The Book of the War (novel): Difference between revisions

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* While editing the Book, [[Lawrence Miles]] described it as "a continuity in a book, it's an encyclopaedia to the War Era universe. It's got a structure rather than a plot, the way history's got a structure or a Bible's got a structure. Some parts of the universe are cross-referenced with other parts, and it all comes together to make up this great big ... vision."<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080509161052/http://www.gallifreyone.com/interview.php?id=miles Outpost Gallifrey Interview]</ref>
* While editing the Book, [[Lawrence Miles]] described it as "a continuity in a book, it's an encyclopaedia to the War Era universe. It's got a structure rather than a plot, the way history's got a structure or a Bible's got a structure. Some parts of the universe are cross-referenced with other parts, and it all comes together to make up this great big ... vision."<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080509161052/http://www.gallifreyone.com/interview.php?id=miles Outpost Gallifrey Interview]</ref>
* "Design Specs for Advanced Users", purporting to reveal the "secret pathway running through the whole volume", were published on the Faction Paradox website, and they form a basis for the organisation of the entries on this page. The Specs specified that its listing contained "almost certainly at least one mistake", as well as "a single entry which isn't connected to anything else";<ref>[http://www.curufea.com/doku.php?id=faction:factionbook1reading Design Specs for Advanced Users]</ref> the mistake was the listing of the nonexistent "[[Robert Scarratt|Scarratt]]'s Group" entry under "The A-Z of the War", and the single unconnected entry was "[[Parablox]]" (here placed under "The End").
* "Design Specs for Advanced Users", purporting to reveal the "secret pathway running through the whole volume", were published on the Faction Paradox website, and they form a basis for the organisation of the entries on this page. The Specs specified that its listing contained "almost certainly at least one mistake", as well as "a single entry which isn't connected to anything else";<ref>[http://www.curufea.com/doku.php?id=faction:factionbook1reading Design Specs for Advanced Users]</ref> the mistake was the listing of the nonexistent "[[Robert Scarratt|Scarratt]]'s Group" entry under "The A-Z of the War", and the single unconnected entry was "[[Parablox]]" (here placed under "The End").
* The contributors to the book mostly worked on their stories independently, only discovering the added intersections with other stories once the book was released. It was deliberately kept unclear as to which authors contributed which articles, but later releases provided some clues.
* Lawrence Miles briefly considered releasing an expanded version of ''The Book of the War'' on CD-ROM.<ref name="SBJunused">[https://simonbjones.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-of-war-unused-material.html  The Book Of The War unused material]</ref> Though [[Mad Norwegian Press]]' other Faction Paradox series books would be later be released as ebooks, CEO [[Lars Pearson]] said that the number of permissions that would be needed from the contributors made it untenable.<ref name="ebook discussion">[http://gallifreybase.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5668976&postcount=26 Re: Faction Paradox (Non-BBC) - Your Favourites]</ref>
** As editor, [[Lawrence Miles]] rewrote many or all entries. The "Faction Paradox Family" section was credited to him in the book's notes, and it had been previously released on the Faction Paradox website.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20011115105551/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/family.htm The Faction Paradox Family]</ref>
* Miles considered using the [[Sontaran]]s with permission from the [[Robert Holmes]] estate, but decided it wasn't necessary.<ref name="ebook discussion" />
** [[Simon Bucher-Jones]] wrote slightly more than any other contributor to the Book, with the exception of Lawrence Miles. The final edition of ''The Book of the War'' included at least one entry by him for every letter of the alphabet, including "Lords Celestial", which was interrupted by [[Shift (Alien Bodies)|the Shift]];<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/ask-the-author-sbj-t716.html#p4629 Ask the Author SBJ]</ref> the "Design Specs for Advanced Users" included a potentially-related "A-Z of the War" section that featured entries for many concepts he had previously explored in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'' and would later explore in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]''.
 
** [[Daniel O'Mahony]] used [[Thessalia]], [[the Imperator]], and [[babel]]s in his novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[Newtons Sleep (novel)|Newtons Sleep]]''. The planet [[Lethe (The Parliament of Rats)|Lethe]], mentioned in the entry for [[Lethean Campaign]], originally appeared in his Doctor Who short story ''[[The Parliament of Rats (short story)|The Parliament of Rats]]''. He stated that he'd had no involvement in [[Michael Brookhaven]]'s filmography.<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/brookhaven-a-filmography-t534.html Brookhaven: A Filmography]</ref>
=== Who wrote what? ===
** [[Ian McIntire]] introduced [[Carmen Yeh]] in his unlicensed short story ''Schrodinger's Botanist'' for the charity anthology ''Perfect Timing''. The related entries were co-written with the uncredited [[Mad Norwegian Press]] CEO [[Lars Pearson]].<ref name="BotW Question" />
Contributors to the book mostly worked on their stories independently, only discovering the added intersections with other stories once the book was released. It was deliberately kept unclear as to which authors contributed which articles, but later releases provided some clues.
** [[Mags L. Halliday]] wrote about [[Anastasia Romanov|Anastasia]] and the [[Thirteen-Day Republic]].<ref name="BotW Question" /> She later used Cousin [[Octavia Sutherland|Octavia]] in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]''.
* As editor, [[Lawrence Miles]] rewrote many or all entries. The "Faction Paradox Family" section was credited to him in the book's notes, and it had been previously released on the Faction Paradox website.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20011115105551/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/family.htm The Faction Paradox Family]</ref>
** [[Philip Purser-Hallard]] wrote the articles concerning the [[City of the Saved]], which was later featured in his novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]'' and [[Obverse Books]]' [[The City of the Saved (series)|City of the Saved]] anthology series.<ref name="SWWW">[http://www.infinitarian.com/botwswww.html "So, Who Wrote What?"]</ref> He also wrote the entry for [[House Mirraflex]],<ref>[https://twitter.com/purserhallard/status/926070499729428480 purserhallard on Twitter]</ref> though Miles thoroughly overhauled it in editing. Purser-Hallard commented that he had not written the articles on [[Wallachia]], [[Michael Brookhaven]], [[Grigori Rasputin]], or the [[Spiral Politic]].<ref name="SWWW" />
* [[Simon Bucher-Jones]] wrote slightly more than any other contributor to the Book, with the exception of Lawrence Miles. The final edition of ''The Book of the War'' included at least one entry by him for every letter of the alphabet, including "Lords Celestial", which was interrupted by [[Shift (Alien Bodies)|the Shift]];<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/ask-the-author-sbj-t716.html#p4629 Ask the Author SBJ]</ref> the "Design Specs for Advanced Users" included a potentially-related "A-Z of the War" section that featured entries for many concepts he had previously explored in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'' and would later explore in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]''.
** [[Kelly Hale]], who herself is part Native American, wrote the entries concerning Cousin [[Belial (The Book of the War)|Belial]] and the Faction's [[Remote]] experiments on the [[Native American]] warrior tribes. She would later use Native America in ''[[Project Thunderbird (short story)|Project Thunderbird]]''.
* [[Daniel O'Mahony]] used [[Thessalia]], [[the Imperator]], and [[babel]]s in his novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[Newtons Sleep (novel)|Newtons Sleep]]''. The planet [[Lethe (The Parliament of Rats)|Lethe]], mentioned in the entry for [[Lethean Campaign]], originally appeared in his Doctor Who short story ''[[The Parliament of Rats (short story)|The Parliament of Rats]]''. He stated that he'd had no involvement in [[Michael Brookhaven]]'s filmography.<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/brookhaven-a-filmography-t534.html Brookhaven: A Filmography]</ref>
** [[Jonathan Dennis]], who previously wrote the story ''The Hollywood Life'' for the [[Charity publications|charity anthology]] ''Perfect Timing 2'', created [[Faction Hollywood]] for ''The Book of the War''. However, those entries also included major contributions from at least three other writers,<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/botw-constructing-themes-question-t651-s10.html BotW Constructing Themes Question #12]</ref> including Lawrence Miles<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031218032809/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/interview1.htm Lawrence Miles on Language, Literature and Lying to the Audience]</ref> and Simon Bucher-Jones.<ref>[https://the-voice-of-light-city.tumblr.com/post/171601681800/rassilon-imprimatur-i-think-the-funniest-thing The funniest thing about Faction Paradox ...]</ref> Dennis would later reuse Faction Hollywood in his story [[PROSE]]: ''[[Remake/Remodel (short story)|Remake/Remodel]]'' and co-write [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]'' with Bucher-Jones.
* [[Ian McIntire]] introduced [[Carmen Yeh]] in his unlicensed short story ''Schrodinger's Botanist'' for the charity anthology ''Perfect Timing''. The related entries were co-written with [[Mad Norwegian Press]] CEO [[Lars Pearson]].<ref name="BotW Question" />
** [[Mark Clapham]] and Bucher-Jones explored the [[Celestis]] in their cowritten [[Eighth Doctor]] novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]''.
* [[Mags L. Halliday]] wrote about [[Anastasia Romanov|Anastasia]] and the [[Thirteen-Day Republic]].<ref name="BotW Question" /> She later used Cousin [[Octavia Sutherland|Octavia]] in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Warring States (novel)|Warring States]]''.
* Lawrence Miles briefly considered releasing an expanded version of ''The Book of the War'' on CD-ROM. Simon Bucher-Jones wrote the entries ''Protective Neotony'' and ''Instant Animals'' for this project.<ref>[https://simonbjones.blogspot.com/2006/12/book-of-war-unused-material.html  The Book Of The War unused material]</ref> Though [[Mad Norwegian Press]]' other Faction Paradox series books would be later be released as ebooks, [[Lars Pearson]] said that the number of permissions that would be needed from the contributors made it not worth it.<ref name="ebook discussion">[http://gallifreybase.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5668976&postcount=26 Re: Faction Paradox (Non-BBC) - Your Favourites]</ref>
* [[Philip Purser-Hallard]] wrote the articles concerning the [[City of the Saved]], which was later featured in his novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[Of the City of the Saved... (novel)|Of the City of the Saved...]]'' and [[Obverse Books]]' [[The City of the Saved (series)|City of the Saved]] anthology series.<ref name="SWWW">[http://www.infinitarian.com/botwswww.html "So, Who Wrote What?"]</ref> He also wrote the entry for [[House Mirraflex]],<ref>[https://twitter.com/purserhallard/status/926070499729428480 purserhallard on Twitter]</ref> though Miles thoroughly overhauled it in editing. Purser-Hallard commented that he had not written the articles on [[Wallachia]], [[Michael Brookhaven]], [[Grigori Rasputin]], or the [[Spiral Politic]].<ref name="SWWW" />
* Lawrence Miles considered using the [[Sontaran]]s with permission from the [[Robert Holmes]] estate, but decided it wasn't necessary.<ref name="ebook discussion" />
* [[Kelly Hale]], who herself is part [[Native American]], wrote the entries concerning Cousin [[Belial (The Book of the War)|Belial]] and the Faction's [[Remote]] experiments on the [[Native American]] warrior tribes. She would later revisit Native America and [[Wounded Knee]] in ''[[Project Thunderbird (short story)|Project Thunderbird]]''.
* [[Jonathan Dennis]], who previously wrote the story ''The Hollywood Life'' for the [[Charity publications|charity anthology]] ''Perfect Timing 2'', created [[Faction Hollywood]] for ''The Book of the War''. However, those entries also included major contributions from at least three other writers,<ref>[https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/factionparadox/botw-constructing-themes-question-t651-s10.html BotW Constructing Themes Question #12]</ref> including Lawrence Miles<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031218032809/http://www.factionparadox.co.uk:80/interview1.htm Lawrence Miles on Language, Literature and Lying to the Audience]</ref> and Simon Bucher-Jones.<ref>[https://the-voice-of-light-city.tumblr.com/post/171601681800/rassilon-imprimatur-i-think-the-funniest-thing The funniest thing about Faction Paradox ...]</ref> Dennis would later reuse Faction Hollywood in his story [[PROSE]]: ''[[Remake/Remodel (short story)|Remake/Remodel]]'' and co-write [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]'' with Bucher-Jones.
* [[Mark Clapham]] and Bucher-Jones explored the [[Celestis]] in their cowritten [[Eighth Doctor]] novel [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]''.
 
=== Unincluded entries ===
The book lists [[Lance Parkin]], [[David A. McIntee]], and [[Eddie Robson]] as writers who "wanted to play but whose material didn't quite fit anywhere".
* [[Lance Parkin|Parkin]]'s contribution was an entry about [[Saldaamir|Mr Saldaamir]] that was later published in the fanzine ''Myth Makers 13''.<ref>[http://dwin.org/home/mythmakers/article/myth_makers_past_issues Myth Makers Past Issues]</ref>
* [[David A. McIntee|McIntee]] spoke with Lars Pearson about contributing but never actually submitted any material.<ref>[https://doctornolonger.tumblr.com/post/158650519187/the-book-of-the-war-has-over-250-entries-however Rejected ''Book of the War'' entries]</ref>
* [[Eddie Robson|Robson]]'s five entries were published online in [[2017 (releases)|2017]]; they told a story about Faction Paradox's Father Katzmary, his "Minimeridas Project", and his daughter Tanya Glassman.<ref>[http://big-finish-sketches.tumblr.com/post/162467318118/the-book-of-the-war-eddie-robsons-previously Eddie Robson's previous unpublished entries]</ref> Robson would later reuse some elements of this idea in the ''[[Bernice Summerfield (series)|Bernice Summerfield]]'' audios ''[[Beyond the Sea (audio story)|Beyond the Sea]]'' and ''[[Resurrecting the Past (audio story)|Resurrecting the Past]]'', both of which involved the planet [[Maximediras]].
* [[Simon Bucher-Jones]] wrote two extra entries, ''Protective Neotony'' and ''Instant Animals'', for the planned CD-ROM expansion of the book; when that project was cancelled, he published the entries on his blog.<ref name="SBJunused" />


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
Line 361: Line 370:
* An interventionist [[The Doctor (Alien Bodies)|member]] of the [[Great Houses]] was believed to have died as [[the Cataclysm|the fighting]] began on [[Dronid]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'')
* An interventionist [[The Doctor (Alien Bodies)|member]] of the [[Great Houses]] was believed to have died as [[the Cataclysm|the fighting]] began on [[Dronid]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'')
* [[The Homeworld|Homeworld]] weapons like [[babel]]s and [[cast]]s were [[Lethean Campaign|used]] on the planet [[Lethe (The Parliament of Rats)|Lethe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Parliament of Rats (short story)|The Parliament of Rats]]'')
* [[The Homeworld|Homeworld]] weapons like [[babel]]s and [[cast]]s were [[Lethean Campaign|used]] on the planet [[Lethe (The Parliament of Rats)|Lethe]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Parliament of Rats (short story)|The Parliament of Rats]]'')
* [[Dronid]] was the chosen homeworld of the [[renegade Presidency]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Shada (TV story)|Shada]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'')
* The Homeworld was plunged into crisis by the rise to power of a [[the Imperator|great Imperator]], [[Morbius]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius (TV story)|The Brain of Morbius]]'')
* [[Chris Cwej]] was recruited as an agent of the [[Great Houses]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'')
* [[Chris Cwej]] was recruited as an agent of the [[Great Houses]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'')
* A [[the Homeworld|Homeworld]] colony was located on [[Simia KK98]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'')
* A [[the Homeworld|Homeworld]] colony was located on [[Simia KK98]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'')
* Several groups of [[Gallifreyan]]s left Gallifrey during or following [[Rassilon]]'s rise to power. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'', ''[[Interference - Book Two (novel)|Interference]]'')
* The [[Faction Paradox]] created the [[Remote]] on [[Ordifica]]. They reproduce through [[Remembrance Tank]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference]]'')
* The [[Faction Paradox]] created the [[Remote]] on [[Ordifica]]. They reproduce through [[Remembrance Tank]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference]]'')
* [[Grandfather Paradox]] was imprisoned on the Great Houses' [[Shada (prison)|prison]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)|Christmas on a Rational Planet]]'', ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference]]'')
* [[Grandfather Paradox]] was imprisoned in the Great Houses' [[Shada (prison)|prison]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)|Christmas on a Rational Planet]]'', ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference]]'')
* [[House Mirraflex]] was an illustrious [[Great House]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Conscript (audio story)|The Conscript]]'')
* [[House Mirraflex]] was an illustrious [[Great House]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Conscript (audio story)|The Conscript]]'')
* [[Investigator]] [[One (The Taking of Planet 5)|One]] was the Celestis' head field agent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'')
* [[Investigator]] [[One (The Taking of Planet 5)|One]] was the Celestis' head field agent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'')
* The Homeworld was ruled by six [[ruling Houses]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin (TV story)|The Deadly Assassin]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Ancestor Cell (novel)|The Ancestor Cell]]'')
* [[Compassion]] was the first and only [[102-form]] [[TARDIS|timeship]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* [[Compassion]] was the first and only [[102-form]] [[TARDIS|timeship]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* [[The Homeworld]] is ruled by [[Great Houses]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'')
* [[The Homeworld]] is ruled by [[Great Houses]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible]]'')
* [[House Lolita]] is an up-and-coming force in [[the War]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Toy Story (short story)|Toy Story]]'')
* [[House Lolita]] is an up-and-coming force in [[the War]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Toy Story (short story)|Toy Story]]'')
* The [[Mal'akh]] are connected to [[human]]ity's [[noosphere]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* The [[Mal'akh|Babewyn]] are connected to [[human]]ity's [[noosphere]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* [[Nine Homeworlds|Multiple Homeworlds]] were constructed during the War. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'', ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* [[Nine Homeworlds|Multiple Homeworlds]] were constructed during the War. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'', ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* The leader of the Homeworld during the War used the title [[War King]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* The leader of the Homeworld during the War used the title [[War King]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'')
* The [[Star Chamber]] ran secret operations in [[Great Britain]] and around the world. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* The [[Star Chamber]] ran secret operations in [[Great Britain]] and around the world. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* The [[House Dvora|House of Dvora]] was one of Gallifrey's [[Great Houses]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Panacea (audio story)|Panacea]]'')
* The [[Yssgaroth]] fought a [[Eternal War|war]] with the Great Houses at the [[anchoring of the thread|beginning]] of [[history]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Pit (novel)|The Pit]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[State of Decay (TV story)|State of Decay]]'')
* The [[Yssgaroth]] fought a [[Eternal War|war]] with the Great Houses at the [[anchoring of the thread|beginning]] of [[history]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Pit (novel)|The Pit]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[State of Decay (TV story)|State of Decay]]'')
* [[Stendec]] wanted to put a menagerie in the Eleven-Day Empire's version of the building on [[The Strand (street)|the Strand]] which housed a [[zoo]] in the [[18th century]] and famously had an [[elephant]] [[winch]]ed to one of its higher stories. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
* [[Stendec]] wanted to put a menagerie in the Eleven-Day Empire's version of the building on [[The Strand (street)|the Strand]] which housed a [[zoo]] in the [[18th century]] and famously had an [[elephant]] [[winch]]ed to one of its higher stories. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')

Revision as of 04:20, 6 May 2018

RealWorld.png

prose stub

The Book of the War was the first novel in the Faction Paradox series of novels.

Publisher's summary

The Great Houses: Immovable. Implacable. Unchanging. Old enough to pass themselves off as immortal, arrogant enough to claim ultimate authority over the Spiral Politic.

The Enemy: Not so much an army as a hostile new kind of history. So ambitious it can re-write worlds, so complex that even calling it by its name seems to underestimate it.

Faction Paradox: Renegades, ritualists, saboteurs and subterfugers, the criminal-cult to end all criminal-cults, happy to be caught in the crossfire and ready to take whatever's needed from the wreckage... assuming the other powers leave behind a universe that's habitable.

The War: A fifty-year-old dispute over the two most valuable territories in existence: "cause" and "effect."

Marking the first five decades of the conflict, THE BOOK OF THE WAR is an A to Z of a self-contained continuum and a complete guide to the Spiral Politic, from the beginning of recordable time to the fall of humanity. Part story, part history and part puzzle-box, this is a chronicle of protocol and paranoia in a War where the historians win as many battles as the soldiers and the greatest victory of all is to hold on to your own past...

Entries

The Core Entries

History of Faction Paradox

The History of Earth

The A-Z of the War

Houses and Orders

The History of the Homeworld

The History of Posthumanity

The Academician's Story

The Non-History of the Celestis

The Shift's Story

The City of the Saved

The Impaler's Story

The Thirteen-Day Republic

Labyrinths

The Ghost Dance

The History of the Remote

Faction Hollywood

The End

Coda

References

Notes

  • While editing the Book, Lawrence Miles described it as "a continuity in a book, it's an encyclopaedia to the War Era universe. It's got a structure rather than a plot, the way history's got a structure or a Bible's got a structure. Some parts of the universe are cross-referenced with other parts, and it all comes together to make up this great big ... vision."[2]
  • "Design Specs for Advanced Users", purporting to reveal the "secret pathway running through the whole volume", were published on the Faction Paradox website, and they form a basis for the organisation of the entries on this page. The Specs specified that its listing contained "almost certainly at least one mistake", as well as "a single entry which isn't connected to anything else";[3] the mistake was the listing of the nonexistent "Scarratt's Group" entry under "The A-Z of the War", and the single unconnected entry was "Parablox" (here placed under "The End").
  • Lawrence Miles briefly considered releasing an expanded version of The Book of the War on CD-ROM.[4] Though Mad Norwegian Press' other Faction Paradox series books would be later be released as ebooks, CEO Lars Pearson said that the number of permissions that would be needed from the contributors made it untenable.[5]
  • Miles considered using the Sontarans with permission from the Robert Holmes estate, but decided it wasn't necessary.[5]

Who wrote what?

Contributors to the book mostly worked on their stories independently, only discovering the added intersections with other stories once the book was released. It was deliberately kept unclear as to which authors contributed which articles, but later releases provided some clues.

Unincluded entries

The book lists Lance Parkin, David A. McIntee, and Eddie Robson as writers who "wanted to play but whose material didn't quite fit anywhere".

  • Parkin's contribution was an entry about Mr Saldaamir that was later published in the fanzine Myth Makers 13.[14]
  • McIntee spoke with Lars Pearson about contributing but never actually submitted any material.[15]
  • Robson's five entries were published online in 2017; they told a story about Faction Paradox's Father Katzmary, his "Minimeridas Project", and his daughter Tanya Glassman.[16] Robson would later reuse some elements of this idea in the Bernice Summerfield audios Beyond the Sea and Resurrecting the Past, both of which involved the planet Maximediras.
  • Simon Bucher-Jones wrote two extra entries, Protective Neotony and Instant Animals, for the planned CD-ROM expansion of the book; when that project was cancelled, he published the entries on his blog.[4]

Continuity

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 BotW Constructing Themes Question
  2. ↑ Outpost Gallifrey Interview
  3. ↑ Design Specs for Advanced Users
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Book Of The War unused material
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Re: Faction Paradox (Non-BBC) - Your Favourites
  6. ↑ The Faction Paradox Family
  7. ↑ Ask the Author SBJ
  8. ↑ Brookhaven: A Filmography
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "So, Who Wrote What?"
  10. ↑ purserhallard on Twitter
  11. ↑ BotW Constructing Themes Question #12
  12. ↑ Lawrence Miles on Language, Literature and Lying to the Audience
  13. ↑ The funniest thing about Faction Paradox ...
  14. ↑ Myth Makers Past Issues
  15. ↑ Rejected Book of the War entries
  16. ↑ Eddie Robson's previous unpublished entries

External links

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BBV Productions
(2021-2022)
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The City of the Saved
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