Doctor Who: The Janus Conjunction

Eighth Doctor Adventures #16

by Trevor Baxendale

Two planets, Janus Prime and Menda, orbit a Red Giant on the edge of the galaxy. The planets lie diametrically opposite each other on either side of the huge sun -- but where Menda is rich and fertile in the light of the sun, Janus Prime's moon leaves the sun in a constant state of eclipse. Humans are colonizing the area, and a rival group sets up on Janus Prime via a mysterious transmit system left behind by the planets' former inhabitants. But what is its true purpose?

When the Doctor and Sam arrive they must piece together a centuries-old puzzle. How can Janus Prime's moon weigh billions of tons more than it should? What is the secret purpose of the hyperspatial link? They discover a terrible weapon is hidden in the glowing sands of the planet, one that if it falls into the hands of the warring humans could destroy the galaxy.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Novels

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 1998

About the author

Trevor Baxendale is a novelist who has penned several Doctor Who tie-in novels and audio dramas. He lives in Liverpool, England with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good Eighth Doctor Adventure.

The Doctor and Sam arrive on Janus Prime, they find themselves in the middle of a war between rival humans colonising the area.

It was quite easy to get swept along by this one, though with the fractions fighting there’s quite a lot of violence.
The section with the spiders practically were uncomfortable to read.

Sam has some good moments as she’s separated from the Doctor, you really feel for her during her latest plight.

An enjoyable entry and continues the run of sold stories for this incarnation of The Doctor.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Janus Conjunction feels like a return to normal Who- distant future, two factions clashing, a world or way of life dying, and the Doctor dropped right in the middle. Sam is bearable and moderately capable, the new characters have some meat to them (yet we don't have their entire lives dropped into our laps with pages long exposition dumps) and there's a sense of urgency. There's the standard science techno-babble and strange alien inhabitants, and the insane bad guy with the minions who do his bidding. It also plugged along at a nice pace and never stagnated. I really enjoyed the spiders and the planetary link, and the history of the factions and how they wound up fighting one another.
All that being said, there is a factor here that drops this story down from a 4 to a 3. And that's the effects of the radiation on the inhabitants. It is no exaggeration to say that this novel is FULL of melting people. Every chapter you're reminded of the effects of the radiation on the human body, and it's just gross. People are exploding, melting out of suits and sticking to things, and it's a huge, huge turn off. I understand that Baxendale was going for something that encouraged the story to move along at a clipped pace, and that's appreciated- but it literally could have been anything but radiation sickness. There's also a scene where a spider is being turned into a cyborg while awake. No thanks. I'll pass.
This story does showcase awesome problem solving and technical prowess by the Doctor, which is always appreciated. There's also some issues that are solved by time travel, which you don't always see (ironic, I know). I would love to give it a 3.5, but since I can't, I have to round down to a 3, and I'm sad about it, but what can you do? On to the next.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 3 out of 5]

On to Doctor Who EDA #...what am i at now? ah yes. 16. it's starting to blend together at this point.

This was my second book by trevor baxendale (The first being Deep time) and i can definitely see his style in this one as well even though it's not a "new who" book.

Premise is basically a radioactive planet has a permanent eclipse with evil cyborg spiders and a crazy ex-military guy.

Yeah, it's about that stock.

If you're looking for another adventure like Scarlet Empress where sam and the doc hang out together, you're not really going to see that in this one. they're separated for about 90% of the story.

There's quite a bit of violence in this one, but it's mainly the way people die and the radioactive melting that kind of put me off to this one. Trevor seems to really like his gross violence and while Who is no stranger to violence, it DOES get a little offputting at times.

Something i enjoyed about this book was that the doctor seems to be back to his old usual self. i suppose Iris in the previous book shook him out of his PTSD stupor and brought his back, which i can appreciate as both Placebo and Vander were very frustrating in that the doctor either didn't care, or was very blase about the entire situation.

The side characters who either died or were integral to the plot were stock. I didn't really care about the evil crazy military dude or the heart of gold GOOD ex-military dude, or the female scientist. They were kind of just...people to basically argue with him for the sake of arguing.

Sam's existential crisis of thinking about dying got a little old and it could have done with more scenes of sam and the doc working together.

This book wasn't bad, but neither was it good. It's kind of directly in the middle. Kind of how i felt about Kursaal. This book absolutely gets a HARD 3 out of 5 and that's exactly where it's going to stay.

I would never be in a hurry to read this book again, but if i were forced, there's worse ones they could choose. All in all, like Placebo Effect, it's VERY forgettable and i really don't have a lot of feelings one way or the other about it.

Even 3 out of 5.

[James Barnard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny how opinions shift with time. ‘The Janus Conjunction’ was far and away the most popular Eighth Doctor novel of 1998. This fact may, uncharitably, indicate the general levels of positivity around new Doctor Who stories at the time, in an age where the chances of a new TV series had never seemed so remote. With 18 months having passed since Virgin published its last New Adventure, this replacement range had failed to match the heights of its predecessor, and the popularity of this novel, I think, reflects how reassured people were to be given a traditional Doctor Who story, told in a simple, uncomplicated, story-arc-free way.

I don’t think we’d get the same results if we repeated those polls today. ‘The Janus Conjunction’ stands up as a very good book, but as opinions have shifted, it’s resolutely ‘trad’ approach means there’s not much to help it stand out. Specifically, this is a Terry Nation-style story, with characters named to sound as alien as possible – a problem when some character names are very similar and you lose track of what side these people are supposed to be on. Yes, that’s my fault for not concentrating enough, but the book is so soothing and well plotted that it’s easy to get sucked in without thinking too much.

That isn’t an observation I’d make about any of Trevor Baxendale’s other work – all of which has been superb. The success of this book led to his being commissioned to write many more, and for that we should be very grateful indeed.

From little acorns, mighty oaks grow. I’d say this was far more than a little acorn. It is a very good book in its own right, but even better was to come from an author whose mastery of form was evident even at this early stage.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this a particularly good Eighth Doctor story, with our hero and Sam ending up on a grand artifact of planetary engineering and falling in both with human military factions and the local very alien beings (themselves exploited by the humans) while facing 'orrible danger from radiation. Would be a good taster for anyone wanting to give this series a try.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year I've found myself really getting back into The Eighth Doctor Adventures. Long overdue I dare say but I've just been focused on other things. But I'll admit getting back into this range has been a wild ride, the stories have been dark, hilarious, fantastical, and insane. But here we are Trevor Baxendale's first Doctor Who novel, he's an author whose work I appreciate even if I don't like him all that much as a person.

Janus Prime and Menda are diametrically, opposed in an orbit around a vast red giant star. Menda is beautiful, whilst Janus Prime is a dead world riddled with radiation and spiders. When The Doctor and Sam arrive they find that humans have found themselves in a deadly conflict. The ashamed soldiers of a military group live on Janus Prime, whilst a group of colonists thrives happily on Menda. But why have the two separated and how did a mysterious portal 'the link' come into existence? It would seem Janus Prime has a far more complicated history than one would initially expect. But with The Doctor and Sam separated, the two find themselves fighting for their lives and the safety of an entire galaxy.

Trevor Baxendale's first novel is very much a traditional Doctor Who story that would have fitted in the Pertwee era seamlessly if it wasn't for the amount of violence and gore that permeates this book. It's very much a typical colony vs a militaristic voice type of story that just screams Colony in Space. But what makes it exciting is the amount of horror and tension that Baxendale throws into this story. It's a very blood-thirsty book with creepy crawlies, radiation sickness that peals the skin of people's bones, and an insane crackpot of a commander.

Sam is really put through the wars here and once again we're left feeling really sorry for her as the situation grows bleaker throughout the story. At the moment Sam is quite possibly my favorite companion for this range, which I know is a surprise since Fitz is often considered the fan favorite and whilst I do like him, Sam just has a spark of energy to her that's more exciting to me as both a reader and a fan. But I've only read a couple of books with Fitz so that's possible to change.

I do have a couple of criticisms for this story though. I do feel in places the story can feel a little too generic for its good at times and not embracing enough what makes it so different from the other Doctor Who stories that are very similar to this one. My other critique is that the solution of a sacrifice having to be made could have been expanded or written a lot better as it kind of just happens without any meaningful or emotional send-off. I do feel an issue with the BBC books is that it does feel the writers were limited on how much they could write, which makes sense considering most of these books are 280 pages roughly in total.

Overall: A really bleak and devastating story with some great moments of horror and tension. I do feel with another re-write and a few changes this could have been a strong novel. But as a debut, it's honestly still very good. 8/10

[Jason Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a fresh, breezy start the EDA’s hit a slight lull, and while they now get better as the faction paradox back story hits up, this is a decent book that struggles to be great. It’s conceptually sound, and does great stuff with Sam as she is recorded dead from radiation poisoning. The Doctors has in fact saved, but her darker faction self waits in the offing .,,

At this point the manipulated companion history was still a fresh idea. Apart from Ace and Fenric we’d not really seen it before. Now, the other side of Lucy Miller and Clara Oswald it’s a tad old hat but it wasn’t then.

This is essentially space opera which successfully avoids falling into the tedious Nick Briggs style noisy macho gun toting sci fi of books like longest day which doesn’t sit well in who. But after a strong start on character writing, the range is struggling a bit to be too in depth for other characters than the regulars . This will get better, but went on a few books too many. Self sacrifice endings and the Doctor being thought dead are both too predictable too and part of an ending that feels a bit trite.

But….it’s quite good and the range is regaining its feet.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the opening chapters on Trevor Baxendale's Eighth Doctor Adventure, The Janus Conjunction, I was a little worried. Oh, two factions in conflict and our heroes get split up, yadda yadda yadda. Not only have the Doctor and Sam already done this sort of thing, I used to cringe when it happened with much regularity in Star Trek TNG tie-in books. But... no! Janus turned out to be a great read! First of all, Baxendale has a real handle on the Doctor, with nice flights of whimsy and a mix of seriousness and humor. The plot raises the stakes consistently until it gets epic, and there's a natural progression from one threat to the next as we peer more and more deeply into the mystery of twin planets connected through a space anomaly. The back half of the book is a freight train of "how are they gonna get out of this one?" proportions. The writing is clear, the guest characters are well drawn and differentiated, and among all the action beats, Baxendale finds room for small comic moments that evoke Robert Holmes' double acts on the show, but also Douglas Adams' asides. What could have been a generic sci-fi plot becomes much more entertaining as a result.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot damn, this was a lot of fun.

Baxendale is kinda riffing on the same stuff he puts up in Fear of the Dark, but armed with McGann and Sam, there is a wonderful irreverent energy to all the blood, guts, and giant spiders that are all over this thing.

He’s putting the Doctor up with “hard” people (this time outright soldiers and calloused colonists) and steeping the setting in a REALLY fun gimmick that keeps the pressure on everyone.

I’m still kinda shocked at what these books were allowed to get away with. I guess that’s one of the virtues of it not being on TV when they were popular/being produced. They can set the tone of what Doctor Who was at the moment. That’s been neat to see across these EDAs (as I’m way more familiar with the Past Doctors range). I can see me rereading this one down the line.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weighed down by a populace of stock sci-fi troopers, an unpleasant level of violence, and regulars who don’t feel quite right, there are some interesting ideas here - the radiation is evocative, if grim and the spidroids are horrifyingly plausible - but it’s difficult to invest in the characters and be sad when they inevitably die.

[Arrocete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty gross not gonna lie. If you like body melting horror and classic Who militaristic stories you're gonna love this book. War stories are kinda boring to me but the story was solid and the characters had meat (heh).

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the Eighth Doctor Adventures do seem to be stuck in a rut here - another conflict between groups of humans over an alien relic that’s also a doomsday device - The Janus Conjunction handles it all rather well, keeping up the pace throughout. The writing for the Doctor and Sam is rather good.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read such a zero sum game of a book. There were enough parts that annoyed me to almost entirely balance out the parts I liked. A fantastically middle-of-the-road three stars

[Macey · Rating 3 out of 5]

all i could think of the entire book is how the radiation skin melting would suck so incredibly bad

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok faced with a lot of heavily armed trigger happy blokes in space suits do you -
a: Step back into the Tardis and slam the door.
or
b: Squeeze around the side of the Tardis (said time space vehicle almost blocking this alternative escape route) and hope the trigger happy blokes in space suits are crap shots.
Actually this one is a pretty good actioner. It's exciting, pacy and quite involving. The predicament of the bad guys is horrific enough for the reader to begin sympathizing with them. Enjoyable.

[Littleleaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic and fun read. Fast paced in certain areas, and, like the show itself, always full of excitement and adventure. I love the television show and that they've extended the adventures into books is a combination of my two worldly loves. The plot lines for Doctor Who are literally endless, and I am left amazed and craving more at the end every time. Highly recommended, even those who don't normally go for science fiction.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a page-turner. Lots of scary spiders. Sam continues her habit of getting very badly injured, a lot. Seriously, that poor girl has nearly died in every novel. Sometimes multiple times per novel.
The plot was a bit vague at times, but the villain was VERY villainous--if only because he was evil. He was evil because he was evil.
Fairly well-written and scary.
If you like the Doctor, check it out.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor and Sam land on a planet in a state of war, with mechanised spiders and troopers on one side. It's quite a straight forward story, I think I might have liked it more if it wasn't on similar themes to other 8th Doctor books I've read recently. The Doctor and Sam are in character and it is an easy read. A good read.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's certainly an absorbing read, with a great use of the 8th Doctor and some much needed character-building for the uber-generic Sam. However, it IS relentlessly grim...and that does get a bit tiring, after a while...

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic outing for Sam and the Doctor , quite dark in places and rightly so again you get to see the alien becoming normal and the human beings capable of so much violence and beauty, selflessness and selfishness and that's just one character.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great doctor who adventure. I couldn't really picture the doctor as Paul Magann but oddly despite it being written in 1999 it perfectly fitted Matt Smith! Really enjoyed it.

[Akiva ꙮ · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was up with that line where the Doctor heavily implies he's mind-controlling Sam? And then it never gets addressed again??