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The Companion Chronicles #8.10
Doctor Who: The War to End All Wars
Years after he gave up travelling in the TARDIS, Steven Taylor is the deposed king of a distant world.
From the confines of his cell, he shares his story with a young girl called Sida.
And one story in particular – a visit to a whole world at war, which will mark Steven for life...
From the confines of his cell, he shares his story with a young girl called Sida.
And one story in particular – a visit to a whole world at war, which will mark Steven for life...
- GenresDoctor WhoAudiobook
Audio CD
First published April 30, 2014
About the author
Simon Guerrier
168 books61 followersSimon Guerrier is a British science fiction author and dramatist, closely associated with the fictional universe of Doctor Who and its spinoffs. Although he has written three Doctor Who novels, for the BBC Books range, his work has mostly been for Big Finish Productions' audio drama and book ranges.
Guerrier's earliest published fiction appeared in Zodiac, the first of Big Finish's Short Trips range of Doctor Who short story anthologies. To date, his work has appeared in the majority of the Short Trips collections. He has also edited three volumes in the series, The History of Christmas, Time Signature and How The Doctor Changed My Life. The second of these takes as its starting-point Guerrier's short story An Overture Too Early in The Muses. The third anthology featured stories entirely by previously unpublished writers.
After contributing two stories to the anthology Life During Wartime in Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of books and audio dramas, Guerrier was invited to edit the subsequent year's short story collection, A Life Worth Living, and the novella collection Parallel Lives. After contributing two audio dramas to the series, Guerrier became the producer of the Bernice Summerfield range of plays and books, a post he held between January 2006 and June 2007.
His other Doctor Who work includes the audio dramas, The Settling and The Judgement of Isskar, in Big Finish's Doctor Who audio range, three Companion Chronicles and a contribution to the UNIT spinoff series. He has also written a play in Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel range.
Guerrier's work is characterised by character-driven humour and by an interest in unifying the continuity of the various Big Finish ranges through multiple references and reappearances of characters. As editor he has been a strong promoter of the work of various script writers from the Seventh Doctor era of the Doctor Who television series
Guerrier's earliest published fiction appeared in Zodiac, the first of Big Finish's Short Trips range of Doctor Who short story anthologies. To date, his work has appeared in the majority of the Short Trips collections. He has also edited three volumes in the series, The History of Christmas, Time Signature and How The Doctor Changed My Life. The second of these takes as its starting-point Guerrier's short story An Overture Too Early in The Muses. The third anthology featured stories entirely by previously unpublished writers.
After contributing two stories to the anthology Life During Wartime in Big Finish's Bernice Summerfield range of books and audio dramas, Guerrier was invited to edit the subsequent year's short story collection, A Life Worth Living, and the novella collection Parallel Lives. After contributing two audio dramas to the series, Guerrier became the producer of the Bernice Summerfield range of plays and books, a post he held between January 2006 and June 2007.
His other Doctor Who work includes the audio dramas, The Settling and The Judgement of Isskar, in Big Finish's Doctor Who audio range, three Companion Chronicles and a contribution to the UNIT spinoff series. He has also written a play in Big Finish's Sapphire and Steel range.
Guerrier's work is characterised by character-driven humour and by an interest in unifying the continuity of the various Big Finish ranges through multiple references and reappearances of characters. As editor he has been a strong promoter of the work of various script writers from the Seventh Doctor era of the Doctor Who television series
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 23, 2018
A First Doctor story told from the perspective of Steven. Unlike most later Companion Chronicles this returns to the format of the earlier releases in the series by having a framing narrative that explains why and to whom the narrator is telling the main story. In this case, we see an elderly Steven, deposed from his rule over the world for which he left the Doctor in the TV story The Savages. In the style of many of the better releases in the series, this has direct relevance to the tale that Steven is telling to his visitor, and the two are thematically intertwined.
The main story tells of the arrival of the TARDIS on a world ravaged by a never-ending war that has obvious parallels with World War I, despite a number of key differences (such as women on the front lines). It's a grim tale, dealing with themes not only of the futility of war, but crucially, also of the dehumanising nature of military service. Even the true nature of the enemy remains a secret for the first half, with everyone fighting them simply because they must, rather than out of even a misplaced ideology.
The Doctor is very much in the background here, only appearing at the beginning and the end, so that the focus can be on Steven's attempt to end the ceaseless nightmare, or at least to escape it. It's a polemic against a self-perpetuating system where everyone involved is too blind to question the point of it all, and in some respects, is reminiscent of dystopias such as 1984. That this directly feeds back into the framing narrative, as we uncover what has happened to Steven to place him where he is, is an added bonus.
The main story is self-contained, and has to be, to deliver its moral message and to retrospectively expand on Steven's reasons for leaving the Doctor not long after it is set. The framing narrative, however, ends on a cliffhanger, and forms the first part of a larger arc.
The main story tells of the arrival of the TARDIS on a world ravaged by a never-ending war that has obvious parallels with World War I, despite a number of key differences (such as women on the front lines). It's a grim tale, dealing with themes not only of the futility of war, but crucially, also of the dehumanising nature of military service. Even the true nature of the enemy remains a secret for the first half, with everyone fighting them simply because they must, rather than out of even a misplaced ideology.
The Doctor is very much in the background here, only appearing at the beginning and the end, so that the focus can be on Steven's attempt to end the ceaseless nightmare, or at least to escape it. It's a polemic against a self-perpetuating system where everyone involved is too blind to question the point of it all, and in some respects, is reminiscent of dystopias such as 1984. That this directly feeds back into the framing narrative, as we uncover what has happened to Steven to place him where he is, is an added bonus.
The main story is self-contained, and has to be, to deliver its moral message and to retrospectively expand on Steven's reasons for leaving the Doctor not long after it is set. The framing narrative, however, ends on a cliffhanger, and forms the first part of a larger arc.
February 14, 2024
The Companion Chronicles is a range I love with all my heart, there are not many ranges that I feel come close to perfection but this one aside from a couple of truly atrocious exceptions does. The War to End All Wars is the last of the singular companion chronicle audio releases that I needed to listen to, but I'm also aware that it's the beginning of a trilogy that continues in The First Doctor Companion Chronicles Volume 1.
Steven Taylor has long since given up the title of being king over a distant world. Sida his granddaughter has always wondered why and now she's old enough, he's willing to tell of one of his travels with The Doctor. The atrocity that occurred on the planet Comfort of a war that was doomed to never end might very well help explain why he stepped down from the throne.
Simon Gurrier has written a really clever companion chronicle on the pointlessness of war and the system that can hold every one of us in its hold without any of us realizing it. It's a bleak little story with a hopeless atmosphere, lots of action-packed sequences, and a fairly horrifying twist. Part One is very much a war epic, whereas the second half is more of a political thriller to stop the war.
Peter Purves was incredible in this and his chemistry with Alice Haig as Sida was really endearing to me. Very excited to see how this chemistry develops in the two stories from the first set of First Doctor Companion Chronicles.
Overall: A terrific story that's very well-written with a neat framing device. 9/10
Steven Taylor has long since given up the title of being king over a distant world. Sida his granddaughter has always wondered why and now she's old enough, he's willing to tell of one of his travels with The Doctor. The atrocity that occurred on the planet Comfort of a war that was doomed to never end might very well help explain why he stepped down from the throne.
Simon Gurrier has written a really clever companion chronicle on the pointlessness of war and the system that can hold every one of us in its hold without any of us realizing it. It's a bleak little story with a hopeless atmosphere, lots of action-packed sequences, and a fairly horrifying twist. Part One is very much a war epic, whereas the second half is more of a political thriller to stop the war.
Peter Purves was incredible in this and his chemistry with Alice Haig as Sida was really endearing to me. Very excited to see how this chemistry develops in the two stories from the first set of First Doctor Companion Chronicles.
Overall: A terrific story that's very well-written with a neat framing device. 9/10
July 13, 2021
The deposed King Steven is staying in his cell, isolating himself, but he's neither bitter or sad — even though his downfall was ridden with his own family broken up and corrupted by power. To understand him, we must know an old story long long ago when Steven is still travelling with The Doctor and Dodo Chaplet.
Peter Purves done amazing job in portraying both the young and old Steven, along with his usual impeccable impression as the First Doctor. Furthermore, the writing gave an amazing insight not just to Steven's old days, but also to his experience in the military — something that's easily forgotten in the television show.
As the companion that suffered the most from BBC's junking policy, I have to say Peter Purves shines the most in The Companion Chronicles — his performance in the King Steven trilogy is just the further proof of that.
Peter Purves done amazing job in portraying both the young and old Steven, along with his usual impeccable impression as the First Doctor. Furthermore, the writing gave an amazing insight not just to Steven's old days, but also to his experience in the military — something that's easily forgotten in the television show.
As the companion that suffered the most from BBC's junking policy, I have to say Peter Purves shines the most in The Companion Chronicles — his performance in the King Steven trilogy is just the further proof of that.
April 21, 2023
So the story is a big morality play about how the military industrial complex locks us all in “the prisoner dilemma”.
AND THEN THE TWIST ENDING IS THAT THE WHOLE THING TOOK PLACE IN A PRISON COLONY!!!!!!
THEY WERE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING A PRISONER’S DILEMMA!!!!!!
C’MON THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND THEN THE TWIST ENDING IS THAT THE WHOLE THING TOOK PLACE IN A PRISON COLONY!!!!!!
THEY WERE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING A PRISONER’S DILEMMA!!!!!!
C’MON THAT’S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2025
I do like when it's more than one voice, though this didn't reach the heights of others for me for some reason. Also learned in the behind the scenes stuff that this was the last recorded monthly Companion Chronicle story. The range would go on to focus on box sets.
February 18, 2017
The Doctor, Dodo, and Steven land on a planet where people were set to kill each other in a war.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews