pub: Titan Books. 159 page illustrated softcover. Price: £16.99 (UK), $19.95 (US), $24.95 (CAN). ISBN: 978-1-84856-506-7.

check out website: www.titanbooks.com

You might want it to buzz off or you might be a Browncoat. Whatever your opinion, there is a show that refuses to lie down and die. With a couple of leads making their mark elsewhere on TV, 'Firefly' has transferred to other mediums. Reverse engineering has resulted in the story being told in comicbook form and continues to be popular. Fan conventions have been hugely successful and there have been big glossy books such as this one.

There's a lot in 'Firefly: Still Flying' for the fan. The original series writers have contributed three short stories and a comic strip. Those writers have become even more familiar since with Jane Espenson moving on to 'Battlestar: Galactica', 'Dollhouse' and 'Caprica', Ben Edlund moving from the final series of 'Angel' to currently exec produce on 'Supernatural' and comicbook creds are 'The Tick'. Brett Matthews moved over to produce the animated prequels of 'Serenity' and Jose Molina has written for TV's 'Castle' starring Nathan Fillion.



Other content includes many quotes from the fan-led conventions. The crew of the 'Firefly' have been happy to get involved with the growing movement and the crew are profiled with some nice glossy photos and a scatter of quotes from the actors and others. Jane Espenson describes the writing process for an episode. Jose Molina describes his own frantic writing process for the episode 'Ariel'. There are various articles on design and storyboarding so this book has a wide range of interest. There are plenty of photos throughout the book. Some are behind-the-scenes and some publicity shots but they are all nicely presented.

One of the most interesting articles is about how, as Joss Whedon says, 'Firefly' fans are 'changing the face of fandom'. Although the fan base might be compared to show such as 'Lost', these fans really know how to partee. They also know how to raise money and have been actively raising funds for a few years. It all proves there's a whole lot more going on in the 'verse than we ever dreamed.

There is clearly a demand for more content and its fan led which is indicated by much of the content in this new book. We are unlikely to see a return of the crew to the old bucket but at least the fans are still helping it fly.

Sue Davies