Seasons of War
Seasons of War was a series of unofficial Doctor Who charity publications published for the benefit of Cauldwell Children. The books were edited by Declan May and printed and distributed by Chinbeard Books. As they featured contributions from many authors of official Doctor Who universe material, they are notable to this wiki.
Releases
Tales from a Time War
Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War was edited by Declan May, Simon Brett, Nicholas Hollands, Warren Frey, and John Davies. It was dedicated to Paul Spragg, who had proposed the book and helped gather a number of contributors before his death in 8 May 2014. The ebook was initially released to donors in January 2015, and the print anthology was made available for purchase in July 2016.
In March 2017 a second "Final Edition" was released in paperback with a foreword by the War Doctor's creator, Steven Moffat; three additional stories by Gary Russell, Cristine Grit, and Declan May; new artwork by Simon Brett; and a tribute to John Hurt, the War Doctor's actor, who had died that January.
Publisher's summary
“They retaliate in ways more inventive, more deadly and more unimaginable than ever before. Events are written and unwritten again and again. History is changed. Future is altered. Every moment in time and space is burning. The Time War is about to enter a new phase. Whatever you call yourself, you’re going to be very busy...”
A War that threatens all of time and space…
A man who has renounced his name and everything he stood for…
A battle being fought across the universe between old enemies, both sides keeping dark secrets that must never be revealed…
Stories
This table lists the contents of the first edition.
| Title | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Preface | Nicholas Briggs | |
| Epilogue: Warsmiths | Matt Fitton | A sequel to Dark Eyes 3. Illustrated by Paul Griffin. |
| I. Karn | Declan May | Illustrated by Paul Hanley. |
| Crowsnest Past | Warren Frey | |
| The Eight Minute War | Lee Rawlings | |
| Everything in its Right Place | J.R. Southall | |
| II. Corsair | Declan May | |
| The Ambassador From Wolf-Rayet 134 | Kate Orman | Illustrated by Carolyn Edwards. |
| The Amber Room | Simon Brett, John Davies | |
| The Celephas Gift | Andrew Smith | |
| The Girl with the Purple Hair (3 parts) | Declan May, John Davies | Introduced recurring character Jenny Shirt. |
| An Historical Curiosity | Matthew Sweet | |
| Here Comes the Doctor | Christopher Bryant | |
| Your Move | John Peel | A sequel to War of the Daleks. |
| III. Sonnet | Jenny Colgan | |
| Disjecta Membra | Elton Townend-Jones | |
| IV. Loop | Declan May | |
| The Holdover | Daniel Wealands | |
| Climbing the Mountain | Lance Parkin | Features Kalkravian culture. |
| Gardening | Sami Kelish | |
| Sleepwalking to Paradise | Dan Barratt | |
| Guerre | Alan P. Jack and Declan May | |
| V. Lady Leela | Declan May | Illustrated by Paul Hanley. |
| Making Endings | Nick Mellish | |
| The Book of Dead Time | David Carrington | |
| Driftwood | Simon Brett | |
| The Ingenious Gentleman | Alan Ronald | |
| Fall | Matt Barber | |
| Always Face the Curtain with a Bow | Jon Arnold | |
| Help a Stranded Time Traveller | Matthew Slyvester | |
| Storage Wars | Paul Driscoll | |
| The Postman | John Davies | |
| The Thief of All Ways | Elliot Thorpe | |
| The Time Lord Who Came to Tea | Paul Driscoll | |
| The Nightmare Child | Declan May | Art by Paul Griffin. |
| Meal on Wheels | Paul Magrs | |
| Time Enough for War | Jim Mortimore | Comic story illustrated by Simon Brett. |
| Doctor Death | Barnaby Eaton-Jones | |
| The Beach | Gary Russell | |
| The Moments In Between | George Mann | Featured licensed use of Cinder from Engines of War, as well as a Sarkovian. Illustrated by Paul Hanley. |
| Prologue: The Horde of Travesties | Declan May | Introduced the Chronosmiths, who later appeared in Season of War: Gallifrey and The Chronosmith Chronicles. |
| "The Director's Tale" | Andy Robinson | Discussed the promotional short film. |
Short film
A short film written and produced by Andy Robinson was released on Youtube on 30 January 2015 to promote the anthology. It featured a portrayal of the young War Doctor by Tom Menary and a portrayal of the Corsair by Tom Hutchings; the latter character is identifiable by an Ouroboros tattoo on his arm.
Gallifrey
Seasons of War: Gallifrey was a novel by Paul Driscoll and Kara Dennison released from Altrix Books in August 2018. It featured the Chronosmiths as introduced in Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War and introduced original characters who would go on to appear in Driscol and Dennison's fully-licensed Chronosmith Chronicles novels.
Publisher's summary
On a planet already broken and divided, an unlikely band of friends are forced apart as a devastating time war rips their world asunder and threatens to destroy all of time and space.
In the struggle for peace, their lives will never be the same again.
But can Savalia, a poet turned soldier; Mordicai, a school drop-out turned engineer; Kendo, an idealist turned senator; and Tor Fasa, a respected academic turned war criminal, reunite to save the universe from total destruction?
This is the story of how they fought the war and how the war fought them.
Further releases
As Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War ended in a cliffhanger, in September 2016 the Seasons of War team announced a second anthology, Seasons of War: A History of the Time War, for release in October 2017 as a limited-edition leatherbound book.[1] A book called The History of the Time War had previously been depicted in the 2013 Doctor Who episode Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS. However, after about a month, the Seasons of War team indicated that this plan had been cancelled.[2] Instead, a "Final Edition" rerelease of Tales from a Time War was announced.
In June 2017, the Seasons of War team announced five new books.[3] The first was Seasons of War: The Horde of Travesties and A History of the Time War, which would include both The Horde of Travesties, a novel-length bridge between Seasons of War and The Day of the Doctor, and A History of the Time War, an annotated "in-universe" account of the Time War. This was set to be released in December 2017.[4]
However, due to Declan May's health issues and a copyright infringement letter from BBC Worldwide, the series was cancelled in October 2018, and a refunding of preorders was announced.[5]
Notes
- The series focuses on the untold adventures of the War Doctor portrayed by John Hurt, who fought in the Time War over an uncertain period of time. Part of the aim of the book was to create an "era" for a Doctor which has largely been unrevealed.
- Tales from a Time War underwent through several cover changes, including a cover showing a progression of the War Doctor from young to old, then another with a post-regeneration War Doctor designed by artist Will Brooks. However, licensing issues prevented the use of John Hurt's likeness on the cover of the anthology. A version was designed by Simon Brett, an image from the accompanying film, further refined down to the final minimalist-style cover.
Gallery
Unused cover by Will Brooks.
Final cover.
External Links
Footnotes
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War: A History of the Time War announcement. 8 September 2016.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War: A History of the Time War cancellation. 17 October 2016.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Three novels and a novella. 18 June 2017.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War: The Horde of Travesties and A History of the Time War announcement. 13 June 2017.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Cancellation. October 2018.
