The Revenge of Wormwood: Time Schisms!

"Are you really Napoleon?"

Writer: Lizbeth Myles

Format: Audio

Released: December 2023

Series: Rani Takes on the World 2.01

Featuring: Rani, Luke

Synopsis

Podcast fan Anna thinks there's a time traveller working in her local post office. So, who else should she ask to investigate other than Rani Chandra? Unconvinced at first, Rani is shocked when an old friend warns her off. If UNIT don't want her looking into it, there must be something to the phenomena... But will Rani's quest for the truth drive a wedge between her and Luke?

Verdict

Time Schisms! was a great start to The Revenge of Wormwood second series of Rani Takes on the World! This is essentially a follow up series to The Sarah Jane Adventures which is just wonderful and whilst I'm not sure how things will end here, I certainly hope the series continues forward. It was lovely to have a reunion between Rani and Luke here but they weren't exactly on the most friendly terms. They were both investigating the same time traveller, but they had different motives. Rani was out to expose the truth for the people and get some good podcast content whilst Luke was employed by UNIT now and was aiming to cover things up in the name of protecting society. I liked that dynamic and the tension between them both was terrific considering their shared history. I thought it might have been a little harsh for Rani to challenge Luke on if he would say the same if it was Sarah Jane investigating, considering she was his mum and has now passed, but that helped show how serious the situation was. I really enjoyed the concept of a time traveller being displaced and ending up employed at a post office. That was a little random and Anna noticing him as a potential time traveller was fun. She seemed a little odd and mad when she wanted to discuss the situation with Rani, but the traits were actually fun! There was definite logic there in seeking out people who were interested in the mundane like washing machines and microwaves. Rani buying a stamp and then just flat out asking the potential time traveller if he was just that was bold and it was clear from his lack of surprising reaction that he was. What I was not expecting was for that time traveller to claim to be Napoleon Bonaparte! That was a bit of a shock I must say and it really did take me aback. Luke knew it was Bonaparte all along which I found interesting, but the revelation from Rani that he had no artron energy and therefore hadn't travelled in time was really intriguing! He turned out to be a dimensional duplicate which was a little less exciting in my opinion, but I suspect the truth regarding the intentions is yet to come. We had the likes of Arthur Wellesley coming through as well and the moment with Luke getting close to the source to defeat it was good, but he wasn't alone there. He was recognised and of course we know who that is from the umbrella title of the series and the comments about her little creation being all grown up, but for Luke he didn't retain the memories. They were like a dream and fading. He knew he'd been recognised, but couldn't remember what she had said. That was a nice little tease of things to come for the rest of the series. I love that Luke is a fan of the podcast and it was also lovely for the Blue Box Files from Redacted to get a little namedrop considering Rani has appeared there also. A really nice touch of cross continuity. Hadley was a good character as the Major at UNIT and her main job was mostly keeping Luke on track with the UNIT mission and not having his history with Rani come into play. Easier said than done! Overall though, a really strong story with a cheeky cameo from Clyde to keep his presence remembered and a nice tease of what's to come. A fine opener. 

Rating: 8/10