Fortunately this wasn't really a concern for me when I started my marathon, because I'd only read a few short stories set in this period and I didn't plan on reviewing them. Now I've read a more substantial piece, and luckily it's happened while I'm on my summer break. This provides me with an answer: I'll slot them in when nothing else is happening. That way, it'll also act as a bonus to tide you over until I start up properly again in September.
On to this book, then. Telos Publishing (who presumably take their name from the Cybermen's adopted homeworld rather than the Greek word for "purpose") began releasing a series of hardback novellas in 2001. Rather than getting a Who luminary such as Terrance Dicks to write the first one (and in fact this remains the only significant book line that Dicks hasn't written for), they turned to established horror and film writer Kim Newman.
If Telos' goal (or purpose) was to distinguish the line from the mountains of Who books already published, choosing Newman was a good move. My overall impression reading this was that it isn't so much a Who book as an SF horror story that happens to be about Susan and feature the Doctor. I don't mean that the characters are shoehorned into a story that isn't theirs - quite the reverse, in fact, as it is a very personal story that could only be about them. No, the difference is that it ignores the huge amoount we learn about Time Lords and the Doctor post-1963, and instead gives us glimpses of an alternate version.
I found this slighly off-putting at first but it's actually quite neat, fitting in well with the experimental nature of the first season. The story goes a fair way towards explaining why the Doctor and Susan are the way they are when we first meet them at the beginning of the TV show. It's a good explanation, and the fact that it doesn't fit with our view of Gallifrey post-1975 is a loss for the general canon more than a problem with this book. This aspect is also made an integral part of the story rather than a piece of tacked-on fanwank.
So, what of the rest of the story? The setting is Coal Hill in March of 1963. In our world London was coming out of its coldest Winter for more than two centuries, presumably the inspiration for the main threat in the novella; but in the Whoniverse (is that a useful word? I think it is) the temperatures are still plummeting. The Cold is an interesting enemy, one that could not have been realised effectively on-screen at the time. It reminds me a little of the Flood from The Waters of Mars, and both stories take a ludicrous idea and make it scary anyway. The violence levels are high with some gory passages; having recently rewatched the early episodes this seems entirely fitting, but being a bit squeamish this did affect my enjoyment slightly.
Time and Relative was never intended for the screen, of course, and the novella would be nothing special without our privileged viewpoint into Susan's head. We are reading her journal, seeing how she settles in to life at school (or rather doesn't); and it is people's reactions to the threat (and to Susan's way of dealing with it) that bring the story to life. There are also a lot of nice period touches, many of which I remember from my childhood (including a few I was surprised to discover stretched back that far) and some I'd forgotten until prompted. I'm five years younger than Newman so I imagine some of this was drawn from his early memories, and it certainly enhances the experience of reading it.
Overall, then, a thoroughly enjoyable read, and a great start to a new line.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Published:
Date: 23rd November 2001
ISBN: 978-1903889022
Rating:
Mine: 9/10.
2011 Gallifrey Base Non-Dynamic Rankings: 8.17, 4th out of 14 Telos Novellas, 19th out of 286 overall.
