News stories are listed below in reverse chronological order.

30th July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Unreality SF would like to welcome its newest writer aboard. MILES is a science-fiction fan who will be contributing various reviews to the website, and has begun with a classic Doctor Who novel.

He described Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon, a Target novelisation by Malcolm Hulke, as "a good strong book with exceptional development of the characters", and believed that "it weren’t merely a Doctor Who novelisation could’ve been a well-remembered science-fiction novel of its time".

His review can be read in full here.

In addition, DAN has reviewed Doctor Who: The Time of the Daleks, calling the play "a diverting listen", but believing that "there is a lot of potential in the basic premise, but the finished product doesn't quite gel". His review of the CD can be found here.

29th July 2008 | NEWS | TALES OF TRANSMISSIONS

The authors behind Doctor Who: Transmissions, the latest Short Trips anthology of short stories, are due to discuss their tales in depth in an online forum.

"[Some] of Transmissions' writers will be posting some background to their stories," revealed editor Richard Salter. "Hopefully this will be of interest to folks who have read the collection, those who are thinking of buying it or to anyone who has an interest in the craft of short story writing. We'll be careful not to spoil anything."

Accordingly, an in-depth discussion of the story iNtRUsioNs has already been posted by author Dave Hoskin, with more to come.

Salter also revealed that a behind-the-scenes feature will appear in a fanzine. "For a look at how the whole collection was commissioned, assembled and delivered," he explained, "get yourself a copy of DWIN's excellent Enlightenment zine, issue #148, available now at http://www.dwin.org. In it you'll find an article all about the making of Short Trips: Transmissions from the editor's perspective."

The discussion thread for Transmissions on DoctorWhoForum.com can be found here, an exclusive interview with Richard Salter which Unreality SF conducted last month can be found here, and you can order the book from Big Finish's website.

29th July 2008 | NEWS | MORE MYRIAD UNIVERSES PREVIEWS

TrekMovie.com has another preview of a Star Trek: Myriad Universes story online now.

The latest edition of their regular "Library Computer" column features an interview with author Keith R.A. DeCandido about A Gutted World, which appears in Echoes and Refractions, alongside an exclusive extract from that story.

This latest preview, alongside links to the four previous features, can be found here.

29th July 2008 | NEWS | BIG FINISH LAUNCH FORUM

Big Finish Productions, the company behind the officially-licensed Stargate and Classic Doctor Who audio plays, now have an official message board on their website.

It offers listeners the chance to discuss the latest audio and print releases with fellow fans, and with the writers and producers of the various products.

Regular users of the website who already have accounts should be able to sign in instantly; other users will be able to browse the forum but will need to register before they can post.

The new forum is located here.

28th July 2008 | NEWS | LATEST WHO AUDIO DELAYED

Big Finish Productions have announced that Doctor Who: The Boy That Time Forgot, the latest audio play to star Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, has been officially delayed, and "would like to apologise for the delay and any inconvenience".

In a news item posted on their website, the company reveal that the CD has been held up by "transport problems while shipping the CDs to our distribution centre".

The story, which is written by Paul Magrs and co-stars Sarah Sutton as companion Nyssa, should now be available as a dowloadable .mp3 and as a double-disc CD release as of Wednesday 30th July.

The news item announcing the delay is here, and you can pre-order a copy of the play here.

27th July 2008 | NEWS | BIG FINISH NEWS FROM DWM

The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine, #398, reveals some intriguing new information about Big Finish's range of Doctor Who audio plays.

The Monthly Series of audios, which has been running for almost a decade and comprises of over one hundred two-disc stories, has always featured a different incarnation of the Doctor (Fifth, Sixth, or Seventh) each month. It has already been announced that the releases in January, February and March 2009 will form a three-part Fifth Doctor mini-season entitled Key 2 Time.

However, this format will now become the norm, with all future audios in the main range forming "seasons". April, May and June will see three Seventh Doctor stories starring Sylvester McCoy; July, August and early September's releases will star Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor; and the remaining four slots (late September, October, November, December) are yet to be filled.

Details of companions, writers, titles, or other information for these stories has yet to be confirmed, nor is it known how inter-linked the stories within a "season" will be.

Executive producer Nicholas Briggs explains that the move is "something we've been talking about for a long time", and also mysteriously adds that it is "the beginning of a move to, retrospectively, put all our stories into three-story blocks" which suggests a shake-up of the back catalogue too.

More information, including titles and authors for the three instalments of Key 2 Time, can be found in DWM #398, which is available from UK news-stands now, priced £3.99.

27th July 2008 | NEWS | WHO STAGE PLAY CASTING

Casting for the upcoming audio miniseries Doctor Who: The Stage Plays, consisting of special adaptations of theatre productions based on the popular series, has been announced.

The website of Big Finish Productions confirms that Trevor Martin will reprise the role of the Doctor in The Seven Keys to Doomsday, alongside Charlie Hayes who will inherit the role of Jenny from her mother, Wendy Padbury.

Colin Baker will play the Doctor in The Ultimate Adventure as he did on stage, joined by David Banks who will be returning as Karl. In Curse of the Daleks, original cast member John Line has returned, but in a different role.

More detailed information, including the ability to pre-order the three plays for a specially-reduced price of £25 (instead of £15 each!), can be found here.

27th July 2008 | NEWS | UNBOUND DOCTOR RETURNS

A new instalment in Big Finish's Doctor Who Unbound series, which features alternative incarnations of the Doctor in "what if?" timelines, has been announced.

David Warner again plays the title role, as an alternate version of the Third Doctor, who originally appeared in the Unbound story Sympathy for the Devil. Nicholas Courtney co-stars as Brigadier Lehtbridge-Stewart, and Terry Molloy reprises the role of Davros.

The story, which features an alternative version of Dalek history, and is entitled Masters of War, has been written by Eddie Robson.

However, Masters of War is not the previously-announced Warner/Courtney play The Dark Palace - that story has been replaced, rather than renamed. Robson confirmed this on DoctorWhoForum.com, saying, "This is an entirely different play to The Dark Palace which was on the schedule for a while".

A summary of the plot, detailed cast information, and the option to pre-order the two-disc adventure are now available on the Big Finish website.

26th July 2008 | NEWS | DR WHO: THE DARKSMITH LEGACY

Online sources suggest that a new ongoing series of Doctor Who books aimed at younger readers are on the way, under the umbrella title of The Darksmith Legacy.

Seven of eight titles are listed on the French Amazon (here), and the website of publishers Penguin Books reveals more information about two of them (here).

Combining information from both websites, the series runs as follows:

- #1: The Dust of Ages (Justin Richards) - January 2009
The Doctor arrives just in time to lend a helping hand to a survey team of scientists drilling beneath the Moon’s surface to discover the cause of an unusual power source. The adventure continues with deadly lunar dust and a Crystal that has been lost for centuries…. Unfortunately it’s just what the Darksmiths have been looking for and they have despatched an Agent to recover it. At any cost.

- #2: The Graves of Mordane (author unknown) - January 2009
Convinced that the Doctor is Varlos, the Agent demands the return of the Eternity Crystal. But what happened on Mordane to make the Crystal too dangerous to be left on the Moon? The Doctor has to convince the Agent that he is not Varlos and doesn’t know what happened on Mordane, then escape with the TARDIS and find out.
The Doctor decides that the Eternity Crystal must be destroyed but before he can the Agent and the Crystal vanish. He has to find the Agent, which leaves the Doctor only one option, and he doesn’t like it…

- #3: The Colour of Darkness (Richard Dungworth) - February 2009
- #4: The Depths of Despair (Justin Richards) - March 2009
- #5: The Vampire of Paris (Stephen Cole) - April 2009
- #6: The Game of Death (Trevor Baxendale) - May 2009
- #7: The Planet of Oblivion (Justin Richards) - June 2009
- #8: The Picture of Emptiness (Jacqueline Rayner) - July 2009

Each paperback book costs £4.99 and will be roughly 128 pages long, similar to the Sarah Jane Adventures novelisations and Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny series.

26th July 2008 | NEWS | SONTARANS BACK FOR A QUICK READ

The next Doctor Who book to be a part of the Quick Reads line - a range of short, large-print books aimed at reluctant and/or younger readers - will be a Sontaran adventure by Jacqueline Rayner.

Released on February 26th for just £1.99, the blurb for The Sontaran Games is as follows:

Every time the lights go out, someone dies...

The TARDIS lands at an academy for top athletes, all hoping to be chosen for the forthcoming Globe Games. But is one of them driven enough to resort to murder? The Doctor discovers that the students have been hushing up unexplained deaths.

Teaming up with a young swimmer called Emma, the Doctor begins to investigate – but he doesn’t expect to find a squad of Sontarans invading the academy!

As the Sontarans begin their own lethal version of the Globe Games, the Doctor and Emma must find out what’s really going on. But the Doctor is captured and forced to take part in the Sontaran Games. Can even a Time Lord survive this deadly contest?

Featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television.

A thumbnail cover image can be found here.

26th July 2008 | NEWS | DETAILS OF DESTINY DEVASTATION

A panel on Star Trek books at the Comic Con convention in San Diego has discussed the upcoming Destiny trilogy, as well as its horrifying events.

According to a report from the con posted at Newsarama.com, the three books will feature "a full-scale Borg invasion", so terrible that it "will leave only 11 starships behind".

The original report, which features more information about the trilogy and other TrekLit news from the convention, can be found here.

26th July 2008 | NEWS | CHARITY WHO TOME SELLS OUT

Doctor Who: Time's Champion, the posthumously-completed last novel of Craig Hinton which was published independently, has already sold out, according to editor David J. Howe.

"It is actually not certain there will be another printing," he said on the projects blog, in response to incoming orders. "I need to wait and see how the orders go I think. Then, if I can justify printing more, do so, otherwise it would be spending money on books which could go to the charity."

More information about the book, including ordering details, can be found here.

23rd July 2008 | NEWS | 2009 WHO BOOK COVERS

The covers for Judgement of the Judoon (link), Prisoner of the Daleks (link) and The Slitheen Excursion (link) are now online at Amazon.co.uk.

The three books feature the Tenth Doctor travelling solo, and will be released in Spring 2009. The blurbs can be viewed below in a news story from July 22nd.

22nd July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Jens has reviewed another Marvel Comics novel for Unreality SF - Christopher L. Bennett's X-Men: Watchers on the Walls.

"Watchers on the Walls", he writes, "is well-written and is a nice way to kill some time, but there are several things preventing it to reach the quality of Bennett’s best works." Ultimately he praises it as "a decent novel with an interesting main plot", but dislikes "some little weaknesses". The review can be read in full here.

In addition, Dan has reviewed the Doctor Who audio Invaders from Mars, by Mark Gatiss.

"There are numerous areas that one can point at as flaws," he comments, "and an equal number than can be praised as moments of genius. But what these elements combine to make was, for me, hugely disappointing." The review can be read in full here.

22nd July 2008 | NEWS | DOCTOR WHO CD COVERS

The Big Finish website has been updated with cover images for Empathy Games, a Companion Chronicles story starring Louise Jameson as Leela; Home Truths, a Companion Chronicles story starring Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom; and Kingdom of Silver / Keepsake, a full-cast audio play starring Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor.

22nd July 2008 | NEWS | TIME'S CHAMPION COMPLETED

Time's Champion, the final novel of late Doctor Who author Craig Hinton which has been posthumously completed by Chris McKeon, has been published.

Editor David J. Howe has received copies of the 400-page book, and has begun mailing them out to those who had pre-ordered the book.

Anyone wanting to whet their appetite can see photos of the book here, and anyone who hasn't ordered a copy yet can do so here.

22nd July 2008 | NEWS | WRITER'S TALE DUO AT THEATRE

Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook, the men behind upcoming Doctor Who behind-the-scenes book The Writer's Tale, will be discussing the book in a promotional session at the National Theatre in London.

They will appear on Friday November 7th at 6pm; more information is available here.

22nd July 2008 | NEWS | MORE ON 2009'S WHO BOOKS

Amazon.co.uk now has blurbs for the three Doctor Who novels due for release next April.

Judgement of the Judoon (Colin Brake) - order here
Elvis the King Spaceport has grown into the sprawling city-state of New Memphis - an urban jungle, where organized crime is rife. But the launch of the new Terminal 13 hasn't been as smooth as expected. And things are about to get worse... When the Doctor arrives, he finds the whole terminal locked down. The notorious Invisible Assassin is at work again, and the Judoon troopers sent to catch him will stop at nothing to complete their mission. With the assassin loose on the mean streets of New Memphis, the Doctor is forced into a strange alliance. Together with teenage private eye Nikki and a ruthless Judoon Commander, the Doctor soon discovers that things are even more complicated - and dangerous - than he first thought... Featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant in the hit BBC Television series.

Prisoner of the Daleks (Trevor Baxendale) - order here
The Daleks are advancing, their empire constantly expanding in to Earth's space. The Earth forces are resisting the Daleks in every way they can. But the battles rage on across countless solar systems. And now the future of our galaxy hangs in teh balance... The Doctor finds himself stranded on board a starship near the frontline with a group of ruthless bounty hunters. Earth Command will pay them for every Dalek they kill, every eye stalk they bring back as proof. With the Doctor's help, the bounty hunters achieve the ultimate prize: a Dalek prisoner - intact, powerless, and ready for interrogation. But where the Daleks are involved, nothing is what it seems, and no one is safe. Before long the tables will be turned, and how will the Doctor survive when he becomes a prisoner of the Daleks? Featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant in the hit BBC Television series.

The Slitheen Excursion (Simon Guerrier) - order here
1500BC - King Actaeus and his subjects live in mortal fear of the awesome gods who have come to visit their kingdom in ancient Greece. Except the Doctor, visiting with university student June, knows they're not gods at all. They're aliens. For the aliens, it's the perfect holiday - they get to tour the sights of a primitive planet and even take part in local customs. Like gladiatorial games, or hunting down and killing humans who won't be missed. With June's enthusiastic help, the Doctor soon meets the travel agents behind this deadly package holiday company - his old enemies the Slitheen. But can he bring the Slitheen excursion to an end without endangering more lives? And how are events in ancient Greece linked to a modern-day alien plot to destroy what's left of the Parthenon? Featuring the Doctor as played by David Tennant in the hit BBC Television series.

15th July 2008 | NEWS | SHORE LEAVE BLOGGING

Several authors involved in the Star Trek book projects announced at the recent Shore Leave convention have been discussing their books on their blogs.

Keith R.A. DeCandido discusses the books he's involved in, including Corps of Engineers compilations and anthology Seven Deadly Sins, in this post; and posts some of the newly-revealed covers here.

William Leisner talks about his excitement over writing Losing the Peace on his blog, and Una McCormack talks briefly about The Never Ending Sacrifice in this post, also highlighting a recent interview with SFX magazine where she talks about tie-in fiction as a whole.

14th July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEW ADDED

Unreality SF has reviewed Greg Cox's The Vesuvius Prophecy, the first novel to be based on recently-cancelled sci-fi series The 4400.

Reviewer DAN thought the book was "absolutely stellar", and praised "an exciting, well-written story with an original and intelligent plot".

His review can be found in full here.

12th July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Unreality SF has embarked upon the second series of Doctor Who: The Companion Chronicles, reviewing the first two episodes.

Reviewer DAN thought that Mother Russia, by Marc Platt and starring Peter Purves, was "a slightly shakier start" than that of the first series, but was impressed by the "sheer brilliance of Peter Purves' reading". The full review can be found here.

He thought Helicon Prime, by Jake Elliott and starring Frazer Hines, was notable for the impressive "writing and characterisation of the leads", and summed it up as a "top notch release". The full review can be found here.

12th July 2008 | NEWS | TREKLIT NEWS FROM SHORE LEAVE

11th July 2008 | NEWS | NTAC FOR MACK

The second of the post-finale novels based on The 4400 will be written by David Mack, according to an online discussion.

The first novel based on the show, The Vesuivius Prophecy by Greg Cox, is available now; and will be followed by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore's Wet Work in the autumn. Both books are set during the series.

It was announced last month that Cox would also pen a story set after the final episode, and that there would be at least one other novel continuing the story. On the TrekBBS.com message board, Cox confirmed that David Mack will write that fourth book.

"I'll start writing my 4400 book in October," chimed in Mack, "and I plan to finish it by end of December. With any luck, my book — the last of the four — will be out by Shore Leave next year, along with my original novel."

The thread in which Cox and Mack discussed the books can be found here.

11th July 2008 | NEWS | TREK AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Star Trek author Geoffrey Thorne, who recently contributed Sword of Damocles to the ongoing Titan series, has been interviewed in an online podcast.

In Episode 8 of the Writing for Rookies series, Thorne discusses his various writing projects, with presenter Brandon Easton.

The interview can be listened to online here.

11th July 2008 | NEWS | NEW NEW FRONTIER

Writer Peter David has announced on his official blog that he has completed the next Star Trek: New Frontier novel. It will be entitled Treason, and will be released next year.

His post can be found here.

11th July 2008 | NEWS | MORE ON THE WRITER'S TALE

Random House have updated their website with a detailed description of upcoming book Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale, by Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook. As well as describing the content in more depth than we've seen before, it reveals that the book will be an impressive 512 pages long.

Additionally, the book's designer (and former editor of Doctor Who Magazine) Clayton Hickman has teased fans about the book, saying "It's more revealing, fascinating and gobsmacking than you could even imagine. There's never been a book like this one...!"

The Random House page for the book is here, and Hickman's comments were posted on DoctorWhoForum.com.

11th July 2008 | NEWS | NEW BBC WHO REVIEWS

The official BBC Doctor Who website has some more reviews of recent Who releases, as contributed by schoolchildren.

Pupils of King Edward School in Bath have delievered their verdict on the audio-exclusive Pest Control here, and Starships and Spacestations has been analysed by readers from Lordswood Girls' School here.

10th July 2008 | NEWS | DOCTOR WHO STORYBOOK 2009

The table of contents of the third Doctor Who Storybook, as published annually by Panini, has been announced.

DoctorWhoNews.com revealed that the seven stories, all featuring the Tenth Doctor and companion Donna Noble, will be:

- Hello Children, Everywhere written by Paul Magrs, illustrated by Brian Williamson
- Grand Theft Planet! written by James Moran, illustrated by Daryl Joyce
- Cold written by Mark Gatiss, illustrated by Ben Willsher
- Bing Bong written by Gareth Roberts & Clayton Hickman, illustrated by Dan McDaid
- Island of the Sirens written by Keith Temple, illustrated by Adrian Salmon
- The Puplet written by Gary Russell, illustrated by Andy Walker
- Hold Your Horses written by Nicholas Pegg, illustrated by Jon Haward & Nigel Dobbyn

The book, which is edited by Clayton Hickman and features cover art from Alister Pearson, also features a comic strip entitled The Immortal Emperor (written by Jonathan Morris, art by Rob Davis) and A Letter from the Doctor (as told to Steven Moffatt).

The original announcement, and a shot of the stunning cover art, can be found here. The eighty-page hardcover book will be available in the autumn. 

10th July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

A review by JENS of Epiphany, the third book in the Star Trek: Vulcan's Soul trilogy, has been added to Unreality SF.

He thought the novel was "the strongest in the trilogy" even though "there wasn't really any character development" for certain characters, but described the trilogy as a whole as a "partly frustrating group of novels".

You can read his review in full here.

Additionally, DAN has reviewed The Centenarian, a Doctor Who: Short Trips anthology.

He liked the "inventive use of the format" and thought the collection was "good solid stuff", but described the quality as "a bit variable" between stories.

His review of the book can be found here.

9th July 2008 | NEWS | THREE NEW WHO NOVELS

Amazon.co.uk is listing three hardback Doctor Who novels for release in April 2009, each apparently featuring a returning monster:

- Judgement of the Judoon by Colin Brake (here)
- Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale (here)
- The Slitheen Excursion by Simon Guerrier (here)

According to Amazon, they will be released on April 2nd 2009, each costing £6.99. The reliability of the listings has yet to be confirmed, and no details are available about Doctors and/or companions involved.

9th July 2008 | NEWS | NEW WHO AUDIO-EXCLUSIVE

Amazon.co.uk is listing Doctor Who: The Forever Trap, an audio-only release like the recent Pest Control. No author or narrator for the story, due for release in October at a price of £9.99, has yet been announced.

The title can be pre-ordered here.

6th July 2008 | NEWS | TIME'S CHAMPION COVER

The cover for Time's Champion, the final novel by late Doctor Who author Craig Hinton, which has been posthumously completed by Chris McKeon, has been revealed.

In this post on the book's official blog, editor David J. Howe revealed the final cover design, which can be viewed in high-resolution here.

The art is by Alister Pearson, and the spine and back cover have been designed to fit with the books in Virgin's Missing Adventures range.

More information is available in Unreality SF's recent preview of the book, and there's still time to order a copy from the website.

3rd July 2008 | NEWS | MYRIAD UNIVERSES

The two-book Star Trek: Myriad Universes series, consisting of six novel-length stories set in alternate realities, is due for release soon. To promote the books, a number of features have appeared online.

TrekMovie.com's Library Computer column is running extracts from all six stories, alongside interviews with the six writers. So far, columnist Robert Lyons has covered Places of Exile by Christopher L. Bennett and A Less Perfect Union by William Leisner, with the other stories due to feature soon.

In addition, Simon & Schuster's official website is carrying an extract from The Chimes at Midnight by Geoff Trowbridge, consisting of the entire first chapter of the story.

Book One should be available this month, with Book Two following in August.

3rd July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Unreality SF has a review of the two-part Doctor Who audio play Human Resources (by Eddie Robson).

Reviewer DAN thought the story was "a contender for Big Finish's strongest use of the Cybermen" and singled out Sheridan Smith for "put[ting] in her best performance yet", concluding that the play was "an amazing story".

The review can be read in full here.

In addition, our section on The 4400 has launched, with a review of The Official Companion: Seasons 1 and 2 (by Terry J. Erdmann).

DAN reviewed the book as "eminently readable, accessible and enjoyable" and called it " a really pleasant book to read", recommending it to "all fans of The 4400".

The review can be read in full here.

2nd July 2008 | SITE UPDATE | NEW REVIEWS ADDED

Unreality SF now has reviews of the Doctor Who audio plays Phobos (by Eddie Robson) and No More Lies (by Paul Sutton).

Reviewer DAN praises Phobos's "brilliantly-drawn characters and energetic pace", and thought the script was "perhaps the strongest of the run so far", but thought No More Lies was "unsatisfying" and believed that "there are a number of elements that don't seem to work".

The reviews can be read in full here and here.

1st July 2008 | NEWS | EIGHTH DOCTOR AUDIO BOXSET

Big Finish have announced plans for a nine-disc boxset release of existing Eighth Doctor audios, starring Paul McGann and India Fisher as the Doctor and Charley Pollard.

The set features four existing two-disc stories - Storm Warning, Sword of Orion, The Stones of Venice and Invaders From Mars - alongside an exclusive ninth disc, which features a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of those stories. Also included is a special twelve-page booklet, with an introduction from India Fisher.

The set appears to comprise of newly-pressed discs in DVD-style digipak packaging, judging by the photos that have been released (here and here), and will retail at £39.99. However, fans who pre-order it via the Big Finish website can get a £15 reduction.

The set, entitled The Eighth Doctor Collection, will be released in August. It can be ordered here, and the news item announcing it is here.

1st July 2008 | NEWS | BIG FINISH WEBSITE UPDATES

Big Finish have updated their website with news of the Key 2 Time miniseries, and the Doctor Who: The Stage Plays releases, which were announced in Doctor Who Magazine.

As well as casting information, release dates, and quotes from executive producer Nicholas Briggs, the updates include a photograph of new Fifth Doctor companion Amy, as played by Ciara Janson.

The Key 2 Time news can be found here; the Stage Plays news, here.