Foreword by Justin Richards
Deluxe edition frontispiece illustrated by Bryan Talbot
The harsh British winter of 1963 brings a big freeze that extends into April with no sign of letting up. And with it comes a new, far greater menace: terrifying icy creatures are stalking the streets, bringing death and destruction.
The first Doctor and Susan, trapped on Earth until the faulty TARDIS can be repaired, are caught up in the crisis.
The Doctor seems to know what is going on, but is uncharacteristically detached and furtive, almost as if he is losing his memory …
Susan, isolated from her grandfather and finding it hard to fit in with the human teenagers at Coal Hill School, tries to cope by recording her thoughts in a diary. But she too feels her memory slipping away and her past unravelling. Is she even sure who she is any more …?
Background information:
Winner of the “Best Past Doctor Adventure” Award in the Doctor WhoMagazine Annual Awards for 2001.
Telos Publishing present Time and Relative, a thrilling and groundbreaking adventure: the first officially-sanctioned Doctor Who book featuring the Doctor and Susan set before the start of the TV series itself. The debut Doctor Who book by award-winning writer and film historian Kim Newman and features a foreword by BBC Doctor Who books supremo Justin Richards.
“We’re delighted to welcome Kim to the worlds of Doctor Who,” says David J Howe, general editor of the Doctor Who Novellas range. “Kim’s written some great novels and short stories, and I always wondered what he might make of Doctor Who’s concepts and characters. Now we’re finding out.”
One of Telos’ stated aims with the novellas is to bring new life into the Doctor Whouniverse through harnessing the talents of general science fiction, fantasy and horror writers, and getting Newman signed up to pen the launch title was something of a coup.
“Writers as accomplished and respected as Kim Newman are always very much in demand,” notes Howe, “and we were delighted that he agreed to contribute to the novellas range. Kim is a great fan of telefantasy, and is enthusiastic about the idea of stepping into the Doctor Who universe for a while.”
Kim Newman’s earliest TV memory was of watching Doctor Who. “‘It was the first episode (‘World’s End’) of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, three weeks before my parents bought a television set – looking back on it, I suspect one of the reasons they got the thing was that my sister and I pestered them about wanting to keep up with the story. I grew up with the show, owned a lot of Dalek toys (they weren’t called collectibles then) and saw the films in the 1960s (I even saw the Dalek stage play).”
“One of the reasons I picked 1963 as a setting for the novella is that I associate Who with the 60s, and with childhood. It was my idea to write the story as a prequel to the series. I thought that since this was to be the first of a series, we should begin at the beginning.”
“I’ve seen most of the surviving Hartnell era Who recently, but I concentrated on the first season. Since it’s a first person piece, I was free to be a bit subjective – if there are ‘errors’, then it’s because Susan doesn’t know much about what was established about the Doctor after she left the show. I do say that she has two hearts, but there’s no mention of Time Lords, Gallifrey, the TARDIS is as yet-unnamed and the Doctor isn’t yet called that (it seems possible on looking at An Unearthly Child that he takes the title because Ian uses it when they first meet).”
“I plotted the story twice – there’s the Doctor Who plot with monsters, an invasion, reversing the polarity, soldiers on the streets, etc (all the stuff from the show), but that’s mostly a backdrop to the personal story about being an alien teenager at a London school in the winter of 1963. I listened to a lot of pop music from that year, and thought a bit about the world we didn’t quite get to see in the show – which had rather stuffy young-middle aged viewpoint characters in the teachers – and wondered what Susan would have noticed or thought or been like when away from adult supervision.”
Bryan Talbot, the influential and multiple award-winning artist of such acclaimed graphic novels as The Adventures of Luthor Arkwright, The Tale of One Bad Ratand Heart of Empire has contributed a full colour frontispiece for the deluxe edition of Time and Relative.
“Having grown up with Doctor Who – from the very first screening of An Unearthly Child when I was eleven – it was a real pleasure creating the frontispiece for the first of a whole new series of Doctor Who novellas, especially as Kim Newman’stale is an entirely fresh take on that original Hartnell story…”
The book was available in two superb editions: a standard hardback with grey cloth-effect cover and silver-stamped logo and title; and a numbered limited edition deluxe hardback boasting: full colour frontispiece artwork; silver cracked-ice-effect binding with foil stamping; and integrated bookmark.
All copies of the limited edition deluxe version cameindividuallysigned by Kim Newman, Bryan Talbot, and BBC Books editor and popular Doctor Who novelist Justin Richards, who supplied the foreword for the book.
Time and Relative was published on the 23rd November 2001
About the Author
Kim Newman is an author, film expert and critic, an enthusiastic pundit of SF writing and one of Britain’s great eccentrics.
Born in Brixton in 1959, he grew up in Somerset, graduated in English at Sussex University, before coming to London in 1980 working with the Bridgwater Arts and Entertainment Collective as a kazoo player and cabaret performer.
He is the author of several specialist film books and is a regular film reviewer and contributing editor for Empire andSight and Sound magazines.
His books include The Night Mayor, Bad Dreams, Jago, The Quorum, Life’s Lottery and his reworkings of the Dracula mythology Anno Dracula (which won the Children Of The Night Award for Best Novel from the Dracula Society and the Best Novel Award from the Lord Ruthven Assembly. It was also shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award), The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula, cha, cha, cha. He has also published four collections of short stories: Famous Monsters, The Original Doctor Shade, Seven Stars and Unforgivable Stories, and his Where the Bodies are Buried… series of stories were recently collected in a limited edition hardback.
He is a regular contributor to the annual anthology series’ Best New Horror andDark Terrors and is a columnist for Shivers magazine.
What they said about Kim’s books (a small selection!)
The Quorum:
“Brilliant… tantalising. Newman’s prose is a delight, his attention to detail spellbinding” – Time Out
Life’s Lottery:
“Curiously unsettling but always gripping, Life’s Lottery is like nothing you have ever read” – The Times
Dracula, cha, cha, cha:
“Kim Newman is always a treat” – The Guardian
More information about Kim Newman can be found on the official Kim NewmanWebsite
About the Artist
Bryan Talbot’s first published illustrations appeared in theBritish Tolkien Society Magazine in 1969 and since then he has become one of the most influential and respected graphic illustrators in the field.
In 1978, Bryan began the epic saga The Adventures of Luther Arkwright which, when collected in one volume in 1982 was one of the first British graphic novels.
He has worked on 2000AD, Judge Dredd by Alan Grant and John Wagner, which included production of full-colour strips for the IPC annuals and a 20 page RPG strip in the first issue ofDiceman. For several years Bryan produced work for the American comic company DC on titles such as Hellblazer (with Jamie Delano), Sandman (with Neil Gaiman) and the 200 page prestige format creator-owned series The Nazz (with Tom Veitch).
Other work includes Mask, a two-part Batman story for Legends of the Dark Knight, Raggedy Man, Teknophage and Shadowdeath. Bryan has created a variety of comic strips for publications as diverse as Imagine, Street Comics, Slow Death,Vogarth, Paradox Press’s Big Books, The Radio Times, Wired, Knockabout, I.T.and The Manchester Flash.
He has produced magazine illustrations, including covers for DC Superheroes Monthly, Sinclair User and Computer and Video Games, art prints and posters, badges and logos. Bryan has held one-man Comic Art exhibitions in Lancashire, Tuscany, London and New York, appeared in numerous others and is a frequent guest at international Comic festivals.
Editions of his comics are published in Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, France, Denmark and Finland. His recent graphic novel for Dark Horse Comics, The Tale Of One Bad Rat, won an Eisner Award, a Comic Creators’ Guild Award, two UK Comic Art Awards, two US Comic Buyers’ Guide Don Thomson Awards and theInternet Comic Award for Best Graphic Novel as well as awards in Spain, Sweden and Canada, was nominated for a British Library Award, The National Cartoonists’ Society of America’s Rueben Award and a Harvey Award and was included in theNew York Times annual recommended reading list. It is now used in several schools, universities and child abuse centres in Britain and America.
His new 284 page graphic Novel, Heart of Empire has just been published in 9 parts by Dark Horse, already winning an Eagle Award and nominations for twoEisners. It is to be collected in one volume later this year. A CD-Rom version is also in the works.
The Artwork
Bryan’s artwork for the Time and Relative Deluxe Edition frontispiece was inspired by a specific scene in the book. A small version of the illustration is presented to the right.
Telos are very pleased to present, on this website, larger versions of Bryan’s two initial pencil sketches and the full finished colour illustration. To view these either click on the image to the right and follow the links below the larger image that you see or use the text links below:
- View the initial pencil rough
- View the final pencil illustration
- View the finished colour illustration
Text on this page taken and adapted with permission from Bryan Talbot’s official website at: www.bryan-talbot.com
Reviews
Reaction to the first Doctor Who Novella, Time and Relative by Kim Newman, has been overwhelmingly positive, to say the least!
Amongst many other accolades the Novella was the winner of the “Best Past Doctor Adventure” Award in the Doctor Who Magazine Annual Awards for 2001 (announced in issue 320).
This page presents selected reviews and comments on the novella, if you would like to read more follow any links to the sites concerned, there you’ll find the full text of the reviews.
If you haven’t already bought this novella we hope that these reviews will help you decide to buy it, just click on one of the “buy now” links below to view ordering information or to buy online now – hurry though, the Doctor Who Novellas are selling fast and you’ll miss the opportunity to own copies if you wait too long.
Newspaper, Magazine and non-genre Reviews:
From The Sunday Express, Sunday December 9, 2001.
Web: www.express.co.uk
Reviewed by Katie Nicholl.
“… a brand new and extremely good Dr Who Novella.
…… a gripping tale of the cold seeking to cleanse the Earth and of what it’s like to be an alien in a society that doesn’t care for difference.”
From The List: Glasgow and Edinburgh Events Guide, Issue 430.
Web: www.list.co.uk
Reviewed by Scott Montgomery.
“Film guru and Anno Dracula author Kim Newman gives a unique twist to Doctor Who with this chilling tale … Liberated from the constraints of a BBC budget, Newman shrewdly exploits his freedom. He effortlessly weaves darkness, depth, characterisation and strong narrative together to form a compelling and very original prologue to the fondly remembered series.”
From Enigma – SF, Horror and Crime from Waterstone’s, Issue 11, April/May 2002.
“Newman’s story telling skill and his love of the subject shine through in this novella making it a real pleasure to read and a great start to the series.”
Genre Magazine Reviews:
From TV Zone, Issue 145 – December 2001.
Reviewed by David Darlington.
“… Time and Relative seems as likely to revitalize the [Doctor Who] franchise as anything BBC Books will produce over the next year.
… the best launch book for a literary Doctor Who range since … in an exciting adventure with the Daleks over 30 years ago, and Telos Publishing can be quietly proud of that”
From Starburst, Issue 282.
Reviewed by Anthony Brown.
“Time and Relative cuts through the clutter of details and complexity which have accumulated around Doctor Who over the last 20 years and recaptures its original essence.”
From Doctor Who Magazine, Issue 313, 6th February 2002.
Reviewed by Vanessa Bishop.
“… [Time and Relative] posesses a rare sense of wonder.
This is what Doctor Who felt like when we were kids: Special.”
From STARLOG, February 2002.
“… Time and Relative proves quite as much of a treat as one might expect…
[Newman] adds multiple layers of stimulating genre reference to a narrative that will delight the more imaginative.”
Fan Press Reviews:
From Shockeye’s Kitchen, Issue 11.
Reviewed by Ian Farrington.
“… this book demands your attention as both a curiosity and a fresh approach to that oh-so-tired format of Doctor Who literature.”
From Enlightenment, Feb/March 2002
Reviewed by Cameron Dixon.
“Time and Relative is the good old familiar Doctor Who that hooked us in as children, tatooed the series into our bones and made us stick with it, through thick and thin. Unmissable.”
Online Reviews:
From Outpost Gallifrey, reviewed by Shaun Lyon.
“… Telos has gotten itself off to a great start.
… the pieces slowly fit together until we see Susan and her Grandfather become the characters we knew when Doctor Who first began. This is most exemplified at the end, when the Doctor… breaks… something … It’s almost ceremonial in its passing-of-the-torch to the mythos produced by the BBC.
… this is something different, something… new.
“Time and Relative is … a top-rate first issue for the new series … Thoroughly enjoyed, and heartily recommended.”
From myshelf.com, reviewed by Rachel A Hyde.
“… when those snowmen appear that peculiar mixture of half-cosy, half-sinister that made the series so special gripped me.
… This novella … contains a wonderful evocation of 1963 … In short nicely done, just the right length and perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the early episodes.”
From The ZONE, reviewed by Christopher Geary.
“[Time and Relative is] … an enjoyable read and certain to meet with your approval, and will probably surpass the expectations of diehard fans.
… an engaging chronological prequel to the whole Doctor Who saga … also recognising and respecting the necessity of including modern SF concepts in wholly action-orientated thrills and chills to satisfy today’s readership … should delight even the most jaded fan.
… What’s remarkable about the climax and ending of Time And Relative is the unmistakable poeticism in the way that Newman allows his embattled protagonists to unite and succeed…
The smartly presented book includes a foreword by Justin Richards … plus a stunning full colour frontispiece by renowned artist Bryan Talbot.”
From DiverseBooks.com, reviewed by Ian Brown.
“… Mr. Newman is a master of his craft and it was a pleasure to read this book. The review copy was a ‘standard’ hardback edition, well, if this is the standard, I’d love to see a deluxe. I found the book to be beautifully bound with nice crisp printing, good layout and nice paper. This also helped make the book a pleasure to read…
The story … features Susan as the main character. This in its self is a revelation. Susan is a character that is often over-looked, and is in fact, if used correctly as in this book, a good lead character.
… an excellent example of the genre. This book does exactly what it says on the cover – it’s a Doctor Who novella, and it’s a bloody good one at that.”
From Sci-Fi Online, reviewed by Richard McGinlay.
“The diary format conveys Susan’s character extremely well. She is believable as both an alien and a teenager.
… is there room in the Doctor Who marketplace for a new series of novellas? When they’re of this high standard, there most certainly is.”
Online Forums and Mailing Lists:
The edited comments below have been taken from some of the main Doctor Whoonline forums and mailing lists.
Please Note:
Whilst attempts have been made to contact all the writers of the following comments it has not been possible to contact everyone. We apologise to anyone who has not been contacted, if you would like your name or comment removed please e-mail the Telos webmaster.
From the Outpost Gallifrey Forum
Simon Burt:
“This novella should be essential reading to all the parties supposedly making bids to the BBC as it shows magnificently how much you can strip away and be left with the real nature of Doctor Who and how much more dramatic and subversive that is.
… It’s awesome and would work so well in a TV series here and now.
What a breath of fresh air!
I suspect in years to come this will be looked back on as a seminal, very influential piece of Doctor Who.”
David Brunt:
“Congratulations to Kim and all concerned, I haven’t enjoyed a DW fiction book so much in a very long time. And you know how difficult I am to please…
I hope a lot of people get this one, it deserves to be a huge seller.”
imforeman:
“… Earlier, I said that I thought it was a good novel – now I believe it is an extraordinarily good tale. Full marks.”
Richard Ormrod:
“… rarely have my expectations been as fully realised as they have with this excellent entry into the Doctor Who cannon. I read the novella in one sitting, and it was the best couple of hours I’ve spent in a long time.”
Simon Bucher Jones:
“… A stonking good tale told excellently in a strong narrative voice.”
From the BBC Doctor Who Forum
Craig Rollins:
“…without doubt THE best DW book it has been my pleasure to read in a long time…
… a cracking new take on the series…
… I really hope that future novellas follow this style, very refreshing indeed, Kim Newman obviously has a great love for the series…”
Fitz Kreiner:
“Kim [Newman] … put in a lot of stuff that would go over a casual readers head, whilst sometimes digging us fans in the ribs and going “wink wink”! An excellent job from Mr Newman.”
From the Jade Pagoda Mailing List
Scott Sherritt:
“… I have to say I was pretty impressed… an interesting tale of isolation and growing up. It already seems a necessary precursor to any future viewing of An Unearthly Child and that is praise enough for any work.”
Mike Montfort:
“The novella… is eminently enjoyable.
Kim’s prose is clear and very readable… It is a very fine start to what hopefully will be a fine series.
… it gives us an insight into Susan that we have never seen before. Child and adult at the same time.
[I] Hope you all support Telos and get one of the two editions.”
General Comments:
The comments below have been taken from e-mails received by Telos following the publication of Time and Relative.
Sophie Aldred:
“I started reading it on the train home – it was so good, and I was so engrossed in it, that I missed my station stop for the first time ever!”
Stephen Simcot:
“WOW!!! I was stunned… it’s beautiful…
I’m so impressed…”
Frank Jason Rhoden:
“Immediately … the love that Telos has poured into the book was quite obvious. The beautiful cracked ice cover compelled me to at least flip through it before it went on my shelf. Two hours later, I have just finished reading one of the best Dr. Who books I’ve read in ages.
… [Kim Newman’s] characterization of Susan and First Doctor… really made me think deeper about what made the Doctor what we know him to be. Add to that a fantastically ‘chilling’ plotline, and it marks a stellar kick off for the Telos range.”
K J Carter:
“… thank you for your efforts.”
Paul Gibbons:
“…a great read.”
Richard Harris:
“Congratulations on an excellent book…
Well done to you all.”
Russell Buer:
“As a [long time] fan of Doctor Who… I found [Time and Relative] a really good read…
… I hope that Kim [Newman] will write another [Telos] Novella …”
Simon Simmons:
“The book itself is gorgeous!
… I do enjoy buying well made books and this is an excellent example of such a volume.”