''Theatre of War'' is an original novel written by

Justin Richards Justin Richards (born 14 September 1961) is a British writer. He has written science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian or early-20th-century London, and also adventure stories set in the present day. He has written ...

and based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It features the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

and Bernice. It also introduces the recurring character of

Irving Braxiatel Irving Braxiatel or Cardinal Braxiatel is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures—spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He subsequently became a regular character in novels and audio dr ...

. A prelude to the novel, also written by Richards, appeared in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' #212.

Synopsis

An archeological expedition to the planet Menaxus ends in tragedy; all but one of the visitors die and lethal radiation contaminates the surface. Now the survivor is leading a new trip, with Professor Bernice Summerfield. Murders start again. Bernice summons her friends, the Doctor and Ace. They are sucked into a dangerously real re-creation of Shakespeare's play, ''Hamlet'', which is paralleled by ''The Good Soldiers'', the (fictitious) purportedly lost play of the future playwright Stanoff Osterling.

Audio adaption

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

released an audio dramatisation of the book in December 2015 alongside an audio dramatisation of

All-Consuming Fire ''All-Consuming Fire'' is a novel written by Andy Lane and the 27th entry in the ''Virgin New Adventures'', a series based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The novel is a crossover with Arthur Co ...

. The audio play reunited

Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...

Sophie Aldred Sophie Aldred (born 20 August 1962) is an English actress and television presenter. She has worked extensively in children's television as a presenter and voice artist. She played the Seventh Doctor's companion, Ace, in the television series ''Do ...

and

Lisa Bowerman Lisa Bowerman (born 1 February 1962) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying Sandra Mute, the paramedic, in the BBC One medical drama ''Casualty'', in the first two series (1986–1987). She also starred as Professor Bernice Summe ...

as the

, Bernice. Miles Richardson also reprised his role as

; having previously played the role in the ''Bernice Summerfield'' and ''Gallifrey'' audio series for Big Finish.

External links

''Theatre of War'' Prelude
{{Seventh Doctor stories, selected=Books 1994 British novels 1994 science fiction novels Virgin New Adventures Novels by Justin Richards Seventh Doctor novels