3:18 am
Many thanks for the kinds words.
113 Jason s.b.f. // Aug 6, 2008 at 11:17 pm
I just finished reading “My Own Kind of Freedom” and wanted to say thanks for writing it and that I enjoyed it very much. I was able to visualize it very well and you nailed the characters and the dialogue.
114 Jason Hobbs // Aug 14, 2008 at 8:51 am
Awesome work. Better than the subject material in its own special way.
(Because the book is always better than the movie)
Many thanks from Brust and Firefly fan.
PS: Cool to see you’re a poker fan too!
115 presumedhuman // Sep 5, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Thank you for “My Own Kind of Freedom”.
More please.
116 kerinbot // Dec 24, 2008 at 5:45 am
I don’t suppose there’s any chance of another Firefly novel? I’d love to read another by Brust. Of course I’m torn, because I want to read more of his other world’s novels too…
117 Bawrence // Dec 24, 2008 at 9:28 am
Shhh! No interfering with his Dragaera production, and apparently that includes coitus interruptus.
118 Irène Delse » Un “simulateur de personnes” dans le cerveau? (rediff.) // Jul 17, 2009 at 5:09 am
[...] fonctionne un auteur de SF? Eh bien, prenez Cory Doctorow, par exemple. Partant d’un roman de Steven Brust, une fanfiction (non autorisée) dans l’univers de la série Firefly, Cory s’interroge [...]
119 Astro1derboy // Oct 28, 2009 at 12:15 pm
This is phenomenal work. PLEASE write another in this ‘verse. Love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it, love it!!! Did I mention that I love this? Good…because I do. Excellent work.
Please…more. We (fellow Browncoats) need it somethin’ fierce. :O)
120 CosmoLinks « Cosmopoetica // Nov 22, 2009 at 8:55 pm
[...] Firefly novel — Fan writes novel in tv/film universe. Universe creator objects. Fan deems it fan-fiction and releases it with a CC license. Sweet. [...]
121 Firefly reading // Jun 15, 2010 at 8:29 am
[...] to keep you entertained in the meantime, here is an excellent Firefly fanfic mini novel from 2008 that I need to re-read soon because it was [...]
122 Steven Brust’s Firefly Fanfic // Jul 26, 2010 at 7:33 am
[...] Steven Brust’s My Own Kind of Freedom, a Firefly novel Filed Under: Books – Comments: Be the First to Comment [...]
123 noreen // Feb 8, 2011 at 3:28 am
I don’t suppose there’s any chance of another Firefly novel? I’d love to read another by Brust. Of course I’m torn, because I want to read more of his other world’s novels too…
124 Synnr // Jun 1, 2011 at 8:40 am
I only just ran across this piece of fiction and I enjoyed it very much.
125 Astrakan // Jun 4, 2011 at 12:54 pm
Just finished this today. It’s very excellent. As soon as I finished it I headed over to Amazon to buy another one of Brust’s novels (for the curious, I picked “To Reign in Hell”) and I very much recommend others do the same as a way of compensating the author for enabling this very enjoyable return to the “Firefly” universe.
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