J.S. Morin’s Galaxy Outlaws is usually recommended as a book series similar to the Firefly TV show. That is just wrong. If you like Science Fiction, you must watch Firefly. It’s described as a Western in space. That doesn’t do the TV show justice and is part of why Firefly didn’t catch on when it originally aired, and only lasted one season. The characters in Firefly make it a perfect TV show. 10/10. There isn’t a thing that can be changed to improve it. If you don’t like Firefly, then you don’t like that genre.
Galaxy Outlaws is a collection of novellas packaged in several different collections that follow the adventures of a group of space outlaws. The ship owner, Carl, has a military background and the group of misfits occasionally smuggle. That is the entire similarity to Firefly.
In Firefly, the owner/captain, Malcolm Reynolds, is a decisive leader who cares deeply about his crew. Morin’s Carl is a gifted and inventive combat pilot, but generally has no other talents. He lies and cheats, isn’t trusted or respected by his crew and doesn’t think through a plan. He is supposed to be a silver-tongued charmer, but that doesn’t often come through.
The rest of the crew of Firefly are generally charming and very good at their jobs, but have personal limits and an interesting backstory. People re-watch Firefly just to spend time with the characters. The Galaxy Outlaws crew, with one exception, aren’t great at their jobs and aren’t good people. They don’t even seem to like each other.
Galaxy Outlaws is a mix of Science Fiction and Fantasy. They are in spaceships of the future, but magic and wizards exist. That is pretty easy to get accustomed to, so doesn’t add or detract from the story.
The collection of missions of the Galaxy Outlaws are usually engaging and occasionally clever. Overall, not a bad read, but not great art.