BBC Audiobooks has commissioned two brand new Sarah Jane Adventures, and will be publishing them on CD in November. The Glittering Storm and The Thirteenth Stone will both be read by Elisabeth Sladen who will play Sarah Jane in The Sarah Jane Adventures, the Doctor Who spin-off which debuts this autumn. This is the first time that BBC Audiobooks have commissioned new content for exclusive release on audio. Sladen first appeared as Sarah Jane Smith on the original Doctor Who series in 1973. She appeared in 80 episodes as the investigative journalist who was companion to both Jon Pertwee as the third Doctor and Tom Baker as the Fourth.
The Glittering Storm is written by Steve Cole, who has written many Doctor Who novels. “My first memories of Doctor Who are of poor Sarah stuck in a ventilator shaft back in 1975, so I jumped at the chance to write a story for Lis Sladen. She is a fantastic actor with a wonderful voice, and Sarah Jane is a marvellous character. With The Glittering Storm, I aimed to provide a story with creepy scares—as well as humor and thrills—in the vein of the new TV series. The idea is that we on Earth are not the only people who prize gold highly. Others in space have a fascination for the stuff too, and are rather more menacing in the way that they use it.”
The Glittering Storm begins “when patients at a London clinic begin to act strangely, Sarah Jane’s suspicions are aroused. Luke falls prey to the clinic’s sinister agenda, Maria and Clyde are pursued through London by a golden battle machine, and Sarah discovers a plot to harvest all the gold from Earth—at a terrible cost to the planet!” It will be published on one CD (1 hour 10 minutes) for £5.99 on 5 November, and available for download from bbcaudiozone.com the same day.
The Thirteenth Stone is written by Justin Richards, who has also written the Invisible Detectives series. “I had enormous fun writing The Thirteenth Stone. It’s always slightly daunting writing a story that is going to be read aloud—you really have to be at your best. But knowing that Elisabeth Sladen—Sarah Jane Smith herself—was going to be reading it was a tremendous boost to the confidence as well as a huge privilege. I can’t wait to hear the finished result!”
This story, “whilst helping out on a school trip, Sarah Jane discovers the truth behind the legend of an ancient stone circle. Something is trying to escape from one of the stones—and it’s chosen Luke as the way out! Can Sarah, Clyde and Maria save him?” The Thirteenth Stone will be published on 1 CD (1 hour 10 minutes) for £5.99 on 5 November, and available for download from bbcaudiozone.com the same day.