The Sword of Forever explained

The Sword of Forever
Cover Artist:Mick Posen
Author:Jim Mortimore
Series:Doctor Who book:
Virgin New Adventures
Release Number:14
Subject:Featuring:
Bernice Summerfield
Release Date:June 1998
Publisher:Virgin Books
Isbn:0-426-20526-X
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.

Synopsis

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.