Neon Reign

"Women are only good for serving the menfolk."

Writer: Christian Brassington
Format: Audio
Released: June 2018
Series: Jenny: The Doctor's Daughter 1.03

Featuring: Jenny

Synopsis

The Dragon Lord rules Kamshassa with fear. Half the oppressed population live in an addicted stupor, while the other half are forced into service. Factories belch poisonous smoke, and Dragon Guards patrol the streets, condemning dissenters to the Eternal Fire.

When Jenny and Noah arrive, it's only a matter of time before they start a revolution.

Verdict

Neon Reign was a fantastic audio adventure to continue what is shaping up to be quite the spinoff series! This was definitely my favourite story of Jenny's boxset yet and the Doctor's daughter really is turning into someone quite spectacular. I'm a huge fan of her now, as if I already wasn't, and I am massively enjoying Georgia Tennant's performance in a lead role. She was quite tremendous here and she really has grown into her character as the stories have gone on. This was considerably different to the previous two adventures with the Kamshassa setting. It was very interesting and quite unique in the Doctor Who universe, at least considering what I have covered within it thus far. The idea of a civilisation where the men were not just seen as superior but actually waited upon and revered was fantastic! That's something good to play with when you have a strong female lead like Jenny. The dynamic worked very well and her reaction to everything about the Dragon Lord and his broadcasts was excellent. I loved her throughout the story and the nonchalance of the conclusion when she revealed that everything had been an illusion was just marvellous. I thoroughly enjoyed that. The broadcasts being compulsory on every screen was good and actually reminded me a little of Vengeance on Varos. There seem to have been a lot of semi-recycled elements from past Doctor Who universe stories in this series so far which has been fascinating. I have really enjoyed hearing things play out. I'm still not convinced by Noah in a semi-companion role to Jenny, but I was very glad of some serious development for his character. Just why was he referred to as the Elder One on the planet? With this came the ability to open doors with his DNA and I found that really interesting because we still don't know what species he is. I hope that will be an impactful revelation and I have a feeling that the identity may lead COLT-5000 to wanting him instead of Jenny. I like the brashness of Jenny in calling herself a Time Lord when she really isn't quite. It says a lot about the confidence of her character which is a trait I have thoroughly enjoyed. Shoon-Wei was a terrific character and I liked her interaction with Jenny a lot. I have to admit, I didn't see the plot twist coming when it came to the Dragon Lord actually being Dom-Ra, but I did love the facade being exposed in quick and impactful style. Jenny was on fire there. I thought the arrival of COLT-5000 was actually unexpected as I really didn't see her (it?) returning, let alone so quickly. It now seems like there's going to be a big finale surrounding the cyborg and its hunt for Jenny the Time Lord. Po contacting the cyborg through its own engineering concoction was very good and I liked the little interaction the pair got to have together, Alitta was also another decent character and she was very enjoyable in her role. Noah knowing all about dematerialisation circuits was intriguing and I like how Jenny is still coming to terms with him knowing so much about obscure scientific things, but nothing of everyday normality. It adds some fun and provides a good partnership and I am very interested to hear where things conclude for Jenny and Noah. She brought the illusion down here, and now things look set up for a terrific finale. Overall, a brilliant audio adventure!

Rating: 9/10