Inara Serra faces certain death in new 'Firefly' novel 'Life Signs'

The cover of "Firefly: Life Signs" (Titan Books, 2021) (Image credit: Titan Books)

Emerging out of the "Firefly" universe, a new tie-in novel to Joss Whedon's short-lived sci-fi series airing on Fox recently entered orbit with "Firefly: Life Signs" (Titan Books, 2021), and this time it's centered around Captain Mal's Companion love interest and Serenity crew member Inara Serra.

Inara was portrayed by actress Morena Baccarin in the 2002-2003 "Firefly" TV show and the 2005 "Serenity" feature film, where she quickly became a fan-favorite character.

Book-loving Browncoats should note that this is the fourth original "Firefly" book from New York Times bestselling author James Lovegrove ("Sherlock Holmes: The Stuff of Nightmares"), after "Big Damn Hero" (2018), "The Magnificent Nine" (2019), and "The Ghost Machine" (2020).

A fifth in-universe novel written by Tim Lebbon ("Alien vs Predator: Armageddon") and titled "Firefly: Generations" (Titan Books) was released in November of 2020.

Here's the official synopsis for "Life Signs":

Some months after Inara leaves Serenity, Mal and the crew learn the reason for her sudden departure: she is dying of a terminal illness. It is Kiehl's Myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer that's supposedly incurable. Through their shock and despair, they learn that there are rumors of a scientist believed to have developed a cure for her condition, but he has been disgraced: incarcerated for life on notorious Alliance prison planet Atata.

Here, terraforming did not take properly, so the world is a frozen wasteland. Inmates are abandoned there with no guards and left to survive as best they can. To save Inara, the Serenity crew must infiltrate the prison…

James Lovegrove's "Firefly: Life Signs" is available now from Titan Books.

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Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.