Details have been revealed on a new Doctor Who hardback novel entitled “Engines of War“, written by George Mann.

T he story will fill in some of the blanks of John Hurt’s incarnation and events in the Time War leading up to The Day of the Doctor.

Mann teases what fans can expect in the new DWM: “A new companion! Calculating Time Lords! New Dalek paradigms! It’s a war story, at its heart, set against the backdrop of great turmoil and chaos.

“But it’s also about the Doctor’s personal journey, how he ends up where he is at the beginning of The Day of the Doctor. He’s been through the wringer; and in Engines of War, he’s not given any reprieve.”

UPDATE: Synopsis added:

“The death of billions is as nothing to us Doctor, if it helps defeat the Daleks.” The Great Time War has raged for centuries, ravaging the universe. Scores of human colony planets are now overrun by Dalek occupation forces. A weary, angry Doctor leads a flotilla of Battle TARDISes against the Dalek stronghold but in the midst of the carnage, the Doctor’s TARDIS crashes to a planet below: Moldox. As the Doctor is trapped in an apocalyptic landscape, Dalek patrols roam amongst the wreckage, rounding up the remaining civilians. But why haven’t the Daleks simply killed the humans? Searching for answers the Doctor meets ‘Cinder’, a young Dalek hunter. Their struggles to discover the Dalek plan take them from the ruins of Moldox to the halls of Gallifrey, and set in motion a chain of events that will change everything. And everyone. An epic novel of the Great Time War featuring the War Doctor as played by John Hurt.

The hardcover release is is released 31 July 2014 (RRP £12.99).