Despite its short life-span, the sci-fi TV show Firefly continues to draw the crowds; one merely needs to whisper the words ‘Firefly reunion’ and a league of brown coat wearing fans will descend upon the news, like horde of hungry reavers. So it should come as no surprise that little spin-off items are still coming out.
Firefly: The Gorramn Shiniest Dictionary and Phrasebook in the ‘Verse is one of those odd little tie-in products that you would have never have thought to ask for, but you’re glad that someone has. Like many good pieces of sci-fi, Firefly built its world through language; the little turns of phrase and nicknames for things that the characters used throughout the show drew viewers into the world, in a much more credible way than any piece of exposition could.
All the words and phrases you’d expect are present. For example, we get a breakdown of all the Chinese swearing the various characters express, plus a handy pronunciation guide, just in case you feel the urge to badly mangle Mandarin insults. This doesn’t quite make this an ideal cosplay accessory, as the book isn’t designed to be ‘in-universe’, it’s more of a glossy little handbook that will tuck neatly away in the long pockets of a space cowboy costume.
The book is certainly comprehensive; even relatively common phrases that appeared in the show are included. If for some reason you don’t know what ‘Bone Tired’ means, then this book has you covered. It’s filled with little gems throughout, mostly stuff that hardcore fans already know, but for the rest of us, it’s a treasure trove of Firefly trivia.
More importantly, it also defines the names of various cities, weapons and widgets. We all know what model The Serenity is, but what about that fancy laser gun from the episode Heart of Gold?
Throw in character profiles, illustrations and pictures from the show and a chat with the shows language consultant and what we have is a great little sourcebook for fans of the show. As the characters from Firefly would say, “Shiny”!
FIREFLY: THE GORRAMN SHINIEST DICTIONARY AND PHRASEBOOK IN THE ‘VERSE / AUTHOR: MONICA VALENTINELLI / PUBLISHER: TITAN / RELEASE DATE: 15TH APRIL
