The Firefly series of books is the closest we will ever get to living in a world where the TV series wasn't canceled after just one season. Each book feels like a new episode of the show and Life Signs is the best one so far. Inara has not been aboard Serenity for a few books now and we finally find out why. Inara is dying. She has a terminal illness, Kiehl’s Myeloma, which is an incurable form of cancer and she has little time left. Therefore, she finally decides to let the crew of Serenity in on her secret and say goodbye. Of course this is devastating news to Mal and hard for him to accept. So hard, in fact, that he is willing to risk his own life, and the lives of his crew, on an impossible mission to save her. Mal decides that the crew needs to travel to an Alliance prison planet and break out a disgraced scientist on the slim chance that he might be able to help Inara. Pure madness.

This story was great from beginning to end, and the risk level really stretched the relationships between the crew members. Of course they are all in to help Inara, but only Mal is willing to throw all their lives away in the process. This causes more and more strife as the odds get longer, but it also presents some unique opportunities for us to learn more about our favorite characters. Even Zoe has a hard time with the orders Mal is giving and she isn't willing to let him get them all killed. The storyline is consistent with a revelation Joss Whedon made about Inara's character after the show was canceled, and her illness really adds a new dimension to her relationship with Mal. If you are a fan of the series and not reading these books then you are really missing out. If this was an actual episode of the show then it would have been one of my favorites.

James Anderson Foster narrates the audiobook and he nails the voices perfectly. My mind's eye sees all of the characters from the TV series as he narrates and he nevers breaks that illusion with his performances.