| Doctor Who book | |
|---|---|
| The Sword of Forever | |
| Series | Virgin New Adventures |
| Release number | 14 |
| Featuring | Bernice Summerfield |
| Writer | Jim Mortimore |
| Publisher | Virgin Books |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-426-20526-X |
| Release date | June 1998 |
| Preceded by | Dry Pilgrimage |
| Followed by | Another Girl, Another Planet |
The Sword of Forever is an original novel by Jim Mortimore featuring the fictional archaeologist Bernice Summerfield. The New Adventures were a spin-off from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
As with all Doctor Who spin-off media, its relationship to the televised serials is open to interpretation.
Bernice finds her own DNA in the stomach of a mummified dinosaur. Together with Patience, a sentient velociraptor, she travels ever backwards through time. She stumbles upon the 'Sword Of Forever', an object that could easily demolish entire worlds.
The story draws on conspiracy theories around the Knights Templar, the Ark of the Covenant and so forth. It also draws on earlier New Adventures' depictions of a future Earth.