Telos Publishing 2006

Wednesday, 2 November 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Telos Publishing has announced its collection of books published in 2006 through its mailing list with details to follow on the website, which include the following books:

Second Flight: Back To The Vortex 2 by J. Shaun Lyon (editor of Outpost Gallifrey), the follow-up to the bestselling 2005 book "Back To The Vortex," continues the story of the new Doctor Who series, looking at the Christmas special, the Children in Need special and Series Two starring David Tennant and Billie Piper, with both critical examination of each episode and a narrative of the time period during its production. The book be published in the autumn of 2006 after transmission of Series Two.

Timelink by Jon Preddle is a guide to the incredible complexities of Doctor Who's continuity, an amazing work that links together all the episodes of Doctor Who into one seamless work of fiction, providing new arguments as to dating and discussing every aspect of the show's continuity. "Timelink" is due in June 2006.

Talkback, a new three-book series of interviews with just about everyone involved in the classic series of Doctor Who, is edited by Stephen James Walker. The "Talkback" books will collect rare interviews with writers, designers, producers, script editors, actors and many, many other people involved in the making of the series since 1963. The first volume covers the Sixties period and is published in March 2006; further volumes are planned to follow.

Also, Telos will continue its "Time Hunter" series with The Albino's Dancerby Dale Smith, published in April 2006. The novella, part of the continuing series spun off from Telos' original Doctor Who novella line from 2002-2004, "plays with the concepts of time and linear storytelling to great effect: April 1938, and a shadowy figure attends an impromptu burial in Shoreditch, London. His name is Honore Lechasseur. After a chance encounter with the mysterious Catherine Howkins, heâ€™s had advance warning that his friend Emily Blandish was going to die. But is forewarned necessarily forearmed? And just how far is he willing to go to save Emilyâ€™s life? Because Honore isnâ€™t the only person taking an interest in Emily Blandish â€“ sheâ€™s come to the attention of the Albino, one of the new breed of gangsters surfacing in post-rationing London. And the only life he cares about is his own." (Thanks to Telos Publishing)

FILTER: - Books

Blue Peter Annual

Monday, 24 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The Blue Peter Annual 2006, now in release, features a two-page picture spread on Christopher Eccleston's appearance on the children's BBC1 show, which took place on 21 March this year. The 112-page hardback is published by Pedigree Books.

FILTER: - Books

April BBC Books

Wednesday, 19 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

BBC Books has issued details of its three hardcover Doctor Who novels due out on 13 April 2006, featuring the Tenth Doctor and Rose and set during the second series that begins next spring. The Amazon retail site now carries brief descriptions of each of the three books, which are printed below. Amazon also lists these as audio books due out on 3 April, though it is unclear as to whether this is incorrect or if BBC Books is releasing abridged readings on CD. (Thanks to Ryan Piekenbrock)

The Feast of the Drowned, by Stephen Cole
When a naval cruiser sinks in mysterious circumstances in the North Sea, all aboard are lost. Rose is saddened to learn that the brother of her friend, Keisha, was among the dead. And yet he appears to them as a ghostly apparition, begging to be saved from the coming feast... the feast of the drowned. As the dead crew haunt loved ones all over London, the Doctor and Rose are drawn into a chilling mystery. What sank the ship, and why? When the cruiser's wreckage was towed up the Thames, what sinister force came with it? The river's dark waters are hiding an even darker secret, as preparations for the feast near their conclusion...

The Resurrection Casket, by Justin Richards
Starfall - a world on the edge, where crooks and smugglers hide in the gloomy shadows and modern technology refuses to work. And that includes the TARDIS. The pioneers who used to be drawn by the hope of making a fortune from the mines can find easier picking elsewhere. But they still come - for the romance of it, or old-fashioned organic mining. Or in the hope of finding the lost treasure of Hamlek Glint - scourge of the spaceways, privateer, adventurer, bandit... Will the TARDIS ever work again? Is Glint's lost treasure waiting to be found? And does the fabled Resurrection Casket - the key to eternal life - really exist? With the help of new friends, and to the horror of new enemies, The Doctor and Rose aim to find out...

The Stone Rose, by Jacqueline Rayner
Mickey is startled to find a statue of Rose in a museum - a statue that is 2,000 years old. The Doctor realises that this means the TARDIS will shortly take them to Ancient Rome, but when it does, he and Rose soon have more on their minds than sculpture. While the Doctor searches for a missing boy, Rose befriends a girl who claims to know the future - a girl whose predictions are surprisingly accurate. But then the Doctor stumbles on the hideous truth behind the statue of Rose - and Rose herself learns that you have to be very careful what you wish for...

FILTER: - Books

New Series Books

Sunday, 9 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

October and November will see a windfall for unofficial books based on Doctor Who, including the new series, such as the following:

Back To The Vortex is now in release. Written by Outpost Gallifrey editor Shaun Lyon, the book is the quintessential guide to the first season of the new Doctor Who series, with critical analysis and detailed information on each episode and a plethora of details about the 18-month leadup to the series' broadcast. The book is available in both paperback and limited edition hardcover.

The new edition of Dimensions in Time and Space by Mark Campbell will be released on October 20 from Scificollector. This is an updated version of Campbell's book which includes the first season of the new series; Tom Baker provides the foreword. The author will be at its launch on October 20 at the Stamp Centre on the Strand. The cover illustration is below.

Back In Time: A Thinking Fan's Guide to Doctor Who by Steve Couch, Tony Watkins and Peter S. Williams, is due in late October or early November from Damaris Publishing; the book appears to be an analysis of the new series with an emphasis on religious, scientific and critical overtones. The cover illustration is also below.

FILTER: - Books

New Series Book and DVD Sales

Sunday, 9 October 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

The second batch of three Ninth Doctor novels published by BBC Books in September seems to have followed the pattern set by the initial releases in May. The three novels all sold very strongly in their first week of release, reaching impressive chart positions, before settling down to a smaller but steady sale in the UK. They occupied the top three positions in the chart compiled by Gardners book distributors of the titles for which there was most demand from bookshops, and appeared in the top ten or twenty in various fiction charts published in the UK's press. The three novels debuted in the Top 20 Fiction Heatseeker's Chart (Bookseller/Neilson) as follows:

12 Only Human (1,797 units sold in seven days to 10 September)
14 The Deviant Strain (1,727)
15 The Stealers of Dreams (1,718)

The Bookseller commented on 16 September: "Following a long-running stint in the list earlier this year, Doctor Who makes a comeback with a second batch of three adventures from BBC Books. The new titles retain only one author, Justin Richards, from the first series." All three novels dropped just outside this Top 20 after a couple of weeks, although this is at a time of year when book sales are higher anyway - Top 20 sales in June are generally lower than in October, so broadly similar sales figures will not necessarily secure similar chart positions. With combined sales in their first four weeks at about 30,000, this is a little lower than the equivalent period in May/June, but this is, of course, without the benefit of the publicity from a prime-time television show on BBC One. Panini's Doctor Who Annual 2006 has also sold well, joining the three novels in The Bookseller's Top 20 TV Tie-ins chart, published in today's edition of the trade magazine:

11 Doctor Who Annual (4,915 units in four weeks to 24 September)
12 Only Human (4,826)
13 The Deviant Strain (4,635)
14 The Stealers of Dreams (4,619)

The Bookseller notes that "The [BBC] is also seeing another round of impressive sales for its 'Doctor Who' novelisations. Like the first three books of the regenerated series, life sales of which are nearing 30,000, the three titles in its latest batch all have remarkably similar sales figures." It's perhaps also worth noting that the three novels were in fact on sale for only two of the four weeks covered by this particular chart, and have clearly continued their established sales trend in the couple of weeks since. Meanwhile, the fourth volume of the new series on DVD debuted (and peaked) at no. 2 in the official DVD chart on 11 September, behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and is still in the lower reaches of various charts. (Thanks to Steve Tribe)

FILTER: - Books

Back To The Vortex: Editor On The Radio

Sunday, 18 September 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Greetings from your editor... BBC Radio listeners (if you're so inclined) can tune into the following radio programs over the next two days to hear about the Back to the Vortex book, my unofficial and unauthorized guide to the first season of the new Doctor Who series, as I'll be doing interviews with local BBC Radio stations for the next two days on the book from the London studios. The schedule is as follows (all times are half-hours and the interviews will appear at some point during the period):

Monday, 19 September

10.30-11am: BBC Radio Bristol, with Richard Lewis
11.30am-12pm: BBC Radio Oxford, with Danny Cox
12pm-12.30pm: BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Tuesday, 20 September
9:30-10am: The Tony and Julie Show, BBC Radio Leicester
10am-10:30am: BBC Radio Northampton, with Bernie Keith
11am-11.30am: BBC Radio Kent, with Julie Maddocks
2.10-2.30pm: BBC Radio Swindon/Wiltshire with Mark Seaman
3.30-4pm: BBC Radio Midlands with Danny Kelly

FILTER: - Books - Radio - Radio Times

Through Time

Saturday, 3 September 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Further details for Andrew Cartmel's book Through Time: An Unofficial and Unauthorised History of Doctor Who, published this fall by Continuum Press, have been annonced. "The quirky British television series Doctor Who is a classic both of science fiction and television drama. First broadcast in 1963, it has remained an influential TV presence ever since, with an eagerly anticipated new series airing in 2005. As a vehicle for satire, social commentary, or sheer fantasy adventure, Doctor Who is unparalleled. It was a show created for children, but it was immediately usurped by adults. Arriving at a time of upheaval in the popular arts in Britain, Doctor Who was born into a television tradition influenced by the TV plays of Dennis Potter, the cult television drama The Prisoner, the James Bond films and Stanley KubrickÃ†s science fiction triptych Ã¹ Dr Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange. A British fantasy adventure that has unfolded across television screens over decades in the tradition of Lewis Carroll, Conan Doyle and HG Wells, the strength of Doctor Who has always been its writers and the ideas they nurtured. In this new history of the show, Andrew Cartmel (who was the script editor on Doctor Who from 1987 to 1990) looks into its social and cultural impact Ã» providing a fascinating read for committed and casual fans alike." The book includes twelve chapters that cover the show's origins, successes, regenerations, overseas sales, fandom and new life in 2005. The revised cover is at right; click on the thumbnail for a larger version. (Thanks to Paul Greaves)

FILTER: - Books

Mad Norwegian Update

Sunday, 28 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Mad Norwegian Press have told Outpost Gallifrey that their booksAbout Time 1 by Lawrence Miles and Tat Wood and the new version of A History of the Universe by Lance Parkin should see publication before end of year; however, they are currently without specific release dates. "We certainly apologize for the delay and the continual uncertainty about the release date of these books," Pearson told us. "I can only assure our readers that the sort of ambitious reference guides we're trying to produce aren't easy, and most of our current projects have become more complicated than expected, which requires extra time to get everything right. A book like, say, 'About Time 1' lookedcomparativelyeasy compared to the other 'About Time' volumes, but it's running about 50,000 words longer than projected." The remaining volumes of the "About Time" series will receive definitive release dates as they are near completion. (Thanks to Lars Pearson)

FILTER: - Books

BBC Books Cover Update

Thursday, 25 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Amazon.co.uk has revealed two new cover images for the Doctor Who novels being released at the end of this year: Simon Guerrier'sThe Time Travellers starring the First Doctor, Ian and Barbara, and Andrew Cartmel's Atom Bomb Blues starring the Seventh Doctor and Ace. Also, there is now a new, revised cover image for Terrance Dicks' Second Doctor novel World Game; Outpost Gallifrey was informed that the cover illustration previously seen would change slightly at some point, the new cover possessing a different image of Troughton and revised background features. Click on each thumbnail for a larger image.

FILTER: - Books

Back To The Vortex Hardcover

Thursday, 11 August 2005 - Reported by Shaun Lyon

Telos Publishing has issued the cover illustration for the limited hardcover edition of Back to the Vortex, the unofficial and unauthorized guide to Doctor Who 2005 by Outpost Gallifrey editor Shaun Lyon. The cover illustration is by Lee Binding, among whose other illustrations are various covers for Big Finish. "The edition will have coloured endpapers and a silk ribbon, and is a signed and numbered limited edition of 500 copies," says Telos editor David Howe. The paperback edition's cover has been widely seen in print magazines (and is on our releases page).

FILTER: - Books

Previous 10 Stories

Telos Publishing 2006

Blue Peter Annual

April BBC Books

New Series Books

New Series Book and DVD Sales

Back To The Vortex: Editor On The Radio

Through Time

Mad Norwegian Update

BBC Books Cover Update

Back To The Vortex Hardcover

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