Wraith World

"You wrote the words in the journal and then it happened."

Writers: Cavan Scott & Mark Wright

Format: Audio

Released: February 2010

Printed in: SJA Audio 08

Featuring: Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani

Synopsis 

A bizarre journal leads to terror for Sarah Jane and friends.

Rani is delighted to hear that her favourite author, Gregory P. Wilkinson, is doing a signing at a local bookshop. When he agrees to be interviewed for the school newspaper, she is even more thrilled. And when the old man presents her with his journal, full of notes and sketches from his 'Wraith World' books, her happiness is complete.

But all too soon her elation turns to horror, as the worlds of fiction and reality collide. Can Sarah Jane save Rani, Clyde and Luke from a creature beyond their wildest nightmares? 

Verdict

Wraith World was an excellent audio from The Sarah Jane Adventures! I near the end of my run through the entire SJA audio collection on Audible now and after listening, I found out this is the last performance from Elisabeth Sladen on audio which is such a shame. She really is missed and I can’t believe it’s over a decade since she has passed now. I thought the pre-titles were strong in having Bannerman Road under attack and Rani isolated, and having the first half or so of the audio leading up to that point worked well. I thought it was lovely for Rani to be taken under the journalistic wing of Sarah Jane after an invite by Wilkinson for a school newspaper interview, and he was a strong character as the author of the titular Wraith World novels. Sarah hearing some mysterious sounds and movements in Wilkinson kitchen was intriguing and the description of a blood red something moving around there was fascinating. Clyde was a lot of fun in this episode as he was quickly dismissing the books that Rani so cherished as childsih, and boy did that make her angry! She really didn’t take kindly to being teased. I thought it was great that Rani was given Wilkinson's original journal and he’d clearly taken a liking to her from a purely professional standpoint. Clyde and Luke being on the case when a large scream was heard and the arrival of a huge worm that she quickly stomped was intriguing. The worm was alien though and initially having just one was good, but then the image of hundreds of them in the tree was fantastic! I really enjoyed how things moved forward once the fictional villains of the book series came to life with the Hankarda really making an impact! The revelation that Rani had actually written the attack into existence was unexpected but that showed the extent to which she was angry with Clyde. I loved how Rani wasn’t in control of her writing and the threat of being hoarded by giant alien worms was very much in play. I thought Wilkinson's recollection of how the journal literally chose him back in 1969 was good and it had a hold of him ever since. The Hankarda wanted form and it was now too much power for him so it was passed to Rani. That certainly explained a lot about her actions! Wilkinson feeling guilty was good and I liked how he wanted to help Sarah Jane with what he’d started. He invented the Wraith Warriors in his books so Sarah brilliantly realised that he’d also penned their defeat and that should also work in reality! I loved the simplicity of that and it paid dividends. Vibration was the answer and having Sarah try and keep Wilkinson focused on the task was excellent. I thought it was good that Rani could still influence the narrative as she resisted control with the psionic paper in the journal being utilised brilliantly. I’m a big fan of fiction coming to life and it worked really well in this audio. The paper being part of writing entertainment for an artificial reality was fantastic and the tables turning as Sarah started adding her own words and bringing events into reality was excellent. I thought it was superb for the Hankarda to explain that Rani’s imagination was far expanded thanks to her experiences with Sarah Jane and the potential of her mind far exceeded that of Wilkinson. Having her fight and actually help co-author the final demise was terrific and burning the journal after the Hankarda was trapped within was a fitting conclusion! Overall, a really strong audio and a fitting final performance from Sladen. 

Rating: 9/10