Faction Paradox Appreciation Thread

[OCD Geek]

Any fans of the Faction Paradox novels and audio dramas? For anyone that doesn't know, given that it's still somewhat obscure in Who fandom (although it seems to be a little less obscure these days thanks to finally being allowed on the Tardis wiki), Faction Paradox was created by Lawrence Miles for BBC's 8th Doctor novels with key assists by Lance Parkin and Kate Orman in a sprawling multi-novel range/multi-Doctor epic. It was about a threat from The Doctor's future. Far beyond the audio plays and the TV series in all its various incarnations, regardless of how long either of them run.

It dealt with a Time War against an unseen, unknowable "Enemy" that raged in The Doctor's far, far distant future dubbed the "War in Heaven". Agents of the "Enemy" travelled back in time to The Doctor's 8th incarnation in an effort to corrupt him for their own use in their future. Members of a Time Lord splinter faction/cult which worships paradoxes and chaos (the aforementioned Faction Paradox) also travel back in time with their own agenda. And they seem to know something about the Doctor's past. Meanwhile, the War in Heaven rages on in the past, present and future.

The Original BBC Eighth Doctor novel "War in Heaven" arc

• Virgin New Adventures: Christmas on a Rational Planet (1996) Lawrence Miles --7th Doctor
• Virgin Missing Adventures: Cold Fusion (1996) Lance Parkin --5th and 7th Doctors
• "Executive Action" (short story) 2001 Lance Parkin Walking in Eternity
• Virgin New Adventures: The Room with No Doors (1997) Kate Orman --7th Doctor
• Virgin New Adventures: Lungbarrow (1997) Marc Platt --7th Doctor
• Virgin New Adventures: The Dying Days (1997) Lance Parkin
• "Fishy Business" (short story) 1999 Lance Parkin Perfect Timing 2
• Vampire Science (1997) Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman
• Alien Bodies (1997) Lawrence Miles
• Seeing I (1998) Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman
• The Scarlet Empress (1998) Paul Magrs
• BBC Past Doctor Adventures: The Infinity Doctors (1998) Lance Parkin --Alternate 8th Doctor
• Virgin Bernice Summerfield: Dead Romance (1999) Lawrence Miles
• "Toy Story" (short story) 1999 Lawrence Miles Perfect Timing 2
• "Grass" (short story) 2001 Lawrence Miles The Magazine of Fantasy and Science-Fiction
• Unnatural History (1999) Jonathan Blum & Kate Orman
• Interference, Books I and II (1999) Lawrence Miles
• The Taking of Planet 5 (1999) Simon Bucher-Jones and Mark Clapham
• The Shadows of Avalon (2000) Paul Cornell
• The Ancestor Cell (2000) Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole
• The Turing Test (2000) Paul Leonard --Standalone (But excellent)
• Father Time (2001) Lance Parkin
• "Iris Explains" (short story) 2001 Lance Parkin Missing Pieces
• "The School of Doom" (short story) 2002 Lance Parkin Myth Makers
• The City of the Dead (2001) Lloyd Rose --Standalone (But excellent)
• The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (2001) Lawrence Miles
• Camera Obscura (2002) Lloyd Rose
• The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005) Lance Parkin
• BBC New Series Adventures: The Eyeless (2008) Lance Parkin --10th Doctor (!)

The Mad Norwegian Faction Paradox novels that Lawrence Miles oversaw and edited

• The Book of the War (2002) Edited by Lawrence Miles (Entries by Lawrence Miles, Philip Purser-Hallard, Simon Bucher-Jones, Mark Clapham, Mags L. Halliday, Kelly Hale, Daniel O'Mahony, Jonathan Dennis, Ian McIntire and Helen Fayle)
• "Mr. Saldaamir" (unused entry) 2003 Lance Parkin Myth Makers
• This Town Will Never Let Us Go (2003) Lawrence Miles
• Of the City of the Saved... (2004) Philip Purser-Hallard Pitched as a Big Finish Iris Wildthyme novel
• Dead Romance (2004 re-release) Lawrence Miles Re-published Virgin Bernice Summerfield novel
• Warlords of Utopia (2004) Lance Parkin Pitched as a Sabbath-era BBC 8th Doctor novel
• Warring States (2005) Mags L. Halliday
• Erasing Sherlock (2006) Kelly Hale

The audio dramas that Lawrence Miles wrote himself. The former featured Compassion and Sabbath from the 8th Doctor novels as well as the Sontarans. The latter co-starred Gabriel Woolf as Sutekh, featured The Maste- ...The War King and functioned as a prequel to Pyramids of Mars. Elements of it were referenced in Big Finish's The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield, Volume Two: The Triumph of Sutekh.

• The Faction Paradox Protocols (6 episodes) 2001-2004 Lawrence Miles BBV
• The True History of Faction Paradox (6 episodes) 2005-2009 Lawrence Miles Magic Bullet

Speaking of Bernice Summerfield, Big Finish's Bernice audio play The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel by Jim Smith is a Faction Paradox story that also functions as a sequel to the VNA novel (and eventual audio adaptation) All-Consuming Fire. It deals with Benny and Mycroft Holmes (David Warner) coming across Lawrence Miles' Cwejen, an army cloned from one of the Doctor's former companions that have been bred by the Time Lords to be soldiers against the "Enemy".


The Random Static novel that Lawrence Miles oversaw, but ultimately faced executive meddling

• Newton's Sleep (2008) Daniel O'Mahony

The Obverse novels and anthology that Lawrence Miles initially oversaw before retiring (Originally developed for Random Static)

• A Romance in Twelve Parts (2011) Edited by Stuart Douglas
• Against Nature (2013) Lawrence Burton
• The Brakespeare Voyage (2013) Simon Bucher-Jones and Jonathan Dennis

The Obverse novels and anthologies released since his retirement

• Burning with Optimism's Flames (2013) Edited by Jay Eales
• Liberating Earth (2015) Edited by Kate Orman
• Head of State (2015) Andrew Hickey
• Weapons Grade Snake Oil (2017) Blair Bidmead
• Spinning Jenny (2017) Dale Smith
• The Book of the Enemy (2018) Edited by Simon Bucher-Jones
• The Book of the Peace (2018) Edited by Philip Marsh

Obverse's The City of the Saved spin-off anthologies overseen by Philip Purser-Hallard

• Tales of the City (2012) Edited by Philip Purser-Hallard
• More Tales of the City (2013) Edited by Philip Purser-Hallard
• Tales of the Great Detectives (2014) Edited by Philip Purser-Hallard
• Furthest Tales of the City (2015) Edited by Philip Purser-Hallard
• Tales of the Civil War (2016) Edited by Philip Purser-Hallard

And, finally, the one Obverse City of the Saved anthology that wasn't overseen by Purser-Hallard

• Stranger Tales of the City (2018) Edited by Liz Evershed

Oh, and Lawrence Miles wrote a Faction Paradox comic for Image in 2003 that only lasted three issues (two published) out of a planned 20-25, while Lance Parkin wrote a six-part Miranda comic series sequel to Father Time (also, funnily enough, in 2003) that only lasted for three issues.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've never read any of those books, but I've heard about the storyline. Their leader being named Grandfather Paradox made me groan.

 

[OCD Geek]

I forgot to mention my favorite part about this storyline and spin-off series. It should be far too dense and convoluted to avoid massive amounts continuity lockout and archive panic, but (aside from a few of the 8th Doctor novels like The Shadows of Avalon, The Ancestor Cell and The Gallifrey Chronicles) amazingly everything was beautifully designed to work extremely well on its own for new readers/listeners.

This thing should be a complete mess to jump into mid-stream, and yet it all remains extremely accessible. There are people who've read fan favorite Who novels like The Infinity Doctors, Dead Romance, Father Time and The Eyeless (or listened to The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel) and had no idea that they were enjoying a small piece of a much more sprawling arc.

This is especially true for the spin-off itself. Every single novel, short story collection and audio play series works 100% as its own standalone story. You might want to read Alien Bodies and Interference for some background before diving into the novels (or Alien Bodies and Dead Romance before the audios), but it isn't necessary at all. All of the connections between various works are just a fun bonus.

I've never read any of those books, but I've heard about the storyline. Their leader being named Grandfather Paradox made me groan.

That's fair. It does help a little that people in different levels of ranks are referred to by familial names (like Little Brother, Little Sister, Cousin, Mother, Father, Godfather, and Godmother) to further emphasize Faction Paradox's culty nature, but I here you. Although "The Doctor" took some time for me to get used to as well once upon a time.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I like that you include Parkin's The Eyeless in this list. I am convinced that the book's McGuffin (I don't remember what it was called) was a Celestis weapon, as its creators are described in almost exactly the same words that Miles used to describe the Celestis in Alien Bodies. And it has a Faction-y plot -- a post Time War Doctor has to deal with the detritus of the pre-Time War "War in Heaven" that bled through and shouldn't exist.

 

[OCD Geek]

I like that you include Parkin's The Eyeless in this list. I am convinced that the book's McGuffin (I don't remember what it was called) was a Celestis weapon, as its creators are described in almost exactly the same words that Miles used to describe the Celestis in Alien Bodies. And it has a Faction-y plot -- a post Time War Doctor has to deal with the detritus of the pre-Time War "War in Heaven" that bled through and shouldn't exist.

Your head canon is probably actual canon in this case. It was Lance Parkin's intention that the weapon from The Eyeless was the same exact weapon from The Gallifrey Chronicles. Here's a chunk of an interview where he discusses it, followed by a certain scene from Parkin's older novel and The Doctor's memory from Parkin's later novel that's straight up copy and pasted at the end.

Spoiler: Lance Parkin interview

Source: http://docohosreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/lance-parkin-q-part-two.html

Spoiler: Scene from The Gallifrey Chronicles

Spoiler: The Doctor's memory from The Eyeless

EDIT: I did forget about Miles' VNA Christmas on a Rational Planet, though. I'll add it to the list.

 

[Marc]

I don't know if I jumped in part way through or what but I bought Interference Part 1 & 2.

Bleech.

don't think I even opened part 2.

 

[David cgc]

I only know about Faction Paradox what I piece together when its mentioned on the TARDIS wiki and something seems interesting enough to follow into a rabbit hole (there's a thing with spiders and the TARDIS turning into a big space mummy because someone breaks history by averting the Third Doctor's regeneration? That sounded like pretty cool sci-fi haunted-house stuff).

Your head canon is probably actual canon in this case. It was Lance Parkin's intention that the weapon from The Eyeless was the same exact weapon from The Gallifrey Chronicles. Here's a chunk of an interview where he discusses it, followed by a certain scene from Parkin's older novel and The Doctor's memory from Parkin's later novel that's straight up copy and pasted at the end.

Those images are only visible (if at all) if you have a Gallifrey Base account.

 

[OCD Geek]

I like that you include Parkin's The Eyeless in this list. I am convinced that the book's McGuffin (I don't remember what it was called) was a Celestis weapon, as its creators are described in almost exactly the same words that Miles used to describe the Celestis in Alien Bodies. And it has a Faction-y plot -- a post Time War Doctor has to deal with the detritus of the pre-Time War "War in Heaven" that bled through and shouldn't exist.

Those images are only visible (if at all) if you have a Gallifrey Base account.

Frak. My bad. They were screenshots from the novels. I'll just type out what they say. Let's try this again.

Spoiler: Lance Parkin interview

The weapon was one of those things that I really worked out while I was in the thick of writing the book. The synopsis said something like ‘the ultimate weapon’ and left it vague. Then it was just a big gun, then a universe-destroying bomb and I wasn’t happy. It’s … actually, I need to be careful with this … one reading of the book is that it’s a weapon from the Time War, but it’s left open whether it’s the Time War from the EDAs or the new TV series. So I needed an ultimate weapon that could take down the Enemy or the Daleks, and I got really bogged down in technobabble. Justin asked me early on how the weapon worked and I said pretty much what the Doctor says in the book, ‘er … quantum physics and vunktotechnology’ and it became obvious that this wasn’t a good answer, so I came up with a better one: ‘it kills your enemy and anyone who’s ever heard of them’ and in just about every circumstance but one, that would mean that firing it would destroy you.

Source: http://docohosreviews.blogspot.com/2009/08/lance-parkin-q-part-two.html

Spoiler: Gallifrey Chronicles scene

"Gallifrey's atmosphere was swirling off into space in streams of ionised gas. The ice caps melted, then vaporized. Land and sea were boiling. As great earthquakes rippled across the surface the cities were shattering or tipping into great chasms of lava. The Capitol had been the primary target. Not even photons had escaped its destruction. The few time ships that tried to pull away were torn apart. Time and space were screaming as Gallifrey was uprooted from them. The whole planet was distorted, losing form. The ivory moon, Pazithi Gallifreya, was caught and consumed by one of the atmospheric flares. The Faction Paradox fleet had ceased to exist some time ago, unnoticed and unmourned.

There was a flash as bright as the sun for the merest moment, annihilation so profound that it stretched deep into the past and far into the future. Then Gallifrey was gone.

Spoiler: Eyeless memory

'They say the city is dangerous.'
'On balance, I tend to agree.'
'They say we should learn to make things ourselves. They're stupid - there's plenty of everything in the city.'
The Doctor nodded. 'It must be very difficult for them. You and Gar and the other kids, you've never known a different life. They did. It must haunt them. Losing everything.'

There was a flash as bright as the sun for the merest moment, annihilation so profound that it stretched deep into the past and far into the future. Then Gallifrey was gone.

 

[Steve Roby]

I haven't read all the FP books, but I have them all so far. Great stuff.

What are VNAs? I have a lot of NAs, some of which have NA right on the cover.

 

[Mr Soak]

What are VNAs? I have a lot of NAs, some of which have NA right on the cover.

Virgin New Adventures. The ones actually labeled New Adventures (published by Virgin). It's used to diffrentiate them from the BBC Books unbranded ranges.

 

[OCD Geek]

I haven't read all the FP books, but I have them all so far. Great stuff.

What are VNAs? I have a lot of NAs, some of which have NA right on the cover.

"VNAs" has been the acronym used by most of the fandom, as well as the authors themselves, for the last fifteen years to better differentiate between the New Adventures (NAs) and New Series Adventures (NSAs) in conversation. VNAs, EDAs and NSAs are much easier to tell apart.

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1...ws-wiz.......0i71j0i8i7i30j0i8i30.HKxBOp0lSrU

https://www.reddit.com/r/gallifrey/search?q=vna&restrict_sr=1

https://www.tumblr.com/search/vnas

https://twitter.com/search?q=vnas&src=typd

https://www.trekbbs.com/search/46456007/?q=vnas&o=date&c[node]=31

 

[Steve Roby]

You know what? Never mind.

 

[matthunter]

I think the idea was that, if you could keep all the acronyms straight in your head, dealing with the Faction Paradox weirdness would be a snap.