Seasons of War
Seasons of War was a series of unofficial Doctor Who charity publications published for the benefit of Caudwell Children. The series was edited by Declan May and printed and distributed by Chinbeard Books and Altrix Books. They notably featured contributions from many authors of official Doctor Who universe material.
Releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tales from a Time War[[edit] | [edit source]]
Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War was an anthology 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 book was announced some time before March 2014 and donations were accepted on JustGiving.com in exchange for an ebook.[1] The ebook was released to donors in January 2015, with the print edition planned for December 2014 but ultimately 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.
The anthology was reviewed in DWM 507.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
“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[[edit] | [edit source]]
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 | An offcut from The Shakespeare Notebooks. |
| 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[[edit] | [edit source]]
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.
Further releases[[edit] | [edit source]]
As Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War ended in a cliffhanger, the Seasons of War team announced plans for a second and third anthology as well as a novel titled Seasons of War: Dispatches to be released in July 2015. Dispatches was not released, but in late August another novel titled Seasons of War: The Agent was announced for release in December 2015.[2] In November 2015, a French-language anthology was also announced.[3] All of these releases were later announced to be cancelled.
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.[4] 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.[5] Instead, a "Final Edition" rerelease of Tales from a Time War was announced.
In June 2017, the Seasons of War team announced a number of new books. 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.[6] An illustrated and expanded version of the latter part, A History of the Time War, was also announced from Papaver Books and made available for preorder,[7] as were audio recordings of Tales from a Time War and The Horde of Travesties and A History of the Time War[8] and an ebook of the second edition of Tales from a Time War.
Also in June 2017 it was announced that three more Seasons of War novels would follow in 2018: Gallifrey, by Paul Driscoll and Kara Dennison; Corsair by Simon Brett and Jon Arnold; and Regenerations by James Gent, Warren Frey, and Sami Kelsh. There would also be a novella released in January 2018 entitled Seasons of War: The Curator, "with a portion of the profits going to Caudwell Children." Limited preorder windows were opened for the books individually and as a group.[9] A further novella, The Boy in the Barn, and a new anthology, War Crimes: Dispatches & Testimonies from the Dark Side of the Time War, were also announced for 2018 and made available for preorder for a limited time.[10]
Of all these plans only Seasons of War: Gallifrey was ultimately released, by Altrix Books rather than Chinbeard Press. The remainder of the books were derailed by Declan May's health issues in late 2017 and a copyright infringement letter from BBC Worldwide in August 2018. Shortly after announcing a refund for preorders, the Seasons of War team closed their social media pages.[11]
Gallifrey[[edit] | [edit source]]
Seasons of War: Gallifrey was a novel written by Paul Driscoll and Kara Dennison and published by Altrix Books in July 2018 independently of any other Seasons of War content. 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.
As of September 2018, the release had raised £1,000 for Caudwell Children.[12]
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
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.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- 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[[edit] | [edit source]]
Unused cover by Will Brooks.
Final cover.
External Links[[edit] | [edit source]]
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- ↑ Archive.org: Seasons Of War - An Unofficial Doctor Who Charity Anthology
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War: Dispatches, The Agent. August 2015.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War French-language anthology
- ↑ 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: Seasons of War: The Horde of Travesties and A History of the Time War announcement. 13 June 2017.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Seasons of War: A History of the Time War Papaver announcement
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Audiobooks. 2 September 2017.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Three novels and a novella. 18 June 2017.
- ↑ TimeLordArchives: Interview with the Editor of Seasons of War. 1 August 2017.
- ↑ GallifreyBase: Cancellation. October 2018.
- ↑ Altrix Books: "Statement on SEASONS OF WAR and the publication of GALLIFREY"
