Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Susan works with the War Doctor in the third set of stories about her battles in the Time War.

Carole Ann Ford and Jonathon Carley head deep into the Time War – and meet some old foes – in Susan’s War: Grandfather Time, due March 2025 from Big Finish .

Gallifrey is using the skills of every Time Lord at their disposal – and Cardinal Rasmus is not above bending the rules to gain an agent from the future. Susan is assigned alongside the War Doctor to keep him in line. But if he is no longer the Doctor – is he still her Grandfather?

Susan (Carole Ann Ford), working on diplomatic operations for Gallifrey, has reunited with her grandfather – but an incarnation of him from the dark future of the ever-worsening Time War. She’s shocked by how different the War Doctor (Jonathon Carley) is from the man she remembers.

In the forthcoming Susan’s War: Grandfather Time – which continues the story from August’s release, Family Ties – the duo are dispatched on two dangerous new assignments.

In the first story, The Last of the Kaleds, they find themselves in an anomalous dimension where Skaro’s history has taken a different path. Then, in The Voord Alliance, a rescue operation requires them to work alongside an old enemy – the semi-aquatic Voord, as first seen in the 1964 Doctor Who TV story The Keys of Marinus.

Throughout both adventures, Susan must learn to work with this embittered warrior who no longer calls himself the Doctor. Will they be able to overcome their differences and complete their missions?

The Last of the Kaleds by David Llewellyn

Using his deniable asset, Rasmus takes Susan along with the War Doctor to a mysterious enclave to seek an alliance. As Susan comes to terms with her grandfather’s future persona, they uncover plots and counter-plots. Kaledon is a splinter of Skaro’s own distant timeline – but some histories are inevitable.

The Voord Alliance by Andrew Smith

When a Time Lord operation goes wrong, Cardinal Rasmus sends in Susan and the War Doctor. The mission’s leader was his daughter, and he needs to know if she survived. On the ocean moon of Sarros Minor, they find unlikely allies against the Daleks. But how far can Susan really trust the Voord?

Alongside Ford and Carley, Susan’s War: Grandfather Time stars Damian Lynch as Cardinal Rasmus, the Time Lord in charge of Susan’s missions, and Big Finish’s creative director Nicholas Briggs as the dreaded Daleks.

Script editor Matt Fitton said: “The War Doctor has jumped a time track, he’s back where he shouldn’t be in Gallifrey’s past and has run into Susan, and things get a bit awkward between them – this is not a version of her grandfather that Susan knows. They’ve a lot of work to do in getting to know one another again!”

Writer Andrew Smith added: “It’s an interesting set-up, because we have the Doctor who doesn’t want to be called the Doctor, and we have an older Susan who has forged her own path. She’s not a companion, but is a Time Lord in her own right, often leading the way and not above putting her grandfather in his place.

“I pitched the War Doctor and Susan up against the Daleks and the Voord – I do love a Voord! It was a treat to go back and revisit these classic monsters, who are a pleasure to write for.”

The Worlds of Doctor Who – Susan’s War: Grandfather Time is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition double CD plus slipcase (+ download for just £15.99) or as a digital download only (for just £12.99), exclusively from http://www.bigfinish.com. Please note: the collector’s edition CD is strictly limited to 1,000 copies and will not be repressed.