A new era in Doctor Who fiction begins with a story taking us back to before 100 000 BC.
Kim Newman has opted to tell Time and Relative in the form of Susan's diary, expanding on the characterisation shown on screen, making Susan a well rounded character, instead of the clich� she often appears as onscreen. The Susan of Time and Relative is an alien, currently experiencing the usual teenage problems, such as hating school. The greatest strength of Time and Relative is in how Newman uses Susan to tell the events of the novella, and through this making Susan a more rounded character.
Time and Relative builds up to elements of continuity established later on in the series. Newman uses the imagery of school in an nightmarish version of the events that led to the Doctor and Susan leaving Gallifrey, with a vision of the Master as a truant officer.
As mentioned earlier, the Doctor is shown in this novella as a very mysterious figure, choosing to keep to himself and not to interfere. It takes a child's imagination to convince the Doctor to act and do something about the villains of the novella.
The Cold come across as an intriguing race. Their actions on Earth start off slowly, first as an unusually cold winter, but then the snow comes to life, rolling through London, with armies of snowmen attacking people. The Cold is personified well, and their attacks come across terrifyingly well.
Newman has delved into far back into Doctor Who history by naming Susan's friends John and Gillian. John and Gillian are quite likeable characters, complementing Susan well. Ian and Barbara make a cameo appearance in the novella, reminding the reader of what's to come for Susan and the Doctor.
Justin Richards provides both the foreword and afterword, in which he comments on the strengths of Time and Relative, and of Doctor Who as a whole. Richard's bookends act to reinforce what I found impressive within the novella, serving one purpose of a foreword and afterword; to give an impression of what is being commented upon, and to reflect upon its strengths.
Time and Relative, as the first Telos novellas gets the range off to an excellent start, showing the strengths of the novella format, as a story gives Susan the chance to shine and is an absolutely essential purchase.
9.2/10
Next time: The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit a city home to a very special child...