Seasons of War

Seasons of War was a series of unofficial Doctor Who charity publications published for the benefit of Cauldwell Children. The books were edited by Declan May and printed and distributed by Chinbeard Books. As they featured contributions from many authors of official Doctor Who universe material, they are notable to this wiki.

Tales from a Time War
Seasons of War: Tales from a Time War was 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. 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
“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
This table lists the contents of the first edition.

Short film
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
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. In November 2015, a French-language anthology was also announced. 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. 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. 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. 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, as were audio recordings of Tales from a Time War and The Horde of Travesties and A History of the Time War 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. 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.

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.

Gallifrey
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.

Publisher's summary
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.