Reversal of Fortune

"I've forgotten what I've done tomorrow again."

Writer: Simon Guerrier

Format: Short Story

Released: December 2003

Printed in: Short Trips: Steel Skies 03

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

There are many places that most of us can never see: places that are sheltered, locked away, cordoned off from the outside world. But to the Doctor, and those who travel with him in his TARDIS, there is no such thing as a locked door. Anywhere in space and time is open to them to visit – even if sometimes it might be better to leave such places well alone.

Steel Skies is a collection of stories based in enclosed and artificial environments: places constructed to keep the dangers of the universe outside, perhaps, or to keep their inhabitants locked in. It is divided into four sections, each exploring a different kind of confinement:

Section One, Flight, comprises four tales of travellers who left their homes for far-away destinations – to explore, to start a new life, or to fight for the survival of their species.

Section Two, Frontiers, explores the corridors, living quarters and ventilation shafts of four futuristic environments – designed to shelter men, women and children from harsh natural forces, or from the threat of nuclear war.

Section Three, Incarceration, tells four stories of punishment and imprisonment, from San Francisco's infamous Alcatraz, to the cage of a flightless angel in the dilapidated ruins of Heaven. 

Section Four, Isolation, deals with the loneliness and despair of being cut off from the world outside, by physical or mental incapacity, by the ravages of war, or caught between destinations aboard the TARDIS itself. 

A recurring theme in all four sections is the effect of the Doctor's arrival in these enclosed environments – sometimes positive, sometimes less so.

Verdict

Reversal of Fortune was a pretty average story to continue my reading through the Steel Skies edition of Short Trips. I must admit I went into this one feeling sceptical immediately as just a quick glance at the title and the first page with starting with the eighth segment and not the first showed me what I was in for and I kind of guessed that I wouldn't be a fan. It had been nearly a week since reading A Good Life on the same train commute and knowing what I was in store for this week on the journey perhaps harmed my reading experience a little, but I just don't really understand what the format or style added to the story. It wasn't quirky and it wasn't jumping around in time in any kind of complicated way. It just seemed to present the Doctor's interactions with Mikhail in the wrong order. There were some semblances of the relationship the Doctor (mostly the Eleventh) shares with River Song in meeting her out of order, but that didn't quite feel like it was the case here. I thought the story could have been more effective if it was just told in a linear fashion instead of being experimental. It just made me question things more and that's not great! I also don't think the characterisation of the Eighth Doctor was particularly strong and with all of the talk of velvet I was actually thinking the description and personality was actually more suite to the Third. Even the comment about boys having long hair could have been attributed elsewhere but I guess it would have to be the Paul McGann incarnation making the most sense there. I'm not sure the story also captured the overall theme of the book well either. I'm growing sceptical that a collection split in four has a theme altogether to be honest and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't think this adventure screamed 'flight' to me. I think part of that is because it was told backwards so as far as I was concerned I didn't really experience the exploration or a new life that Mikhail went through. Instead, it was just a little bit of a build up to him encountering the Doctor as a child and the focus on the balloon. It didn't feel quite right to encounter Mikhail as a child and that might be because of how strong his feelings were harboured towards the Doctor. He didn't hold back when continuously seeing him and I have to question why that was happening. Why was the Doctor meeting this man throughout his life especially when he was so obviously not wanted? That did feel a little strange and left me scratching my head. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little confused by everything that was happening because there didn't really seem a huge purpose for the adventure. Did Mikhail really get a reversal of fortune if he just ended up on his deathbed and nearly blurting out the words of forgiveness towards the Doctor? It was all just a little bit strange in my opinion and whilst confusion can be a good thing on times in the thought provoking manner, this just had me questioning why things were happening in terms of a writer's choice. It's a shame because the story definitely is there and it just seems spoiled by being told sort of backwards. It doesn't add anything in my opinion and that's just a bit annoying! Overall, not the greatest of stories to continue the collection. 

Rating: 5/10