- Of the City of the Saved...
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Of the City of the Saved... Author(s) Philip Purser-Hallard Cover artist Steve Johnson Country US Language English Series Faction Paradox Genre(s) Science Fiction Publisher Mad Norwegian Press Publication date 2004 Media type Print (Trade Paperback) Pages 256 pp ISBN 0-9725959-4-5 OCLC Number 56589181 Preceded by This Town Will Never Let Us Go Followed by Warlords of Utopia Of the City of the Saved... is an original novel by Philip Purser-Hallard set in the Faction Paradox universe.[1][2] Laura Tobin, who first appeared in the BBC Doctor Who books, is a major character in the novel.
The full title, as given on the title page, is Of the City of the Saved... of its diverse citizenry and of its sundry divinities, with a disquisition on the protocols of history. The novel won Best Book in the 2004 Jade Pagoda awards, voted on by members of a Doctor Who book mailing list.[3] It has been described as 'a stunning debut from Purser-Hallard and easily one of the best Doctor Who-related original novels published to date'.[4]
Contents
Plot introduction
Beyond the end of the universe exists a city the size of a galaxy. Within it every human being that ever lived, from the first australopithecine to the last posthuman, has been inexplicably resurrected. For three hundred years, the uncountable inhabitants have enjoyed their unaging and invulnerable second lives. But now, the unthinkable has happened. Someone has been murdered.
Continuity
The City of the Saved was introduced in The Book of the War, and is the setting of Purser-Hallard's forthcoming story in the Obverse Books anthology A Romance in Twelve Parts. In addition to multiple references in the later Faction Paradox volumes, the novel was referenced in the then current Doctor Who novel range, where The Gallifrey Chronicles by Lance Parkin suggests that the City is part of the same project of reconstruction as the restoration of the Doctor's home planet Gallifrey.[5]
Cultural references
Among others, the science fiction author Philip K. Dick and the Roman Emperor Claudius appear as characters in the novel. Various fictional characters appear as artificial constructs within the City, including Sherlock Holmes and Don Juan DeMarco.
References
- ^ ISFDB Entry for Of the City of the Saved...
- ^ Locus Entry for Of the City of the Saved...
- ^ The Annual Jade Pagoda Awards
- ^ Discontinuity Guide - Of the City of the Saved...
- ^ The Cloister Library - The Gallifrey Chronicles
External links
- Mad Norwegian Press page for the book
- Author's pages about the book, including extensive notes, deleted scenes and unofficial illustrations.
- Official Preview to the novel.
- Of the City of the Saved... on TARDIS Index File, an external wiki
- Of the City of the Saved... at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
Reviews
Categories:- Faction Paradox
- 2004 novels
- Novels by Philip Purser-Hallard
- British novels
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