The novel “Engines of War” by George Mann was published for the first time in 2014.
The War Doctor is involved in a Time Lords attack on a Dalek stronghold but the target is revealed to be an ambush. The consequence is that the Battle Tardis fleet is destroyed by superior enemy forces while the Doctor’s Tardis is damaged and crashes on the planet Moldox.
There is still a human population on the planet and the Doctor knows this means that the Daleks need slaves to work for them or to use for some experiment. The encounter with Cinder, a girl who lives on the planet, leads him to discover a terrible new Dalek weapon. Warning the Time Lords of the new danger is crucial, but when Rassilon decides measures that will have an enormous cost in terms of lives, the Doctor must turn against his people.
Generally, the novels connected to the TV show “Doctor Who” are published in book series that have specific graphics, size, and very similar lengths. In some cases, however, the BBC chose to publish novels that have different characteristics including an increased length that allows offering better-developed stories.
“The Day of the Doctor“, the special episode for the 50th “Doctor Who” anniversary, had among its protagonists the War Doctor, an incarnation of this character who remained unknown for years. Officially, this incarnation disowned his name to actively participate in the terrible Time War fought between the Time Lords and the Daleks and the subsequent ones hid his existence after returning to being the Doctor.
The War Doctor only appeared in one episode of the TV show, so George Mann didn’t have much material to characterize him as he wrote “Engines of War”. However, there are several references to his personal history, with roots in the classic series and even more in the new series.
In the end, for an incarnation who disowned his own name, his behavior seems rather typical of the Doctor. The novel’s plot reflects this characteristic, with the Doctor discovering something wrong and trying to solve the problem in his own way. He also has some sort of companion in Cinder, a girl who’s trying to survive on the Dalek-invaded planet Moldox.
The peculiarity of “Engines of War” is the setting during the Time War, and this makes the tones dark from the beginning. The Doctor discovers a terrifying new Dalek invention after a battle in which several Battle Tardises have been destroyed. From there the situation gets worse.
An important part of the plot is the Doctor’s confrontation with the Time Lords, who are ready to do anything to win the war, whatever the cost, especially if other species are the ones who pay the price. In the TV show, Rassilon’s return to power was shown after he was awakened precisely to lead the Time Lords again in that crisis.
In the classic series, Rassilon was shown as a semi-divine figure but we already saw that he was not necessarily a benevolent god. His involvement in the Time War shows his most cruel and ruthless side. The consequence is that the Doctor must oppose his decisions to prevent billions of innocents from being sacrificed for war strategies.
Compared to the “normal” “Doctor Who” novels, “Engines of War” has a much higher intensity. The many acts of violence present in the plot are not described in detail but make this novel unsuitable for the youngest readers. Perhaps also for this reason it’s a book published outside the normal series connected to the new television series.
Overall, “Engines of War” is, in my opinion, a good novel that has characteristics that make it particularly interesting for “Doctor Who” fans, as it explores a period of the Doctor’s history of which we saw very little on television.
