User:SOTO/Forum Archive/Inclusion debates/@comment-33695797-20200703215633/@comment-6032121-20200703220611

There is an ongoing thread regarding the problem with the current "Non-fiction" template we plaster on reference works even if they're in-universe. So that's kind of its own kettle of fish.

From what you say, I'd agree this seems to be an unusual form of narrative, as opposed to a wholly non-narrative work. But fair warning, I have not read it myself, and it doesn't seem as clear-cut to me as The Book of the War is. TBotW is telling the story of a specific set of events, namely the first fifty years of the War in Heaven. If there is a story to TARDIS Type 40 Instruction Manuel, can you summarise it in similar terms? Is it essentially a biography of the Doctor's TARDIS? A history of the construction and usage of Type 40s in general? What?

I'm usually a big advocate of inclusion in most inclusion debates, as is well-known, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Dalek Dictionary has a bit of story in places (a brief bio of Yarvelling in the relevant entry, for example), but as a complete work it is clearly not a narrative, and so is rightly invalid on Rule 1 grounds. This looks like it could be the same thing, from the information you've provided. Though I'm eager to be convinced otherwise!

If uncertainty persists, I would recommend tracking down quotes by the author (or, failing that, the publisher). There is no shortage of quotes from Lawrence Miles or the publisher, solidifying the fact that they see The Book of the War as a novel of sorts, and very much as a story. Could similar quotes be found about this?

At any rate, if it's valid, then I think it's clear that it's a "(novel)" for the same reason the K9 adventures and Dr. Men books are "novels," even if it's not the word a literary critic might use to describe it.