Tag: John Connors

Some New Telefantasy Books

In my last couple of posts, I’ve been listing a bunch of Gerry Anderson-related items (mainly DVDs) that I’ve bought recently. Admittedly, I’ve been on a bit of a roll in recent weeks with all things Anderson, but I haven’t been neglecting my other favourite TV shows. I’ve also been picking up a few good Doctor Who books, so it isn’t just Anderson that I’m focusing on at the moment.

Back many years ago, when I started collecting the Virgin Books range of Doctor Who novels, Blood Heat quickly became my favourite novel of all the Virgin books. Well, the author, Jim Mortimore has recently released a greatly revised and expanded version of Blood Heat, and I’ve managed to grab a copy of the lovely hardback edition. At twice the length of the original, this should be a cracking read.

Second up is a real classic among Doctor Who reference books. I’ve finally managed to nab a decent condition paperback copy of The Discontinuity Guide, by Paul Cornell, Keith Topping and Martin Day. Even back twenty years ago in the mid-90s, when this book was first published, those three names would’ve featured high on any “Who’s Who” list of the giants of Doctor Who fan writing, and already starting to move onto even bigger things. I’ve been waiting so long to read this one, I can barely contain myself.

Thirdly is a very detailed and comprehensive reference book, the Classic Doctor Who DVD Compendium, written by Paul Smith. A very useful book, indexing every single DVD (up until the book’s publication date in 2014), every episode and every extra on every disc. I’d say that this was a definite “must have” for any Doctor Who fan, and on initial quick flick through, this certainly looks like it will be my main reference on all things to do with Doctor Who DVDs.

Finally, we have not one but two books by the same author, the prolific John Connors, creator of (and contributor to) so many classic fanzines over the years, Top and Faze being two of the most famous (I dunno how this guy ever sleeps). John is also the author of two blogs, Timelines, a Doctor Who blog, and This Way Up, a more general telefantasy blog which also features posts on Top of the Pops and any other non-telefantasy topics that might tickle John’s fancy. The two books collect some of the best articles from both the blogs and the classic Faze zine. Saturday Night Monsters is the Doctor Who-specific book, and Tomorrow Is Now: The Best of This Way Up 2002-2004 covers the best of pretty much everything else. I’m working my way through these books at the moment, and I’m enjoying both of them immensely.

I’ll be making individual posts on each of these books at some point. After I read ’em all, of course. 🙂

Plaything of Sutekh #4 Is Now Available

\"Plaything

[A]s a follow-up to my last post, I\’m now happy to report that Plaything of Sutekh #4 is now available, after what seems like an eternity since the last issue. 🙂

As the details on the Plaything of Sutekh blog state, the new issue features articles on:-

  • Pacifism in Doctor Who – a look at how The Daleks and The Dominators gave turning the other cheek the thumbs down.
  • The Ark vs The Ark in Space – David Rolinson looks at the similarities between these two stories.
  • RTD & Religion – Sean Alexander examines a key aspect of the series under Russell T\’s tenure.
  • E-Space – Jez Strickley spies a dystopian slant in this Season 18 trilogy.
  • Secret Who – we look at two underrated stories The Claws of Axos and The Time Monster
  • Changing Times – a look back at Peter Capaldi\’s first season.
  • Doc Top Ten – one writer looks at his favourite Who comic strips.
  • Gateway Drug – Stephen Wood confesses how it all started with him and Who…

For those who aren\’t familiar with it, Plaything of Sutekh is a professionally produced, traditional A5 print Doctor Who fanzine – yes, a real paper zine, not an electronic download, a website or a blog. It is brought to you by Richard Farrell, John Connors and their Merry crew – Richard also edits the very excellent Gerry Anderson fanzine Andersonic. Both zines are among the best fanzines currently available, especially considering that the traditional print fanzine is an endangered species in the increasingly electronic and online modern era.

Issue 4 is 36 pages, fully illustrated with colour covers and black & white interiors. It only costs a mere £2.20, which also includes free postage within the UK (check the blog for postage outside the UK).

To find out more details or order the zine, either go to the Plaything of Sutekh blog, or simply send a Paypal payment directly to playthingofsutekh@mail.com – with your address in the \’notes\’ section. You can also pay by cheque, please email for the payee details.

Issue 3 is also still in print. All self-respecting Doctor Who fans should run along sharpish to the Plaything of Sutekh blog and buy these two issues before they\’re sold out.

Plaything of Sutekh #4 Is Now Available

\"Plaything

As a follow-up to my last post, I\’m now happy to report that Plaything of Sutekh #4 is now available, after what seems like an eternity since the last issue. 🙂

As the details on the Plaything of Sutekh blog state, the new issue features articles on:-

  • Pacifism in Doctor Who – a look at how The Daleks and The Dominators gave turning the other cheek the thumbs down.
  • The Ark vs The Ark in Space – David Rolinson looks at the similarities between these two stories.
  • RTD & Religion – Sean Alexander examines a key aspect of the series under Russell T\’s tenure.
  • E-Space – Jez Strickley spies a dystopian slant in this Season 18 trilogy.
  • Secret Who – we look at two underrated stories The Claws of Axos and The Time Monster
  • Changing Times – a look back at Peter Capaldi\’s first season.
  • Doc Top Ten – one writer looks at his favourite Who comic strips.
  • Gateway Drug – Stephen Wood confesses how it all started with him and Who…

For those who aren\’t familiar with it, Plaything of Sutekh is a professionally produced, traditional A5 print Doctor Who fanzine – yes, a real paper zine, not an electronic download, a website or a blog. It is brought to you by Richard Farrell, John Connors and their Merry crew – Richard also edits the very excellent Gerry Anderson fanzine Andersonic. Both zines are among the best fanzines currently available, especially considering that the traditional print fanzine is an endangered species in the increasingly electronic and online modern era.

Issue 4 is 36 pages, fully illustrated with colour covers and black & white interiors. It only costs a mere £2.20, which also includes free postage within the UK (check the blog for postage outside the UK).

To find out more details or order the zine, either go to the Plaything of Sutekh blog, or simply send a Paypal payment directly to playthingofsutekh@mail.com – with your address in the \’notes\’ section. You can also pay by cheque, please email for the payee details.

Issue 3 is also still in print. All self-respecting Doctor Who fans should run along sharpish to the Plaything of Sutekh blog and buy these two issues before they\’re sold out.

Plaything of Sutekh #3

\"Plaything

[I]\’m absolutely delighted to report that, after quite a long wait since the previous issue, Plaything of Sutekh #3 is at long last out in the wild. I\’m tickled pink by this news, as it is not only one of my favourite zines, but one of the best fanzines being produced today.

For those who aren\’t familiar with it, Plaything is an ultra-classy, professionally produced traditional A5 print fanzine – yes, a real paper zine, not an electronic download, a website or a blog. It\’s forty pages of pure, wholesome Doctor Who goodness, with full colour front and back covers, and black and white insides. It is brought to you by the same folks (Richard Farrell and John Connors) who produce the excellent A5 Gerry Anderson fanzine Andersonic. Both zines are heavily influenced both stylistically and quality-wise by one of the greatest telefantasy fanzines ever, the classic Circus. So anyone who appreciates really good fanzines will know just what they\’re getting. One of the best zines currently available.

I won\’t elaborate on the contents of Plaything of Sutekh #3 – all of the details are available online from the Plaything of Sutekh blog, which is where you should be heading right now, instead of reading this tatty old blog. And just to make things even better, Plaything #\’s 2 and 3, which have been out of print for quite a long while, are now back in print, for a \”limited period\”. Snap them up before they\’re gone again.

If you live in the UK, each of the zines are available for the paltry sum of £2.40, including postage. You can\’t even buy one lousy pint of beer down the pub for £2.40. That\’s a bargain by any measure. Postage/shipping costs vary, depending on where you live:

  • The UK: £2.40 for the zine, postage is free
  • Rest of Europe: £2.40 for the zine plus £1.70 for 1 issue or £3.00 for 2 or 3 issues
  • Rest of the world: £2.40 for the zine plus £3.90 for up to 3 issues

All self-respecting Doctor Who fans should have every single issue of Plaything of Sutekh in the reading pile by their bedside. I\’ve already got mine. Take my advice, run, don\’t walk, over to the Plaything of Sutekh blog, and pick up the latest issue, or, even better, all three issues, if you haven\’t got them yet. That\’s an awesome stack of excellent Doctor Who reading material for just over seven quid.

\"Plaything