The Sow in Rut

"Beer, pie and ghost stories – the perfect evening."

Writers: Robert Perry & Mike Tucker

Format: Short Story

Released: March 1999

Printed in: More Short Trips 08

Featuring: Sarah Jane, K9

Synopsis

Here on Earth or out in the depths of the cosmos, the Doctor and his companions are never far from adventure.

Discover things on Earth you were never meant to know. Get around the universe. Get short tripping.

Verdict

The Sow in Rut was was a tremendous adventure to continue my way through the More Short Trips anthology of short stories! I really loved this one and it was a nice refreshing change to step away from the adventures of the Doctor and check in with Sarah Jane and K9. I think it’s a big shame that we never did get more of K9 & Company after A Girl’s Best Friend but at least it’s opened up the world of Sarah Jane prior to The Sarah Jane Adventures starting in the modern instalment of the Whoniverse. It’s the spinoff she deserved, but it’s fun to delve deep into the Classic era of Sarah’s time post-The Hand of Fear. I love that she’s travelling around with K9 and going to Cornflower Cottage for a retreat just feels right. I liked the idea of Sarah changing career paths a little and instead of being a journalist for this story she was aiming to write a novel. That was a nice change of pace and I think she definitely has the qualities required to write a book. I’d certainly be interested! I thought it was fun for her to use K9 as essentially a portable CD player although I wouldn’t have her down as a classical music fan. She didn’t react too well to the change of song playing the Spice Girls but that’s what I’d have thought was more up her alley. Anyhow, it was just fun to see K9 in the 1990s and blending with the technology of the time. Of course, at the time of release that was very much contemporary! Having Sarah in a mysterious village was good and I was so impressed with the atmosphere created. It was incredibly eery and the just the presence of strong rain made things feel spooky. Throw in some damp and a village pub and you’ve got all the ingredients for a classic horror or ghost-type story. What we got was tremendous. I was reading this at 7am on a rare commute into the office which was probably not the ideal time for a story of this nature, but I was engrossed. I flew through the pages which is nothing but a strong sign. Aggie being concerned for Sarah given that she was staying in Cornflower Cottage was intriguing and the history of it as a former inn was brilliant. I loved learning about the former owners who were apparently cannibals! That’s always a disturbing concept and whilst this was far from the levels of Countrycide the threat faced to Sarah was dark. Of course, the former owners were just that. They weren’t in the cottage any longer but the mysterious damp and the water ankle high meant Sarah had to get out of there. The little sequence with K9 where she thought he was possessed was really good and I genuinely feared for Sarah’s safety. There didn’t seem like a way out. What we did get was good fun though as the blend of flesh, energy and water wouldn’t be one. The blast sorted things out and Sarah was quick in her metro and on the motorway. Her call to Brendan was amusing because he revealed he’d been using K9 as a processor for his games console. Might some patchwork or a virus have got in? It was a startling thought. The ambiguous ending was superb in highlighting that Cornflower Cottage had actually just had a burst pipe. It made sense, but was she really not threatened by a spirit? A demonic pig spirit at that? I mean, it was the pigs that supposedly told the former owners to become cannibals. I don’t expect to ever revisit these events, but the way it concluded open ended was magnificent. It left me questioning things and I really loved that. Overall, an excellent little read! 

Rating: 9/10