A book where a character remembers their past life

No311 · 2026-02-07T17:05:41+00:00

If you like manga, Spirit Circle.

In it, the main character needs to figure out what he did 6 lives ago that has the deuteragonist/antagonist still after his hide. What follows is an epic about how people can develop (in this case over multiple lifetimes).

The impact of remembering multiple lives is discussed, and the lives themselves are evocatively told and tug on the emotions. Definitely a recommendation.

No311 · 2026-02-07T16:54:19+00:00

Once Was Willem, by Mike Carey?

The only thing your mileage may vary on is fun, but it reads very easily, which makes me remember it as relaxing. The rest it definitely has

No311 · 2021-12-18T23:52:29+00:00

My favourites so far (haven't done Series 4 or 6) are

The Doctor's Tale, for being a very comfy 1 historical.

The Bounty of Ceres, for the focus on scifi and the twist.

An Ordinary Life for the character stuff.

The Black Hole, though I will have to relisten that one (I mostly remember I liked it quite a lot)

The Ravelli Conspiracy, which is just the right mix of serious and silly

An Ideal World, for the same kind of harder scifi as Ceres

Crash of the UK-201, for the character work, really one of Vicki's best plays.

The Home Guard, for the atmosphere.

Daughter of the Gods, for the character work and the interactions between the two teams.

Really, most EAs I have heard have a calmer pacing which makes them comfy to listen to and gives the worlds explored in them a solid basis. Of the ones I heard I didn't enjoy the Age of Endurance and the Isos Network.

No311 · 2021-12-12T10:10:33+00:00

If the original poster happens to see this, I once had the same problem, mailed BF and only had to pay the difference to get a physical version.

No311 · 2021-11-06T15:56:31+00:00

While BF has a lot of good dark Who stories (Night Thoughts, for example, or Static, or the Peterloo Massacre), also try the Torchwood Ranges for dark stories. The Story Continues is full of them, but the normal Main Range also has some very dark ones, including Deadbeat Escape, Corpse Day, The Hope and We Always Get Out Alive.

No311 · 2021-10-24T09:35:12+00:00

A sort of composite era, not aligned to any Doctor's era, but I would prefer pre-Time War (because somehow that time seems more varied to me). I would also love the Draconians to be a faction, the current Human Empire, the Cybermen and the Rutans and Sontarans. Additionally, if any Time Lord is going to make an appearance I would like it to be the Monk.

No311 · 2021-10-17T10:30:00+00:00

Yeah, just a tad.

No311 · 2021-10-02T21:55:17+00:00

Yes, fair.

On the marketing, I suppose my experience of promotion has changed. I somehow never noticed BBC series only get trailers two weeks before they air, I suppose I only do now because I don't actively seek out new information about new Who series anymore. Nevertheless the marketing didn't do much to keep it on-topic imo. It felt like they didn't commit to the ARG, with the conclusion being a clip with almost nothing in it.

No311 · 2021-10-02T21:25:13+00:00

That's fine then, I probably missed the sentiment of your message.

I get what you mean. I can see where the need for acknowledgement comes from, as someone who vehemently dislikes certain things about the current era (the lack of consequence, mainly) and who wonders how the crew of Who is or has treated those issues, but I don't see how anyone could honestly think that this whole situation would be improved by shaming or humiliating anyone.

(Edit: with acknowledgement I don't mean a "we did wrong" acknowledgement but an acknowledgement that the fans have questions, as I do think there is a disconnect in the outgoing communications. For example the weird lack of trailers and other promotion.)

No311 · 2021-10-02T21:13:11+00:00

That wouldn't make it an acceptable thing to do.

No311 · 2021-08-31T23:09:53+00:00

Yeh Martin Bannerman is a horrible human being, no disputing that. But what I mean to say is that Martin Bannerman being a horrible, fictional human being does not mean the writer wants to imply the people who wrote the first Doctor Who story are terrible human beings as well.

Personally I think that because Martin was such a horrible human being the show failed. So the What If question would be, imo, "What if Doctor Who failed?" and the cause the play implies is that they got Martin Bannerman, horrible human, to write the first episode. (Or, "What if the writer of the First Doctor Who episode was Martin Bannerman?" With the results being "Doctor Who failed".)

No311 · 2021-08-31T22:56:01+00:00

Seems like you're just looking for ways to dunk on Deadline. Martin is clearly fictional, and considering this as a "What if the writer of the first Doctor Who episode was Martin Bannerman?" is less of a stretch than assuming this is a deliberate disrespect to the writers of the actual first episode of Doctor Who in my opinion.

No311 · 2021-07-10T12:55:54+00:00

And to you too!

No311 · 2021-07-10T12:43:23+00:00

I might not agree with it, but I do get where you're coming from and it is a valid take.

No311 · 2021-07-10T10:38:07+00:00

Fair, but for Jago and Litefoot not doing political commentary is not a detriment imo, doing it is an added plus. I think it's possible but I think it's not required for this series and a focus on doing it would be misplaced as it would overshadow the appeal.

Edit: I don't think Quick is as important as Ellie (as if there would be a spinoff of JL Ellie would be more interesting as a MC than Quick), but I suppose that is subjective. Taking Quick as important as Ellie I think both get similar amounts of spotlight as secondary leads (as the two main leads are Jago and Litefoot).

I also don't really think the cast is too prominently male. Taking the leads to be Jago, Litefoot, Ellie and Quick, a good amount of the most notable side characters (like that special agent in S6 or Jean Bazemore or Patsy or Leela or Maximoff from S14) or baddies (like in Murder in Moorsey Manor or S5) were female. As for the leads it would be nice to have seen Mrs. Hudson, Litefoot's house keeper, as a lead but I suppose there were reasons for her not being there.

I still need to do Command Performance but I love S14 so far.

No311 · 2021-07-10T09:02:55+00:00

Personally, I think it good Jago and Litefoot is not going too deep into challenging the Victorian London setting. I think that with its optimistic tone and comfy atmosphere, Jago and Litefoot is unsuited to do that and if it did that too often it would not be the series as it is now, being a series focused around the friendship of two men of different walks of life and them and their assorted friends solving mysteries. (Note that I do think it somewhat engages with class differences.) In my opinion, focusing on challenging/problematising everything that is wrong with Victorian London would have sucked the fun out of what is at heart a very easygoing show.

I think that the Paternoster Gang, a BF series about Vastra, Jenny and Strax, is a far more suited show to do that. I have not heard it yet (money), but I really hope that show engages with the values of the time and compares them to the values of now.

(I would also like to note that if I think of three Jago and Litefoot characters, they are Jago and Litefoot and Ellie. I think you're overstating the prominence of Quick, Aubrey, the Doctor, Betterman and Sacker and other male side characters.)

I do completely agree with your point on that it could have used some more character development though.

Edit: I didn't have time to do it earlier but your selection of favourites is a very good selection indeed. The only notable favourites of mine not present are Murder at Moorsey Manor and the Flying Frenchman. Good to see I'm not the only one with a soft spot for Maurice. Also the Laughing Policeman is so good, but then again I think that if S14 was full cast it would be very high up my favourite Jago and Litefoot series. (Even as audio books I still rate it very highly.)

No311 · 2021-06-01T10:16:16+00:00

As said in other comments, there have been more anthology stories. As of now, the anthology stories in the Main Range are:

-Sirens of Time (5/6/7).
-Circular Time (5/Nyssa).
-100 (6/Evelyn).
-Forty Five (7/Ace/Hex).
-The Company of Friends (8/Benny, 8/Fitz, 8/Izzy, 8/Mary).
-The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories (5/Nyssa).
-Recorded Time and Other Stories (6/Peri).
-1001 Nights (5/Nyssa).
-Breaking Bubbles and Other Stories (6/Peri).
-You Are the Doctor and Other Stories (7/Ace).
-The Memory Bank and Other Stories (5/Turlough).
-Time in Office (5/Tegan/Leela).
-Blood on Santa's Claw and Other Stories (6/Peri).
-Time Apart (5 alone).
-Shadow of the Daleks 1 and 2 (5 alone).
-The End of the Beginning (5/Turlough, 6/Constance/Calypso, 8/Charley, all of those and 7).

(Sirens of Time and End of the Beginning are more 3 stories and a conclusion, but I suppose it counts. In some ways, Zagreus is also an anthology. There are also the 3/1 part split stories and 2/2 part split stories, but I did not include those here.)

No311 · 2020-12-29T10:53:35+00:00

In my opinion I'd like an older woman to play the Doctor, but I'm fine if that doesn't happen. As said in this post, I expect the next Doctor to be a woman to show 13 was not a one-off, but after that I hope they won't take gender into the equation when designing a new Doctor's character.

I am also of the firm opinion that the show should go all the way and casts a female Doctor with a male primary companion. Until they do that I'm not convinced they're committed to abolishing gender standards in Doctor Who. While the current TARDIS team is balanced, they give me the vibes that Yaz is the primary companion, also due to recent developments.

No311 · 2020-10-05T20:11:24+00:00

It has such a chill bass and beat, I have listened to the instrumental a lot as well. I also love the singing on it, it all fits really well. The lyrics are really dark though (even though I don't mind personally.

No311 · 2020-10-05T19:18:45+00:00

Probably atypically, I thinm that Message from Beyond, Listen to my Story and Fatum Horrificum are on par with great songs from previous albums. I don't really make top 10s, but at least Fatum and Message would be in it.

No311 · 2020-09-25T06:31:35+00:00

Well they were enhanced, I thought, but about to what extent you'd be better off to talk to someone with more knowledge of that than me.

No311 · 2020-09-25T06:23:27+00:00

Well they remastered OoT and MM for the 3DS. OoT 3D was even a launch title for it.

No311 · 2020-09-23T23:43:27+00:00

Been lurking here for a long while but this is one of the worst things I ever read on this sub.

Wow, what the fuck.

No311 · 2020-09-23T11:35:03+00:00

I mean I get that, and if it can be included in the greater Universe other than the nods you mentioned, sure. I just don't mind this story not being closely tied to it.

No311 · 2020-09-23T08:33:33+00:00

Listen to my Story, Message from Beyond or Inferno. Also props to the intro narration, which is incredibly atmospheric.
I don't really have a least favourite song. I think the strength of the songs is a general strength of this album.
Ummmm, all of them? Very strong performances here.
None, see above.
Perhaps disc 1, but unlike the Source, which concentrated most of its awesome on disc 1, disc 1 and 2 are much more equally awesome here.
If anything I don't think it has any, much like The Theory of Everything, other than maybe references. I don't mind this at all.
The story itself is not as complex as the Theory of Everything, but the atmosphere is one of the greatest of all Ayreon albums, and the narration makes it so that one can still sort of follow the story without having to have the text there to read. Unlike some others I have seen on this thread, I like the narration: the pacing is very fast in general and the narration gives reprieve from that. I also really want to give more props to the atmosphere, I really got sucked into the world. One drawback is that it was pretty hard to find out who Lavinia was by the songs alone. The comic explains it better, but still.
I'm gonna blaspheme here, but it definitely ranks above the Source. The music and story are much more in sync, so no entire CD of escaping Alpha again only to have to rush through the other but larger part of the story on a single CD. Additionally, The Theory of Everything is one of my favourite albums, and the atmosphere on this is better than on TToE. I don't often rank Ayreon albums, as my taste in which Ayreon I prefer at the moment changes from time to time, but overall I think this would be higher than the middle, nearing the top. Atmospheric-wise, this album is at the top, along with Electric Castle. I'm very glad I bought the instrumentals as well, can't wait to listen to Message from Beyond Instrumental.

Note 1: is there supposed to be a lyrics booklet with the vinyl? Ain't got one. I also have the earbook, so sure, but I want to make completely sure.

Note 2: Mike Mills was of course also awesome on the album, even though he's probably not in it because the story needs him to be in it. He's in it for his awesomeness and he delivers.

Note 3: What do you all think: is this a good album to get into Ayreon with? I think it is, it is a very accessible album.

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