Telos Publishing Time and Relative

Author	Kim Newman
Published	2001
ISBN	1-903889-02-2 (standard hardback, ?10) 1-903889-03-0 (deluxe hardback, ?25)
Featuring	The First Doctor and Susan

• A Review by Finn Clark
• A Review by Richard Radcliffe
• A Review by Andrew McCaffrey
• Captivating by Robert Smith?
• The Abominable Snowmen by Joe Ford
• A Review by Jason Wilson

A Review by Finn Clark 12/12/01

No spoilers; we don't hold with that sort round 'ere. (Well, unless you don't want to read anything about Time and Relative in order to preserve optimal surprise value. I'll mention the general drift of the story, but I won't give away any actual plot twists.)

For those of you who haven't seen 'em yet, Time and Relative is the first in David Howe's new line of Telos novellas. It's also by Kim Newman. The product itself is a plain-cover hardback with blue metal foil lettering (unless you've decided to splash out on the ?25 version, in which case for all I know you get naked dancing girls). Opening it up... well, allow me a few moments of childhood nostalgia.

I grew up on the Target novelisations. This recreates that. A slim tome, even down to the font type and size... everything to me screams that this is how Doctor Who should be. Printed pages were how I got to know the show, not through television. Virgin and BBC novels are all very nice, but this was like a piece of my childhood come alive. It's a very odd and probably entirely personal reaction, but that's how I felt.

But what of the contents?

This isn't an Elseworlds, thank goodness, but it feels free to take a step away from the accreted mythos and just do its own thing. Kim Newman gives us a lively, slangy teen diary of an unearthly child, quirky enough for me to find it funny as all hell. We even get John and Gillian - not necessarily the John and Gillian, but close enough for me. Oooooooh, that pressed my buttons. It's a fun reinvention of the early days.

We've had pre-Unearthly Child stories before, none of which showed the tiniest fraction of the innovation shown here. Hartnell on Gallifrey has been without exception a plodding exercise in join-the-dots, ranging from the disappointing (Lungbarrow) to the diseased (Divided Loyalties). Even Gareth Roberts's comic strip Operation Proteus (DWM 231-233) paid only fleeting lip service to the idea of a selfish First Doctor before getting on with Who as usual. In contrast Time and Relative is lots of fun and makes sense.

Susan's ordinary life is such fun that I was almost disappointed to see bad guys show up. Is that a spoiler? They're rather vaguely drawn, more there for imagery than for SF rationalisations. I had to slow down a tad to keep a grip on what was going on during these sections, but I don't think you're meant to be thinking about them in technobabble terms. It's Burning-esque, which makes it rather appropriate that they've got Justin Richards in to do some perhaps unnecessary fore- and after-words.

It's a novella. You read it swiftly, in an hour perhaps. I must admit, this felt like a better length than the great block o' words of a full-length novel... Peter Darvill-Evans started a revolution back in June 1991, for which I'm grateful, but I think Doctor Who works best for me as lean, swift fairy-tales rather than worthy SF tomes. (Don't even mention the short story collections to me.) Whatever eventually happens to Telos's line of novellas, I think they will have been a worthwhile and valuable experiment.

Time and Relative is a slim book, light on alien invaders and the usual SF baggage... but I think it's already one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. If nothing else, the length means it's very rereadable. Strongly recommended.

A Review by Richard Radcliffe 13/2/02

We are currently in the middle of a mass market of Doctor Who products (late 2001). Most months produce the following:- DWM @ ?3.20, 2 BBC Books @ ?12.00, Big Finish Audio @ ?14.00, BBC Audio Collection @ ?14.00, DVD Release @ ?18.00, Spin-Off BBV @ ?10.00 You only have to look at the Releases Guide at Outpost Gallifrey to see the mass of DW products that persuade us to cough up our well-earned money. There is tons of the stuff, everywhere!!! And to think in the so-called Golden Age, we just had 6 stories a year, and a few TARGET books.

My point is that when Telos Publishing announced that even more DW books were coming out I was astounded, and a little cheesed off. I was struggling to get through the existing books that are released. To have yet more seemed like overkill. Then I found out they were shortened books - Novellas is the posh name - about the size of an old TARGET book. My interest increased. Then I found out they were higher priced, and in 2 editions, deluxe (for proper collectors, which I am not) and standard (?10 for me then) - so more money for less words, that didn't seem right. I was back to cynicism again.

Then the book was released. I looked on it in the shop with confusion. Could I spare ?10 - was it worth it for a 118 page book? I left it on the shelf. Interview with Kim Newman appeared on the Web. Glowing review appeared on the Web. I now knew what the story was about - A Susan Dairy from a time just before Unearthly Child. I had to see for myself what it was like. I rushed back to the shop and bought it. And you know what - I am very glad I did. We can argue about whether a half book should be twice the price, but you have to admit the nice little hardback is cool. But it is what's inside that matters.

It begins at a leisurely pace. DW has done first-person narrative before, notably the Daleks novelization - it's a good way of pulling the reader in. Susan has been given some bad press too, so it's nice to have that put right. She was the first after all. I was also pleased with the when. I had never thought about adventures at Totters Lane, and there is no reason why there can't be.

The book nicely explores the feelings of a teenage girl at a loss to understand her world. When that world is literally not her own, then there is even more scope for a good story. The Doctor is secondary. He's there, always called Grandfather, but Susan is the Star. Her acquaintances at Coal Hill School are quite interesting too. John and Gillian were the Comic grandchildren, here they are just students at the school. Ian and Barbara are just teachers, nice to be included, but not part of the main thrust of the story.

The deep freeze presented in the narrative make this a wonderful little story to read at Christmas, which is actually when I read it. Ironic considering it is actually set nearer Easter. Snowmen coming to life might seem a bit coy, but it actually provides some very scary scenes. We get right into the heart of the story thanks to Susans' scribblings - and are really caught up in the early part of 1963.

Kim Newman has given us a side-step of Doctor Who that has never been done before. It is a cracking little story, if the Novellas continue in this vein then it looks like I will be buying them all. It also doesn't stay around too long - which some longer books most definitely do. It feels just about the right length it should be - which is exactly the reason behind this new series from Telos Publishing. A welcome and very good addition to the mass market. 8/10

A Review by Andrew McCaffrey 27/3/02

As the first book in a new line of Doctor Who books, Time And Relative had a lot that it needed to accomplish. Not only is the first story of a series held up (perhaps unfairly) as representative of how the line will progress, but it helps to establish the tone and style of a particular publishing group. With the Doctor Who book market already stretched to almost the breaking point, this new line will have to accomplish great things in order to justify its existence to the consuming public. Fortunately, it turns out that this book is a fine example of a good Doctor Who story. It isn't the greatest Doctor Who adventure that has ever been written, but there are many little reasons that definitely make this worth the time it takes to read.

As a story that is told entirely from the POV of Susan's diary, one may be a bit concerned with exactly how well this will be executed. During the course of her travels on-board the TARDIS, Susan was not always the most interesting of companions despite the unique relationship that she shared with the Doctor. When I heard that Time And Relative was set before An Unearthly Child and that there would be no viewpoint outside of Susan's, I feared the worst. Susan dealing with rotten teachers. Susan dealing with catty classmates. Susan dealing with... boys. The horror, oh, the horror.

To my complete shock, my favourite portions of the book were those that focused on Susan's comparatively mundane adventures at Coal Hill School. Those diary entries are excellent. Many teenagers feel like outsiders at times, but an alien from a far off place stuck in an English school in the 60's is truly a unique individual. And Kim Newman captures her perfectly. As a character study of the two explorers that we met in An Unearthly Child, this story excels. The mystery that was so prevailing and compelling about those early days is back in full force, though there is a slight added twist, which you'll have to read for yourself to discover.

The story actually takes a slight dip once the main plot begins and the inevitable Doctor Who monsters show up. They're quite well written and interesting, but these passages simply aren't as good as the sections that heavily feature Susan's thoughts. Her viewpoints and opinion come through occasionally, of course, but they're spread too far apart. Susan and her strange Grandfather are the real stars of this story, and we hate being distracted from them, if even for a moment.

The plot itself is fairly simple and occasionally borrows from other stories, but it is quite well suited to the novella format. The ending is perfect, with the actual turning point at the conclusion being a stroke of genius. There are only a few points where it feels like a run-around, which it really is at the heart of it. It's all this other wonderful stuff around the bare plot that makes it so enjoyable.

As the beginning to a new line of books, Time And Relative largely succeeds. If you're curious about this series, then know that this story is a great beginning. It plays to the strengths of its novella-sized format and includes some excellent character pieces. It may not be the greatest Doctor Who adventure that you'll ever read, but it's certainly one of the better ones.

Captivating by Robert Smith? 17/4/02

Time and Relative is really, really good. I zipped through this in no time at all and loved every moment of it. Reading a novella is a weird experience; the Doctor Who short story has had a hard time working for anyone, while the Doctor Who novel is a path so well trodden that I was actually genuinely surprised when this book ended. What's more, it ended at exactly the right place, something the novels almost never manage. It's possible that the Novella has been a missed opportunity for Doctor Who fiction all this time.

It's probably no coincidence that it reminded me of a more distant, childlike age, when Doctor Who consisted of 25 minute episodes on TV and the only Doctor Who books were Target novelisations. I love the way that, Peanuts-like, only the children and the Doctor have any sense about what's happening and the other adults are completely incapacitated when faced with an unexplained phenomenon.

The MAs and PDAs have revitalised the Hartnell era as a concept, but they never really got a handle on Susan. Neither did the TV series, come to think of it. So it's a testament to Kim Newman's skill that Susan carries this book effortlessly. She's a great lead character and presenting the book as excerpts from her diary really works. I also appreciate that the easy route of including enhanced roles for Ian and Barbara was avoided. It's nice to see them, but they're just there and barely dwelt upon, which is how it should be.

On the other hand, there's a lot more of the Doctor than I was expecting, but I'm quite happy about that. He's fabulous, as you might expect, especially as viewed through Susan's eyes. He doesn't dominate the book, but he hovers in the background with just the right amount of menace. It's fun to have Susan's friends be named John and Gillian, rather than the fanwanking I feared it might be.

Unfortunately, that brings me to the only thing that I thought brought the book down. All the stuff about the Time Lords and the Master and a trial where memories of the Doctor would be removed... none of it is overdone, thankfully, and treating it at one step removed helps a lot, but it just seems a bit gauche. The characterisation and focus on Susan and the other children and comparing how they deal with the Cold to how adults do is fantastic. Throwing in references to the Master, even disguised references, brings a great book crashing down to a mediocre one. I'm not sure if they're there because someone thought that the book wasn't Whoish enough without the continuity. If so, they're flat-out wrong, as Justin Richards' afterword notes. What's more, they detract from the book's ending, as the Doctor's decision to meddle doesn't come across as a pivotal character moment, but rather just another continuity hole that's being plugged. I think you could have left just this and maybe his wariness of teachers (which only works because it's funny) and jettisoned the rest of the continuity and Time and Relative would be stronger for it.

The Cold is genuinely scary, in a way that Doctor Who books never are for me. It's such a primal phenomenon and Kim Newman brings it across so vividly that by the end, you fear for every footstep the children take. The idea of snowmen coming to life is cute and would probably have been enough if this were a BBC book, but the visceral nature of the Cold hovers over every page. This is fantastic writing.

There are so many neat touches here, from the way Gillian's family life is far, far scarier than deadly snowmen and Susan having been in 1963 for five months in March, to the way that people's suspicions about the Russian and Alaskan projects turn out to be valid and what it is exactly that causes the Doctor to change his mind.

Time and Relative is excellent. In fact, it's so good, it almost justifies the exorbitant cover price for its slim page count. The continuity brings it down slightly, but it's still a fabulous read. Telos Publishing's idea of using 'proper' writers to pen Doctor Who novellas is a good one, sadly undercut by the fact that two of the next three books are by Dave Stone and Keith Topping. I mean, it's not like we've never heard what they have to say, is it? With this and the expense in an already flooded market, I'm not sure I can see this series taking off, which is a bit of a shame, given how good this first book is. I guess Time will tell, though.

The Abominable Snowmen by Joe Ford 15/7/02

I wasn't going to buy any of these Telos novellas. Upping the price and lowering the content! What an outrageous concept! But after the overwhelming string of good reviews I found myself curious. I had heard of Kim Newman of course but thought to myself surely tampering with the basic frame work of the show was a mistake... surely he would take the magic out of the pilot episode? I spotted several hundred copies in Forbidden planet in London and throwing aside the 25.00 pound copies (fifteen quid for a signaturre!!!) I snapped it up.

What a revelation this story is. Not the dull political affair I was especting by a rivetting character study and a damn fine SF/horror story too. As soon as I delved into the private diary of Susan Foreman I was gripped. I actually read the whole thing in one go, through the night and finished at some time around 4-ish. This is a book that demands to be read in one sitting, to break the flow of it's narrative is just wrong. I think the reason I savoured it so much was because it was SIMPLE. Not childish but told from a child-like perspective and that just made the whole scenario that bit more frightening, I will admit the whole Cold knight thread gave me the willies.

I have never been that fond of Susan although I will admit she was a vital part of that all conquering first TARDIS line-up. Steve Lyons did beautiful work with her in The Witch Hunters and Kim Newman continues that tradition here. Being so different from everyone around her it gives her a unique perspective on the whole situation, I greatly appreciated the inclusion of Malcolm, the little boy who Susan can tell her fantastic stories too and listens in awe. She was seeing so many things that she hated on Earth and yet here was one little boy who she can see everything that is GOOD about the planet too. It was little details like that that make the book so rewarding.

John and Gillian (finally a decent in-joke!) were exceptionally well done. Once again told from Susan's perception (well, it is her story!) they came alive on the page. How they all got along before the crisis was sweet but their true colours were revelaed once the monsters closed in and with one I was impressed but the other I was horrified. Zack is also worthy of a mention as you think he will be a minor player but turns out to be much more interesting.

Several scenes were stunning in their brutality and simplicity... the scene in the Wimpy bar was extrodinary... simply because it capatilises on all the emotions being thrown up by the situation but the DT horror with the ladders was superb too.

I loved that how (after the diary extracts) it was one continous story with no leaps forward to the next day or a week later. We followed the desperate attempts to return to Totters lane all the way and it made it more gripping for doing so.

Of course the Doctor is there too. I will not ruin the surprise but this was the begining of one particular trait in his personality and by golly gosh it was wonderful to experience with him! Everybody's reactions to him were quite extrodinary.

I guess I've rabbited on enough about a book that has less length than a Target novel but this feels fresh, exciting and new. It was the perfect length to capture my interest and follow through to a damn satisfying conclusion all in one hugely enjoyable sitting. Bravo to Kim Newman... he has made my love for the show that little bit stronger!

Oh and I went watched An Unearthly Child immediately after reading...

A Review by Jason Wilson 6/3/11

The Telos novellas, few though they were, offered a fresh approach to DW Fiction and seemed to strike a definite chord with those who were finding the PDA's a tad predictable. Now that we have a TV series again it doesn't matter so much if the books aren't amazing, but when they were the only new Who we had it did. And most of these little books were rather good.

Time and Relative is an impressive pre-Unearthly Child tale set in and around Coal Hill School. After the other Hartnell novella, the impressively high concept but slightly plodding Frayed, it's a real breath of fresh air. It's written from Susan's viewpoint and so invests massively in her as a character. Her comments on the world she finds herself in are very real and show convincingly an alien adolescent trying to adjust to interacting with a comparatively primitive peer group. It's a bit like Adrian Mole at its most sardonic except that, whereas Mole the pseudo-intellectual teenager just thinks he knows more than his peers, Susan of course actually does. While her contempt for it all doesn't seem to quite square with the obvious affection we see in An Unearthly Child, this can be seen as getting used to something that becomes desirable only when it seems to be lost.

We don't see her interact with Ian and Barbara, though they're referenced (and of course the Doctor couldn't meet them as that would really retcon continuity), but there are plenty of other teachers on show in all the grotesquery that children portray them as. There's also other bits that hit the right note such as a night out that goes a bit wrong, and... oh yeah, there's also John and Gillian! Yes, the BBC and TV comic continuities get knitted together as the Doctor meets them. Imagine now a point in the TV run where the Doctor slips backs to be on his own for a bit, and meets them again.... And everything fits together. They also get a solid reimagining as gifted kids under pressure to achieve, and their interaction with Susan is tremendous. Gillian even threatens her at one point to try and get the Doctor to act.... But she and John are instrumental in getting both Gallifreyans to see that us poor human saps are worth saving and hanging around with. And if Susan's faith in the Doctor being another factor galvanising him to act feels very New Who, it's understated enough not to be in any way schmaltzy.

Because this isn't the hero that the Doctor became; it's a pre-Unearthly Child Doctor, desperate just to stay out of events and initially even siding with the Cold - a waking sentience that spawns ice soldiers and creates a beautifully evoked winter - on the grounds that it was here first. He tries to reason with it and is ready to give up when it doesn't listen, but eventually finds a compromise solution that works. The Time Lord noninterference code also serves to sum up Susan's ambivalent attitude to Home.

So this is really a Susan story, a written Companion Chronicle if you will, and works very well in that regard. It realy does pay sometimes to have a few sci fi pros on board, and it's a pity there have been no more Kim Newman DW novels, much as he annoys me on DVD documentaries! Given decent visuals, this would have made a nail-biting TV story with a strong character element. The Ice Soldiers' storming of the school is tense stuff and the doggedness of the militaristic adults thinking they solved it all is amusing and worthy of RTD at his best actually.

Classy stuff. Telos are worth tracking down if you can find any cheap ones.