I have come to realise that I know next to absolutely nothing about this Faction Paradox that comes up from time to time. But it kind of seems like a rabbit hole I would enjoy going down a bit
Is there a kind soul who could recommend where to start and which path to follow?
Which EDAs are “required reading” before reading and listening to Faction Paradox stuff?
Is the Lawrence Miles book “Dead Romance” the same as his book by the same name in the VNA Benny range?
The answers are probably there if I search around a bit, but it seems like there are different opinions on where to start.
And an important question: Is it even worth spending time and money on?
I’m not a massive fan of Faction Paradox and haven’t bothered with much of the spin-off stuff.
Alien Bodies is a must-read as that introduces them. Interference is also key but I found that a bit of a slog to read.
I haven’t read Dead Romance (the VNA) but I know it’s more or less the same as the later book just with copyright stuff excised (I think - Dead Romance is fairly removed from the main VNA range anyway). Happy for people with more knowledge to correct me here though.
Audio-wise, the BBV and Magic Bullet Faction Paradox audios aren’t bad. The Magic Bullet ones involve the Osirians which makes them pretty good value.
Alien Bodies and Interference are the two big ones by Miles, but there’s a lot of stuff in-between written by other authors. Nothing is required reading though, you can jump into FP pretty much wherever (start with any of the novels, listen to the audios, etc). I just started with the Book of the War and the audios, then moved to the novels, and that’s worked out great so far.
Dead Romance is pretty much the same, but the later publication has some modifications and short stories in the back.
Here’s a (slightly outdated) guide I found online that helped me a lot:
Ooh! I love Faction Paradox. I’d highly recommend getting into it, even though a lot of the older books are out of print and very expensive nowadays - I might do a bit of taste-testing to see if it’s for you.
The other replies are nice and comprehensive - I’d describe Alien Bodies as the only real DW prerequisite, although all of FP is so wild and wonderful you jump in pretty much anywhere imo! If you do want another EDA, Unnatural History is a delight.
The Book not the War and This Town… have already been mentioned, but as for some personal recommendations: Dead Romance is a great place to start, and yeah, the reprint incudes a helpful essay and Toy Story (the short story) as well as being very lovely in print. The audio Faction Paradox Protocols feature two favourite characters of mine - Justine (from Alien Bodies) and Eliza (from Dead Romance, and they’re quite accessible if you already listen to lots of Big Finish. The Obverse books are also full of delightful short story goodness - I might take a look at their website and see if there’s anything you like:
I’m reading the Book of the Peace at the moment and loving it, and they’ve been publishing FP material since 2012 so there’s lots there. Obverse is probably the cheapest place to get physical books too - like I said, the older ones can be pricy on eBay. I’ve been searching for a physical copy of The Book of the War for years with no luck! (Although I did grab issue #1 of the comic recently - now that was a find…)
Wishing you well on this voyage into the unknown! Keep an eye on your shadow…
Thanks for the answers
Seems like Alien Bodies is the place to start
But the way my brain works I’m not sure I’ll let myself start at EDA number 6, so I’ll probably begin from The Eight Doctors…
At what point in my life will I just let go and realise I’ll never get to read and listen to everything related to the Whoniverse however tangentially it might be related?
I’ve come to accept that DW is a life-long commitment which you will never complete if you lead anything resembling a normal life and still I stress about completing as many stories as I can before I die. This is yet another project I have to get to at some point.
I’ve resigned myself to just making sure I’ve seen all the TV.
But, as I’m approaching 50, I’ve even found myself worrying about what happens if I don’t make it to the next TV series? Doctor Who I’ll have to watch from a cloud?
Who knows, maybe they’ve got all the missing episodes in heaven…
I never saw the appeal of Faction Paradox. I mean, it’s an interesting idea and if they pop up in a Who novel great. But I have no desire to venture down the Faction Paradox rabbit hole.
That’s just my M.O. Looking at the Obverse website I also saw that they have three short story collections about the different “Morbius Doctors” incarnations. There is just no way I won’t be buying those at one point
We can all join @deltaandthebannermen on his Catch-up Cloud and watch/listen to/read/experience everything we haven’t had time for during our earthly lives!
The TARDIS Guide Matrix - the repository of all Doctor Who knowledge accumulated by it’s brilliant user throughout the ages uploaded at the end - the moment will have been prepared for
Just make sure we can’t be downloaded from that existence - we don’t need another CyberBrig situation on our hands
and still I stress about completing as many stories as I can before I die. This is yet another project I have to get to at some point.
