''Of the City of the Saved...'' is an original novel by

Philip Purser-Hallard Philip Purser-Hallard (born 1971 as Philip Hallard) is a fantasy, science fiction and crime author described by the British Fantasy Society as "the best kept secret in British genre writing".

set in the

Faction Paradox ''Faction Paradox'' is a series of novels, audio stories, short story anthologies, and comics set in and around a "War in Heaven", a history-spanning conflict between godlike "Great Houses" and their mysterious enemy. The series is named after a ...

universe.

Laura Tobin Laura Elizabeth Tobin FRMS (born 10 October 1981) is an English broadcast meteorologist, currently employed by ITV. Tobin worked for the BBC before moving to the ITV Breakfast programme '' Daybreak'' in 2012. ''Daybreak'' was later replaced by ...

, 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. 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". ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' calls it "ambitious".Purser-Hallard, Philip.
''

'' 2014.

Plot introduction

Beyond the end of the universe exists

The City of the Saved The City of the Saved is a fictional setting originating within the Faction Paradox universe, created by Philip Purser-Hallard for ''The Book of the War'' and employed by him and others (including Simon Bucher-Jones, Kelly Hale, Stephen Marley, ...

, an urban sprawl the size of a galaxy. Within it every human being that ever lived, from the first

australopithecine Australopithecina or Hominina is a subtribe in the tribe Hominini. The members of the subtribe are generally ''Australopithecus'' (cladistically including the genus, genera ''Homo'', ''Paranthropus'', and ''Kenyanthropus''), and it typically in ...

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

was introduced in ''

The Book of the War ''The Book of the War'' is a hypertext multi-author novel presented in the form of an encyclopedia of the first 50 years of the War in the Faction Paradox universe based on the ''Doctor Who'' universe. The book was edited by Lawrence Miles, and ...

'' and is the setting of Purser-Hallard's story in the

Obverse Books Obverse Books is a British publisher initially known for publishing books relating to the character Iris Wildthyme, and currently for the ''The Black Archive, Black Archive'' series of critical books on ''Doctor Who,'' and two sister series - t ...

anthology ''A Romance in Twelve Parts''. A series of anthologies set in the City and edited by Purser-Hallard has been published by Obverse Books since 2012.

Cultural references

Among others, the science fiction author Philip K. Dick and the Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

appear as characters in the novel. Various fictional characters appear as artificial constructs within the City, including

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and

Don Juan DeMarco ''Don Juan DeMarco'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Johnny Depp as John Arnold DeMarco, a man who believes himself to be Don Juan, the greatest lover in the world. Clad in a cape and domino mask, DeMarco undergoes psychiat ...

References

External links

Mad Norwegian Press page for the book
including extensive notes, deleted scenes and unofficial illustrations.
Official Preview
to the novel. {{DEFAULTSORT:Of The City Of The Saved... Faction Paradox 2004 British novels Novels by Philip Purser-Hallard