Customer Reviews

The Janus Conjunction (Doctor Who Series)

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THE JANUS CONJUNCTION is a book that doesn't know where it wants to go and never really gets there. The story borrows very heavily from certain Jon Pertwee adventures and does not end up escaping. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but there isn't a point in the story where I found something that I hadn't seen before. Everything felt as though I'd seen or read it a few times previously. The real shame of this is that it disguises some of the actual original pieces in it.

As for the plot, I'm afraid there are just one too many impossibilities for me. I don't mind a little bad science every now and again if it isn't distracting and it helps move the plot along. Minor errors that crop up are usually more annoying than anything else, but in this case they really got in the way of my enjoyment of the story. If there had been more to the plot, then it might have just gotten away with this, but as the story was so straightforward (and, frankly, dull in many places) the science mistakes became that much more apparent. I was actually not terribly bothered by these errors until almost the very end, when a huge deux ex machina pops up, destroying all manner of physical laws, just in time to save the day.

Another major problem that I had with this book was the use of Sam, though to be fair to Trevor Baxendale, this is not completely the author's fault. Sam is a very annoying character and there just isn't a terribly satisfactory way of putting her into a story without the reader wishing that she doesn't end up dying after her Torture of the Month. SEEING I got away with using Sam well by having her grow up and putting some of her more annoying characteristics into perspective. VANDERDEKEN'S CHILDREN starred a generic companion who just happened to be named Sam and shared very few of her positive and negative points. But JANUS just shows us Sam in all her annoying, holier-than-thou glory. The results are very painful in places. While some authors have gone to great lengths to keep her out of situations that will bring out the worst in her character, Baxendale does not do this. It's hardly his fault that he was stuck with a companion that has to be tiptoed around, but the story he has written really clashes with the Sam that he had to use.

The other characters (including the Doctor) are fairly bland. If you've ever seen a Pertwee episode then you've met these people before. We have the 70's era environmentally friendly colonists that are looking for a nice place to live away from the hustle and bustle of Earth. They're lead by the council of elders who are slow, bureaucratic and don't listen to the Doctor until it's too late no matter how much sense it would make to do so. The bad guys are a group of mercenaries who are evil, greedy and are only in it for the money and the glory. The exceptions are the soldiers who end up siding with the colonists by the end of the book, which, again, is a plot point that we've seen again and again.

In any case, JANUS is a run of the mill adventure that's let down heavily by it's reliance on very poor science and some rather cardboard characterizations. It's a very fast read, but there is not a whole lot there to recommend it.

The author does an excellent job of characterizing the 8th Doctor and Sam, aswell as the other main characters. The mood of the book is suitably dark and the locations are fantastic but beleivable.

The pace of the adventure is quick, although it did get a little bogged down in technobabble towards the end (making a few jokes at it's own expense along the way).

It would make an excellent TV story and sticks to the formula of limited locations, but being part of a galactic problem.

Thouroughly recommended for Who fans and casual readers alike.

Oh look, another mysterious alien planet captained forces that we don't totally understand, and infighting between those who like shooting things and those who like farming. Can the Doctor tip the balance and save everyone, minus a few casualities of people who are either in the wrong place or simply make poor decisions? What do you think?

If the plot seems overly familiar, it certainly isn't for lack of trying on the part of the author. Perhaps he was attempting to take common elements and synthesize them into a whole new story but it just doesn't happen here. The Doctor and Sam land on an alien planet that has already been settled. However, it's also linked with another nearby planet. On the one side are colonists and on the other are mercenaries that weren't quite ready to turn in their laser guns. Needless to say, they aren't getting along and thus the situation has sort of devolved.

What actually makes this one stand out in my mind is how gruesome it all is at times. The one planet is soaked in radiation and it's not the kind that turns you into a superhero, but instead eventually makes your skin dissolve and you turn into a puddle of goo. And guess who's exposed to enough that it makes the proceedings more urgent? Yup, Sam adds "radiation poisoning" to the list of things she's survived so far. Meanwhile, we get spiders who have their brains ripped out and replaced by robot minds, graphic descriptions of soldiers with their faces melting off and . . . for some reason this bothered me the most, a very detailed sequence where Sam digs a tracking device out of her skin with a knife. She gets bonus points for being gutsy, but boy, did I not expect that.

But what we're left with is a skeleton of a plot we can describe in our sleep. Of course, the colonists will not believe the Doctor and try to slow him down. Of course, Sam will be separated and in peril. Of course, the leader of the soldiers will be mad and not listen to reason before activating a doomsday device. Of course, it will be linked to a vanished alien civilization. Its all put together very well, but when you can see almost every plot twist coming (third act change of heart, check!) there's not too many exciting reasons to keep reading.

In his defense, it is partially the limitations of the format. As much as some of the others tried to do something different, not everyone can since neither the BBC or the fans really want a radical departure every time out. There's nothing terrible in here, the characters, while not leaping from the page, are inoffensive enough. The Doctor is actually written pretty well, proactive and charming and resolute, the way he should be. Even Sam isn't too bad, except that she suffers quite a bit for many pages.

But the book shouldn't be making you ask, "why is nobody questioning why the aliens are giant spiders?" In terms of standard Doctor Who, this goes down quite easily but chances are you won't be begging for a reread or a sequel when you're finished.

The Janus Conjunction is exeptionally descriptive, leaving you able to picture each of the settings. The action isn't too slow. The plot is good. This is an all around good book. I highly reccomend it.

Baxendale uses vivid description to describe the various characters in his novel. Zemler is portrayed as a grotesque, dying, lunatic while Lunder is portrayed as aggressive and benevolent at the same time. Baxendale also uses character evolution in the case of Moslei who started out as an antagonist but ends up being the savior of Menda. Baxendale's use of characterization is excellent especially in the case of the madman Zemler and his troopers. Baxendale's viewpoint is from the characters and not an omniscient narrator. The viewpoint bounces back and forth between the Doctor, Sam, Lunder, Julya, Zemler, and even Moslei. The structure of the novel was very organized and kept the attention of the reader. Baxendale did an excellent job of fleshing out the antagonists early in the novel yet not boring the reader with narration. There was much tension to keep the novel moving. Several things kept the novel going such as Sam's dying of radiation, Lunder's conflict with his former leader; Zemler, and the Doctor struggling to disarm the conjunction weapon and find a cure for Sam. Baxendale's use of Menda and Janus Prime as the setting was excellent and did not confuse the reader. His descriptons of peaceful and serene Menda and barren and radioactive Janus Prime enabled the reader to paint a perfect mental image of both. The concept of the Janus Conjunction was original as were its characters. It echoes the moral that absolute power corrupts absolutely. The novel's style was fast paced and was not heavily laden with narration. The dialogue was original and the descriptions of the settings and characters were crisp and imaginative. It is sentimental at times but not too melodramatic. It is action packed yet not to the extent where the plot is lost.

I must admit to being slightly dubious whenever I pick up a Doctor Who novel that is written by an author unfamilliar to me. But I was extremely impressed by Trevor Baxendale's intelligent storyline and comfortable writing style. I particularily liked the portrayal of the eighth Doctor.

This novel is a real page-turner. I even feel as though I learned a few things about astronomy: Trevor has put some real science into the science fiction.

I wish all of the eighth Doctor novels could as exciting and have as many good qualities as the Janus Conjunction does. I am eagerly awaiting Trevor's next novel....

The Janus Conjunction is exeptionally descriptive, leaving you able to picture each of the settings. The action isn't too slow. The plot is good. This is an all around good book. I highly reccomend it.