Faction Paradox (series): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
m (Bot: Cosmetic changes)
 
(280 intermediate revisions by 46 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The Faction Paradox series were originally a series of audio dramas about [[Faction Paradox]], produced initially by [[BBV Productions]], these were then followed by audio dramas produced by [[Magic Bullet Productions]], the first being [[Coming to Dust]]. Then followed by a series of novels published from [[2002]] to [[2006]] by [[Mad Norwegian Press]] with [[Random Static Ltd]] taking over with [[Newtons Sleep]]. There were also two issues of a Faction Paradox comic released by [[Image Comics]]; the comic cancelled abruptly mid-story, discontinued due to poor sales.
{{Subpage tabs}}
{{title dab away}}
{{spoiler}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Merchandise
|image        = Faction Paradox logo.jpg
|designer    =
|publisher    = Obverse Books
|publisher2  = Mad Norwegian Press
|publisher3  = BBV Productions
|publisher4  = Magic Bullet Productions
|publisher5  = Random Static
|type        = Book, audio, and comic series
|website      = https://factionparadox.co.uk
}}{{you may|Faction Paradox|Faction Paradox (in-universe series)|n1=the organisation|n2=the series' in-universe counterpart}}'''''Faction Paradox''''' is a series of audio, prose, and comic stories set in and around the [[War in Heaven]] and prominently featuring [[Faction Paradox]], both of which were introduced in [[Lawrence Miles]]'s [[1997 (releases)|1997]] [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures|Eighth Doctor novel]] ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', and utilising several other elements originally from ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In addition to direct and licensed inclusions, including [[Sontaran]]s and [[Sutekh]], there are also frequent allusions to other concepts from ''Doctor Who'' and other sci-fi series, such as the [[Time Lord]]s via the [[Homeworlder]]s.


==Audio Dramas==
== History ==
===The Faction Paradox Protocols ([[BBV]])===
The [[War in Heaven]] was introduced in the novel {{cs|Alien Bodies (novel)}}. At the time the book was written, author [[Lawrence Miles]] intended for the War to remain indeterminably far in the series' future.<ref name="Last Interview">{{cite web
<gallery>
|url = http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/inter/INTER00.TXT
File:Eleven Day Empire cover.jpg|[[The Eleven Day Empire]]
|title=The "Last Ever" Interview
File:Shadow Play Cover.jpg|[[The Shadow Play]]
|author = [[Lawrence Miles]]
File:Sabbath Dei Cover.jpg|[[Sabbath Dei]]
|date of source=28 May 2000
File:Year of the Cat cover.jpg|[[In the Year of the Cat]]
|website name = Menace The Miles
File:Movers cover.jpg|[[Movers]]
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030204002644/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk/loz/inter/INTER00.TXT
File:Labyrinth of Histories cover.jpg|[[A Labyrinth of Histories]]
|archivedate = 4 February 2003
</gallery>
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
===The True History of Faction Paradox ([[MB]])===
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/rate-36-the-ancestor-cell-by-peter-anghelides-and-stephen-cole.146561/#post-6018251
<gallery>
|title=Re: Rate 36. The Ancestor Cell
File:Coming to Dust cover.jpg|[[Coming to Dust]]
|author = [[Philip Purser-Hallard]]
File:Ship of a Billion Years cover.jpg|[[The Ship of a Billion Years]]
|date of source=20 August 2012
File:Body Politic cover.jpg|[[Body Politic]]
|website name = [[Gallifrey Base]]
File:WordsFromNineDivinities.jpg|[[Words From Nine Divinities]]
|quote=The Time Lord War was never meant to be something which actually happened in the EDA range – it was part of the Doctor's distant future, like [[The Doctor (Battlefield)|Merlin]] or [[the Valeyard]], and could have been kept there indefinitely if the editors had shown wiling.
File:Ozymandias.jpg|[[Ozymandias]]
}}</ref> However, after he learned that [[Kate Orman]] and [[Jon Blum]] would be including [[Faction Paradox]] in {{cs|Unnatural History (novel)}}, he felt justified to explore the idea further in his two-part novel {{cs|Interference (novel)}},<ref name="64 Thousand">{{cite web
File:JudgementOfSutekh.jpg|[[The Judgment of Sutekh]]
|url = http://www.planeteleven.co.uk/features/lmia/64thousand.php
</gallery>
|title=64 Thousand-Dollar Questions
|author = Lawrence Miles
|date of source=11 March 2001
|website name = The Complete Lawrence Miles
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050301093713/http://www.planeteleven.co.uk:80/features/lmia/64thousand.php
|archivedate = 1 March 2005}}</ref> which introduced the [[Eleven-Day Empire]] and the [[Remote]]. Despite positive online and international reception, ''Interference'' received an unfavourable review in [[DWM 281]], and Miles subsequently felt he had "lost [his] mandate" and resigned from writing ''Doctor Who''<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.drwho/VAjJbVHxGeE/BOiYChXgSg8J
|title = All-Purpose Internet Statement
|author=Lawrence Miles
|date of source = 17 August 1999
|website name=[[Rec.arts.drwho]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20010422150307/http://www.menace.ndo.co.uk:80/loz/coat.htm
|archivedate=22 April 2001
}}</ref> to instead develop a ''Faction Paradox'' series.<ref name="Last Interview" />


==Novels ([[FP]])==
By the year [[2000 (production)|2000]], [[BBV Productions]] had agreed to produce ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]'' audio series.<ref name="Last Interview" /> These audios introduced several concepts that would later become staples of the ''Faction Paradox'' range, such as the Faction's [[shadow-weapon]]s and alternate names like "[[Great House]]s" for the [[Time Lord]]s and "[[timeship]]s" for [[TARDIS]]es. Miles described these reinventions as the continuation of the process that he began in ''Alien Bodies'': as he developed more of the War in Heaven, its factions evolved further and further away from the versions from the past.<ref name="Gallifrey One Interview">{{cite web
<gallery>
|url = http://www.gallifreyone.com/interview.php?id=miles
File:Bookofthewar.jpg|[[The Book of the War]]
|title=Outpost Gallifrey Interview
File:ThisTownWillNeverLetUsGo.jpg|[[This Town Will Never Let Us Go]]
|author = Lawrence Miles
File:Of the City of the Saved.jpg|[[Of the City of the Saved...]]
|year of source=2001
File:Warlords of Utopia.jpg|[[Warlords of Utopia]]
|website name = [[Outpost Gallifrey]]
File:Warring States.jpg|[[Warring States]]
|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030614094049/http://gallifreyone.com:80/interview.php?id=miles
File:ErasingSherlock.jpg|[[Erasing Sherlock]]
|archivedate = 14 June 2003}}</ref>
File:NewtonsSleep.jpg|[[Newtons Sleep]]
</gallery>


==Comic Books ([[FP]])==
This process was completed in the writing of {{cs|The Book of the War (novel)}}, a "guidebook to a series that doesn't exist yet"<ref name="Gallifrey One Interview" /> intended to be a standalone companion to the ''Protocols'' audios.<ref>{{cite web
<gallery>
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/news.php4
File:FactionParadox1.jpg|Issue 1: [[Political Animals]]
|title=New ''Faction Paradox'' Book Announced - Edited by Lawrence Miles!
File:FactionParadox2.jpg|Issue 2: [[Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses]]
|date of source = 12 February 2002
</gallery>
|website name=[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
[[Category:Real World lists]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030422184311/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/news.php4
[[Category:Faction Paradox series| *]]
|archivedate=22 April 2003
}}</ref> A total of twelve authors, including established ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' novelists as well as writers from contemporary [[charity publication]]s, contributed short stories to the book in the form of alphabetically-sorted encyclopedia entries. As Miles collected, edited, and synthesised these stories, he developed the War as a more mythological setting with the scale and appearance of [[science fiction]] but none of the "props".<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.bbvonline.co.uk/fea_faction_paradox_Intvw_LM.htm
|title=The Faction Paradox Interview
|author = Lawrence Miles
|year of source=2003
|website name=[[BBV Productions|BBV Online]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030506161546/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk:80/fea_faction_paradox_Intvw_LM.htm
|archivedate=6 May 2003
}}</ref> For instance, rather than using [[alien]]s in ''The Book of the War'', Miles characterised all non-[[human]]s as either [[god]]s, like the [[Great House]]s and [[Celestis]], or monsters, like the [[Yssgaroth]] and [[Mal'akh]].<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.infinitarian.com/otcotsbook3.html
|title=''Of the City of the Saved'' Notes – Book Three
|author = Philip Purser-Hallard
|website name=Infinitarian.com
|quote = Lawrence Miles decided early on that there would be minimal emphasis on “aliens” in the Faction universe: in ''The Book of the War'' non-humans are gods, like the members of the Great Houses, or monsters, like the Mal'akh.
}}</ref>
 
{{quote|The Faction's universe is on the surface an SF universe, but it works on the same principles as traditional folklore. It's all very feudal. There are, or were, [[Great Houses|'people']] who ran [[history]] – 'history' being a way for us to deal with the world around us – and these 'people' are generally nameless and faceless, but with the attitude of an aristocratic upper class. [[Ruling Houses]], in effect.
 
At some point these Houses engaged in a [[War in Heaven|war]] with an [[the enemy|equally inscrutable enemy]], and the war intersected – still intersects – human history like a [[bible|biblical]] {{w|war in Heaven}}, impacting on humanity but without direct human involvement. Usually. So that makes [[Faction Paradox]] a [[Prometheus]] among the Titans, it's a splinter-group halfway between the elite and humanity, which believes in (a) introducing its principles to the "collaterals" caught in the crossfire... that's us, essentially... and (b) interfering in the plans of the Houses whenever possible.|[[Lawrence Miles]]<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.ninthart.org/display.php?article=739
|title=Paradoxically Speaking
|author = Lawrence Miles
|coauthors=Brent Keane
|date of source = 5 January 2004
|website name=Ninth Art
}}</ref>}}
 
''The Book of the War'' was published by [[Mad Norwegian Press]] in [[17 September (releases)|September]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]], and following its success Mad Norwegian announced in [[2 December (production)|December]] of that year that it would publish a series of standalone ''Faction Paradox'' novels edited by Miles. Despite the series' name, these novels would not specifically focus on the Faction, instead exploring "a myriad of times/settings" throughout the War.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/news.php4
|title=Faction Paradox Novels Update
|date of source = 24 February 2003
|website name=[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030422184311/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/news.php4
|archivedate=22 April 2003
}}</ref> Each novel was written by a contributor to ''The Book of the War'', either building upon the contents of their entries (e.g. [[Philip Purser-Hallard]]'s ''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved]]'' and [[Mags L. Halliday]]'s ''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]'') or telling completely new stories (e.g. [[Lance Parkin]]'s ''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]'' and [[Kelly Hale]]'s ''[[Erasing Sherlock (novel)|Erasing Sherlock]]''). Notably, each book was set before its predecessor, with some novels hinting that their events were connected to or even caused by their successors.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.infinitarian.com/otcotsbook2.html
|title=''Of the City of the Saved'' Notes – Book Two
|author = Philip Purser-Hallard
|website name=Infinitarian.com
}}</ref><ref>[[Mags L. Halliday]]. ''Author's Notes''. ''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]'' ebook edition ([[2013 (releases)|2013]]). “This was another conceit of the series: that each novel was set earlier than the previous one. So the events at the end of ''Erasing Sherlock'' trigger elements of ''Warring States'', and the end of ''Warring States'' triggers elements of ''Of City of the Saved...''”</ref> Along with these original novels, Mad Norwegian also republished Miles's [[1999 (releases)|1999]] book ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'', which had originally been released in [[Virgin Books]]' ''[[Virgin New Adventures|New Adventures]]'' line.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/fp/news.php
|title=Faction News
|year of source = 2003-2005
|website name=Mad Norwegian Press
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20050705081124/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/fp/news.php
|archivedate=5 July 2005
}}</ref>
 
[[File:FP1.jpg|thumb|left|The cover of [[Political Animals (comic story)|FP 1]].]]
At the same time, Mad Norwegian began producing [[Faction Paradox (2003)|a ''Faction Paradox'' comic]]<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/news.php4
|title=Faction Paradox comic on the horizon!
|date of source = 19 September 2002
|website name=[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030422184311/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/news.php4
|archivedate=22 April 2003
}}</ref> to be published by [[Image Comics]]. It was written by Lawrence Miles and tied into his novel {{cs|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)}}, albeit in a way that required no prior knowledge of that novel or any other ''Faction Paradox'' story.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/fp/fp_comic_press1.php
|title=Image Comics Press Release
|date of source = 15 May 2003
|website name=Mad Norwegian Press
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030822100120/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/fp/fp_comic_press1.php
|archivedate=22 August 2003
|quote = Faction Paradox has a five-year history in science-fiction novels, but there's not a lick of pre-knowledge required for the comic book series.
}}</ref> The first issue, {{cs|Political Animals (comic story)}}, was listed as one of Diamond Distribution's "Gems of the Month"<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://previews.diamondcomics.com/products/gems.html
|title=Premier Gems of the Month
|year of source = June 2003
|website name=Diamond Comics
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20030604200216/http://previews.diamondcomics.com:80/products/gems.html
|archivedate=4 June 2003
}}</ref> and was received favourably by several mainstream comic reviewers,<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/fp/product.php?item=fpissue1
|title=Faction Paradox #1
|year of source = 2003
|website name=Mad Norwegian Press
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20040205091126/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/fp/product.php?item=fpissue1
|archivedate=5 February 2004
}}</ref> but for cost reasons Mad Norwegian chose to end the comic series after {{cs|Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses (comic story)|its second issue}},<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/fp/fp_comic_overview.php
|title=Mad Norwegian ends ''Faction Paradox'' comic series
|author = [[Lars Pearson]]
|date of source=June 2004
|website name = Mad Norwegian Press
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040804213342/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/fp/fp_comic_overview.php
|archivedate = 4 August 2004
}}</ref> leaving the [[Creatures of Habit (comic story)|third part]] unreleased and the story unfinished.
 
In [[September (production)|September]] [[2003 (production)|2003]], [[BBV Productions]] announced it would end its ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' range to focus exclusively on the ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]'' line.<ref>{{cite web
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20031004172524/http://www.bbvonline.co.uk:80/news.html
|url=http://www.bbvonline.co.uk:80/news.html
|title = BBV News
|date of source=September 2003
|archivedate = 4 October 2003
|website name=BBV Online
|quote=Season 4 also wraps up BBV's audio output for the time being, with the exception of the Faction Paradox range, which will move to a separate audio series in their own right.}}</ref> However, BBV stopped producing any new content after {{cs|A Labyrinth of Histories (audio story)}} in [[2004 (releases)|2004]], so Miles, impressed by the quality of actors in [[Magic Bullet Productions]]' ''[[Kaldor City (audio series)|Kaldor City]]'' series, reached out to Magic Bullet to continue the ''Faction Paradox'' audios. Though the resultant ''[[The True History of Faction Paradox|True History of Faction Paradox]]'' series was designed to be standalone from the earlier ''Protocols'' audios, it continued to feature the characters of [[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], and [[Lolita]], albeit played by different actors. The six ''True History'' audios were released from [[23 July (releases)|July]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]] to [[23 November (releases)|23 November]] [[2009 (releases)|2009]].<ref name="Downtime">''[[Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who]]''</ref>
 
Mad Norwegian Press CEO [[Lars Pearson]] announced in [[September (production)|September]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]] that, as the return of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' to television had focused fans' attentions elsewhere, the ''Faction Paradox'' novels would end with {{cs|Erasing Sherlock (novel)}} that [[December (releases)|December]]<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.madnorwegian.com/fp/news.php
|title=Faction News
|year of source = 2005-2008
|website name=Mad Norwegian Press
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080927235719/http://www.madnorwegian.com:80/fp/news.php
|archivedate=27 September 2008
}}</ref> rather than continuing with [[Novel 6 (unproduced novel)|"Novel #6"]] as had been previously announced.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/you-want-to-know-the-few-char-t507.html#p1413
|title=You want to know the few-char!
|author = [[Lars Pearson]]
|date of source=4 October 2005
|website name = The Faction Paradox Community
}}</ref> However, the following July, [[New Zealand]]-based publisher [[Random Static]] announced they would continue the ''Faction Paradox'' novel line with {{cs|Newtons Sleep (novel)}},<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.randomstatic.net/
|title=Random Static to publish Faction Paradox novels
|date of source = July 2007
|website name=[[Random Static|Random Static Ltd]]
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070822193034/http://www.randomstatic.net/
|archivedate=22 August 2007}}</ref> published [[12 January (releases)|January]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]] to some local media attention.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.thebigidea.nz/node/177600
|title=A tale of love and magic in the Faction universe
|date of source = 11 January 2008
|website name=The Big Idea
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0801/S00015/newtons-sleep-puts-wellington-back-on-sci-fi-map.htm
|title=''Newtons Sleep'' puts Wellington back on sci-fi map
|date of source = 7 January 2008
|website name=Scoop Independent News
}}</ref> Concerned that the series branding was scaring off unfamiliar readers and distracting reviewers, Random Static later released the novel online as a free ebook without the ''Faction Paradox'' label.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/newtons-sleep-e-book-and-other-news-t1041.html#p698
|title=Newtons Sleep Ebook and Other News
|author = [[Kelly Buchanan]]
|date of source=16 January 2009
|website name = The Faction Paradox Community
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://randomstatic.net/newtonssleep.php
|title=''Newtons Sleep''
|author = [[Daniel O'Mahony]]
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120031348/http://randomstatic.net/newtonssleep.php
|archivedate = 20 January 2009
|website name=[[Random Static]]
}}</ref> Despite plans for another novel to be released in [[2010 (releases)|2010]],<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://pterodaustrodreams.org/drupal-6.8/node/132
|title=New Faction Paradox in 2010
|author = Kelly Buchanan
|year of source=2009
|quote = In 2010 we'll be publishing an anthology of NZ speculative fiction, and the next novel in the Faction Paradox setting.
}}</ref> this was Random Static's only ''Faction Paradox'' release.
 
[[File:FP 20th logo.jpg|thumb|right|20th anniversary art by [[Blair Bidmead]].]]
On [[7 June (production)|7 June]] [[2010 (production)|2010]], [[Obverse Books]] announced it had obtained the license to publish a series of ''Faction Paradox'' short story anthologies<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/faction-paradox-the-shorter-version.56076/
|title=Faction Paradox – the shorter version
|author = [[Stuart Douglas]]
|date of source=7 June 2010
|website name = Gallifrey Base
}}</ref> beginning with {{cs|A Romance in Twelve Parts (anthology)}}.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/faction-paradox-a-romance-in-twelve-parts.66988/
|title=Faction Paradox: A Romance in Twelve Parts
|author = Stuart Douglas
|date of source=13 August 2010
|website name = Gallifrey Base
}}</ref> Following that anthology's success, Obverse took over the ''Faction Paradox'' prose license in its entirety. The new novel line began with {{cs|Against Nature (novel)}} and {{cs|The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)}},<ref name="FP 2012">{{cite web
|url = https://obversebooks.co.uk/press-releases/press-release-faction-paradox-2012/
|title=Faction Paradox 2012
|author = Stuart Douglas
|date of source=23 December 2011
|website name = [[Obverse Books]]
}}</ref> both of which had begun production while Mad Norwegian was still running the series.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://onereed.blogspot.ca/2013/03/against-nature-has-arrived.html
|title=Against Nature has Arrived
|author = [[Lawrence Burton]]
|website name=Onereed
|date of source = 22 March 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://simonbjones.blogspot.ca/2014/01/shard-apocrypha-brakespeare.html
|title=Shard Apocrypha – Brakespeare Initialisation
|author = [[Simon Bucher-Jones]]
|website name=SBJ's Pantechnicon Extravaganza
|date of source = 28 January 2014
}}</ref> At the same time Obverse announced novellas from [[Kelly Hale]] and [[Jim Mortimore]],<ref name="FP 2012" /> neither of which were released. Obverse also began the first ''Faction Paradox'' prose spinoff: ''[[The City of the Saved (series)|The City of the Saved]]'', a series of short story anthologies edited by Philip Purser-Hallard.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/faction-paradox-a-romance-in-twelve-parts.98920/page-5#post-4766783
|title=Re: Faction Paradox: A Romance in Twelve Parts
|author = Stuart Douglas
|website name=Gallifrey Base
|quote = Ahem...watch this (or some related) space :)
|date of source=22 August 2011
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/the-obverse-quarterly-year-two-now-with-added-dr-who-content.129676/
|title=The Obverse Quarterly Year Two
|website name = Gallifrey Base
|author=Stuart Douglas
|date of source = 6 December 2011
}}</ref>
 
Obverse maintains a steady release schedule of ''Faction Paradox'' prose. Notably, in [[2015 (releases)|2015]] it published the anthology {{cs|Liberating Earth (anthology)}}, edited by acclaimed ''[[Doctor Who]]'' novelist [[Kate Orman]], which featured only women writers. This precedent was continued two years later by the ''City of the Saved'' release {{cs|Tales of the Civil War (anthology)}}.
 
In [[2017 (releases)|2017]], Obverse celebrated the 20th anniversary year of Faction Paradox's first appearance with several releases: the novel {{cs|Weapons Grade Snake Oil (novel)}}<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://wearecult.rocks/faction-paradox-weapons-grade-snake-oil-author-qa
|title=''Faction Paradox – Weapons Grade Snake Oil'': Author Q&A
|author = [[Blair Bidmead]]
|coauthor=James Gent
|website name = We Are Cult
|date of source=1 January 2017
}}</ref>; the ''City of the Saved'' anthology {{cs|Tales of the Civil War (anthology)}}; the novel {{cs|Spinning Jenny (novel)}}, which had been in production since [[2012 (production)|2012]];<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://dalesmithonline.com/get-asked/spinning-jenny
|title=Spinning Jenny
|author = [[Dale Smith]]
|website name=Dale Smith Online
|year of source = 2018
}}</ref> and the anthology {{cs|The Book of the Enemy (anthology)}}.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.facebook.com/obversebooks/posts/10155376414783752
|title=Coming very soon – THE BOOK OF THE ENEMY
|website name = Obverse Books on Facebook
|date of source=25 November 2017
}}</ref> Also announced was {{cs|The Book of the Peace (anthology)}}.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.facebook.com/obversebooks/posts/10155169571683752
|title=Coming soon – The Book of the Peace
|website name = Obverse Books on Facebook
|date of source=7 September 2017
}}</ref>
 
To celebrate Obverse Books' tenth anniversary in [[2019 (releases)|2019]], six novellas were released in the ''[[Obverse Sextet]]'' line, each a tie-in to one of Obverse Books' fiction series. This included a new ''Faction Paradox'' book, {{cs|Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production (novel)|Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production}}, and the seventh ''City of the Saved'' release, {{cs|Vanishing Tales of the City (novel)}}.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.facebook.com/obversebooks/posts/10156400814663752
|title=Sextet – An Obverse Anniversary Celebration
|website name = Obverse Books on Facebook
|date of source=6 February 2019
}}</ref>
 
After a 17 year hiatus, [[BBV Productions]] reacquired the ''Faction Paradox'' audio and video license in [[2021 (releases)|2021]] and began releasing new standalone ''Faction Paradox'' audio stories, as well as two video [[crossover]]s with its ''[[P.R.O.B.E. (series)|P.R.O.B.E.]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://twitter.com/bbv_productions/status/1497235084180553730
|title= ''P.R.O.B.E. Case Files: Volume 2'' announcement
|author = [[BBV Productions]]
|website name=BBV on Twitter
|date of source = 25 February 2022
}}</ref> However, many of BBV's early decisions were decried by Lawrence Miles,<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://twitter.com/The_Beasthouse/status/1401654193312706562
|title=I strongly recommend that you don't buy any Faction Paradox material from BBV.
|author = [[Lawrence Miles]]
|website name=Lawrence Miles on Twitter
|date of source = 6 June 2021
|archiveurl=https://archive.today/gvr1M
|archivedate = 6 June 2021
}}</ref> and following public outcry in [[October (production)|October]] 2021 over the company's hiring of an accused child predator on a different project,<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.reddit.com/r/gallifrey/comments/qig08e/
|title=Thread on the Current Situation with BBV Productions
|website name = r/Gallifrey
|publisher=Reddit
|date of source = 29 October 2021
}}</ref> its ''Faction Paradox'' license was revoked.<ref name="hands">{{cite web
|url = https://gallifreybase.com/gb/threads/new-faction-paradox-audio-content-from-bbv.296030/post-13455441
|title="So the Faction Paradox stuff is tricky"
|author = [[Jacob Addyman]]
|website name=[[Gallifrey Base]]
|date of source = 30 May 2022
}}</ref>
 
On [[21 April (production)|21 April]] [[2021 (production)|2021]], [[Obverse Books]] announced ''[[Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)|Worlds of the Spiral Politic]]'', a new series of novels and anthologies focusing on specific settings around the ''Faction Paradox'' universe.<ref name="WotSP">{{cite web
|url = https://www.facebook.com/obversebooks/posts/10158412988903752
|title=Announcing a new series – Worlds of the Spiral Politic
|author = [[Obverse Books]]
|publisher=Facebook
|date of source = 21 April 2021
}}</ref> The open call for pitches for the first of these books, an anthology set in the [[Boulevard of Alternate Brutalities]], had been announced that [[19 February (production)|February]].<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.facebook.com/obversebooks/posts/10158279026843752
|title=Open Submissions Call for ''The Boulevard''
|author = [[Obverse Books]]
|publisher=Facebook
|date of source = 19 February 2021
}}</ref> After receiving almost 100 pitches,<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://twitter.com/obversebooks/status/1381220681770237952
|title=Obverse Books on Twitter
|date of source = 11 April 2021
|author=Obverse Books
|publisher = Twitter
}}</ref> Obverse split the anthology into two volumes, and ''[[The Boulevard: Volume One]]'' was released on [[1 June (releases)|1 June]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]].
 
== Stories ==
=== Novels ===
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title || Writer || Publisher || Release date
|-
|''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]''
| data-sort-value="Miles, Lawrence" | ed. [[Lawrence Miles]]
|rowspan=6|[[Mad Norwegian Press|Mad Norwegian<br>Press]]
|[[17 September (releases)|17 September]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]]
|-
|''[[This Town Will Never Let Us Go (novel)|This Town Will Never Let Us Go]]''
|{{sortname|Lawrence|Miles}}
|[[29 October (releases)|29 October]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|-
|''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]''
|{{sortname|Philip|Purser-Hallard}}
|[[11 May (releases)|11 May]] [[2004 (releases)|2004]]
|-
|''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]''
|{{sortname|Lance|Parkin}}
|[[13 December (releases)|13 December]] 2004
|-
|''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]''
|{{sortname|Mags L.|Halliday}}
|[[19 June (releases)|19 June]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]
|-
|''[[Erasing Sherlock (novel)|Erasing Sherlock]]''
|{{sortname|Kelly|Hale}}
|[[13 December (releases)|13 December]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|-
|''[[Newtons Sleep (novel)|Newtons Sleep]]''
|{{sortname|Daniel|O'Mahony}}
|[[Random Static]]
|[[12 January (releases)|12 January]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|-
|''[[Against Nature (novel)|Against Nature]]''
|{{sortname|Lawrence|Burton}}
|rowspan=6|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[22 March (releases)|22 March]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]]
|-
|''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]''
| data-sort-value="Bucher-Jones, Simon"|[[Simon Bucher-Jones]], [[Jonathan Dennis]]
|[[26 October (releases)|26 October]] 2013
|-
|''[[Head of State (novel)|Head of State]]''
|{{sortname|Andrew|Hickey}}
|[[29 June (releases)|29 June]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]]
|-
|''[[Weapons Grade Snake Oil (novel)|Weapons Grade Snake Oil]]''
|{{sortname|Blair|Bidmead}}
|[[17 January (releases)|17 January]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]]
|-
|''[[Spinning Jenny (novel)|Spinning Jenny]]''
|{{sortname|Dale|Smith}}
|[[25 November (releases)|25 November]] 2017
|-
|''[[Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production (novel)|Hyponormalisation]]''{{note|Published as part of ''[[Obverse Sextet]]''.|name="Sextet"}}
|{{sortname|Jonathan|Dennis}}
|[[9 December (releases)|9 December]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]]
|}
 
==== ''Worlds of the Spiral Politic'' ====
{{main|Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)}}
''[[Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)|Worlds of the Spiral Politic]]'' was an [[Obverse Books]] series focusing on specific settings around the ''Faction Paradox'' universe.<ref name="WotSP" />
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title || Writer || Publisher || Release date
|-
|''[[Inward Collapse (novel)|Inward Collapse]]''
|[[Lawrence Burton]]
|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[26 April (releases)|April]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]]{{note|The exact date of release is complicated due to the book's page on the Obverse website being placed up early at an unknown day in early April. [[Stuart Douglas]] decided not to take down this page, releasing [https://aristidetwain.tumblr.com/post/713867102687232000/worlds-of-the-spiral-politic-inward-collapse a statement] on [[5 April (releases)|5 April]]. The book was later given a "proper" release on the 26th.}}
|}
 
=== Anthologies ===
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title || Editor || Publisher || Release date
|-
|''[[Dead Romance (anthology)|Dead Romance]]''{{note|Not directly branded as a ''Faction Paradox'' publication upon release.|name="BRANDING"}}
|[[Lars Pearson]]
|[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|[[7 November (releases)|7 November]] [[2004 (releases)|2004]]
|-
|''[[A Romance in Twelve Parts (anthology)|A Romance in Twelve Parts]]''
|[[Stuart Douglas]]<br />[[Lawrence Miles]]
|rowspan=5|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[31 May (releases)|31 May]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|-
|''[[Burning with Optimism's Flames (anthology)|Burning with Optimism's Flames]]''
|[[Jay Eales]]
|[[31 January (releases)|31 January]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]]
|-
|''[[Liberating Earth (anthology)|Liberating Earth]]''
|[[Kate Orman]]
|[[31 January (releases)|31 January]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]]
|-
|''[[The Book of the Enemy (anthology)|The Book of the Enemy]]''
|[[Simon Bucher-Jones]]
|[[23 January (releases)|23 January]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]]
|-
|''[[The Book of the Peace (anthology)|The Book of the Peace]]''
|[[Philip Marsh]]
|[[23 December (releases)|23 December]] 2018
|}
 
==== ''The City of the Saved'' ====
{{main|The City of the Saved (series)}}
Starting in [[2012 (releases)|2012]] with ''[[Tales of the City (anthology)|Tales of the City]]'', Obverse Books also published a ''Faction Paradox'' anthology subseries or spin-off, ''[[The City of the Saved (series)|The City of the Saved]]'', set in [[City of the Saved|the eponymous City]] introduced in ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]''.
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title || Editor || Publisher || Release Date
|-
|''[[Tales of the City (anthology)|Tales of the City]]''{{note|Published as part of ''[[Obverse Quarterly]]''.|name="Quarterly"}}
|rowspan=5|[[Philip Purser-Hallard]]
|rowspan=7|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[1 June (releases)|1 June]] [[2012 (releases)|2012]]
|-
|''[[More Tales of the City (anthology)|More Tales of the City]]''
|1 June [[2013 (releases)|2013]]
|-
|''[[Tales of the Great Detectives (anthology)|Tales of the Great Detectives]]''
|[[1 October (releases)|1 October]] [[2014 (releases)|2014]]
|-
|''[[Furthest Tales of the City (anthology)|Furthest Tales of the City]]''
|[[31 October (releases)|31 October]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]]
|-
|''[[Tales of the Civil War (anthology)|Tales of the Civil War]]''
|[[10 February (releases)|10 February]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]]
|-
|''[[Stranger Tales of the City (anthology)|Stranger Tales of the City]]''
|[[Elizabeth Evershed|Liz Evershed]]
|[[12 March (releases)|12 March]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]]
|-
|''[[Vanishing Tales of the City (anthology)|Vanishing Tales of the City]]''{{note|name="Sextet"}}
|[[Kara Dennison]]
|[[9 December (releases)|9 December]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]]
|}
 
==== ''Worlds of the Spiral Politic'' ====
{{main|Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)}}
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title || Editor || Publisher || Release Date
|-
|''[[The Boulevard: Volume One]]''
|[[Stuart Douglas]]
|rowspan=2|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[1 June (releases)|1 June]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]]
|-
|''[[The Boulevard: Volume Two]]''
|[[Simon Bucher-Jones]]
|[[17 January (releases)|17 January]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]]
|}
 
=== Audio ===
{| class="wikitable"
!# || Title || Series || Author || Featuring || Publisher || Released
|-
!1.1
|''[[The Eleven Day Empire (audio story)|The Eleven-Day Empire]]''
|rowspan=6|''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols|The Faction<br>Paradox Protocols]]''
|rowspan=12|[[Lawrence Miles]]
|rowspan=2|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Lolita]], [[Morlock]], [[Quelch]], [[Sontaran]]s
|rowspan=6|[[BBV Productions|BBV]]
|rowspan=2|[[October (releases)|October]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]]
|-
!1.2
|''[[The Shadow Play (audio story)|The Shadow Play]]''
|-
!1.3
|''[[Sabbath Dei (audio story)|Sabbath Dei]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Lolita]], [[Sabbath]], [[Compassion]], [[Peking Homunculus|Peking Homunculi]]
|[[February (releases)|February]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|-
!1.4
|''[[In the Year of the Cat (audio story)|In the Year of the Cat]]''
|[[April (releases)|April]] 2003
|-
!1.5
|''[[Movers (audio story)|Movers]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Lolita]], [[Morlock]], [[Sabbath (Movers)|Sabbath]]
|[[December (releases)|December]] 2003
|-
!1.6
|''[[A Labyrinth of Histories (audio story)|A Labyrinth of Histories]]''
|[[February (releases)|February]] [[2004 (releases)|2004]]
|-
!2.1
|''[[Coming to Dust (audio story)|Coming to Dust]]''
|rowspan=6|''[[The True History of Faction Paradox|The True History<br>of Faction Paradox]]''
|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Abelard Finton|Finton]], [[Corwyn Marne|Marne]]
|rowspan=6|[[Magic Bullet Productions|Magic Bullet]]
|[[23 July (releases)|23 July]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]
|-
!2.2
|''[[The Ship of a Billion Years (audio story)|The Ship of a Billion Years]]''
|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Sutekh]], [[Abelard Finton|Finton]], [[Corwyn Marne|Marne]]
|[[15 April (releases)|15 April]] [[2006 (releases)|2006]]
|-
!2.3
|''[[Body Politic (audio story)|Body Politic]]''
|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Sutekh]], [[the War King]], [[Lolita]], [[Anubis]], [[Mortega]]
|[[May (releases)|May]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|-
!2.4
|''[[Words from Nine Divinities (audio story)|Words from Nine Divinities]]''
|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Eliza]], [[Sutekh]], [[the War King]], [[Lolita]], [[Anubis]], [[Mortega]], [[Nephthys]]
|[[24 November (releases)|24 November]] 2008
|-
!2.5
|''[[Ozymandias (audio story)|Ozymandias]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Justine McManus|Justine]], [[Christine Summerfield|Horus]], [[Sutekh]], [[Lolita]], [[Geb (Ozymandias)|Geb]], [[Nephthys]], [[Abelard Finton|Finton]], [[Corwyn Marne|Marne]]
|[[8 June (releases)|8 June]] [[2009 (releases)|2009]]
|-
!2.6
|''[[The Judgment of Sutekh (audio story)|The Judgment of Sutekh]]''
|[[23 November (releases)|23 November]] 2009
|}
 
==== BBV spinoffs ====
Starting in [[June (releases)|June]] [[2021 (releases)|2021]], [[BBV Productions]] released several new ''Faction Paradox'' audios in its ''[[Audio Adventures in Time & Space]]'' line. These were grouped into the series names ''[[Dionus's War (audio series)|Dionus's War]]''; ''[[Hellscape (audio series)|Hellscape]]''; and, retroactively,<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://bbvproductions.co.uk/products/Faction-Paradox-Dionus-War-4-Audio-Bundle-AUDIO-DOWNLOAD-SAVE-MONEY-p425173219
|title=''Faction Paradox: Dionus' War'' - 4 Audio Bundle
|website = [[BBV Productions]]
|accessdate=14 December 2021
}}</ref> ''[[Rebirth (audio series)|Rebirth]]''.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! class="unsortable" | Title
! Series
! Author
! class="unsortable" | Featuring
! Publisher
! data-sort-type="iso-date" | Release date
|-
|''[[Eternal Escape (audio story)|Eternal Escape]]''
|rowspan=4 | ''[[Dionus's War (audio series)|Dionus's War]]''
|{{sortname|James|Hornby}}
|[[Dionus]], [[House Military]], [[the Friend]]
|rowspan=8|[[BBV Productions]]
|[[6 June (releases)|6 June]] [[2021 (releases)|2021]]
|-
|''[[Call Me Ishmael (audio story)|Call Me Ishmael]]''
|rowspan=2|{{sortname|J.T.|Mulholland}}
|[[Dionus]], [[House Military]]
|[[23 June (releases)|23 June]] 2021
|-
|''[[The Healer's Sin (audio story)|The Healer's Sin]]''
|rowspan=2|Dionus
|[[24 July (releases)|24 July]] 2021
|-
|''[[Me & My Ghost (audio story)|Me & My Ghost]]''
|{{sortname|Bill|Baggs}}
|[[1 October (releases)|1 October]] 2021
|-
|''[[Mr Saldaamir (audio story)|Mr Saldaamir]]''
|rowspan=3|''[[Rebirth (audio series)|Rebirth]]''
|{{sortname|Lance|Parkin}}
|[[Saldaamir|Mister Saldaamir]]
|[[11 August (releases)|11 August]] 2021
|-
|''[[Sabbath and the King (audio story)|Sabbath and the King]]''
|{{sortname|Aristide|Twain}}
|[[Sabbath Dei|Sabbath]], [[the War King]]
|[[12 August (releases)|12 August]] 2021
|-
|''[[The Confession of Brother Signet (audio story)|The Confession of Brother Signet]]''
|{{sortname|Michael|Gilroy-Sinclair}}
|rowspan=2|[[Signet (The Confession of Brother Signet)|Signet]]
|[[20 October (releases)|20 October]] 2021
|-
|''[[Lucifer (audio story)|Lucifer]]''
|''Hellscape''{{note|While BBV continued to use the ''Faction Paradox'' logo on further ''[[Hellscape (audio series)|Hellscape]]'' releases, they were released without the ''Faction Paradox'' license.<ref name="hands"/>}}
|{{sortname|Trevor|Spencer}}
|[[1 January (releases)|1 January]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]]
|}
A planned fifth ''Dionus's War'' story, [[the Diplomat (unproduced audio story)|a prequel]] written by [[Aristide Twain]], was written but never produced.<ref name="8LBP">{{cite web
|url = https://aristidetwain.tumblr.com/post/678262054451347456/eight-lost-bbv-projects
|title=Eight "Lost" BBV Projects
|author = [[Aristide Twain]]
|website name=Aristide Twain on Tumblr
|date of source = 9 March 2022
}}</ref>
 
=== Short stories ===
Long before the first print ''Faction Paradox'' short story anthology in 2011, [[Mad Norwegian Press]] and [[Random Static]] both released short stories as tie-ins to their ''Faction Paradox'' novels. These were often published online as part of ''[[The Spiral Politic Database]]'' or as extras with other releases — not only in Mad Norwegian's own novels, but also in the [[Image Comics]] run of [[Faction Paradox (2003)|''Faction Paradox'' comic books]].
 
In [[2018 (releases)|2018]], [[Obverse Books]] resumed the practice with ten vignettes released in an online [[The Book of the Peace Dossier|"Dossier"]] accompanying ''[[The Book of the Peace (anthology)|The Book of the Peace]]''. The Dossier also included a playlist and interviews with the anthology's authors.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://obversebooks.co.uk/the-book-of-the-peace-dossier-the-writers/
|title=The Book of the Peace Dossier
|website name = Obverse Books
|year of source=2018
}}</ref>
 
{| {{prettytable}}
! Title||Writer||Released||Publisher ||Release date
|-
|''[[Grass (short story)|Grass]]''{{note|name="BRANDING"}}
|rowspan=2|[[Lawrence Miles]]
|''[[The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]'' Vol. 101 No. 3{{note|Later reprinted as part of ''[[Dead Romance (anthology)|Dead Romance]]''.}}
|[[Spilogale, Inc.]]
|[[September (releases)|September]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]]
|-
|''[[Crimes Against History (short story)|Crimes Against History]]''
|rowspan=2|''[[The Spiral Politic Database]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|[[11 November (releases)|11 November]] 2001
|-
|''[[The Eleven-Day Empire: A Tour of the Capital (short story)|The Eleven-Day Empire: A Tour of the Capital]]''
|[[Mags L. Halliday]]
|[[14 September (releases)|14 September]] [[2002 (releases)|2002]]
|-
|''[[Prologue to This Town Will Never Let Us Go (short story)|Prologue to This Town Will Never Let Us Go]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Lawrence Miles]]
|[[FP 1]]
|rowspan=2|[[Image Comics]]
|[[6 August (releases)|6 August]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|-
|''[[The Reliquary (short story)|The Reliquary]]''
|[[FP 1]] - [[FP 2|2]]
|6 August - [[19 November (releases)|19 November]] 2003
|-
|''[[Prologue to Of the City of the Saved... (short story)|Prologue to Of the City of the Saved...]]''
|[[Philip Purser-Hallard]]
|''[[This Town Will Never Let Us Go (novel)|This Town Will Never Let Us Go]]''
|rowspan=5|[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|[[29 October (releases)|29 October]] 2003
|-
|''[[Prologue to Warlords of Utopia (short story)|Prologue to Warlords of Utopia]]''
|[[Lance Parkin]]
|''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]''
|[[11 May (releases)|11 May]] [[2004 (releases)|2004]]
|-
|''[[The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion (short story)|The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Mags L. Halliday]]
|''Myth Makers: Issue 14''<br />''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]'' (ebook)
|[[November (releases)|November]] 2004
|-
|''[[Prologue to Warring States (short story)|Prologue to Warring States]]''
|Online, ''[[Warlords of Utopia (novel)|Warlords of Utopia]]''
|[[9 November (releases)|9 November]] 2004
|-
|''[[Prologue to Erasing Sherlock (short story)|Prologue to Erasing Sherlock]]''
|[[Kelly Hale]]
|''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]''
|[[19 June (releases)|19 June]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]
|-
|''[[The Return of the King (short story)|The Return of the King]]''
|[[Daniel O'Mahony]]
|rowspan=2|Online
|[[Random Static]]
|[[7 January (releases)|7 January]] [[2008 (releases)|2008]]
|-
|''[[The Beasthouse (short story)|The Beasthouse]]''{{note|name="BRANDING"}}
|[[Lawrence Miles]]
|
|[[6 July (releases)|6 July]] 2008
|-
|''[[Unification Theory (short story)|Unification Theory]]''
|[[Philip Purser-Hallard]]
|''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]'' (ebook)
|[[Mad Norwegian Press]]
|[[2013 (releases)|2013]]
|-
|''[[Prelude to Against Nature (short story)|Prelude to Against Nature]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Lawrence Burton]]
|Online
|[[Ce Acatl]]
|[[5 February (releases)|5 February]] 2013
|-
|''[[The Unwoken Princess (short story)|The Unwoken Princess]]''
|''[[The Obverse Book of Detectives (anthology)|The Obverse Book of Detectives]]''{{note|name="Quarterly"}}
|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[26 April (releases)|26 April]] 2013
|-
|''[[Sojourner & Ellie (short story)|Sojourner & Ellie]]''
|[[Blair Bidmead]]
|Online
|
|[[16 December (releases)|16 December]] [[2017 (releases)|2017]]
|-
|''[[Unsent letter (short story)|Unsent letter]]''
|[[Philip Marsh]]
|rowspan=10|''[[The Book of the Peace Dossier]]''
|rowspan=10|[[Obverse Books]]
|[[17 September (releases)|17 September]] [[2018 (releases)|2018]]
|-
|''[[The Story So Far... (short story)|The Story So Far...]]''
|[[Jayce Black]]
|[[2 October (releases)|2 October]] 2018
|-
|''[[A Scene (short story)|A Scene]]''
|[[Niki Haringsma]]
|[[7 October (releases)|7 October]] 2018
|-
|''[[Daring Initiation (short story)|Daring Initiation]]''
|rowspan=2|[[Jayce Black]]
|[[1 November (releases)|1 November]] 2018
|-
|''[[Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (short story)|Hark! The Herald Angels Sing]]''
|[[25 November (releases)|25 November]] 2018
|-
|''[[Inside the Looking Glass (short story)|Inside the Looking Glass]]''
|[[Greg Maughan]]
|rowspan=2|[[7 February (releases)|7 February]] [[2019 (releases)|2019]]
|-
|''[[Pure Light (short story)|Pure Light]]''
|[[Philip Marsh]]
|-
|''[[A Farewell to R.M.S. (short story)|A Farewell to R.M.S.]]''
|rowspan=3|[[Nate Bumber]]
|rowspan=3|[[11 February (releases)|11 February]] 2019
|-
|''[[A Prelude to a Prelude (short story)|A Prelude to a Prelude]]''
|-
|''[[A Shift in Focus (short story)|A Shift in Focus]]''
|-
|''[[Mr Saldaamir (short story)|Mr Saldaamir]]''
|[[Lance Parkin]]
|Ebook
|[[BBV Productions]]
|[[1 June (releases)|1 June]] [[2021 (releases)|2021]]
|}
 
=== Comic ===
{{main|Faction Paradox (2003)}}
Two issues of [[Faction Paradox (2003)|a bimonthly ''Faction Paradox'' comic]] were produced by [[Mad Norwegian Press]] and published by [[Image Comics]] in the latter half of [[2003 (releases)|2003]]. Each issue had a central, 16-page comic along with shorter, illustrated text stories. The main comic story was an ongoing one, so the early cancellation of the title meant that the story was never finished. It was set after the end of the [[War in Heaven]] and acted as a prequel to ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]''; the ''[[Faction Paradox Protocols]]'' audio stories ''[[Sabbath Dei (audio story)|Sabbath Dei]]'' and ''[[In the Year of the Cat (audio story)|In the Year of the Cat]]'' were intended to be prequels to the comic, although they were ultimately released first.<ref name="Downtime" />
 
{| class="wikitable"
! # || Title || Writer || Featuring || Printed in || Released
|-
!1
|''[[Political Animals (comic story)|Political Animals]]''
|rowspan=3|[[Lawrence Miles]]
|[[Scarlette|Isobel]], [[Mayakatula]]
|[[FP 1]]
|[[6 August (releases)|6 August]] [[2003 (releases)|2003]]
|-
!2
|''[[Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses (comic story)|Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses]]''
|[[Scarlette|Isobel]], [[Mayakatula]], [[Sabbath Dei]]
|[[FP 2]]
|[[19 November (releases)|19 November]] 2003
|-
!
|''[[Creatures of Habit (comic story)|Creatures of Habit]]''
|[[Mayakatula]], [[Sabbath Dei]]
| colspan=2|Unreleased
|}
 
=== Video ===
Shortly before the release of the [[Political Animals (comic story)|first issue]] of the ''Faction Paradox'' comic, a subsidiary company of [[Warner Brothers]] contacted the publisher to ask about the rights to [[Faction Paradox (theatrical film)|a ''Faction Paradox'' theatrical film]]. The talks came to an abrupt end after [[Lawrence Miles]] described the project as "{{wi|Amadeus (film)|Amadeus}} with monsters".<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://beasthouse-lm.blogspot.com/2007/01/january-2007-edited-highlights.html
|title=On Monsters
|author = Lawrence Miles
|date of source=January 2007
|website name = The Beasthouse
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070330105643/http://beasthouse-lm.blogspot.com:80/2007/01/january-2007-edited-highlights.html
|archivedate = 30 March 2007}}</ref>
 
In [[2021 (releases)|2021]]-[[2022 (releases)|22]], [[BBV Productions]] released two video crossovers between ''Faction Paradox'' and its ''[[P.R.O.B.E. (series)|P.R.O.B.E.]]'' series, both ultimately collected in ''[[P.R.O.B.E. Case Files - Volume 2]]''. The second of these videos, {{cs|Ex-President (home video)}}, included a brief clip of a costumed [[Faction Paradox]] member: technically, the Faction's live-action debut. [[Faction Paradox (home video)|A third short]], meant to conclude the storyline, was never released.<ref name="8LBP" />
{| class="wikitable"
!Title|| Author||Featuring||Release Date
|-
|''[[Daylight Savings (home video)|Daylight Savings]]''
|rowspan=3|[[James Hornby]]
|[[Giles]]
|[[6 June (releases)|6 June]] [[2021 (releases)|2021]]
|-
|''[[Ex-President (home video)|Ex-President]]''
|Giles, [[Felix Mather]]
|[[25 February (releases)|25 February]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]]
|-
|''[[Faction Paradox (home video)|Faction Paradox]]''
|Giles
|Unreleased
|}
 
== Timeline of releases ==
{{FP release timeline}}
 
== Notes ==
* Several concepts and characters that originated in ''Faction Paradox'' would later feature in other series set in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' universe. For instance, in [[Big Finish Productions]]' ''[[Bernice Summerfield (series)|Bernice Summerfield]]'' series, [[Cwejen]] from ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'' appeared alongside [[Straxus (The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel)|Straxus]] in ''[[The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel (audio story)|The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel]]''; [[Krisztina-Judit Németh]] from ''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]'' appeared in ''[[Predating the Predators (short story)|Predating the Predators]]''; and the [[Ship of a Billion Years]] from the [[The Ship of a Billion Years (audio story)|eponymous audio]] was mentioned in ''[[The Eye of Horus (audio story)|The Eye of Horus]]''. [[Ruling Houses]] [[House Dvora|Dvora]] and [[House Mirraflex|Mirraflex]], first mentioned in ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'', were respectively mentioned in the Big Finish audios ''[[Panacea (audio story)|Panacea]]'' and ''[[The Conscript (audio story)|The Conscript]]''.
** In [[2020 (releases)|2020]], characters presented as post-War survivors of the Faction, named [[Same (Canaries)|Sibling Same]] and [[Different (Canaries)|Sibling Different]], appeared in a BBC ''Doctor Who'' release, ''[[The Wintertime Paradox (anthology)|The Wintertime Paradox]]'', for the first time since the end of the ''[[Eighth Doctor Adventures (prose series)|Eighth Doctor Adventures]]''. ''The Wintertime Paradox'' editor [[Emil Fortune]] acknowledged the ''Faction Paradox'' series as "the Obverse [[canon]]" but noted that Same and Different were part of a different version of the Faction, hailing from a defunct "rewritten timeline".<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://twitter.com/iucounu/status/1532378091607281664
|title=It’s not quite the Faction of old
|author = [[Emil Fortune]]
|website name=Emil Fortune on Twitter
|date of source = 2 June 2022
|archiveurl=https://archive.ph/JX04M
|archivedate = 2 June 2022
}}</ref>
[[File:Faction Paradox mousemat.jpg|thumb|''Faction Paradox'' mousemat]]
* A subscription to the short-lived ''Faction Paradox'' comic series at Burton's Books came with a free mousemat based on Steve Johnson's cover art on issue 1.<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://millenniumeffect.co.uk/index.php/spinoff-comics/
|website name = The Millennium Effect
|title = Spinoff Comics
|year of source = 2006
}}</ref>
* From its opening on [[11 November (releases)|11 November]] [[2001 (releases)|2001]] to its expiration in 2007, the ''Faction Paradox'' website was directly overseen by [[Lawrence Miles]]. It included original material about the ''Faction Paradox'' universe written by Lawrence Miles,<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/do-i-need-to-read-henrietta-st-t633.html#p2747
|author=Tom Pratchett
|website name = The Faction Paradox Community
|title=Re: Do I need to read Henrietta St?
|date of source = 21 February 2003
|quote=I should really look at what Lawrence sends me before I just upload it willy nilly.
}}</ref> including the prose contents of ''[[The Spiral Politic Database]]''<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk/basics.htm
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20011115143938/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/basics.htm
|date of source = 11 November 2001
|archivedate=15 November 2001
|title = The Story So Far: Faction Paradox, as Much as It's Known
|author=Lawrence Miles
|website name = Faction Paradox
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Faction Armour: Some Design Notes
|author=Lawrence Miles
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk/armour.htm
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030205004601/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/armour.htm
|date of source = 14 September 2002
|archivedate=5 February 2003
|website name = Faction Paradox
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk/family.htm
|title=Blood Ties: Inside the Grandfather's House
|author = Lawrence Miles
|website name=Faction Paradox
|date of source = 11 November 2001
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20011115105551/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/family.htm
|archivedate = 15 November 2001
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk/history.htm
|title=Crimes Against History
|author = Lawrence Miles
|website name=Faction Paradox
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20060719211844/http://factionparadox.co.uk:80/history.htm
|year of source=2005
|archivedate = 19 July 2006
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/viewtopic.php?p=4111#p4111
|author=Mags L. Halliday
|website name = The Faction Paradox Community
|title=When did the War Actually start
|date of source=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk/elevendayempire.htm
|author=Mags L. Halliday
|title = The Eleven-Day Empire: A Tour of the Capital
|website name=Faction Paradox
|date of source = 14 September 2002
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030204182605/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/elevendayempire.htm
|archivedate = 4 February 2003
}}</ref> and the original scripts to ''[[The Faction Paradox Protocols]]''.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/scripts.htm
|title=Scripts
|author = Lawrence Miles
|website name=Faction Paradox
|year of source = 2005
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060412143227/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/scripts.htm
|archivedate = 12 April 2006
}}</ref> [[Mad Norwegian Press]] maintained a reduced version of the website from 2009 to 2012. Ultimately the website was fully reopened, including the content of ''The Spiral Politic Database'', on [[31 October (releases)|31 October]] [[2023 (releases)|2023]].
* It was originally intended that sidebars would be a part of the ''Faction Paradox'' novels' "house style"; however, only ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'' and ''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]'' used them.<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.infinitarian.com/otcotsbook1.html
|title=''Of the City of the Saved'' Notes – Book One
|author = Philip Purser-Hallard
|website name=Infinitarian.com
|quote = [Sidebars] were integral to the pseudo-reference style of ''The Book of the War'', and it was planned – initially, at least – that the device would form part of the house style for the ''Faction Paradox'' novels.
}}</ref>
* On [[1 July (releases)|1 July]] [[2022 (releases)|2022]], [[Obverse Music]] released ''[[The Eleven Day Empire (album)|The Eleven Day Empire]]'', an album of ambient electronic music composed by [[Mike Dickinson]] inspired by ''Faction Paradox'' settings and stories.
 
== Cover gallery ==
{{main|Faction Paradox/Covers}}
 
== External links ==
* {{Obverse|product-category/factionparadox/}}
* [https://factionparadox.co.uk Official website]
* [https://twitter.com/factionparadox Official twitter account]
{{BBVProductions|Faction-Paradox-c102467361}}
{{fpx|Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox series}}
 
== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}
 
== References ==
{{reflist|4}}
 
{{FP series}}
{{Spin-offs}}
 
[[Category:FP series]]
[[Category:Overview pages]]

Latest revision as of 20:46, 3 November 2024

Faction Paradox
Covers
Careful . . . spoilers!

This page absolutely does contain spoilers either about the behind-the-scenes or narrative elements of stories which have not yet been published or broadcast. Please see our spoiler policy for our rules governing articles about such subjects.

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the organisation or the series' in-universe counterpart.

Faction Paradox is a series of audio, prose, and comic stories set in and around the War in Heaven and prominently featuring Faction Paradox, both of which were introduced in Lawrence Miles's 1997 Eighth Doctor novel Alien Bodies, and utilising several other elements originally from Doctor Who. In addition to direct and licensed inclusions, including Sontarans and Sutekh, there are also frequent allusions to other concepts from Doctor Who and other sci-fi series, such as the Time Lords via the Homeworlders.

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

The War in Heaven was introduced in the novel Alien Bodies [+]Loading...["Alien Bodies (novel)"]. At the time the book was written, author Lawrence Miles intended for the War to remain indeterminably far in the series' future.[1][2] However, after he learned that Kate Orman and Jon Blum would be including Faction Paradox in Unnatural History [+]Loading...["Unnatural History (novel)"], he felt justified to explore the idea further in his two-part novel Interference [+]Loading...["Interference (novel)"],[3] which introduced the Eleven-Day Empire and the Remote. Despite positive online and international reception, Interference received an unfavourable review in DWM 281, and Miles subsequently felt he had "lost [his] mandate" and resigned from writing Doctor Who[4] to instead develop a Faction Paradox series.[1]

By the year 2000, BBV Productions had agreed to produce The Faction Paradox Protocols audio series.[1] These audios introduced several concepts that would later become staples of the Faction Paradox range, such as the Faction's shadow-weapons and alternate names like "Great Houses" for the Time Lords and "timeships" for TARDISes. Miles described these reinventions as the continuation of the process that he began in Alien Bodies: as he developed more of the War in Heaven, its factions evolved further and further away from the versions from the past.[5]

This process was completed in the writing of The Book of the War [+]Loading...["The Book of the War (novel)"], a "guidebook to a series that doesn't exist yet"[5] intended to be a standalone companion to the Protocols audios.[6] A total of twelve authors, including established New Adventures novelists as well as writers from contemporary charity publications, contributed short stories to the book in the form of alphabetically-sorted encyclopedia entries. As Miles collected, edited, and synthesised these stories, he developed the War as a more mythological setting with the scale and appearance of science fiction but none of the "props".[7] For instance, rather than using aliens in The Book of the War, Miles characterised all non-humans as either gods, like the Great Houses and Celestis, or monsters, like the Yssgaroth and Mal'akh.[8]

The Faction's universe is on the surface an SF universe, but it works on the same principles as traditional folklore. It's all very feudal. There are, or were, 'people' who ran history – 'history' being a way for us to deal with the world around us – and these 'people' are generally nameless and faceless, but with the attitude of an aristocratic upper class. Ruling Houses, in effect. At some point these Houses engaged in a war with an equally inscrutable enemy, and the war intersected – still intersects – human history like a biblical war in Heaven, impacting on humanity but without direct human involvement. Usually. So that makes Faction Paradox a Prometheus among the Titans, it's a splinter-group halfway between the elite and humanity, which believes in (a) introducing its principles to the "collaterals" caught in the crossfire... that's us, essentially... and (b) interfering in the plans of the Houses whenever possible.Lawrence Miles[9]

The Book of the War was published by Mad Norwegian Press in September 2002, and following its success Mad Norwegian announced in December of that year that it would publish a series of standalone Faction Paradox novels edited by Miles. Despite the series' name, these novels would not specifically focus on the Faction, instead exploring "a myriad of times/settings" throughout the War.[10] Each novel was written by a contributor to The Book of the War, either building upon the contents of their entries (e.g. Philip Purser-Hallard's Of the City of the Saved and Mags L. Halliday's Warring States) or telling completely new stories (e.g. Lance Parkin's Warlords of Utopia and Kelly Hale's Erasing Sherlock). Notably, each book was set before its predecessor, with some novels hinting that their events were connected to or even caused by their successors.[11][12] Along with these original novels, Mad Norwegian also republished Miles's 1999 book Dead Romance, which had originally been released in Virgin Books' New Adventures line.[13]

The cover of FP 1.

At the same time, Mad Norwegian began producing a Faction Paradox comic[14] to be published by Image Comics. It was written by Lawrence Miles and tied into his novel The Adventuress of Henrietta Street [+]Loading...["The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)"], albeit in a way that required no prior knowledge of that novel or any other Faction Paradox story.[15] The first issue, Political Animals [+]Loading...["Political Animals (comic story)"], was listed as one of Diamond Distribution's "Gems of the Month"[16] and was received favourably by several mainstream comic reviewers,[17] but for cost reasons Mad Norwegian chose to end the comic series after its second issue [+]Loading...["Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses (comic story)","its second issue"],[18] leaving the third part unreleased and the story unfinished.

In September 2003, BBV Productions announced it would end its Audio Adventures in Time & Space range to focus exclusively on the The Faction Paradox Protocols line.[19] However, BBV stopped producing any new content after A Labyrinth of Histories [+]Loading...["A Labyrinth of Histories (audio story)"] in 2004, so Miles, impressed by the quality of actors in Magic Bullet Productions' Kaldor City series, reached out to Magic Bullet to continue the Faction Paradox audios. Though the resultant True History of Faction Paradox series was designed to be standalone from the earlier Protocols audios, it continued to feature the characters of Justine, Eliza, and Lolita, albeit played by different actors. The six True History audios were released from July 2005 to 23 November 2009.[20]

Mad Norwegian Press CEO Lars Pearson announced in September 2006 that, as the return of Doctor Who to television had focused fans' attentions elsewhere, the Faction Paradox novels would end with Erasing Sherlock [+]Loading...["Erasing Sherlock (novel)"] that December[21] rather than continuing with "Novel #6" as had been previously announced.[22] However, the following July, New Zealand-based publisher Random Static announced they would continue the Faction Paradox novel line with Newtons Sleep [+]Loading...["Newtons Sleep (novel)"],[23] published January 2008 to some local media attention.[24][25] Concerned that the series branding was scaring off unfamiliar readers and distracting reviewers, Random Static later released the novel online as a free ebook without the Faction Paradox label.[26][27] Despite plans for another novel to be released in 2010,[28] this was Random Static's only Faction Paradox release.

20th anniversary art by Blair Bidmead.

On 7 June 2010, Obverse Books announced it had obtained the license to publish a series of Faction Paradox short story anthologies[29] beginning with A Romance in Twelve Parts [+]Loading...["A Romance in Twelve Parts (anthology)"].[30] Following that anthology's success, Obverse took over the Faction Paradox prose license in its entirety. The new novel line began with Against Nature [+]Loading...["Against Nature (novel)"] and The Brakespeare Voyage [+]Loading...["The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)"],[31] both of which had begun production while Mad Norwegian was still running the series.[32][33] At the same time Obverse announced novellas from Kelly Hale and Jim Mortimore,[31] neither of which were released. Obverse also began the first Faction Paradox prose spinoff: The City of the Saved, a series of short story anthologies edited by Philip Purser-Hallard.[34][35]

Obverse maintains a steady release schedule of Faction Paradox prose. Notably, in 2015 it published the anthology Liberating Earth [+]Loading...["Liberating Earth (anthology)"], edited by acclaimed Doctor Who novelist Kate Orman, which featured only women writers. This precedent was continued two years later by the City of the Saved release Tales of the Civil War [+]Loading...["Tales of the Civil War (anthology)"].

In 2017, Obverse celebrated the 20th anniversary year of Faction Paradox's first appearance with several releases: the novel Weapons Grade Snake Oil [+]Loading...["Weapons Grade Snake Oil (novel)"][36]; the City of the Saved anthology Tales of the Civil War [+]Loading...["Tales of the Civil War (anthology)"]; the novel Spinning Jenny [+]Loading...["Spinning Jenny (novel)"], which had been in production since 2012;[37] and the anthology The Book of the Enemy [+]Loading...["The Book of the Enemy (anthology)"].[38] Also announced was The Book of the Peace [+]Loading...["The Book of the Peace (anthology)"].[39]

To celebrate Obverse Books' tenth anniversary in 2019, six novellas were released in the Obverse Sextet line, each a tie-in to one of Obverse Books' fiction series. This included a new Faction Paradox book, Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production [+]Loading...["Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production (novel)","Hyponormalisation: A Faction Hollywood Production"], and the seventh City of the Saved release, Vanishing Tales of the City [+]Loading...["Vanishing Tales of the City (novel)"].[40]

After a 17 year hiatus, BBV Productions reacquired the Faction Paradox audio and video license in 2021 and began releasing new standalone Faction Paradox audio stories, as well as two video crossovers with its P.R.O.B.E. series.[41] However, many of BBV's early decisions were decried by Lawrence Miles,[42] and following public outcry in October 2021 over the company's hiring of an accused child predator on a different project,[43] its Faction Paradox license was revoked.[44]

On 21 April 2021, Obverse Books announced Worlds of the Spiral Politic, a new series of novels and anthologies focusing on specific settings around the Faction Paradox universe.[45] The open call for pitches for the first of these books, an anthology set in the Boulevard of Alternate Brutalities, had been announced that February.[46] After receiving almost 100 pitches,[47] Obverse split the anthology into two volumes, and The Boulevard: Volume One was released on 1 June 2022.

Stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Novels[[edit] | [edit source]]

Title Writer Publisher Release date
The Book of the War ed. Lawrence Miles Mad Norwegian
Press 		17 September 2002
This Town Will Never Let Us Go Lawrence Miles 29 October 2003
Of the City of the Saved... Philip Purser-Hallard 11 May 2004
Warlords of Utopia Lance Parkin 13 December 2004
Warring States Mags L. Halliday 19 June 2005
Erasing Sherlock Kelly Hale 13 December 2006
Newtons Sleep Daniel O'Mahony Random Static 12 January 2008
Against Nature Lawrence Burton Obverse Books 22 March 2013
The Brakespeare Voyage Simon Bucher-Jones, Jonathan Dennis 26 October 2013
Head of State Andrew Hickey 29 June 2015
Weapons Grade Snake Oil Blair Bidmead 17 January 2017
Spinning Jenny Dale Smith 25 November 2017
Hyponormalisation[nb 1] Jonathan Dennis 9 December 2019

Worlds of the Spiral Politic[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)

Worlds of the Spiral Politic was an Obverse Books series focusing on specific settings around the Faction Paradox universe.[45]

Title Writer Publisher Release date
Inward Collapse Lawrence Burton Obverse Books April 2023[nb 2]

Anthologies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Title Editor Publisher Release date
Dead Romance[nb 3] Lars Pearson Mad Norwegian Press 7 November 2004
A Romance in Twelve Parts Stuart Douglas
Lawrence Miles 		Obverse Books 31 May 2011
Burning with Optimism's Flames Jay Eales 31 January 2013
Liberating Earth Kate Orman 31 January 2015
The Book of the Enemy Simon Bucher-Jones 23 January 2018
The Book of the Peace Philip Marsh 23 December 2018

The City of the Saved[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: The City of the Saved (series)

Starting in 2012 with Tales of the City, Obverse Books also published a Faction Paradox anthology subseries or spin-off, The City of the Saved, set in the eponymous City introduced in The Book of the War.

Title Editor Publisher Release Date
Tales of the City[nb 4] Philip Purser-Hallard Obverse Books 1 June 2012
More Tales of the City 1 June 2013
Tales of the Great Detectives 1 October 2014
Furthest Tales of the City 31 October 2015
Tales of the Civil War 10 February 2017
Stranger Tales of the City Liz Evershed 12 March 2018
Vanishing Tales of the City[nb 1] Kara Dennison 9 December 2019

Worlds of the Spiral Politic[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Worlds of the Spiral Politic (series)
Title Editor Publisher Release Date
The Boulevard: Volume One Stuart Douglas Obverse Books 1 June 2022
The Boulevard: Volume Two Simon Bucher-Jones 17 January 2024

Audio[[edit] | [edit source]]

# Title Series Author Featuring Publisher Released
1.1 The Eleven-Day Empire The Faction
Paradox Protocols 		Lawrence Miles Justine, Eliza, Lolita, Morlock, Quelch, Sontarans BBV October 2001
1.2 The Shadow Play
1.3 Sabbath Dei Justine, Eliza, Lolita, Sabbath, Compassion, Peking Homunculi February 2003
1.4 In the Year of the Cat April 2003
1.5 Movers Justine, Lolita, Morlock, Sabbath December 2003
1.6 A Labyrinth of Histories February 2004
2.1 Coming to Dust The True History
of Faction Paradox 		Justine, Eliza, Finton, Marne Magic Bullet 23 July 2005
2.2 The Ship of a Billion Years Justine, Eliza, Sutekh, Finton, Marne 15 April 2006
2.3 Body Politic Justine, Eliza, Sutekh, the War King, Lolita, Anubis, Mortega May 2008
2.4 Words from Nine Divinities Justine, Eliza, Sutekh, the War King, Lolita, Anubis, Mortega, Nephthys 24 November 2008
2.5 Ozymandias Justine, Horus, Sutekh, Lolita, Geb, Nephthys, Finton, Marne 8 June 2009
2.6 The Judgment of Sutekh 23 November 2009

BBV spinoffs[[edit] | [edit source]]

Starting in June 2021, BBV Productions released several new Faction Paradox audios in its Audio Adventures in Time & Space line. These were grouped into the series names Dionus's War; Hellscape; and, retroactively,[48] Rebirth.

Title Series Author Featuring Publisher Release date
Eternal Escape Dionus's War James Hornby Dionus, House Military, the Friend BBV Productions 6 June 2021
Call Me Ishmael J.T. Mulholland Dionus, House Military 23 June 2021
The Healer's Sin Dionus 24 July 2021
Me & My Ghost Bill Baggs 1 October 2021
Mr Saldaamir Rebirth Lance Parkin Mister Saldaamir 11 August 2021
Sabbath and the King Aristide Twain Sabbath, the War King 12 August 2021
The Confession of Brother Signet Michael Gilroy-Sinclair Signet 20 October 2021
Lucifer Hellscape[nb 5] Trevor Spencer 1 January 2022

A planned fifth Dionus's War story, a prequel written by Aristide Twain, was written but never produced.[49]

Short stories[[edit] | [edit source]]

Long before the first print Faction Paradox short story anthology in 2011, Mad Norwegian Press and Random Static both released short stories as tie-ins to their Faction Paradox novels. These were often published online as part of The Spiral Politic Database or as extras with other releases — not only in Mad Norwegian's own novels, but also in the Image Comics run of Faction Paradox comic books.

In 2018, Obverse Books resumed the practice with ten vignettes released in an online "Dossier" accompanying The Book of the Peace. The Dossier also included a playlist and interviews with the anthology's authors.[50]

Title Writer Released Publisher Release date
Grass[nb 3] Lawrence Miles The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Vol. 101 No. 3[nb 6] Spilogale, Inc. September 2001
Crimes Against History The Spiral Politic Database Mad Norwegian Press 11 November 2001
The Eleven-Day Empire: A Tour of the Capital Mags L. Halliday 14 September 2002
Prologue to This Town Will Never Let Us Go Lawrence Miles FP 1 Image Comics 6 August 2003
The Reliquary FP 1 - 2 6 August - 19 November 2003
Prologue to Of the City of the Saved... Philip Purser-Hallard This Town Will Never Let Us Go Mad Norwegian Press 29 October 2003
Prologue to Warlords of Utopia Lance Parkin Of the City of the Saved... 11 May 2004
The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion Mags L. Halliday Myth Makers: Issue 14
Warring States (ebook) 		November 2004
Prologue to Warring States Online, Warlords of Utopia 9 November 2004
Prologue to Erasing Sherlock Kelly Hale Warring States 19 June 2005
The Return of the King Daniel O'Mahony Online Random Static 7 January 2008
The Beasthouse[nb 3] Lawrence Miles 6 July 2008
Unification Theory Philip Purser-Hallard Of the City of the Saved... (ebook) Mad Norwegian Press 2013
Prelude to Against Nature Lawrence Burton Online Ce Acatl 5 February 2013
The Unwoken Princess The Obverse Book of Detectives[nb 4] Obverse Books 26 April 2013
Sojourner & Ellie Blair Bidmead Online 16 December 2017
Unsent letter Philip Marsh The Book of the Peace Dossier Obverse Books 17 September 2018
The Story So Far... Jayce Black 2 October 2018
A Scene Niki Haringsma 7 October 2018
Daring Initiation Jayce Black 1 November 2018
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 25 November 2018
Inside the Looking Glass Greg Maughan 7 February 2019
Pure Light Philip Marsh
A Farewell to R.M.S. Nate Bumber 11 February 2019
A Prelude to a Prelude
A Shift in Focus
Mr Saldaamir Lance Parkin Ebook BBV Productions 1 June 2021

Comic[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Faction Paradox (2003)

Two issues of a bimonthly Faction Paradox comic were produced by Mad Norwegian Press and published by Image Comics in the latter half of 2003. Each issue had a central, 16-page comic along with shorter, illustrated text stories. The main comic story was an ongoing one, so the early cancellation of the title meant that the story was never finished. It was set after the end of the War in Heaven and acted as a prequel to The Adventuress of Henrietta Street; the Faction Paradox Protocols audio stories Sabbath Dei and In the Year of the Cat were intended to be prequels to the comic, although they were ultimately released first.[20]

# Title Writer Featuring Printed in Released
1 Political Animals Lawrence Miles Isobel, Mayakatula FP 1 6 August 2003
2 Bêtes Noires & Dark Horses Isobel, Mayakatula, Sabbath Dei FP 2 19 November 2003
Creatures of Habit Mayakatula, Sabbath Dei Unreleased

Video[[edit] | [edit source]]

Shortly before the release of the first issue of the Faction Paradox comic, a subsidiary company of Warner Brothers contacted the publisher to ask about the rights to a Faction Paradox theatrical film. The talks came to an abrupt end after Lawrence Miles described the project as "Amadeus with monsters".[51]

In 2021-22, BBV Productions released two video crossovers between Faction Paradox and its P.R.O.B.E. series, both ultimately collected in P.R.O.B.E. Case Files - Volume 2. The second of these videos, Ex-President [+]Loading...["Ex-President (home video)"], included a brief clip of a costumed Faction Paradox member: technically, the Faction's live-action debut. A third short, meant to conclude the storyline, was never released.[49]

Title Author Featuring Release Date
Daylight Savings James Hornby Giles 6 June 2021
Ex-President Giles, Felix Mather 25 February 2022
Faction Paradox Giles Unreleased

Timeline of releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Peace: A Lost Primer (feature)Faction Paradox (feature)The Enemy (feature)The Great Houses (feature)The War King (feature)Lilith (feature)Sabbath Dei (feature)Godfather Morlock (feature)Cousin Eliza (feature)Cousin Justine (feature)Faction Paradox, as Much as It's Known (feature)Ex-President (home video)Daylight Savings (home video)The Boulevard: Volume TwoThe Boulevard: Volume OneVanishing Tales of the City (novel)The Book of the Peace (anthology)Stranger Tales of the City (anthology)The Book of the Enemy (anthology)Tales of the Civil War (anthology)Furthest Tales of the City (anthology)Liberating Earth (anthology)Tales of the Great Detectives (anthology)More Tales of the City (anthology)Burning with Optimism's Flames (anthology)Tales of the City (anthology)A Romance in Twelve Parts (anthology)Dead Romance (novel)B%C3%AAtes Noires %26 Dark Horses (comic story)Political Animals (comic story)Inward Collapse (novel)

Spinning Jenny (novel)Weapons Grade Snake Oil (novel)Head of State (novel)The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)Against Nature (novel)Newtons Sleep (novel)Erasing Sherlock (novel)Warring States (novel)Warlords of Utopia (novel)Of the City of the Saved... (novel)This Town Will Never Let Us Go (novel)The Book of the War (novel)Lucifer (audio story)The Confession of Brother Signet (audio story)Me %26 My Ghost (audio story)Sabbath and the King (audio story)Mr Saldaamir (short story)The Healer's Sin (audio story)Call Me Ishmael (audio story)Eternal Escape (audio story)The Judgment of Sutekh (audio story)Ozymandias (audio story)Words from Nine Divinities (audio story)Body Politic (audio story)The Ship of a Billion Years (audio story)Coming to Dust (audio story)A Labyrinth of Histories (audio story)Movers (audio story)In the Year of the Cat (audio story)Sabbath Dei (audio story)The Shadow Play (audio story)The Eleven Day Empire (audio story)Mr Saldaamir (short story)A Shift in Focus (short story)A Prelude to a Prelude (short story)A Farewell to R.M.S. (short story)Pure Light (short story)Inside the Looking Glass (short story)Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (short story)Daring Initiation (short story)A Scene (short story)The Story So Far... (short story)Unsent letter (short story)Sojourner %26 Ellie (short story)The Unwoken Princess (short story)Prelude to Against Nature (short story)Unification Theory (short story)The Beasthouse (short story)The Return of the King (short story)Prologue to Erasing Sherlock (short story)Prologue to Warring States (short story)The Night is Long, and Dreams Are Legion (short story)Prologue to Warlords of Utopia (short story)Prologue to Of the City of the Saved... (short story)The Reliquary (short story)Prologue to This Town Will Never Let Us Go (short story)Faction Armour: Some Design Notes (short story)Blood Ties: Inside the Grandfather's House (short story)The Eleven-Day Empire%3A A Tour of the Capital (short story)Coda: Off-Cuts and AfterthoughtsCrimes Against History (short story)Grass (short story)

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Faction Paradox mousemat

Cover gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Faction Paradox/Covers

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Published as part of Obverse Sextet.
  2. ↑ The exact date of release is complicated due to the book's page on the Obverse website being placed up early at an unknown day in early April. Stuart Douglas decided not to take down this page, releasing a statement on 5 April. The book was later given a "proper" release on the 26th.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Not directly branded as a Faction Paradox publication upon release.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Published as part of Obverse Quarterly.
  5. ↑ While BBV continued to use the Faction Paradox logo on further Hellscape releases, they were released without the Faction Paradox license.[44]
  6. ↑ Later reprinted as part of Dead Romance.

References[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lawrence Miles (28 May 2000). The "Last Ever" Interview. Menace The Miles. Archived from the original on 4 February 2003.
  2. ↑ Philip Purser-Hallard (20 August 2012). Re: Rate 36. The Ancestor Cell. Gallifrey Base. “The Time Lord War was never meant to be something which actually happened in the EDA range – it was part of the Doctor's distant future, like Merlin or the Valeyard, and could have been kept there indefinitely if the editors had shown wiling.”
  3. ↑ Lawrence Miles (11 March 2001). 64 Thousand-Dollar Questions. The Complete Lawrence Miles. Archived from the original on 1 March 2005.
  4. ↑ Lawrence Miles (17 August 1999). All-Purpose Internet Statement. Rec.arts.drwho. Archived from the original on 22 April 2001.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lawrence Miles (2001). Outpost Gallifrey Interview. Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 14 June 2003.
  6. ↑ New Faction Paradox Book Announced - Edited by Lawrence Miles!. Mad Norwegian Press (12 February 2002). Archived from the original on 22 April 2003.
  7. ↑ Lawrence Miles (2003). The Faction Paradox Interview. BBV Online. Archived from the original on 6 May 2003.
  8. ↑ Philip Purser-Hallard. Of the City of the Saved Notes – Book Three. Infinitarian.com. “Lawrence Miles decided early on that there would be minimal emphasis on “aliens” in the Faction universe: in The Book of the War non-humans are gods, like the members of the Great Houses, or monsters, like the Mal'akh.”
  9. ↑ Lawrence Miles; Brent Keane (5 January 2004). Paradoxically Speaking. Ninth Art.
  10. ↑ Faction Paradox Novels Update. Mad Norwegian Press (24 February 2003). Archived from the original on 22 April 2003.
  11. ↑ Philip Purser-Hallard. Of the City of the Saved Notes – Book Two. Infinitarian.com.
  12. ↑ Mags L. Halliday. Author's Notes. Warring States ebook edition (2013). “This was another conceit of the series: that each novel was set earlier than the previous one. So the events at the end of Erasing Sherlock trigger elements of Warring States, and the end of Warring States triggers elements of Of City of the Saved...”
  13. ↑ Faction News. Mad Norwegian Press (2003-2005). Archived from the original on 5 July 2005.
  14. ↑ Faction Paradox comic on the horizon!. Mad Norwegian Press (19 September 2002). Archived from the original on 22 April 2003.
  15. ↑ Image Comics Press Release. Mad Norwegian Press (15 May 2003). Archived from the original on 22 August 2003. “Faction Paradox has a five-year history in science-fiction novels, but there's not a lick of pre-knowledge required for the comic book series.”
  16. ↑ Premier Gems of the Month. Diamond Comics (June 2003). Archived from the original on 4 June 2003.
  17. ↑ Faction Paradox #1. Mad Norwegian Press (2003). Archived from the original on 5 February 2004.
  18. ↑ Lars Pearson (June 2004). Mad Norwegian ends Faction Paradox comic series. Mad Norwegian Press. Archived from the original on 4 August 2004.
  19. ↑ BBV News. BBV Online (September 2003). Archived from the original on 4 October 2003. “Season 4 also wraps up BBV's audio output for the time being, with the exception of the Faction Paradox range, which will move to a separate audio series in their own right.”
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who
  21. ↑ Faction News. Mad Norwegian Press (2005-2008). Archived from the original on 27 September 2008.
  22. ↑ Lars Pearson (4 October 2005). You want to know the few-char!. The Faction Paradox Community.
  23. ↑ Random Static to publish Faction Paradox novels. Random Static Ltd (July 2007). Archived from the original on 22 August 2007.
  24. ↑ A tale of love and magic in the Faction universe. The Big Idea (11 January 2008).
  25. ↑ Newtons Sleep puts Wellington back on sci-fi map. Scoop Independent News (7 January 2008).
  26. ↑ Kelly Buchanan (16 January 2009). Newtons Sleep Ebook and Other News. The Faction Paradox Community.
  27. ↑ Daniel O'Mahony. Newtons Sleep. Random Static. Archived from the original on 20 January 2009.
  28. ↑ Kelly Buchanan (2009). New Faction Paradox in 2010. “In 2010 we'll be publishing an anthology of NZ speculative fiction, and the next novel in the Faction Paradox setting.”
  29. ↑ Stuart Douglas (7 June 2010). Faction Paradox – the shorter version. Gallifrey Base.
  30. ↑ Stuart Douglas (13 August 2010). Faction Paradox: A Romance in Twelve Parts. Gallifrey Base.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Stuart Douglas (23 December 2011). Faction Paradox 2012. Obverse Books.
  32. ↑ Lawrence Burton (22 March 2013). Against Nature has Arrived. Onereed.
  33. ↑ Simon Bucher-Jones (28 January 2014). Shard Apocrypha – Brakespeare Initialisation. SBJ's Pantechnicon Extravaganza.
  34. ↑ Stuart Douglas (22 August 2011). Re: Faction Paradox: A Romance in Twelve Parts. Gallifrey Base. “Ahem...watch this (or some related) space :)”
  35. ↑ Stuart Douglas (6 December 2011). The Obverse Quarterly Year Two. Gallifrey Base.
  36. ↑ Blair Bidmead (1 January 2017). Faction Paradox – Weapons Grade Snake Oil: Author Q&A. We Are Cult.
  37. ↑ Dale Smith (2018). Spinning Jenny. Dale Smith Online.
  38. ↑ Coming very soon – THE BOOK OF THE ENEMY. Obverse Books on Facebook (25 November 2017).
  39. ↑ Coming soon – The Book of the Peace. Obverse Books on Facebook (7 September 2017).
  40. ↑ Sextet – An Obverse Anniversary Celebration. Obverse Books on Facebook (6 February 2019).
  41. ↑ BBV Productions (25 February 2022). P.R.O.B.E. Case Files: Volume 2 announcement. BBV on Twitter.
  42. ↑ Lawrence Miles (6 June 2021). I strongly recommend that you don't buy any Faction Paradox material from BBV.. Lawrence Miles on Twitter. Archived from the original on 6 June 2021.
  43. ↑ Thread on the Current Situation with BBV Productions. r/Gallifrey. Reddit (29 October 2021).
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 Jacob Addyman (30 May 2022). "So the Faction Paradox stuff is tricky". Gallifrey Base.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 Obverse Books (21 April 2021). Announcing a new series – Worlds of the Spiral Politic. Facebook.
  46. ↑ Obverse Books (19 February 2021). Open Submissions Call for The Boulevard. Facebook.
  47. ↑ Obverse Books (11 April 2021). Obverse Books on Twitter. Twitter.
  48. ↑ Faction Paradox: Dionus' War - 4 Audio Bundle. Retrieved on 14 December 2021.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Aristide Twain (9 March 2022). Eight "Lost" BBV Projects. Aristide Twain on Tumblr.
  50. ↑ The Book of the Peace Dossier. Obverse Books (2018).
  51. ↑ Lawrence Miles (January 2007). On Monsters. The Beasthouse. Archived from the original on 30 March 2007.
  52. ↑ Emil Fortune (2 June 2022). It’s not quite the Faction of old. Emil Fortune on Twitter. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022.
  53. ↑ Spinoff Comics. The Millennium Effect (2006).
  54. ↑ Tom Pratchett (21 February 2003). Re: Do I need to read Henrietta St?. The Faction Paradox Community. “I should really look at what Lawrence sends me before I just upload it willy nilly.”
  55. ↑ Lawrence Miles (11 November 2001). The Story So Far: Faction Paradox, as Much as It's Known. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 15 November 2001.
  56. ↑ Lawrence Miles (14 September 2002). Faction Armour: Some Design Notes. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 5 February 2003.
  57. ↑ Lawrence Miles (11 November 2001). Blood Ties: Inside the Grandfather's House. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 15 November 2001.
  58. ↑ Lawrence Miles (2005). Crimes Against History. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 19 July 2006.
  59. ↑ Mags L. Halliday. When did the War Actually start. The Faction Paradox Community.
  60. ↑ Mags L. Halliday (14 September 2002). The Eleven-Day Empire: A Tour of the Capital. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 4 February 2003.
  61. ↑ Lawrence Miles (2005). Scripts. Faction Paradox. Archived from the original on 12 April 2006.
  62. ↑ Philip Purser-Hallard. Of the City of the Saved Notes – Book One. Infinitarian.com. “[Sidebars] were integral to the pseudo-reference style of The Book of the War, and it was planned – initially, at least – that the device would form part of the house style for the Faction Paradox novels.”
v • e
Faction Paradox series
BBV Productions
(2001-2004)
The Faction
Paradox Protocols
Mad Norwegian
Press
Novels
Anthologies
Short
stories
Image Comics
Faction Paradox (2003)
Web exclusive
Magic Bullet
Productions
The True History
of Faction Paradox
Random Static
Obverse Books
Novels
Anthologies
Faction
Paradox
The City of
the Saved
Worlds of the
Spiral Politic
BBV Productions
(2021-2022)
Dionus's War
Rebirth
Hellscape
Crossovers
Unproduced
Comic stories
Theatrical films
Novels
Audio stories
Videos
v • e
Spin-offs and connected series
 
Licensed by the BBC
TV
PROSE
Target Books
BBC Books
Panini Comics
AUDIO
Silver Fist/
Who Dares
Big Finish
BBC Audio
COMIC
Marvel UK
HOMEVID
BBV Productions
 
Licensed from copyright holders
TV
Metal Mutt
Productions
HOMEVID
Reeltime Pictures
BBV Productions
AUDIO
BBV Productions
(Audio Adventures
in Time & Space)
Magic Bullet
Productions
BBC Radio 4
Bafflegab
Productions
Storytel
Radio Static
AUK Studios
PROSE
Souvenir Press
World Distributors
Sparrow Books
Virgin Books
The New Adventures (1997-99) • Decalogs (1997)
Mad Norwegian
Press
Faction Paradox (2002-06, 13)
Allison & Busby
Random Static
Telos Publishing
Novelisations
Big Finish
New Worlds
Obverse Books
Obverse
Quarterly
Obverse
Sextet
Simon and
Schuster
Headline Review
The Berkley
Publishing Group
Candy Jar Books
Thebes Publishing
Meteoric Books
Arcbeatle Press
Snowbooks Ltd
Lethe Press
Salt Publishing
Harper Collins
Self-published
Mango
Ce Acatl
Trinitite Team
Titan Books
Titan Sherlock
Holmes books
Oak Tree Books &
Chinbeard Books
Odd Tales Productions
The Cheshire House
Overmorrow Publishing
COMIC
Souvenir Press
World Distributors
TV Century 21
Marvel UK
Image Comics
Graveyard Shift
Comics
Comeuppance
Comics
Self-published
Meteoric Books
Lucky Comics
Telos Publishing
Cutaway Comics
Unlikely Heroes Studios
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=Faction_Paradox_(series)&oldid=3891503"