(I’m new here and this is my first post so sorry for any errors in formatting, general convention etc)
I was wondering if there was anyone else here who has read any of the Telos novellas; they seem quite niche and I haven’t found many people online who have read them (and they aren’t on this site either…) but out of the ~40 doctor who books I’ve read, Telos novella Fallen Gods by Blum and Orman has been my out and out favourite.
So, has anyone else got or read any of them? Or do I have some propaganda to spread?
Sadly, this is one thing I never bought at the time because they were actually quite expensive (for a poor student). They’re now really hard to get hold of I think (although I’m intrigued by a kindle edition, @sircarolyn )
God knows where I aquired them from but I think it may not have been strictly above board… I’m pretty sure I have them anyway, I’m going to have to check when I get home now!
I’m in the same boat as @sircarolyn. I have them digital, from probably a passing pirate boat. They are on my ‘to-read’ list, but heavens knows when that will be.
All of my propaganda for now is about Fallen Gods, since so far I’ve only been able to read that and Eye of the Tyger from the range (I’ve so much in my reading pile its unreal), but my god I’d be inclined to describe it as the quintessential Eighth Doctor book. Although it may not cover every single aspect of his character (I mean that’s quite a tall order especially for a short novella anyway) but its just got such a coherent and focused take on him that I think its the best introduction to him that I’ve encountered. Several extremely notable scenes and such real characters that all jostle for power in a way that means it wont leave my head close to a year after reading.
(Afraid Eye of the Tyger wasn’t as enthralling, although it has some interesting technical descriptions and ideas planted in it by clearly a scientific author, I think slightly lacklustre characters, and its short length, relegate it to a rather average story.)
I lucked out, sort of. I passed on them at the time due to cost, but did pick up the 2 that were released in paperback when I chanced upon them in an actual US brick-and-mortar store.
And some years later, when I suddenly wanted, nay, needed them, I was able to get them all at a lower cost than I would have imagined (don’t ask for specifics).
Case of fortunate timing.
@TNT - to your question, I’ve read them all…twice. When I finally caught up to my to-read pile back in 2021, the Telos novellas were amongst the first things I pulled off the shelves to re-read, so between then and Jan '23, I went through them all another time.
Interestingly, Fallen Gods just wasn’t for me. I like the poetry of it, and I can see why it would be a real favorite for some, just not my cuppa. Most of the range, though, thumbs ups.
What ended up being your favourite in the range? I haven’t heard much conversation at all about the range, but did hear opinion at some point that Time and Relative was good, if you have an opinion on that one too?
I did love Time and Relative. I really liked Rip Tide. Shell Shock did some neat stuff. Companion Piece really liked. And Blood and Hope is among my favorites for sure.
But I’ll add this overall thought on the range. There is a lot of variety. They let the authors try different things, so I think any Who fan reading the range will find some they like, no matter their particular preferences.
Oh Rip Tide is the next one I’ll get round to reading probably. It is real nice when you get a range with variety, definitely one of the main draws of the wilderness era for me, you just get a lot more of interesting and experimental ideas (although not all of them work well in the end…).
I have a vague memory of reading a bit of Time and Relative a few years ago and a clear memory of finding it confusing. Maybe it’s cuz I was new to DW then and the only books I had read were New Series Adventures and mostly in Chinese. Maybe I wasn’t as fluent in English then. So many novels and audios make me doubt my general ability to understand English.
The Telos Novellas are such an interesting Oddity. Just recently I decided to start this range due to the fairly short Length of each of the Books. Already read 4 out of the 15! It’s a shame that they are so expensive to get a hold of them physically, at least.
Frayed was solid, I liked some of it, but it’s nothing too notable.
Shellshock has some neat Ideas, and it’s cool to read an original sixth doctor book.
Time and Relative is great, especially if you like/love Susan as I do! (Especially great for her).
And Eye of the Tyger was okay.
Wish I could say more on them but I am still sitting on my Thoughts with them, hopefully someday in the Future I will get around to properly articulate my Thoughts, since this is definitely one of the rare Corners of Doctor Who Books that rarely gets talked about.
So many stories made unavailable to fans because they’re out of print and rare now, wish they would officially release them on kindle so that at least the stories are more accessible
The Telos novellas have always intrigued me, particularly the two that seem to feature an unspecified future incarnation of the Doctor. I think I saw 3 in a charity shop once but never bought them
I read Frayed some months ago. I didn’t vibe with it at first, but in a second try I liked it quite a bit actually. It’s a nice base under siege story. Susan is a bit underutilised, but that’s it. I wrote a review back then:
My next Doctor Who story in my chronogically-ish project is Time and Relative, so I may come back with opinions once I read it.
)
