FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. FICTION
1.1 Faction Paradox
1.2 Other

2. CRITICISM
2.1 Thesis
2.2 Other

1. FICTION

1.1 Faction Paradox
1.1.1 So, what's your novel about?

Read my page on Of the City of the Saved... and see if that answers your questions. The setting is a secular / technological Heaven, a City the size of a galaxy where every single member of the human species has been resurrected after the end of time. The larger setting is the Faction Paradox universe.

It's about cycles of violence, and the temporary nature of peace and prosperity. It's about gods, and cultures, and families, and identities – those which we evolve for ourselves and those which are imposed on us. It's partly a reaction to (the Western governments' reaction to) the events of 11 September 2001, but what isn't these days?

1.1.2 What's the deal with The Book of the War?

The Book of the War is fiction, but it's written in the form of an encyclopedia. It's not (for the most part) a guide to the pre-existing elements of the Faction Paradox universe, since most of the material is entirely new: instead it constructs that universe by the process of recording it, a very Factionesque concept. It's more a collaborative novel with ten authors than an anthology – although as editor and most prolifically-contributing author, the Faction's creator Lawrence Miles was very much its helmsman.

1.1.3 Faction Paradox? Isn't that a Doctor Who spinoff?

Erm. Sort of. Yes and no. Lawrence Miles, who created the Faction, first used the concept in his Doctor Who novels Alien Bodies and Interference, before going on to develop it as a fictional milieu in its own right. Certain recurring characters in the Faction universe have also made appearances in Doctor Who novels.

1.1.4 Do I need to have read the previous Faction Paradox material to understand Of the City of the Saved...?

Certainly not. Like all good novels (which I aspire towards it being), Of the City of the Saved... gives you all the information you need to understand its plot. It would be a pretty shabby treatment of the reader if it didn't.


1.2 Other
1.2.1 What's the deal with ‘Sex Secrets of the Robot Replicants’ / A Life Worth Living?

‘Sex Secrets of the Robot Replicants’ is a short story featuring various characters from Big Finish Productions' Bernice Summerfield range. It appears in A Life Worth Living, an anthology of short stories edited by Simon Guerrier.

1.2.2 Who's Bernice Summerfield, then?

Professor Bernice (or ‘Benny’) Summerfield is a 26th- / 27th-century archaeologist, adventurer and diarist, created by SF author Paul Cornell and described most succinctly as ‘Indiana Jones meets Bridget Jones– in space!’ Her adventures were first chronicled by Virgin Publishing in their New Adventures series of novels, and later by Big Finish in a series of novels, anthologies and audio dramas which complement their Doctor Who range.

The Benny ranges are a Doctor Who spinoff – Bernice's first appearance was in Paul Cornell's Love and War (1992), when the New Adventures were still Doctor Who tie-in novels. The other major character in ‘Sex Secrets of the Robot Replicants’ is Bernice's husband (or, more accurately, ex-husband and current life-partner), Jason Kane, created by Dave Stone in Death and Diplomacy (1996) and a permanent fixture in the Benny range.

1.2.3 Why has all your writing been for series?

A good question. Certainly in the long run I have aspirations to writing standalone science fiction (or even mainstream fiction) as well as series material – but there are a number of distinct advantages to the shared-universe format which shouldn't be dismissed.

One is that the characters in such series, being already extensively developed by their creators and others, have the scope to be more complex and nuanced than a single story or novel can make them. Another is that the ‘backstory’ of a fictional world allows for a kind of subtle allusion (immediately recognisable to readers in the know, but near-invisible to new readers) which is all but impossible in standalone fiction, except by often obtrusive references to well-known external narratives (such as the Bible, Greek myth or Shakespeare). A third is the enjoyment to be had in collaboration, building upon what other authors have created and having one's own work incorporated into future creations. This is particularly true when the other authors involved are of the calibre of Paul Cornell, Paul Magrs et al.


2. CRITICISM

2.1 Thesis
2.1.1 What's your thesis about?

It's called The Relationship Between Creator and Creature in Science Fiction, and it's about certain recurring theological themes in sf. The idea is that sf authors frequently use sentient ‘creatures' (in the older sense of the word, ‘created being'), such as robots, artificial intelligences, engineered human beings and the like, in an allegory of humanity's relationship with its own (supposed) divine creator. In the allegory the created beings usually stand for humanity, which means of course that their human creators represent God. Different authors use this complex and reflexive relationship in different ways, depending on their own religious opinions. Science fiction derives this whole idea-set from Romantic poetry via the first science fiction novel, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

2.1.2 So how does that apply to [insert favourite sf author / film / TV series], then?

Ah, well. To find that out, you'd either have to read my thesis or talk to me. Unfortunately, while there's any chance of having my thesis published by an academic publisher, I won't be web-publishing it. If you like you can check the Contents page to see if your question is covered – obviously, to treat the authors I examined in any depth, I had to be fairly discriminating. And virtually no film or TV gets a mention, I'm afraid.

If you want to ask me, try email. But I'm pretty busy, and haven't read all the books in the world, so the reply you get may not be very helpful.

2.1.3 Sci-fi's all rubbish, though, isn't it?

[Firmly] No. Some highly respected writers, such as Iain Banks and Brian Aldiss, write both science fiction and ‘mainstream’ fiction. Others, such as Samuel Delany, write science fiction and fantasy whilst simultaneously being intimidatingly erudite Professors of Comparative Literature. Some are damn good writers, who see in science fiction a modern literature which can treat the kinds of cosmic themes which creation myth, religious vision and epic poetry have dealt with in the past. Many are just writers who like playing with scientific ideas.

Of course there's some science fiction written and published which is, indeed, utter rubbish. But look me in the eye and tell me that's not true of your literary genre of choice as well. (See Sturgeon's Law.)


2.2 Other
2.2.1 Where can I find a copy of your Greenbelt talks?

At present nowhere, but I hope to change this. They were recorded – not by the official Greenbelt organisers, but by a friend – and I hope to put transcripts up on these pages at some point soon. For the time being, the promised reading list from the talks is available, at least.


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