Doctor Who: Fortunes of War

Jan 2, 2026 12:20 PM

Author:Justin Richards,Colin Baker

Colin Baker reads this original adventure featuring the Sixth Doctor, set in the First World War.

“You've seen what happens, Mark. You know what time can do if it's damaged.”

"One of the best, if not the best original Doctor Who audio story from BBC Audio and its predecessors – highly recommended." scifibulletin.com

Travelling alone for once, the Sixth Doctor elects to return to Earth, and the First World War. There he must solve, once and for all, a mystery he unearthed in earlier incarnations. Someone has been interfering to alter the course of the war — but to what end?

With Captain Mark Steadman and Nurse Annie Grantham, the Doctor travels to a forest in Germany, on a cold morning in November. At the heart of the forest is a massive temporal disturbance, and there he will rendezvous with whoever is behind significant changes to the accepted history of the Great War.

But the forces of Time bring other entities to the meeting place: terrifying, corporeal ghosts of soldiers from many centuries of battle. If the Doctor, Mark and Annie are to escape with their lives — and return history to it proper course — they will need help from unexpected quarters.

Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor in the BBC TV series, reads this dramatic and emotive new story by Justin Richards.

Duration: 1 hour 15 mins approx.

Reviews

I am so thrilled by the BBC's production of my novel, The Hours, and - believe me - a novelist does not thrill easily

—— Michael Cunningham

This is a novelisation that needs to be experienced, better yet to be felt.

—— Phil Roberts in The Future of the Force

Slick and playful

—— Star Wars Aficionado

The book stands alone as its own work of art that simply can’t be compared (extensively) to the script from which it was derived

—— Dork Side of the Force

Definitely recommended for fans and people who want more depth in the story

—— Star Wars Awakens

‘Solo is easily one of my favorite Star Wars books of the year, and one of my favorite Star Wars movie novelizations period. Making a novelization exciting is always a tricky business because authors need to keep readers engaged with a story where they already know what’s coming. Solo pulls this off by adding just the right amount of extra detail to keep each scene fresh and interesting without veering too far from the original movie and turning this into a completely new story. I’d recommend picking up Solo: A Star Wars Story whether or not you enjoyed the movie earlier this year, because I think it will make you love it more either way.’

—— Geek Mom

She gives a voice to the voiceless...The Silence of the Girls is a book that will be read in generations to come

—— Daily Telegraph

An impressive feat of literary revisionism that should be on the Man Booker longlist... This is a story about the very real cost of wars waged by men... Barker makes us re-think history

—— Independent

Giving voice to the voiceless, this is a gripping feat of imagination that succeeds in being relevant today

—— Woman and Home

The most important novel based on The Iliad so far this century

—— Edith Hall

The magic of Barker's book is that the resonance of giving silenced women a voice at the centre of the story is just as relevant today

—— Grazia

[Pat Barker] is one of our finest modern chroniclers of war...this magisterial novel is both a timely exploration of power, misogyny and violence and an elegant counternarrative to one of literature's founding conflicts

—— The Guardian

Previous Article：Doctor Who and the Invisible Enemy Next Article：Promise at Dawn

Comments

Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.