FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[Quixotic Faye]

Haven't gotten to read it yet, because I just got the e-mail saying my book is coming.  

[Out to the Black]

Cool! I hope you enjoy it.  

[yeet-chan]

I want this for Christmas, so I can form my own opinion on it and share with all. I also want the comic about Wash. I have them both bookmarked in my browser.  

[gorramSidekick]

I haven't gotten Float out yet but I'm planning to. I look forward to talking to you about them both once you've got 'em.  

[Quixotic Faye]

So I read it. I'm whiting it out! For spoilers!
I'm having a hard time finding the right words, so please bear with me.
The art is lacking.
And I was somewhat disappointed in the storytelling, with it's Memento-esque method.
And disappointed in the story too. Because the storytelling method basically limited Book's story to just glimpses, scratches on the surface. It didn't really delve too far into him, instead just showing moments in his life that shaped him, and that's not enough, quite frankly. While the vignettes did paint a picture of Book before Firefly, I wanted more. I expected more. Book is probably one of the most complicated characters in the series and I felt like this was a pretty light treatment for him. It wasn't as engrossing as I was expecting.
Admittedly, I felt a little satisfied at finally having an idea of how Book came to be, but it's bittersweet.  

[gorramKayna]

Continuing the discussion, also in white!
CAUTION!! Major Spoilers beyond this point!!

So yeah, the art. I completely agree with you aboutt the art. I had real problems with it. It just felt unfinished. Where was the linework? The detail? These things add depth and drama! They are good things!

As for the rest...well...I liked parts of the story. I'm good with the dark and desperate origins. I really liked the idea that he did horrible things as a young man and possibly killed innocent people. But I had issues with the way his Alliance career ended. If he was such an embarassment, to be shoved under a rug and forgotten, (and hated by those who did remember him) then why did they jump so fast to help him in Safe? And the name thing. I always figured it wasn't his real name. But I generally thought he'd probably taken it for himself after entering the Abby, to leave his old self behind, as it were. It just doesn't hold together for me.  

[Quixotic Faye]

MOAR
Yeah, I had a hard time with the end of his Alliance career too, because it was really strange and forced. I dunno, it seemed like an extreme, overblown reaction but without any substance or reasoning behind it. But again, I attribute that to the story-telling style, because it was just a glimpse of that moment. If there had been more of a build-up to the chewing-out he received, (the ambitious Book stepping up, the planning stages, the actual battle) then it would have been easier to understand. And then what you said - such a failure that he needed to be buried but not such a failure to still have access to Alliance medical? Weird.

I forgot the thing about his name, I assumed the same as you did about his name not actually being his own. I wondered why he kept it when he could have gone back to Henry Evans, but I guess since most of his life was shaped by being Derrial Book, it was a better fit for the man who he'd become rather than the man he left behind. Then again, if by finding God he moved into a new phase in his life like he did when he killed the real Book, why didn't he choose another name for himself...? (Probably because he didn't want to assume another identity the same way he had before?) So much speculation...