Lawrence Miles

Lawrence Miles (born 1972 in Middlesex) is a science-fiction author best known for his work on original Doctor Who novels (both for the Virgin New Adventures and BBC Books series), and the subsequent spin-off Faction Paradox. He is also co-author (with Tat Wood) of the About Time series of Doctor Who critiques.

Miles' major contribution to the Doctor Who expanded universe is the "War in Heaven" arc begun in his novel Alien Bodies. The major elements of this arc were reused, without the Doctor Who references, to create the Faction Paradox universe.

Miles is also known for being an outspoken member of the Doctor Who fan community, having publicly voiced his frank opinions of other Doctor Who authors and fans in an infamous "final" interview before withdrawing from fandom. (The interview was not printed in the intended fanzine, but was subsequently posted on the Internet; see External links.) Miles later changed his mind and has conducted interviews since. He now enjoys popularity as editor and writer of the Faction Paradox series, which encompasses books, comic books and audio dramas, and also through his web site The Beasthouse, where since 2004 he has posted a "monthly analysis of British popular culture using the UK Hit Parade as a framework and all-purpose excuse."

About Time, Miles' current project, is a Doctor Who episode guide which examines the series in its cultural and historical context. Co-written with polymath Tat Wood, the guide contains detailed accounts of the various concerns that fed into the making of the series and a number of lauded essays answering specific questions (e.g. "How might the sonic screwdriver work?" and "Why didn't they just spend more money?"). In contrast to other Doctor Who guides, About Time is divided by "era" rather than by the lead actor, broadly reflecting different production philosophies and cultural climates. They are published order of popularity rather than chronologically; volumes three and four have been published first, covering the early and late 1970s. There will be six volumes in total, the last covering the late eighties, the 1996 television movie and everything up to, but not including, the new 2005 series. While widely praised for its accessible style and erudition, About Time (particularly volume 3) has also been criticised for easily-corrected errors about the making of the programme.

Miles' most recent controversy occurred when he posted a damning review of The Unquiet Dead on the Internet within an hour of its broadcast, focusing on a perceived political subtext about asylum seekers. The review produced considerable backlash in various Internet forums, mainly over his comments about writer Mark Gatiss. Miles conceded in a later edit of the review that the subtext was probably unintentional, but still felt it should have been detected and edited out of the script. In a subsequent review in light of later episodes he wrote: 'You win... This makes up for it with knobs on. This is one of the best things, ever... I apologise without reservation. And when was the last time you heard me apologise without reservation?... Tonight I love the world and everything in it.' [1] (http://www.beasthouse.fsnet.co.uk/who05.htm)

Contents

1 Works by Lawrence Miles 1.1 Doctor Who novels 1.2 Faction Paradox 2 External links

Works by Lawrence Miles

Doctor Who novels

• Virgin New Adventures:
  • Christmas On A Rational Planet (featuring the Doctor)
  • Down (featuring Bernice Summerfield)
  • Dead Romance (featuring Christopher Cwej)
• BBC Books' Eighth Doctor Adventures range:
  • Alien Bodies
  • Interference: Book One, "Shock Tactic"
  • Interference: Book Two, "The Hour Of The Geek"
  • The Adventuress of Henrietta Street

Faction Paradox

• Books (published by Mad Norwegian Press):
  • The Book of the War (encyclopaedic guide to the Faction Paradox universe, edited by Miles)
  • This Town Will Never Let Us Go (first in the series of Faction Paradox novels)
• Audio dramas (produced by BBV):
  • The Eleven Day War
  • The Shadow Play
  • Sabbath Dei
  • In the Year of the Cat
  • Movers
  • A Labyrinth of Histories
• Comics:
  • Faction Paradox issues one and two

External links

• Lawrence Miles' Beasthouse (http://www.beasthouse.fsnet.co.uk), Miles' own web page
• The infamous "last ever" interview (http://www.planeteleven.co.uk/features/lmia/lastever.php) hosted on fansite The Complete Lawrence Miles (http://www.planeteleven.co.uk/features/lmia/index.php)
• A more recent interview (http://www.ninthart.com/display.php?article=739) with online comic fanzine Ninth Art (http://www.ninthart.com/)
• Mad Norwegian Press (http://www.madnorwegian.com), who publish most of Miles' current output