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 ārequired readingā before reading and listening to Faction Paradox stuff?
Is the Lawrence Miles book āDead Romanceā 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?
Iām not a massive fan of Faction Paradox and havenāt 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 havenāt read Dead Romance (the VNA) but I know itās 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 arenāt 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 thereās 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 thatās 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.
Hereās a (slightly outdated) guide I found online that helped me a lot:
Ooh! I love Faction Paradox. Iād 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 itās for you.
The other replies are nice and comprehensive - Iād 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 Townā¦ 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 theyāre 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 thereās anything you like:
Iām reading the Book of the Peace at the moment and loving it, and theyāve been publishing FP material since 2012 so thereās lots there. Obverse is probably the cheapest place to get physical books too - like I said, the older ones can be pricy on eBay. Iāve 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 findā¦)
Wishing you well on this voyage into the unknown! Keep an eye on your shadowā¦
Thanks for the answers
Seems like Alien Bodies is the place to start
But the way my brain works Iām not sure Iāll let myself start at EDA number 6, so Iāll probably begin from The Eight Doctorsā¦
At what point in my life will I just let go and realise Iāll never get to read and listen to everything related to the Whoniverse however tangentially it might be related?
Iāve 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.
Iāve resigned myself to just making sure Iāve seen all the TV.
But, as Iām approaching 50, Iāve even found myself worrying about what happens if I donāt make it to the next TV series? Doctor Who Iāll have to watch from a cloud?
Who knows, maybe theyāve got all the missing episodes in heavenā¦
I never saw the appeal of Faction Paradox. I mean, itās 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.
Thatās just my M.O. Looking at the Obverse website I also saw that they have three short story collections about the different āMorbius Doctorsā incarnations. There is just no way I wonāt be buying those at one point
We can all join @deltaandthebannermen on his Catch-up Cloud and watch/listen to/read/experience everything we havenāt had time for during our earthly lives!
The TARDIS Guide Matrix - the repository of all Doctor Who knowledge accumulated by itās brilliant user throughout the ages uploaded at the end - the moment will have been prepared for
Just make sure we canāt be downloaded from that existence - we donāt need another CyberBrig situation on our hands
I was hoping someone would bring this up omg, Iāve had my copy of Inward Collapse sat on my shelf for about a month, so when I saw the new one was released the other day I decided to read it, and Iāll probably end up finishing it tonight
The new one looks so cool, I love the cover art and the blurb sounds really intriguing so Iām absolutely gonna get it when Iām paid tomorrow
Update:
Finished Inward Collapse, a little confusing and honestly couldāve done being two or three times as long but a fun little story regardless, exactly what I would expect from Faction Paradox
Rose-Coloured Crosshairs has now been ordered and is on the way
Going into The Book of the War with an open mind and expecting some sort of chronological story was certainly an eye opening experience, but it was still just fantastic
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.
