Men of War (audio story)
Men of War was an audiobook in the Audio Originals series from BBC Audio featuring the First Doctor with companions Steven Taylor and Sara Kingdom. It was read by Peter Purves.
It was the first in a trilogy of First World War stories written by Justin Richards released in 2018, marking the centenary of the war's end. It was followed by Horrors of War and Fortunes of War.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
"The Battle of the Somme is the pivotal moment of this conflict... History hinges on it!”
It's the start of August 1916, and war is raging on the battlefields of France. In the front line trenches, British soldiers are vanishing without trace. Captain Mark Steadman witnesses one of his comrades being pulled down beneath the mud, and realises that something is terribly wrong.
When three civilians and a large blue box arrive on the scene, Steadman finds himself helping in their enquiries. The Doctor declares that something has gone wrong with the timeline of the War; the Battle of the Somme should have already begun, yet there is no sign of it. He demands an audience with Field Marshal Haig! A crater in no-man's land reveals the grisly horror of the missing men's fate, and brings the Doctor and his friends into terrible danger. There are forces at work here which even he can't fully comprehend.
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Doctor has an envelope of official papers signed by the former Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- This story is told from the perspective of Mark Steadman.
- This story occurs in between episodes 7 and 8 of The Daleks' Master Plan. It is the first to be released since The Sontarans, which serves as the chronological end of this narrative gap.
- The story was reissued in the audio anthology Tales of Time and Space.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The First Doctor, Steven and Sara also visited France during World War I two years earlier during the Christmas Armistice. (PROSE: The Little Drummer Boy) Shortly before his first regeneration, (TV: The Tenth Planet) the Doctor would return to the World War I setting, along with a future incarnation. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)
- The Doctor, Steven and Sara are on the run with the Daleks' taranium core. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan)
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Official Men of War page at Penguin Books
