Book Review: Better Days by Joss Whedon et al.

Serenity Vol. 2: Better Days by Joss Whedon et al.

The crew of the Serenity is off on another adventure! They seem to be robbing a museum but as soon as they make their exit, they are confronted by a robot drone that chases them through the city. They eventually capture the drone to sell to the guy that hired them. This makes the drone's manufacturer (who was demonstrating it for customers) rather angry in an "I'll get you later" way. Naturally, he will show up later in the story.

When they deliver the drone, the guy says he doesn't have the money but there's a big stash in a temple underneath a Buddah statue on a planet not far away. They reluctantly go off to find the money which turns out to be much more than the guy realized. Suddenly super-rich, will the money make Mal and the crew soft or turn a blind eye to hazards coming after them?

The story is interesting enough and has the trademark snappy Joss Whedon dialogue (fans of the show will love the moment when Jayne gives the Buddhist monk a wad of cash for manhandling the statue and the monk whispers, "The hero of Canton....is real!"). They use Chinese (or possibly just Chinese-looking) characters for swear words in the speech bubbles. The art is okay without being outstanding. The book is an enjoyable (and short) read but no where near as good as Shepherd's Tale.

Parental Warning: There are some discrete sex scenes and one torture scene with teeth being removed.