Campaign

An Adventure in Time and Space

by Jim Mortimore

The universe is dead! Time and space, murdered! Stars and moons, planets, comets, put to the sword! Physics and chemistry, mathematics, geography, sent to the stake! Mother and father, friend and stranger, snug bound in entropy's coffin! Love, dead! fear, dead! Dogs and birds and cats and ants and books and pies and cars and lies, all dead and gone to less than dreams these long ten years! Everyone that ever lived, every thought that ever held meaning, every flower that ever cupped dew and every equation that ever brushed a portrait of truth—'
Somewhere inside Ian's mind a page turned.

'All that we have is in here—' he stamped the ground with a child's foot, '—now—' he waved with a child's windmill arm at the universe the Ship had built for us to live out our lives in.

'There's nothing else worth remembering anymore.'

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction

223 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2000

About the author

Jim Mortimore is a British science fiction writer, who has written several spin-off novels for popular television series, principally Doctor Who, but also Farscape and Babylon 5.

When BBC Books cancelled his Doctor Who novel Campaign, he had it published independently and gave the proceeds to a charity – the Bristol Area Down Syndrome Association. He is also the writer of the Big Finish Doctor Who audio play The Natural History of Fear and their Tomorrow People audio play Plague of Dreams. He has also done music for other Big Finish productions.

He released his first original novel in 2011, Skaldenland.

Reviews

[James]

So erm, not rating this one because... you know what, I just refuse.

Like is it good? Is it bad? Is it mediocre? Who knows! Who cares! Mostly I'm just stuck like a scratched record on the fact that it exists and the knowledge that Mortimore had the guts to even send it in to try and get the BBC to put it out in the first place? Like, woah, kudos to him to be honest.

OK, here's the thing. On the one hand, this book has an immensely fascinating idea. On the other hand, the prose is really purple sometimes. On the other hand, it's going for surreality, so maybe that's good? On the other hand, maybe it's just pretentious. On the other hand, it weaves together so many meta ideas into its themes and its vision of Doctor Who. On the other hand, does it result in anything cohesive? On the other hand, on the other hand...

I can't work out if this is a book with a fantastic idea and muddled execution, a book with a fantastic idea and an execution that reflects its idea whether it meets expectations about 'good writing', or a book with a fantastic idea and good execution.

I do know it left me reeling. Which was presumably the aim. So it achieved its aim. I dunno. Mostly I'm just glad I read it. I think.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Who meets House of Leaves. I *think* it's probably awesome.

[Edward Buckton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could the unpublished Campaign have been great? Moment-to-moment, it's difficult to let go of the idea that, with a solid narrative shuffle in the service of accessibility, it might have become one of Doctor Who best offerings, utilising a playfulness-of-format that could have become legendary.

Unfortunately, the final product is a hollow work that tricks you into thinking something grandiose is on the horizon. More a thought experiment than an actual story, Campaign's compelling setpieces are hampered by some of the most overwritten prose I've ever encountered in--

Well, I was going to say a published work, but that's just the thing, isn't it? In the liberation of self-publication, Jim Mortimore inadvertently reminds us that editors are our friends.

Like the story's characters, trapped in an infinite universe of iterations of themselves, Campaign is stuck in an echo chamber; metaphors become jumbled, plot threads become incomprehensible, and the ending is nothing more than an afterthought.

All of which is made more awkward by Mortimore's catastrophic lack of self-awareness, with the decision to include his own quotes in the epigraphs, and a 100+ page afterword lauding his own artistic achievements. Mortimore provides full transcripts of every time he insulted his editors, and describes his literary self-image in excruciating detail, saying:

I was slowly eroding, eaten away by the fire. And yet with every keystroke I was renewed, the artist remade in the image of his art.

It is perhaps because of this artist's frenzy that it feels like I've done Campaign a favour by reading it, rather than the other way around.

[Noel Thingvall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mindblowing tie-in novel, unfolding multiple countless realities in a meta narrative that just keeps racing along as it evolves into a cosmic explosion of literary experimentalism. But it also ends abruptly, delights in doing brutal things to the beloved cast of characters, and is followed by an expanded essay which, while informative of Mortimore's creative process and the hurdles this book tripped over before it was rejected from the Doctor Who line, is also a lot of gonzo, indulgent venting, and self congratuations about Mortimore's blazing ambitions even as he admits he was constantly delaying delivery of an assignment he signed on for, and turned in a work which was very much not what he originally promised. For being a brilliant writer, he seems to be arguing his genius should trump all the problems he created for others along the way, which is really sloppy and unprofessional.

Still, an intriguing read, but one I wish could have been further polished to work out the admitted fumbles, that the author was more open to feedback, and that the editors were more open to experiment. Kind of a lose/lose situation for everyone.

[Rachel Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confusing, annoying, startling, illuminating, wildly imaginative and breathtaking it its scope, though it features the original TARDIS crew it's very much Ian's story, well several of him anyway. I can see why the BBC baulked at publishing it, and in a way I'm glad they didn't because we wouldn't have gotten this book, they'd have insisted on numerous rewrites, and the essential magic of the story would be lost.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The First Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are trapped in the TARDIS trying to figure out what has destroyed the universe… and after that, Campaign rapidly grows more bizarre.

It’s an experimental work that shifts through different realities and formats, drawing on an earlier aborted novel idea as inspiration for the plot. (Such as it is.) It’s not really a “plot” novel though, it’s more about the experience for the characters and the reader, as it pushes these familiar characters (particularly Ian) to some extreme places.

It’s hard to explain, but I found that the constantly shifting realities forced me to engage with it. Somehow it’s satisfying. A truly original interpretation of what a Doctor Who novel can be.

NB: Later editions include background on the novel such as the original (simpler) pitch, continuity links, fan press coverage and reviews. There are also unexpurgated emails back and forth with his editors. That last bit makes for a fascinating, albeit toe-curling read. If officially licensed publication wasn’t out of the question before, it is now!

[Tom Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what was going on for most of this book but it was wonderfully experimental, captured the characters (and variations of characters) of early Doctor Who so well, and introduced a LOT of weird ideas. Highlights were definitely the random maze that was there at one point, the page that consisted of "help!" written over and over again and a cross of words that said "God is inside me" and also the board game that was also the Tower of Babel. Loved it.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim Mortimore submitted an idea for the Past Doctor Adventures called Burning Artemis, which was going to be a story about the Tardis crew meeting Alexander The Great, which obviously would be inspired by Farewell, Great Macedon a story that was intended for the original series but was never made. However, it was canned upon the story being finished, due to the story going into a very different and weird direction than the editors actually wanted. However Jim Mortimore didn't let the story simply rest and fade from existence, instead he released it a number of times for charity and to also give us an insight into what he had in mind.

The Universe is dead, murdered. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan are terrified, stuck alone together in the Tardis without any way out. But it doesn't take long for events to spiral out of control, now only do they begin to distrust one another, but their personalities begin to change, their lives, their fates, and their names. What's going on here and how does it all connect to Alexander The Great?

Campaign is by far one of the most insane Doctor Who stories ever written, it's very obvious why this was canceled and I don't blame the BBC one bit. I will say however Jim Mortimore has truly done something exceptional here that's both fascinating and confusing as all hell. It's very hard to describe what the story is about without giving away the twist that explains everything in a fairly simple way despite how confusing the story is. It's quite an unsettling story with elements of suicide, an air of distrust, their lives changing with every paragraph, and the story going into unexpected places that really goes against every rule as to how a novel should be written and it revels in it.

I was terrified, confused, scared, and baffled but most of all I actually enjoyed this. I will say however it kind of feels like a superior Edge of Destruction with it being all set inside the Tardis but with a more interesting and unsettling idea. It is however a take it or leave it kind of story because even though it's filled to the brim with face service and moments of horror, ultimately it isn't an essential story for Doctor Who, so if you want to you can consider this as canon, but if not you can easily ignore it.

Overall: It's a really fun, confusing, and unsettling read with some disturbing and whacky imagery. A very experimental book that is very much like House of Leaves, except not anywhere near as insane or confusing. It's just about right here, after all, I don't think I'll ever read House of Leaves so this might be the closest I'll get to experiencing something that bizarre and bonkers. 8/10

[Chris Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this when it was originally released, and would have given it 2 stars only. I just didn’t get it. Reading it now, I was going to give it 3, but Jim’s notes and the emails behind it’s cancellation are hugely enlightening, and help me understand better.
The writing style is poetic, but having that window into what the hell Jim was thinking is vital, and I can see why it wasn’t accepted as a PDA.
Mind you, I’d also love to read the story that was originally proposed- any chance of that being written?

[Iain McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best review I can offer is just "Read it for yourself". I enjoyed it enormously - I am a huge admirer of Jim Mortimore's work. It's a really rich delve into Doctor Who's early days. Hopefully you will love it too.

[Brad Furminger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a puzzling read to say the least, but I feel like that was part of its charm. It was clearly intentionally confusing, which felt somewhat consistent with the universe in which it is set. I found it a refreshing departure from more traditional storytelling, though was hoping for a bigger payoff in the end.

[Arrocete · Rating 5 out of 5]

BBC it was not his fault, the Monkey took hold of him!

[John Chronakis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very brave attempt to take some of the series' assumptions to their natural conclusions (as far as the literature medium can piggyback them). What can a ship that is bigger on the inside do with all that space, once it transcends its designers' blueprints and follows its (?) heart? How far can the gaps between episodes be stretched to allow more and more spin-offs to affect the characters, spanning days or weeks or decades, before a miraculous reset leaves the 60's crew none the wiser when they next appear on the shores of Marinus? If the TARDIS can sidestep into alternate universes, can it poach surviving personas to replace dead characters, and if it does, will everyone ignore the awkward irregularities and just be happy with the seeming resurrection? And so on.

It's a book where the reader must implicitly trust the author before diving in. Initially I dismissed quirks such as referring to the Doctor as "Dr Who", or the variety of punctuation for the TARDIS, as editorial slippage -- not wholly unsurprising in the context of a self-published novel. But if you place trust in the process, a whole multiverse of alternative (false?) paths of storylines for Series 01 are discovered and explored (and then nipped in the bud). Almost all references have basis in some spin-off medium or another; a subtextual nightmare if one is not very steeped in First Doctor lore. Mercifully the book comes already annotated with the "Director's Commentary" on the back of the opus, explaining some of the metatextuality. And there are reams of it, comics and Lost Stories scripts and production notes. A brave old world.

The result is highly artistic in form, but a bit of a letdown in the actual story content. In a cocktail party of multiple Ians, Biddies and Lolas, it's difficult to zero in on the plight of the ones we know and care about. Perhaps that is the hidden moral after all; just because we don't know Cliff's background history, that doesn't mean we should ignore his fate. But on the back of a stream of novelizations milking an established franchise, caring for the might-have-beens rings somewhat hollow.

I'd rate it 2/5 for the story and 4/5 for the presentation; so here we stand. As with House of Leaves, it loses a lot if read in electronic format; if you want to go for it, thumbing through the physical book will make for a much better experience.

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/1116177.html[return][return]This was the Doctor Who novel which was turned down by the BBC and which Mortimore subsequently managed to get published privately, now downloadable for free thanks to those awfully nice New Zealand chaps. There is no way the BBC could have published it - by Mortimore's own (rather too extensively documented) account, it is about a million light years away from the novel he actually agreed to write. But it is a brilliant read all the same, though I think you would need to know who Lola McGovern and Cliff were to really appreciate it. It is the story of the First Doctor, his grand-daughter and the two people from 1960s England who travel together, in the Tardis after an adventure with Alexander the Great and several ambiguous outcomes, trying to cope with the disappearance of the entire universe outside the Ship. Mortimore takes the narrative to very peculiar structures and places, but it kept me reading.[return][return]The New Zealand edition includes both Mortimore's authorial notes, describing his bitter struggles with his muse (incarnate as a monkey), and an account of his dispute with the BBC publishers which I think could usefully have been summarised into rather fewer pages.

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campaign is unlike any Doctor Who book that I have ever, or will ever read. Once you have read it you can sort of understand why BBC book refused to publish it in the form that it was in, but you also wish that it had been published because it really would have been a major kick in the teeth for the books as this was so different to anything else that it had published before, or would publish again.

So experimental is this book in style and in content when compared to the standard Doctor Who novels that are out there especially in its presentation on the page itself which in this novel is often somewhat different to the normal style of the book range.

I personally think that BBC books were scared to print this is in its original form and how it is presented here because it was so out of the ordinary when compared to the normal Doctor Who books and perhaps a lot of the readers wouldn’t take to this very experimental book. Personally I think that this is a crying shame because this book is certainly an interesting read.

I am not saying that it is brilliant, because it isn't, it does have a lot of problems, but what I like about it is that is different and it is not afraid to tell the story in an inventive and clever way and for that reason and that reason alone this is a book worth reading.

[Dan Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this absolutely mad, unpublished, experimental Doctor Who novel. Plays with the form in some really interesting ways to tell a twisty, unreliable narrative that's partly surrealist fantasy, partly cyberpunk virtual reality nightmare. Fascinating and unique way to explore the companions of the era in some really compelling ways. Love how weird this got.

[David]

I am torn on this one. I like that this took a chance to explore some new ideas, and that it tries to do something different. On the other hand, it felt completely disjointed, and many chapters made it difficult to figure out whose perspective the chapter was from.

Overall, a fascinating and frustrating read.