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DOCTOR WHO: ESCAPE VELOCITY

The Doctor continues the search for his past

By Tony Whitt June 14, 2001

Reunited, and it feels so good-or does it? It's 2001 and the still-amnesiac Doctor meets up with his companion Fitz, as per the instructions of a note he's been carrying around for the last 100 years. Fitz is concerned that the Doctor's memory has yet to return, but his own memory has been a bit dodgy lately, too. But true to the Doctor's personality, it's not long before he's thoroughly engaged in helping Fitz's new acquaintance Anji Kapoor find her missing boyfriend (he was kidnapped after accepting a mysterious package). Connected to this are the Kulan an alien race that is helping two competing millionaires become the first privately funded man in spacefor their own purposes, of course. But there are two factions of Kulan one that wants to push the invasion plans forward, and one that realizes there's more to humanity than meets the eye.

Since this is the book that the entire amnesiac Doctor story arc (which began in THE BURNING last year) has been leading up to, it seems as if there should have been a bit more to the story. It's great to have Fitz, a character who has become one of my favorite companions, back after all this time. And the moment the Doctor first enters his newly regenerated TARDIS is sure to bring a tear to the even the most stalwart fan's eye. But these moments are few and far between ESCAPE VELOCITY a novel that ends up becoming the sort of book most often referred to (usually disparagingly) as a 'romp.'

Part of the problem stems from the book's mandate. First-time author Colin Brake, while an extremely gifted writer, simply has far too much to cover in 249 pages. He's got to get the Doctor and Fitz back together; introduce new companion Anji and flesh her out as much as possible; set up a new enemy for the Doctor to fight; get the TARDIS back up and running; and effectively relaunch the Doctor's travels through space and time. It's no wonder that some of these elements work far better than others.

For example, we spend a good amount of time getting to know Anji (and nearly as much getting to know her ill-fated boyfriend Dave), which is a plus. It's also good to see a new companion who's not quite as 'high concept' as those since Sarah Jane Smith, ensuring that Anji will have some staying power. The only problem is that the book takes more time introducing Anji than it does telling a fully-developed story.

As introductory stories go, it's not quite 'The Rescue,' but it's certainly nowhere near 'Planet of Fire.' By the time we get to the last page, it's hard to say exactly what went on. The Kulan themselves are a race of ciphers, far from the most interesting aliens we've ever encountered Their internal conflict, presumably meant to be Earth-shattering, doesn't sustain the level of suspense needed to keep the reader's attention. When you're more concerned with getting to the next scene involving the Doctor and Fitz rather than concentrating on the story itself, there's a serious problem.

You'll probably remember ESCAPE VELOCITY because of Anji's introduction and the Doctor getting the TARDIS back, but nothing more. If you were hoping this would be the book that cures the Doctor's amnesia, ESCAPE VELOCITY will be even more disappointing. Apart from the aforementioned TARDIS scene, there's no 'triumphant return.' While a pat solution ('Oh, yes, you're Fitz, and I'm the Doctor! I remember now! Let's get back to work!') would have been even more disappointing, there's little here to suggest that the solution is forthcoming anytime soon, and even more to suggest new problems. Fitz's amnesia, for example, is a plot thread left hanging, hopefully for later books to put to rights (EARTHWORLD posits a possible reason for it, but does nothing with it). And what about the new violent quality in the Doctor's personality that was introduced in ENDGAME? Nice to see Brake doing something with it, but shouldn't there have been more of it here?

Luckily, Brake is an entertaining writer, so while you're in the book itself, you'll still have a good time. It's only afterwards that you might question why a book that should have been a great time was simply good, instead.