The Winning Side
Encyclopedia
The Winning Side is the first in the series of Time Hunter
novellas and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur
and Emily Blandish
from Daniel O'Mahony
's Doctor Who
novella
The Cabinet of Light
. It is written by Lance Parkin
, author of several Doctor Who spin-offs
.
The novella is also available in a limited edition hardback, signed by the author (ISBN 1-903889-36-7)
(The series is not formally connected to the Whoniverse
.)
As they try to investigate this strange paradox, they are caught in a shootout in the street between a plainclothes policeman and a mysterious stranger. As Honoré wonders where the stranger came from, Emily touches his arm thinking the same thing… and the two of them suddenly find themselves in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere. As they try to work out where they are, a tank trundles down the road, and Honoré finds himself seeing it as if it were both there, and not there.
They head to a barn to hide, and find a newspaper that shows they are thirty years in their own future. Leaving Honoré to try to come to terms with this, Emily heads into the village to find more information but is quickly identified as a stranger and taken for interrogation. The interrogator is a time sensitive named Radford, who discovers that he can travel in time if he is touching Emily and they are concentrating on the same thing. Radford forces Emily to travel back with him to 1949, so that he might take the actions that ensure that his future comes to pass. Once he has done this, he intends to kill Emily; leaving her body for Honoré to be called to identify.
However, knowing her future, Emily fights back and attacks Radford. As she overpowers him, she thinks of Honoré, and the two of them travel back to the future and rejoin Honoré. Emily and Honoré return to 1949, leaving Radford in his alternative future. As he was unable to carry out the required actions in 1949, his future does not come to pass and the 1980s occur as history says that they did. Honoré and Emily, in the meantime, have to come to terms with their remarkable ability to travel in time.
Emily's ability as a "Time Channeller" — the "pilot" that allows her and Honoré to travel in time — was not mentioned in The Cabinet of Light. The author of that novella, Daniel O'Mahony
, has stated on onlines forums that this is because the concept was introduced by Telos after the novella had been published to prevent the Time Hunter series from being stuck in the 1950s.
of George Orwell
's social allegory. The only indication of this — aside from the cover — is Radford's ability to comprehend the concept of paradoxes without confusion because they so resemble the concept of doublethink
. In a fictional introduction to The Albino's Dancer
on his website, http://www.dalesmithonline.com Dale Smith suggests that Honoré inspred Orwell to write 1984 by telling him the story of The Winning Side during the Spanish Civil War
. The chief villain of the book was apparently also named after the director of the 1984 film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Michael Radford
.
, is the second in the series and was released in November 2008.
Time Hunter
The Time Hunter series of books is published by Telos Publishing Ltd. and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's Doctor Who novella The Cabinet of Light...
novellas and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur
Honoré Lechasseur
Honoré Lechasseur is one of two main characters in the Doctor Who spin-off Time Hunter series published by Telos Publishing Ltd. He is a time sensitive, which means that he possess the ability to see into people's pasts and futures when he is in their vicinity...
and Emily Blandish
Emily Blandish
Emily Blandish is one of two main characters in the Doctor Who spin-off Time Hunter series published by Telos Publishing Ltd. She is a time channeller, which means that she is able to physically travel along people's timelines when she is working with a time sensitive, such as her friend Honoré...
from Daniel O'Mahony
Daniel O'Mahony
Daniel O'Mahony is a half-British half-Irish author, born in Croydon. He is the oldest of five children, his siblings including Eoin O'Mahony of the band Hamfatter, and Madeleine O'Mahony, who has designed and made hats for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.-Biography:O'Mahony's first professionally...
's Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novella
Telos Doctor Who novellas
The Telos Doctor Who novellas were a series of tie-in novellas based on the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, officially licensed by the BBC and published by Telos Publishing Ltd...
The Cabinet of Light
The Cabinet of Light
The Cabinet of Light was the ninth novella published by Telos Publishing Ltd. as part of their Doctor Who novellas series. It was written by Daniel O'Mahony, and was released as a standard edition hardback, and a deluxe edition featuring a frontispiece by John Higgins...
. It is written by Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and Emmerdale...
, author of several Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
.
The novella is also available in a limited edition hardback, signed by the author (ISBN 1-903889-36-7)
(The series is not formally connected to the Whoniverse
Whoniverse
Whoniverse, a portmanteau of the words "Who" and "universe", is a word used to describe the fictional setting of the television series Doctor Who, K-9 and Company, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and K-9, as well as other related stories...
.)
Synopsis
Emily Blandish has been murdered by an unknown assailant, but when Honoré Lechasseur turns up to see the body, he is surprised to be met by… Emily Blandish. They soon find themselves embroiled in a revolutionary plot stretching into their own futures, with the freedom of the entire world at stake.Plot
Sometime after the events of The Cabinet of Light, Honoré has come to terms with his time sensitive ability, and is even using it to his advantage: spying on a man named Brown who his wife suspects is having an affair. The investigation is curtailed as Honoré is called to identify the murdered body of his friend Emily Blandish. As he does, though, Emily herself turns up alive and well.As they try to investigate this strange paradox, they are caught in a shootout in the street between a plainclothes policeman and a mysterious stranger. As Honoré wonders where the stranger came from, Emily touches his arm thinking the same thing… and the two of them suddenly find themselves in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere. As they try to work out where they are, a tank trundles down the road, and Honoré finds himself seeing it as if it were both there, and not there.
They head to a barn to hide, and find a newspaper that shows they are thirty years in their own future. Leaving Honoré to try to come to terms with this, Emily heads into the village to find more information but is quickly identified as a stranger and taken for interrogation. The interrogator is a time sensitive named Radford, who discovers that he can travel in time if he is touching Emily and they are concentrating on the same thing. Radford forces Emily to travel back with him to 1949, so that he might take the actions that ensure that his future comes to pass. Once he has done this, he intends to kill Emily; leaving her body for Honoré to be called to identify.
However, knowing her future, Emily fights back and attacks Radford. As she overpowers him, she thinks of Honoré, and the two of them travel back to the future and rejoin Honoré. Emily and Honoré return to 1949, leaving Radford in his alternative future. As he was unable to carry out the required actions in 1949, his future does not come to pass and the 1980s occur as history says that they did. Honoré and Emily, in the meantime, have to come to terms with their remarkable ability to travel in time.
Emily's ability as a "Time Channeller" — the "pilot" that allows her and Honoré to travel in time — was not mentioned in The Cabinet of Light. The author of that novella, Daniel O'Mahony
Daniel O'Mahony
Daniel O'Mahony is a half-British half-Irish author, born in Croydon. He is the oldest of five children, his siblings including Eoin O'Mahony of the band Hamfatter, and Madeleine O'Mahony, who has designed and made hats for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.-Biography:O'Mahony's first professionally...
, has stated on onlines forums that this is because the concept was introduced by Telos after the novella had been published to prevent the Time Hunter series from being stuck in the 1950s.
Allusions to Orwell's 1984
Although never explicitly mentioned in the text, the alternative future that Emily and Honoré visit in the novella is the 1984Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
of George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's social allegory. The only indication of this — aside from the cover — is Radford's ability to comprehend the concept of paradoxes without confusion because they so resemble the concept of doublethink
Doublethink
Doublethink, a word coined by George Orwell in the novel 1984, describes the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct, often in distinct social contexts. It is related to, but distinct from, hypocrisy and neutrality. Its opposite is cognitive dissonance, where...
. In a fictional introduction to The Albino's Dancer
The Albino's Dancer
The Albino's Dancer is the ninth in the series of "Time Hunter" novellas, and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's Doctor Who novella The Cabinet of Light...
on his website, http://www.dalesmithonline.com Dale Smith suggests that Honoré inspred Orwell to write 1984 by telling him the story of The Winning Side during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. The chief villain of the book was apparently also named after the director of the 1984 film version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Michael Radford
Michael Radford
Michael Radford is an English film director and screenwriter.-Early life and career:Radford was born on 24 February 1946, in New Delhi, India, to a British father and an Austrian Jewish mother. He was educated at Bedford School before attending Worcester College, Oxford...
.
Audiobook
In September 2008, Telos announced that a fan production company, Fantom Films, had been licensed to produce audiobook readings of the Time Hunter novellas for release on CD and as online downloads. The Winning Side, read by former Doctor Who actor Louise JamesonLouise Jameson
Louise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known...
, is the second in the series and was released in November 2008.