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Books below and on the left are listed in order of pending or actual
publication date, starting with the most recent.
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view all Joss Whedon related titles.
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The Psychology of Joss Whedon: Unauthorized Exploration of Buffy, Angel,
and Firefly
December 2007
Edited by Joy Davidson,
PhD
Suggested Retail Price:
$17.95 US |
$22.95 CAN
Special Smart Pop
Price:
$14.36 US | $18.36 CAN
First there was
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; then its spin-off Angel; then the
cult hit Firefly and its follow-up film, Serenity. They
all had two things in common: their creator, Joss Whedon . . . and their
surprising psychological depth.
Revisit the worlds
of Joss Whedon . . . with trained psychologists at your side. What are
the psychological effects of constantly fighting for your life? Why is
neuroscience the Whedonverse’s most terrifying villain? How can watching
Joss’s shows help you take on your own psychological issues?
It’s all the best
parts of Psych 101—without Professor Walsh.
·
Robert Kurzban
explains how Mal’s morals are a form of evolutionary pornography, and
why we like to watch
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Thomas Flamson
explores free will in the Whedonverse—with prophecies, sacred
duties, and the long arm of the Alliance, does anyone actually have
any?
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Carole Poole
demonstrates how Buffy and Spike’s season six relationship could be
considered metaphor for narcissistic personality disorder—and
concludes that Buffy may have been better off continuing it
-
Bradley J.
Daniels
looks at River’s
Alliance-altered brain, and the real effects of “stripping” the
amygdala
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Mikhail
Lyubansky
shows why,
psychologically, death really is Buffy’s gift
- And editor
Joy Davidson takes on Angel’s mommy issues—how the course of his
whole extraordinary existence can be traced back to the woman who
made him a vampire
Other contributors
include:
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Robert Kurzban
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Nicholas R. Eaton and Robert F. Krueger
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Tracy R. Gleason and Nancy S. Weinfeld
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Brian Rabian and Michael Wolff
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Wind Goodfriend
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C. Albert Bardi and Sherry Hamby
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Misty K. Hook
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Siamak Tundra Naficy and Karthik Panchanathan
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Stephanie R.
deLusé
-
Ed Connor
Joy Davidson, PhD, is a psychologist, sex therapist, advice
columnist, speaker, and author who has written for Cosmopolitan,
New Woman, Family Circle, Men’s Fitness, Seasons,
and First for Women, to name a few. Dr. Davidson holds a
doctorate in clinical psychology and a masters degree in counseling
psychology. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and an
AASECT certified sex therapist, as well a member of AASECT’s Board of
Directors. |
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Serenity Found:
More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's
Firefly Universe
October 2007
Edited by "Mutant
Enemy" screenwriter Jane Espenson
Suggested Retail Price:
$17.95 US |
$22.95 CAN
Special Smart Pop
Price:
$14.36 US | $18.36 CAN
A lot has happened
since Finding Serenity. We learned River’s secret; Mal took on
the Alliance. Our favorite crew became Big Damn Heroes. And the
Browncoats proved that hard work, passion, and a little fan coordination
can do the impossible.
Serenity Found
takes the contents of Finding Serenity even further, exploring
not just the show but the events of the film as well, to create an
anthology that’s even more thought-provoking, fascinating, and
far-thinking than its predecessor.
-
Acclaimed
science fiction author Orson Scott Card lauds Serenity
as film sci-fi finally done right
-
Writer and
comedian Natalie Haynes reveals the real feminist savvy of
the Firefly universe: the girls get the guns and the
gags
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Pop culture
critic Michael Marano connects damaged, ass-kicking River to
the other weaponized women of the Whedonverse
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Multiverse
executive producer Corey Bridges explains why the world of
Firefly is the perfect setting for an MMORPG
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Mutant Enemy’s
visual effects wizard Loni Peristere relates what he’s
learned from Joss about telling stories, and tells a story of his
own about Serenity’s design
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Television
Without Pity recapper Jacob Clifton frames Serenity as
a parable about media: how it controls us, how we can control it,
and how to separate the signal from the noise
-
And Nathan Fillion, Firefly and Serenity’s
Captain Malcolm Reynolds, shares his affinity for Mal and his love
of Mal’s ship and crew.
Other contributors include:
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Jane Espenson
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Maggie Burns
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P. Gardner Goldsmith
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Shanna Swendson
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Eric Greene
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Alex Bledsoe
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Lani Diane Rich
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Natasha Giardina
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Ken Wharton
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Geoff Klock
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Bruce Bethke
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Evelyn Vaughn
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Jane Espenson
has been a television writer for the last 15 years. She has written
episodes of shows including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ellen,
Gilmore Girls, The O.C., and many others. She is
especially proud of her work on Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Angel, and, of course, Firefly. She is
currently co-executive producer of Battlestar Galactica and has a
development deal with NBC/Universal Television.
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Finding Serenity:
Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s
Firefly
April 2005
Edited by "Mutant
Enemy" screenwriter Jane Espenson
Suggested Retail Price:
$17.95 US |
$24.95 CAN
Special Smart Pop
Price:
$14.36 US | $19.96 CAN
Firefly’s
early demise left fans with a deep sense of loss and plenty of
unanswered questions. From what was wrong with the pilot to what was
right with the Reavers, from the use of Chinese to how correspondence
between Joss and network executives might have gone, from a
philosopher’s perspective on “Objects in Space” to a sex therapist’s
analysis of Inara, Finding Serenity is filled with writing as
exciting, funny and enthralling as the show itself.
Finding Serenity
includes:
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Mercedes Lackey
on the nature of freedom in
Firefly
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Roxanne
Longstreet Conrad on how the crew of Serenity could kick
the Enterprise crew’s butts any day
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Leigh Adams
Wright on the fate of the ’verse’s Chinese people
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Tanya Huff
on Zoe as the ultimate warrior woman
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Michelle Sagara
West on television finally getting marriage right
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Kevin M.
Sullivan's unofficial glossary of Firefly Chinese
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And Jewel
Staite (“Kaylee”) offers a behind-the-scenes insider look and
talks about her favorite episodes
Other contributors include:
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Ginjer
Buchanan
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Joy
Davidson
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Don
Debrandt
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Keith
R.A. DeCandido
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Larry
Dixon
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David
Gerrold
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Jennifer Goltz
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Nancy
Holder
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Robert
B. Taylor
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John
C. Wright
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Lyle
Zynda
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Jane Espenson wrote the script for the Firefly episode “Shindig,”
in addition to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes “Band
Candy,” “Earshot,” “Superstar,” “Storytellers” and “Conversations with
Dead People.” She has also written for Angel, Deep Space Nine,
Ellen, Gilmore Girls, Tru Calling and Star Trek.
Espenson has a development deal with 20th Century Fox
Productions writing pilots and dreaming of her own show. She lives in
Los Angeles. |
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Five Seasons of
Angel: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite
Vampire
October 2004
Edited by Glenn
Yeffeth
Suggested Retail Price:
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Special Smart Pop
Price:
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Miss Angel?
This collection of
essays from fans who also happen to be big name authors and specialists
in their fields (including New York Times bestselling author
Jennifer Crusie, Last Unicorn author Peter Beagle,
Buffy author Nancy Holder, Angel gaffer Dan Kerns, Chelsea
Quinn Yarbro and many others) explore the constellation of characters
and themes created in the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer
spin-off.
Topics include
Angelus as the prototypical high school bully, Angel as victim, how
Spike fits into Angel, why Jasmine was so scary, a sex expert's
take on Angel's psyche and Lindsey's moral center.
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Seven Seasons of
Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Discuss Their Favorite
Television Show
October 2003
Edited by Glenn Yeffeth
Suggested Retail Price:
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$22.95 CAN
Special Smart Pop
Price:
$12.76 US | $18.36 CAN
Science fiction and fantasy authors, typically immune to the appeal of
television science fiction, cannot resist the charms of Buffy the
Vampire Slayer.
Seven Seasons of Buffy
is a collection of fun, irreverent and surprising essays on Buffy
by some of science fiction and fantasy's most important authors,
including David Brin, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Lawrence Watt-Evans,
Sherrilyn Kenyon and Jennifer Crusie.
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Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy
May 2003
Candace Havens
Suggested Retail Price:
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“You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you
find out who they really are. If there’s any kind of fiction better than
that, I don’t know what it is.”
"Possibly the finest book of the century. It's exactly like A Tale
of Two Cities but with 30 percent more me."
- Joss Whedon
From Booklist:
Writers, actors, and fans often call Joss Whedon a genius. It's easy
to see why. Whedon, who got his start writing for Roseanne,
dreamed of writing movie screenplays. He got his shot when he sold his
script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the movie fell far short
of his hopes for it. After a few years of working as a script doctor,
Whedon got the chance to do Buffy again, this time as a TV show.
Few expected it to
succeed, but Whedon's humor and intelligence shone through in the
scripts, and viewers quickly became attached to the engaging, witty
characters. Buffy kept getting better: each season of the show
featured a complex story arc possessed of a real sense of danger and
further developed the characters. The last few years have brought the
Buffy spin-off Angel, the lamentably cancelled Firefly
(a space western), and the comic book Fray. Engaging and filled
with fun quotes, this is a must-read for Whedon's many fans. Kristine
Huntley, Copyright © American Library Association. All rights
reserved
Joss Whedon
is a biography of Joss Whedon, the wunderkind creator of television
shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly.
Whedon was also the
screenwriter for Speed, Toy Story (for which he was
nominated for an Oscar) and Alien Resurrection and is the writer
and creator of the immensely popular Fray comic book.
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