The War Doctor Returns in a New Novel

[Allyn Gibson]

George Mann is writing a new novel for BBC Books, Engines of War, starring the War Doctor in the time leading up to "The Day of the Doctor. The book is due out in July. (Source)

Not a lot known about it yet, but it's already something I'm insanely excited about. John Hurt is my Doctor, after all.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

That's cool. I can see the War Doctor (and I wonder what he'll call himself in this book, since he apparently did not even though the General, Rassilon and everyone else did) taking up a place in the canon much like the Eighth Doctor, with literally centuries of potential adventures available on what is basically a blank slate. This could be the platform upon which we finally get resolution to a million loose ends that have never, and will likely never be resolved in the current show.

Mark

 

[Allyn Gibson]

TI wonder what he'll call himself in this book, since he apparently did not even though the General, Rassilon and everyone else did

I was thinking about that very thing recently. And here's what I came up with.

I think it's very possible that he did, in fact, refer to himself as "the Doctor" during his lifetime. Yes, his first words were "Doctor no more," but at that point he hadn't done anything bad, and even as the War raged on and he was forced to do more morally ambiguous things he could justify them in a larger "ends justify the means" framework and that he was being the Doctor by doing them. In this view, it's only when he decided to timenuke Gallifrey and steal the Moment that he realized that a line had been crossed as he was, truly, "Doctor no more." And, if so, that's the point of what the Moment does, to show this man who has just renounced his own identity the person that he was and would be.

 

[Stevil2001]

I did not imagine this could even happen, so I am very excited! (Except that I've found Mann's Big Finish word a little weak.)

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I read about this earlier today. I haven't delved into the work of Doctor Who novels because I've been so focused on Big Finish's audio plays, but I think I'll check this out. I enjoyed George Mann's Pyralis Effect and loved "Rise and Fall" (both for Big Finish), so I'm sure he's a good choice for the novel.

 

[Christopher]

While I think Allyn's interpretation is thoughtful and interesting, what the Doctor said in "The Night of the Doctor" was that the universe had no more need of a doctor, so the Sisters should make him a warrior. So if anything, I suspect he'd think of himself as the Warrior.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I hope this isn't the only War Doctor spin-off. To be honest, I'd love to see David Mack tackle the character; that's up his alley and he'd be brilliant.

 

[Guy Gardener]

So does 9 fall for Rose because she looks like a weapon that can destroy a galaxy?

 

[Allyn Gibson]

So does 9 fall for Rose because she looks like a weapon that can destroy a galaxy?

Perhaps on a subconscious level. If the Doctor can't remember "doing the right thing," it's unlikely that he consciously remembers the Moment's avatar. But he might subconsciously feel some familiarity with Rose, never quite knowing why she's familiar.

I've wondered if the Moment "made" Rose for precisely that reason, molding her to be someone the post-Moment Doctor would feel comfortable with to help him move on toward healing. But then we're into Sam Jones territory.

(To explain that last reference -- Sam Jones was the eighth Doctor's companion in the BBC novels. It turns out she was engineered to be the Doctor's perfect companion. RTD's first series of the new series might've done something similar with Rose had Paul Abbott's "Pompeii" not fallen through.)

 

[Christopher]

So does 9 fall for Rose because she looks like a weapon that can destroy a galaxy?

Rather, because she looks like the entity that saved him from making the worst mistake of his lives, even if he didn't consciously remember it.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Read about it, maybe will read it sometime along the line... but really, I'm not that interested. Hurt's great, but of all the Doctors, he's last for me.

 

[The Wormhole]

Saw something about this online earlier, definitely a must read. Novels are certainly the best way to revisit the War Doctor and given how much he aged during his lifespan, there's plenty of material to cover. While I'm not sure I'd want an ongoing series continuity like the Eighth Doctor had or even the Seventh had with the New Adventures, a stand alone novel or two per year would real satisfactory.

TI wonder what he'll call himself in this book, since he apparently did not even though the General, Rassilon and everyone else did

I was thinking about that very thing recently. And here's what I came up with.

I think it's very possible that he did, in fact, refer to himself as "the Doctor" during his lifetime. Yes, his first words were "Doctor no more," but at that point he hadn't done anything bad, and even as the War raged on and he was forced to do more morally ambiguous things he could justify them in a larger "ends justify the means" framework and that he was being the Doctor by doing them. In this view, it's only when he decided to timenuke Gallifrey and steal the Moment that he realized that a line had been crossed as he was, truly, "Doctor no more." And, if so, that's the point of what the Moment does, to show this man who has just renounced his own identity the person that he was and would be.

Problem is, in Time of the Doctor when explaining the regeneration limit and to Clara and how he's on his final life, the Doctor explains "I may not have called myself the Doctor during the Time War, but that's still a regeneration." That makes it pretty clear he was going by a different name back then.

Read about it, maybe will read it sometime along the line... but really, I'm not that interested. Hurt's great, but of all the Doctors, he's last for me.

The War Doctor is a real interesting idea with lots of story potential that was sadly squandered in Day of the Doctor, so I'm really looking forward to this novel. A chance to see the War Doctor at his best/worst. Plus, he's practically a blank slate, so there's a lot about this Doctor for a novel to explore.

 

[Starkers]

Well he was, but I'm guessing everyone else called him the Doctor, he just didn't refer to himself in that way. Personally I don't see a problem with even the author refering to him as the Doctor throughout the narrative.

The Doctor skulked into the security office. The Guard Commander jumped to his feet almost immediately.

"Doctor, I'm glad you could make it."

"Don't call me that," groused the Doctor.

 

[Christopher]

^But then how would you handle scenes written from the War Doctor's POV? He wouldn't call himself that in his own internal monologue.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

I suppose if the story was told first-person, they'd avoid a lot of that?

Mark

 

[Starkers]

^But then how would you handle scenes written from the War Doctor's POV? He wouldn't call himself that in his own internal monologue.

Drat

 

[Sindatur]

Yea, I pretty much figure, he didn't deal with a whole lot of people he bothered introducing himself to, and those who knew him (The Time Lords) called him Doctor, because that's what they knew that Time Lord as, despite what face he wore.

On a rare occasion when did have to provide a name, he probably went with the old standby of John Smith

 

[sidious618]

Doctor Who novels generally don't have scenes from the Doctor's POV so it won't be a problem.

 

[The Wormhole]

On a rare occasion when did have to provide a name, he probably went with the old standby of John Smith

I really don't see how that would have worked.

Floz of Gallifrey: "I'm sorry sir, I didn't catch your name."
Doctor: "John Smith."
Floz of Gallifrey: "What kind of name is that?"

Yeah, I know, he could have substituted it with whatever the Gallifreyan version of John Smith is, but I assume he didn't since in my mind that is his real name.

 

[Christopher]

Doctor Who novels generally don't have scenes from the Doctor's POV so it won't be a problem.

The ones I've read often do. Certainly the most recent one I've read, Corpse Marker by Chris Boucher, did.