News stories are listed below in reverse chronological order.

24th August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | INTERVIEW & REVIEW

An interview with author Dayton Ward has been added to Unreality SF. In a chat with Dan, he discusses his new 4400 novel Wet Work, as well as talking at length about his Star Trek writing. The interview can be found here.

Additionally, Naomi's review of the Doctor Who novel The Nightmare of Black Island was added to the site yesterday. You can read her detailed thoughts here.

23rd August 2008 | NEWS | COVER FOR TATE AUDIOBOOK

The cover image of the next audio-exclusive Doctor Who audiobook has been revealed.

Following on from releases such as Torchwood: Hidden and The Sarah Jane Adventures: The Thirteenth Stone - and the debut Doctor Who release, Pest Control - BBC Audio will release The Forever Trap on August 9th.

Whilst it is written as a novel, it will only be available as a double-CD or a download, rather than being a reading of an existing book. Sound effects and music accompany the story.

Written by Dan Abnett, and read by Catherine Tate, the story features the Tenth Doctor and Tate's character Donna Noble. The cover can be found here, as reported by DrWho-Online.co.uk.

21st August 2008 | NEWS | DR WHO BOOK AND AUDIO NEWS

Issue #399 of Doctor Who Magazine, published today in the UK, is packed with information and features about the series' various spin-off books and CDs.

Novel fans are treated to an interview with Justin Richards, the range consultant on the Tenth Doctor books, in which he discusses Past Doctor novels, and experimenting with the format of the range.

There are also interviews with the authors of the next three Tenth Doctor books - Mark Morris discussing Ghosts of India, Simon Messingham talking about The Doctor Trap, and a preview of Shining Darkness from Mark Michalowski.

Listeners to the range of Big Finish audios are treated to a special feature on The Companion Chronicles, and will be delighted to hear that the Black Guardian is returning in the Key 2 Time series, played by David Troughton.

Other news includes the announcement that Lalla Ward will also be coming back to the range, and Anna Hope is to reprise the role of DI Menzies (from The Condemned) in The Raincloud Man with the Sixth Doctor and Charley. Additionally, the second season of Eighth Doctor and Lucie adventures is now scheduled for broadcast on BBC7 beginning in October.

More specific details about all these announcements, as well as casting information for Return of the Krotons, and reviews of a huge range of CDs and books, can be found in DWM #399, which is available now priced £3.99.

20th August 2008 | NEWS | CYBERMEN TRAILER ONLINE

Big Finish have added the trailer for Kingdom of Silver, an upcoming Doctor Who audio play starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and also featuring the Cybermen, to their website.

The trailer can be found here. The play's writer, James Swallow, discussed the story with Unreality SF in an interview earlier this year, which is located here.

20th August 2008 | NEWS | STAR TREK DESTINY EXCERPT

An extract from the first book of the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, Gods of Night by David Mack, has been posted on TrekWeb.com.

It can be read here. The book is released in October 2008, and the subsequent novels will follow in November and December.

20th August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

The latest Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Fearful Symmetry by Olivia Woods, has been reviewed on Unreality SF by Jens.

He praised the book as a "fast, enjoyable read", and said that Woods "was able to rejuvenate my interest in the post finale books". However, he questioned the execution of the flip-book format, and the depiction of Dukat in the novel.

His thoughts can be found in full here.

Other recent additions include Dan's reviews of some Doctor Who audio plays - namely Zagreus ("a bit of a mess"), which was reviewed on August 9th; and Scherzo ("an engrossing and innovative adventure"), which was reviewed on August 18th.

19th August 2008 | NEWS | SIXTH DOCTOR AT BF SIGNING

Colin Baker, who played the Sixth Doctor in Doctor Who, will be attending a special signing event which ties in with the release of his latest audio adventure from Big Finish.

The Doomwood Curse, a story by Jacqueline Rayner in which Baker's co-star is India Fisher as Charley Pollard, will be available at the newly-opened Tardis Shop. The event at this North Lancashire venue will give fans the opportunity to get their copy of the play signed, and possibly even have their photo taken with Baker.

Big Finish producer John Ainsworth will also be present to host an interview with the star, and adult fans will receive a set of money-off vouchers for products in store, whilst younger attendees will get a free goody-bag.

More details can be found at the Big Finish website, and the Tardis Shop website.

18th August 2008 | NEWS | TIME'S CHAMPION ON WHOCAST

Recently-published Doctor Who novel Time's Champion, the final novel of the late Craig Hinton which was completed by Chris McKeon, is featured in the latest episode of a popular Doctor Who podcast.

The eighty-fourth episode of the DWO WhoCast, produced by DrWho-Online.co.uk, boasts both a review of the book and an interview with McKeon.

You can subscribe via iTunes, or listen to the podcast online here.

16th August 2008 | NEWS | STAGE PLAY EXTRAS ANNOUNCED

Big Finish have announced details of the extra features that will be available on the double-disc adaptation of The Ultimate Adventure, the first release in the Doctor Who: The Stage Plays series.

Disc one will feature a documentary entitled Remembering The Ultimate Adventure - a look at the original stage play narrated by Nicholas Briggs, with contributions from writer Terrance Dicks and star Colin Baker - and an In Conversation feature where Briggs and DWM's deputy editor Peter Ware discuss their own memories of the play.

Disc two boasts Remaking The Ultimate Adventure, which is a look at the audio adaptation of the story, and The Making of the Music takes an in-depth look at the story's three musical numbers.

The original announcement, and the chance to order all three plays for just £25 (instead of £45, if bought individually, or £30 for a subscription) can be found here.

15th August 2008 | NEWS | FINAL DESTINY COVER REVEALED

The third and final piece of cover art for the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy is now online. Various websites have revealed the cover of Lost Souls, with art by Rick Berry.

At TrekMovie.com, you can view all three covers, as well as the newly-revealed blurbs which were posted on author David Mack's website recently.

15th August 2008 | NEWS | FAN-PICKED BF PODCASTS

The latest podcast from Big Finish Productions is another "Director's Podlet", presented by Barnaby Edwards, and is available now.

This latest episode focuses on the popular adventure Doctor Who and the Pirates - a subject which was selected by visitors to the Big Finish Forum.

The podcast can be downloaded here, and voting has already begun for the adventure that will be covered in the next episode.

15th August 2008 | NEWS | MISSING WHO EPILOGUE ONLINE

The two-page epilogue of Time's Champion, the unofficial Doctor Who book by Craig Hinton and Chris McKeon, which was published independently after Hinton's death to raise money for charity, is now available online.

The epilogue was accidentally omitted from the first run of the book, and any future reprints are also likely to lack the short scene. Thanks to editor David J. Howe, it can now be viewed online as a .pdf file, located here.

13th August 2008 | NEWS | DESTINY PREVIEW IN TREK MAG

Star Trek Magazine editor Paul Simpson has revealed online that the next two issues of the magazine will feature extracts from the Destiny trilogy.

"There's a longer than normal extract from the first volume of Star Trek Destiny in issue 13 of Star Trek Magazine, out in the next couple of weeks in the US, and early September in the UK," he revealed in a post on the TrekBBS message board. "Dave Mack's also provided an introduction explaining how Destiny differs from some of the previous crossover events - and for USS Titan fans, there are two all-new images of the ship, commissioned and especially created for the extract (because I could!)

"The issue is an original series special," he continued, "with contributions from TrekLit's Jill Sherwin, Mike Martin, KRAD, Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore, Terri Osborne and Dave Mack on Vanguard, as well as a new interview with Star Trek Logs writer Alan Dean Foster, and behind the scenes info on the new Star Trek 101 book. There's also going to be an extract from Destiny book three in issue 14, which makes fascinating reading!"

Simpson's post can be found here, and STM is available from all good bookstores.

13th August 2008 | NEWS | STAR TREK: DESTINY BLURBS

The official blurbs for the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy have finally been released online.

Previously, the only plot information available was in the form of early synopses sent out to websites such as Amazon. Online fans had understandably based their opinions on these synopses, but author David Mack explained that they were not the final blurbs, and heavily implied that the actual plot may differ from those descriptions.

Now, he has posted the final blurbs on his website, InfinityDog.com:

BOOK ONE: GODS OF NIGHT (October 2008)
Half a decade after the Dominion War and more than a year after the rise and fall of Praetor Shinzon, the galaxy's greatest scourge returns to wreak havoc upon the Federation — and this time its goal is nothing less than total annihilation.

Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth's first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity.

From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains — Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, and Ezri Dax of the U.S.S Aventine — that some destinies are inescapable.

BOOK TWO: MERE MORTALS (November 2008)
On Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco gathers allies and adversaries to form a desperate last line of defense against an impending Borg invasion. In deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ezri Dax join together to cut off the Collective's route to the Alpha Quadrant.

Half a galaxy away, Captain William Riker and the crew of the Starship Titan have made contact with the reclusive Caeliar — survivors of a stellar cataclysm that, two hundred years ago, drove fissures through the structure of space and time, creating a loop of inevitability and consigning another captain and crew to a purgatory from which they could never escape.

Now the supremely advanced Caeliar will brook no further intrusion upon their isolation, or against the sanctity of their Great Work. For the small, finite lives of mere mortals carry little weight in the calculations of gods.

But even gods may come to understand that they underestimate humans at their peril.

BOOK THREE: LOST SOULS (December 2008)
The soldiers of Armageddon are on the march, laying waste to worlds in their passage. An audacious plan could stop them forever, but it carries risks that one starship captain is unwilling to take. For Captain Jean-Luc Picard, defending the future has never been so important, or so personal — and the wrong choice will cost him everything for which he has struggled and suffered.

For Captain William Riker, that choice has already been made. Haunted by the memories of those he was forced to leave behind, he must jeopardize all that he has left in a desperate bid to save the Federation.

For Captain Ezri Dax, whose impetuous youth is balanced by the wisdom of many lifetimes, the choice is a simple one: there is no going back — only forward to whatever future awaits them.

But for those who, millennia ago, had no choice … this is the hour of their final, inescapable destiny.

(The blurbs can be found on this page of Mack's website.)

13th August 2008 | NEWS | DR WHO STAGE PLAY PREVIEWS

Fans looking forward to the Doctor Who: The Stage Plays series can whet their appetites thanks to some new updates on the Big Finish website.

The cover for The Ultimate Adventure, starring Colin Baker as the Doctor, is now online here; and an audio trailer for The Seven Keys to Doomsday, which stars Trevor Martin as the Doctor, can be found here.

9th August 2008 | NEWS | MORE BIG FINISH UPDATES

Big Finish Productions, the makers of Doctor Who audio drama, have extended the range of discounts available to subscribers. Anyone signing up for a twelve- or six-release subscription to the main range of Who CDs can claim a £5 discount when purchasing a subscription to any of the Who spin-off ranges, as detailed here.

In addition, the company's official website now boasts the cover art for forthcoming story Time Reef, which can be seen here, and forum users are being given the chance to vote for the subject of Barnaby Edwards's next Director's Podlet podcast in this thread.

8th August 2008 | NEWS | AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR TNG NOVEL

Writer Christopher L. Bennett has posted annotations for his latest novel, Greater Than the Sum, on his official website. The book, which continues the Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch series, was reviewed by Unreality SF today.

Bennett's annotations, which explain references to other stories and describe parts of the book's evolution, can be found here.

8th August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEW ADDED

Our fiftieth Star Trek book review is now online - Greater Than the Sum, the latest Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, written by Christopher L. Bennett.

"The novel is the weakest of all the TNG Relaunch titles," wrote reviewer Jens, "and Bennett’s weakest piece of Star Trek fiction by far."

The full review can be found here.

7th August 2008 | NEWS | STAR TREK COMICS ON DVD

A collection of every Star Trek comic produced, with the exception of those from current license-holder IDW, is due for release soon.

Star Trek: The Complete Comics is a DVD box-set, with over five hundred comic books scanned onto disc and browsable and/or printable in .pdf format, due for release from Graphic Imaging Techonology on September 1st.

Cover art and more detailed information are now online at TrekMovie.com.

7th August 2008 | NEWS | TREKLIT TRANSLATED

It has been announced that the forthcoming fourth novel in the Star Trek: Vanguard series - Open Secrets, by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore - will be translated into German, as has been the case for the previous three books.

Offene Geheimnisse will be released in May 2009, according to the German publisher's website.

Additionally, the four existing Star Trek: Titan novels (Taking Wing and The Red King by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin, Orion's Hounds by Christopher L. Bennett, and Sword of Damocles by Geoffrey Thorne), will be translated into German and released soon.

3rd August 2008 | NEWS | DOCTOR WHO AUDIO UPDATES

3rd August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Two new Doctor Who reviews have been posted on Unreality SF today.

TIM continues his voyage through the Missing Adventures, with a review of Steve Lyons' Time of Your Life. He thought it was "a fantastic novel", praising the author who "clearly understands the Sixth Doctor, with the world of television an apt match for his boisterous vivacity". The full review can be found here.

DAN, meanwhile, has listened to Neverland, an Eighth Doctor audio play by Alan Barnes. He was impressed that it works as both "a thrilling action-packed romp", and "a breathtaking and touching story". His thoughts are here.

2nd August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Another new reviewer makes his debut on Unreality SF today, beginning a series of reviews of the Doctor Who Missing Adventures. The Sands of Time by Justin Richards is the first book to be assessed by TIM, who thought that the "novel captures the very essence of a Victorian adventure yarn". You can read the complete review here.

Additionally, our most popular reviewer has posted his thoughts on the Star Trek: Corps of Engineers collection Creative Couplings. JENS believed the book was "not one of the strongest CoE collections", but on the whole it was "well worth the price of admission". You can read the complete review here.

1st August 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEW ADDED