Taurus: Growing Higher

"This is a show trial."

Writer: Mark Michalowski

Format: Short Story

Released: March 2002

Printed in: Short Trips: Zodiac 02

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Fitz

Synopsis

Take a TARDIS trip through the constellations, as the Doctor travels to twelve thrilling tales inspired by the mystical zodiac. 

Telepathic fish, miniature lions and twin planets are the least of his problems, as the Doctor – all eight of him – faces the Capricorn Killer, endures a mind swap with the Machiavellian Master, and dances with Death herself. 

And that's not the half of it – as the two K9s can attest.

Verdict

Growing Higher was a somewhat average continuation of my reading of the Zodiac edition of Short Trips! I won’t pretend to know anything about the star sign of Taurus but I did enjoy the little introduction from the book of Kasterborus and linking that sign of the bull to those of the Nimon. Unfortunately this story was far removed from The Horns of Nimon and anything recognisable as a bull or mythology in my opinion, but that is no big issue. I didn’t think this story was bad by any means and whilst I am usually pretty generous with my ratings, this is still no bad score. I just thought it was a bit boring really which is a shame. I liked the idea of the Moon being an Earth colony and even threatening independence, and I do wonder if that is something that I am yet to explore further within the Eighth Doctor Adventures? I’ve barely scratched the surface of that range and whilst this is not my first Fitz story, I’m still very unfamiliar with his character as companion. To be fair, the Doctor and Fitz barely appeared in the story and it could have been any Doctor and companion combination, but it’s always good to explore my horizons. The depth and scale of the Eighth Doctor is somewhat frightening as it feels like I’m close to catching up on his tales at Big Finish, but there’s a whole new world of novels I’m yet to properly delve into. This was a fun little glimpse and it’s fascinating to have the Doctor alongside a male companion. The main character of Sewa was an interesting character and I thought the devastation he felt at his role in the technical failure that saw over fifty thousand people die was completely understandable. He was obviously upset with what had happened but his remorse seemed to be more focused on the fate he would suffer rather than for those his failure had seen die. Bernadette was a very intriguing character with her having mechanical implants and whilst we did get a few unnecessary descriptions of events like walking to a urinal and urinating, along with a description of a touch as sexless, I liked what she brought to things. She clearly cared for Sewa although he wasn’t exactly thrilled with her actions in preparing refreshments for the impending arrival of UN officers to arrest him! I thought the Doctor and Fitz arriving to greet Sewa was good and I honestly was wondering throughout when the recognisable characters were going to arrive! It was a bit more than a cameo, but not much. They actually just served as a distraction for Bernadette whilst Sewa took his own life. I’m surprised the Doctor would adhere to helping that but he respects choice and admits he wouldn’t stand in anyone’s way. I like how he has full knowledge of the conflict between Earth and the Moon which is just so fascinating and I like how grave the simplicity of gravity could be. It would be deadly against Sewa even with a support suit. The line from Fitz at the end suggesting that Sewa might have had more air than appeared was a good way to finish and suggest he might survive, but I think this particularly story was just lacking in depth. It was a good setting and backdrop, I just wish I knew a bit more to fully appreciate the scale of death and the history of the conflict. Still, not a bad read at all. 

Rating: 6/10