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Post by foefromthefuture on Oct 24, 2022 5:16:03 GMT
Just a couple of days ago I received in the post the recently-published Dan Freeman Doctor Who spin-off “The Minister of Chance” (published by Arcbeatle Press) and I was surprised to find the following book advertised in the back pages: Cwej: Hidden Truths
Once an agent for powers beyond humanities comprehension, Chris Cwej is now a free man. But his shadowy Superiors took more from him than he ever realized. The past won’t stay buried – and it spells danger for Chris and his friends…Upon tracking down this “Arcbeatle Press” online, I was even more surprised to discover that the company has already published a Chris Cwej compilation entitled Cwej: Down the Middle , which actually contains stories by Andy Lane and Simon Bucher-Jones, among others. Is anyone aware of this publisher or these volumes? I’m assuming that with Obverse Books holding exclusive rights to publishing new Faction Paradox, very little reference will be made to Cwej’s “superiors” in these volumes. Still, I thought this a tidbit worth mentioning here… www.arcbeatlepress.com/uploads/5/7/7/7/5777467/editor/image0-orig.png?1586118203 |
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Anastasia
Cousin
Liberating the oppressed of the Houses and toppling regimes.
Posts: 154
Preferred Pronouns: She/They
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Post by Anastasia on Oct 24, 2022 8:06:57 GMT
The series is brilliant. And the superiors appear quite regularly not to mention the fact that is is explicitly set in the post war universe. Cousin Eliza(or Elisa) makes a cameo in one story and in another Koschie rocks up. This is not mentioning that fact that it deals quit a lot with Cwejen Superior relationships. Oh and in the next volume The Other and Ulysses will appear. It also often crosses over with 10,000 Dawns. One last thing I think the creator of Cwej: the series is here hunter . I would definitely recommend. |
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Post by foefromthefuture on Oct 24, 2022 11:39:57 GMT
The series is brilliant. And the superiors appear quite regularly not to mention the fact that is is explicitly set in the post war universe. Cousin Eliza(or Elisa) makes a cameo in one story and in another Koschie rocks up. This is not mentioning that fact that it deals quit a lot with Cwejen Superior relationships. Oh and in the next volume The Other and Ulysses will appear. It also often crosses over with 10,000 Dawns. One last thing I think the creator of Cwej: the series is here hunter . I would definitely recommend. That’s awesome - can’t wait to get a look at it! Are you able to tell me what’s actually been released so far? All I was able to see from their website was the first short story compilation (“Cwej: Down the Middle”). Is there anything else that’s already been published? (“Cwej: Hidden Truths” appears to still be forthcoming; I can’t find anything online about it - just that advertisement at the end of “The Minister of Chance”.) The publisher does not seem to make any sales directly from their website (which makes sense, as the books themselves appear to be printed by Amazon). And yet the only one I’ve managed to find for sale is “Down the Middle”. Any information would be hugely appreciated! |
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Anastasia
Cousin
Liberating the oppressed of the Houses and toppling regimes.
Posts: 154
Preferred Pronouns: She/They
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Post by Anastasia on Oct 24, 2022 11:47:56 GMT
The series is brilliant. And the superiors appear quite regularly not to mention the fact that is is explicitly set in the post war universe. Cousin Eliza(or Elisa) makes a cameo in one story and in another Koschie rocks up. This is not mentioning that fact that it deals quit a lot with Cwejen Superior relationships. Oh and in the next volume The Other and Ulysses will appear. It also often crosses over with 10,000 Dawns. One last thing I think the creator of Cwej: the series is here hunter . I would definitely recommend. That’s awesome - can’t wait to get a look at it! Are you able to tell me what’s actually been released so far? All I was able to see from their website was the first short story compilation (“Cwej: Down the Middle”). Is there anything else that’s already been published? (“Cwej: Hidden Truths” appears to still be forthcoming; I can’t find anything online about it - just that advertisement at the end of “The Minister of Chance”.) The publisher does not seem to make any sales directly from their website (which makes sense, as the books themselves appear to be printed by Amazon). And yet the only one I’ve managed to find for sale is “Down the Middle”. Any information would be hugely appreciated! Just Down the Middle |
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Post by foefromthefuture on Oct 24, 2022 13:30:29 GMT
Okay. From the sound of your post I thought maybe other volumes had been released - but I’m guessing that, with the first volume being a short story collection/compilation, it had all kinds of different connections to the Faction Paradox universe. Just ordered it - can’t wait to give it a read! It sounds like the next volume (“Hidden Truths”) consists of five novellas, so that should be very interesting! I haven’t seen anything in terms of a release date, though. |
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Anastasia
Cousin
Liberating the oppressed of the Houses and toppling regimes.
Posts: 154
Preferred Pronouns: She/They
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Post by Anastasia on Oct 24, 2022 13:45:05 GMT
Okay. From the sound of your post I thought maybe other volumes had been released - but I’m guessing that, with the first volume being a short story collection/compilation, it had all kinds of different connections to the Faction Paradox universe. Just ordered it - can’t wait to give it a read! It sounds like the next volume (“Hidden Truths”) consists of five novellas, so that should be very interesting! I haven’t seen anything in terms of a release date, though. Down the middle is the largest work covered on Doctor Who wiki as it is around 629 pages long. |
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Post by doctornolonger on Oct 24, 2022 21:25:56 GMT
The series is brilliant. And the superiors appear quite regularly not to mention the fact that is is explicitly set in the post war universe. Well… it's set in V-Time, which is nominally post-War, but word's still out on how it actually connects! |
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Post by foefromthefuture on Oct 30, 2022 21:41:42 GMT
Just received it in the mail yesterday! What a MASSIVE book!!! I’ve already dug into the first three or four stories - absolutely love it so far.
I had no idea there was anybody other than Obverse producing anything that could be construed as Faction Paradox-related material (in print, that is). Obverse has obviously given their permission for the Faction-related stuff here (Iris Wildthyme appears as well). Is there anything else I’m missing?
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Post by Aristide Twain on Oct 31, 2022 8:35:58 GMT
Is there anything else I’m missing? A handful, yes, I believe! Still at Arcbeatle, you may find it interesting to know that P.R.O.B.E.: Out of the Shadows winds up featuring the Yssgaroth as its main antagonist, although it's much less like an FP book than Cwej is. (If you want print copies, you shouldn't delay in ordering it and its two tie-ins, as all three will be going out of print soon due to the cessation of the business relationship between Arcbeatle and BBV; though obtaining ebook copies will of course remain trivial, everyone at Arcbeatle is fine with those being shared around.) Lawrence Burton has independently published Golden Age, which acts as a companion piece to Against Nature, as well as the short story collection The Great Divide, characters from which reappeared in Golden Age and whose blurb sounds rather familiar: I've yet to read The Great Divide, but Golden Age is quite good. Finally, in the "upcoming pies-in-the-skies" category, Nate Bumber has long been dropping hints about a spin-off starring Simon Bucher-Jones's character Coloth as well as the Plume Coteries, and there is also something Auteur-centric simmering away. In addition to all this, I know you asked for print, but I do have to name a few digital-only honourable mentions. Arcbeatle's flagship non- Who-related sci-fi series, 10,000 Dawns, also had a series of crossovers with Faction lore. The first was the online story Rachel Survived, which celebrated the Faction's 20th anniversary and featured Rachel Edwards from Head of State; two further crossover stories featuring Auteur, Nate Bumber's Mammoths, and many, many other things were collected in A 10,000 Dawns Christmas. Unrelatedly, Ryan Fogarty has created two short novellas featuring an unlikely assortment of licensed DWU concepts, available for Kindle; both feature rather familiar treatment of "the Homeworld", but the second one, Wringing Off, is particularly notable for positioning itself as a sequel to one of the stories in Wallowing in Pessimism's Mire. |
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Post by foefromthefuture on Oct 31, 2022 14:11:43 GMT
A handful, yes, I believe! This is wonderful: I had no idea there was a whole other publisher out there who was publishing Faction-related material. I really appreciate the rundown. I’ve long been a huge supporter of Obverse Books’ work to keep the brand alive - I interviewed Stuart Douglas many moons ago when Obverse was getting ready to publish “A Romance in Twelve Parts”, and we’ve maintained an online friendship ever since. And I’m very interested in digital material as well: when I said “in print”, I was actually referring to BBV’s recent - and very dubious - “new” Faction Paradox audios (which I believe Lawrence Miles even trashed on his Twitter thread.) One day I’d love to hear peoples thoughts on those releases (many of which - like Lance Parkin’s “Mr. Saldaamir” have been around for a very long time in other formats). Not sure what Bill Baggs is up to there, but I’m sure it has something to do with the almighty dollar. Anyways, thank you so much for the list. It is interesting that some previous BBV material has been reworked to include some Faction Paradox-related elements. I think I’ll be making another purchase from Arcbeatle soon (are these books available on Amazon? Or do I order them from BBV? I know Arcbeatle doesn’t sell anything from their website). Thanks again for all the info. |
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Post by Aristide Twain on Oct 31, 2022 15:07:42 GMT
This is wonderful: I had no idea there was a whole other publisher out there who was publishing Faction-related material. You're welcome! Mind you, just so everything's clear, it should be emphasised that Obverse are the only ones with the proper Faction Paradox license; Arcbeatle's material is in essence to FP as FP is to Doctor Who. It was very much a part of the agreements worked out between Obverse and Arcbeatle that there should be no misconception in the public mind about Down the Middle being "a Faction Paradox book", which is in part why they coined their own terms for the Great Houses, the Homeworld, etc. as needed. I think I’ll be making another purchase from Arcbeatle soon (are these books available on Amazon? Or do I order them from BBV? I know Arcbeatle doesn’t sell anything from their website). All the links given in my earlier post for the three Arcbeatle books lead to the Amazon pages! When I said “in print”, I was actually referring to BBV’s recent - and very dubious - “new” Faction Paradox audios (which I believe Lawrence Miles even trashed on his Twitter thread.) One day I’d love to hear peoples thoughts on those releases (many of which - like Lance Parkin’s “Mr. Saldaamir” have been around for a very long time in other formats). Not sure what Bill Baggs is up to there, but I’m sure it has something to do with the almighty dollar. Ah, but you're talking to a loon who wrote one, here! And who has all the scoops on what was going on behind the scenes from the somewhat misbegotten start, to the sorry, sorry end. Perhaps I'll have to make a thread on the NuBBV phenomenon to clear things up eventually. FP-wise, what basically happened was this: - BBV re-acquired the audio rights for Faction Paradox from the agent who handles it for Miles, without Miles's direct oversight.
- The first release of this revived range was an audiobook reading of Eternal Escape by James Hornby, which featured the character of Dionus, who also appears in Cwej: The Series. Shortly after, Lance Parkin agreed to have an ebook version of Mr Saldaamir become available from the BBV website, and Baggs decided to hugely overprice it.
- It is at this very early point that Miles jumps in and trashes the cheapness of the whole endeavour on Twitter.
- People behind the scenes, largely of the Arcbeatle crew, try to steer the nascent range back towards more acceptable fare. In addition to two further cheaply-produced Dionus audiobooks, we ("we", for this is where I come in) create Sabbath and the King, a proper, full-cast audio with sound effects and professional editing and the like, with minimal involvement by Bill Baggs himself. This was a trick and a half in itself, Bill Baggs being a very controlling man to work under.
- Baggs goes mad with power, writes a Dionus audio himself where Dionus (as played by him) has sex with a thinly-veiled Rani and publishes it despite everybody else screaming at him not to.
- Baggs hires known predator Brett Underwood to play Sherlock Holmes in unrelated audioplays despite multiple people both behind the scenes and on social media begging him to drop it. Bill Baggs is, as the kids say, #cancelled. Horrified, Miles's agent withdraws the FP audio license from him a once.
- Using an extremely dodgy loophole, BBV try to keep publishing a range of FP audios entitled Hellscape, the work of one Trevor Spencer. These are not merely cheap in production, but wretched in every aspect of writing and acting, as well as betraying a staggering lack of understanding of how the FP cosmos even operates (Compassion is apparently a timeship employed the Faction…).
Certain rules of propriety prevent me from posting it here outright, but there is a certain link circulating for people curious about the BBV material but unwilling to give Baggs any money, and it is supported by all the writers involved save Baggs and Trevor Spencer.
Another point not touched upon by the above rundown is what happened to the actual, proper FP audio license after it was withdrawn from Baggs. That would be a very perceptive question.
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Post by sonorous on Nov 1, 2022 11:02:25 GMT
That would be a very perceptive question. [/div][/quote] Rolling perception here, what did happen to those rights? |
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Post by Aristide Twain on Nov 1, 2022 11:19:42 GMT
Rolling perception here, what did happen to those rights? Oh, I'm only a humble Forum-poster, I'm sure I wouldn't know. (But if I did — I should surely imagine that it would not be any preexisting entity you'd have heard of; and that they would be hard at work on Quite Exciting Things with little in common with Baggs's nonsense; and that they would be inclined to maintain a degree of anonymity until such a time as they were ready to reveal themselves with more than pie-in-the-sky promises to show for their work.) |
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Post by foefromthefuture on Nov 1, 2022 18:48:31 GMT
Wow! I definitely asked the right person about the whole BBV fiasco! I’ve actually heard a number of the new releases - a friend at the Toronto Doctor Who Tavern passed them on to me, so I totally know what you’re talking about when you mention the low production values/writing quality of the “Hellscape” audios (I’ve only heard the first one, but: Oh. My. God.) I never continued listening to them, first and foremost because the characterization [and history] of Compassion seemed to be all wrong, but also because the production values were so low (it sounded like someone created it on their iPhone voice recorder!) I think I started to listen to a number of the audios read by Bill Baggs himself (including the aforementioned “Mr. Saldaamir”), but I didn’t get very far into them.
The one I DID enjoy, however, was “Sabbath and the King”. Is that the one you wrote? Because that was much closer to what I remembered Faction Paradox on audio being like. It’s unfortunate that Baggs didn’t use that audio as a prototype for a new series: it makes direct reference to the events of the previous audios (especially as things related to Lolita and the War King - following on from what happened in the Magic Bullet audios) and could have easily been the foundation of a new direction for the audio dramas. Oh well.
I did hear a little bit about Baggs’ “cancellation”, especially as it related to the individual he hired for his Sherlock Holmes audios. I have, however, heard several versions of this story: was Bill always aware of Brett Underwood’s history of grooming, or was this something that came out when he first attempted to hire the actor? (and is this the same Brett Underwood who has worked for Big Finish in the past?)
I’m also intrigued by your comment about future Faction Paradox audios. In fact, since I wrote the first part of this post I’ve been reading a sub-Reddit on the topic, and it was mentioned that “Sabbath and the King“ may actually be remade under a different license? Would you happen to know if there is any truth to this? I think it would be absolutely wonderful to see Faction Paradox continue on audio; the original two series (on BBV and Magic Bullet) were some of the best Doctor Who-related audios I’ve ever heard, and I’ve always hoped that it would make a return to the medium (albeit not in the form that most of the new BBV audios appeared in!)
Anyways, that’s so awesome that you’ve been involved in the writing/production of official Faction audio - I really did enjoy “Sabbath and the King” and what it was trying to do. Would love to talk to you more about this sometime.
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Post by Aristide Twain on Nov 1, 2022 19:12:06 GMT
The one I DID enjoy, however, was “Sabbath and the King”. Is that the one you wrote? Because that was much closer to what I remembered Faction Paradox on audio being like. It’s unfortunate that Baggs didn’t use that audio as a prototype for a new series: it makes direct reference to the events of the previous audios (especially as things related to Lolita and the War King - following on from what happened in the Magic Bullet audios) and could have easily been the foundation of a new direction for the audio dramas. Yes, that's the one — thank you for the kind words! And it was a test run for "proper" new FP audios of greater scope and length. As to what may have become of those plans after the BBV götterdämerung, I'm not sure I could make my hints any heavier without it getting just plain silly. I did hear a little bit about Baggs’ “cancellation”, especially as it related to the individual he hired for his Sherlock Holmes audios. I have, however, heard several versions of this story: was Bill always aware of Brett Underwood’s history of grooming, or was this something that came out when he first attempted to hire the actor? (and is this the same Brett Underwood who has worked for Big Finish in the past?) Same man, yes, and he's also been known as Tony Coburn. Whether Baggs knew anything when he first approached him is a question only Baggs could answer without access to their respective email mailboxes. He was already infamous in the wider fandom, but Baggs is not a very online man, and it's very plausible that he could have missed it. In any case, people behind the scenes tried to warn him privately after he announced Underwood on Facebook but before he released the audio, and that was when he unconscionably knowingly ignored everybody and blundered ahead. I’m also intrigued by your comment about future Faction Paradox audios. In fact, since I wrote the first part of this post I’ve been reading a sub-Reddit on the topic, and it was mentioned that “Sabbath and the King“ may actually be remade under a different license? Would you happen to know if there is any truth to this? I think it would be absolutely wonderful to see Faction Paradox continue on audio; the original two series (on BBV and Magic Bullet) were some of the best Doctor Who-related audios I’ve ever heard, and I’ve always hoped that it would make a return to the medium (albeit not in the form that most of the new BBV audios appeared in!) Yes, for complicated reasons, I would be in a position to have the Sabbath and the King script re-recorded by whoever became the next holder of the FP audio license. That being said, I should stress that I don't currently have any immediate plans to make that happen. SatK was very much written with the niche BBV audience in mind; it assumes a background knowledge of the Protocols and True History — or, at least, it doesn't have much dramatic weight without that knowledge, even if someone could follow the nuts-and-bolts of the plot as such. It's an asterisk to the originals, not a new beginning. In contrast, I don't think I am breaking any oaths of secrecy by pointing out that any Hypothetical New Production Company crafting a Hypothetical New Fully-Fledged FP Audio Series would be keen to present its creations as a brand-new jumping-off point, requiring no prior knowledge of the series; especially not background knowledge of the Protocols, so long as those can only be officially purchased from — well — BBV. |
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