Agreed with the Sam points, Emily. Still, I rather liked this book, even if it's almost 'Colony In Space- Part 2'. It felt like a Who story to me, which has seen its share of human colonies.
There's actually a nit here, as far as science is concerned; the Doctor suggests letting the moon smash into Janus Prime, to save Menda. This would only doom Menda a half year later! Both planets share the same orbit, so if the moon blew apart Janus Prime, it would disintegrate into a trail of asteroids like we possess between Mars and Jupiter. Once Menda orbited to the same point where Janus prime was destroyed, it would collide with millions of asteroids, large and small, easily wiping life from the face of the planet. NOT a good idea, Doctor! And considering the lady colonist puts this plan into action, she's kind of oblivious to her impending doom, as well.
I'm not surprised - even with my vague-to-nonexistent knowledge of physics, the whole set-up sounded extraordinarily dodgy to me. But what really gets on my nerves is the way Baxendale even gets basic Dr Who facts wrong, claiming that the human race never got out of the solar system until after the Dalek invasion!!!!
I was being really thick not to notice the similarities between this and Colony in Space. Probably because Colony = quarries, Pertwee and boredom, whilst Janus Conjunction = darkness, spiders and boredom as far as I'm concerned.
I thought the spiders were rather cute - and certainly better characterised and than any of the 'two-legs'. Which, it must be said, can't have been too difficult!
SPIDERS ARE NOT CUTE!!! They are evil, evil creatures! If only you'd seen Full Circle as a kid, you too would be suffering from arachnophobia and wouldn't say such s t u p i d things!
Spiders are our friends. They eat insects and other pests, and scientific study of their silk and toxins has led to advances in engineering and medicine.
Besides, they turned Jon Pertwee into Tom Baker. I'd think you'd be grateful.
_Theoretically_ I'm grateful. It's just that..well...the universe needs the Doctor. Desperately. Pertwee could have had HUNDREDS more planet-saving years ahead of him if he hadn't come over all male and macho and 'I'm not afraid of spiders and I'm gonna die of radiation poisoning just to prove it, ner ner nyer ner'. (I'm not particularly proud of my own scream-and-run-away reaction to spiders, but it's a BIT more sensible than suicide.) And Interference proved that Jon Pertwee was destined to turn into Tom Baker _whatever_ the time and circumstances of his regeneration, so he didn't NEED to die in Planet of the Spiders.
How many times does this make it that the Doctor & co. jump out of the TARDIS into imminent danger, only to run away in the other direction? Why don't they ever, EVER, jump back INTO the TARDIS where it's safe? In fact, they do this not just at the beginning of the book, but again halfway through it! They deserve to get shot at. And eaten by spiders. And irradiated. And whatever.
"Janus Prime is on the edge of the Milky Way, 27 light years from Earth." Argh. Why don't these authors ever read Science 101 books? Took me all of 30 secs to find out Earth is about two thirds along a spiral arm of a galaxy 100,000 light years across. That would make it over 20,000 light years from the edge.
I don't think trashing Janus Prime with its own moon would be much of a problem for its sister planet. Most, if not all, of the debris should be knocked from orbit, and even if it weren't it would still be orbiting 180-out from Menda.
At one point, the Doctor declares he's never been afraid of spiders. Excuse me? Forgot a whole regeneration, did he?
I don't think I've ever seen the Doctor rewrite someone's death before. Sure didn't do as much for Adric!
At one point, the Doctor declares he's never been afraid of spiders. Excuse me? Forgot a whole regeneration, did he?
Aha! The effects of the Interference retcon must be making themselves felt, as early as Janus Conjunction...
Either that or the Doc's just lying through his teeth. Not surprising given that the Third Doctor topped himself rather than admit to being scared of the creatures.
As Sam gets dropped off near the TARDIS (not knowing about the bug in her arm) Vigo watches her leave the ship. Which is pretty impressive for a guy who turned into a puddle a few pages before.
But what really gets on my nerves is the way Baxendale even gets basic Dr Who facts wrong, claiming that the human race never got out of the solar system until after the Dalek invasion!!!!
For god's sake someone point me in the direction of the human race getting out of the solar system before Dalek Invasion of Earth!
THIS came second to Seeing I as the most popular EDA of the year in the DWM poll?? This came within 0.1% of Seeing I? People are CRAZY!
"For god's sake someone point me in the direction of the human race getting out of the solar system before Dalek Invasion of Earth!"
Nightmare of Eden?
THANK you!
Okay, my first time commenting on an EDA since joining this forum. I have read all the books previous to this, and I might eventually go back and comment, but many of them I've forgotten the details.
Anyway, I see in 2012 Emily expresses surprise that this novel came second to Seeing I in a poll. The funny thing is, I knew nothing of this poll, and as I finished reading the book this morning, I was thinking, "This was easily the best of these that I've read since Seeing I!" So really, I'm not surprised.
A couple of you have pointed out the inconsistency that the Doctor claims he isn't afraid of spiders despite the events of Planet of the Spiders. How about the fact that ONE BOOK AGO in The Scarlet Empress he claimed he IS afraid of spiders? I suspect that Mr. Baxendale was simply not aware of what Mr. Magrs was writing, probably at the same time. Clearly, the Doctor must be lying ONE of those times.
At one point, Lundar is all set to kill the "b---h" (Sam, but that his his adjective, not mine!), and seems to be of a one-track mind on the subject, yet mere pages later he is going out of his way to help her. Not that a change of opinion of someone isn't possible, but I felt it happened way too abruptly to be believable.
And as for the comment way up that the top that everyone hates Sam, that's not true! I could never understand everyone issue with her. Okay, she is strong-willed, and speaks her mind, she is the ultimate social justice warrior--but so are a lot of young people with idealistic beliefs, and while I haven't read all of her appearances yet, so far she seems to improve as the books go on. Not that I haven't been irritated with her on occasion, but just about everyone gets irritated with their best friends' habits at times in real life, let alone a character in a series of books. Okay, she's far from being my favorite Companion, but I do like her.
Okay, my first time commenting on an EDA since joining this forum.
You have NO IDEA how much this is appreciated, I'm currently in the process of rereading all the books whose threads haven't been touched since 2012 (have been stuck in the middle of Intelligent Tigers for a few months, dammit) and in saying ANYTHING AT ALL you've permitted me to shove Janus Conjunction right to the bottom of the reread list...
I have read all the books previous to this, and I might eventually go back and comment, but many of them I've forgotten the details.
Details be damned! ANYTHING you can think of!
I was thinking, "This was easily the best of these that I've read since Seeing I!"
Good grief. You LIKED it!
ONE BOOK AGO in The Scarlet Empress he claimed he IS afraid of spiders?
*Sigh*
I suspect that Mr. Baxendale was simply not aware of what Mr. Magrs was writing
Fair enough for him, not so much for the editor.
Clearly, the Doctor must be lying ONE of those times
Well, when he was Pertwee some CRAZY BUDDHIST MONK convinced him to TOP HIMSELF to prove that he wasn't scared of spiders even though he was scared of spiders. So a certain amount of confusion is...understandable.
Eight was certainly pretty freaked-out in Ancestor Cell, but JODIE! actually seemed quite protective of ghastly giant killer-spiders...
At one point, Lundar is all set to kill the "b---h" (Sam, but that his his adjective, not mine!), and seems to be of a one-track mind on the subject, yet mere pages later he is going out of his way to help her. Not that a change of opinion of someone isn't possible, but I felt it happened way too abruptly to be believable.
The best instance of this sort of thing is in Strange England - as Bookwyrm puts it, 'Messingham writers a most extraordinary page where [Rix's] determination to survive and win switches to his committing suicide in about 20 lines.'
Okay, she is strong-willed, and speaks her mind, she is the ultimate social justice warrior--but so are a lot of young people with idealistic beliefs
Yeah, it's ironic that Sam is the Companion most like me in terms of her principles (other than the fact that she actually got off her arse and DID something about 'em, obviously) but her very idealism made her feel shallow - the EDAs actually ended up claiming her biodata had been rewritten to make her Little Miss Perfect. Which makes her...just not that interesting. She can be SPOILERS FOR ALL THE SAM-RELATED EDAS a a werewolf pack leader and give the Remote a martyr complex and eat of the flesh of an insane priest to become immortal and get killed by the Council of Eight and crucified on a glassy stalactite and bitten by vampires and her sole purpose in life is to destroy human history and she's still just not very interesting.
so far she seems to improve as the books go on.
I hadn't noticed being three years older conveying any particular improvement. Sure, she'd got over being in love with the Doctor but even though her Doctor-crush was blasphemous (by the standards of those far-off days) it was also blasphemous to just GET OVER it.
Whereas bloody Fitz can just stroll into the EDAs strumming his guitar and smoking fags and shagging the birds and for some deeply unfair reason he just feels...real. Right. And writer-proof.
I've heard of Fitz, but haven't been "introduced" to him yet, as I'm reading the books in order. In which book is he introduced?
I say I'm reading them in order, but not one after the other. I'm also reading the NAs in order, which the occasional PDA/MA thrown in, plus some of the earlier New Series novels--though I don't like the latter as much because they strike me as "dumbed down" for younger readers. Anyway, the next book I'll be reading is the NA "Infinite Requiem" -- as hard as it is to imagine an NA without Ace (I prefer to forget "Transit" and "The Pit" as much as possible, though "The Higest Science" wasn't TOO bad). After that I'll be reading the PDA "Matrix."
But in order to keep these threads alive, I promise I'll say something after I finish each!
Oh, and I'm sorry. I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to like The Janus Conjunction.
In which book is he introduced?
The Taint.
I say I'm reading them in order, but not one after the other. I'm also reading the NAs in order, which the occasional PDA/MA thrown in
Wonderful! And now you're talking about 'em on Nitcentral, all your suffering will be worthwhile!
They strike me as "dumbed down" for younger readers
I wouldn't say 'dumbed down', the NSAs are aimed at a younger demographic with shorter, sim;er stories and an unfortunate tendency to throw a Plucky Youngster into the mix, but something like The Eyeless feels as adult as plenty of the NAs who are frantically attempting to display how grown-up they are by throwing in loads of sex.
as hard as it is to imagine an NA without Ace
Benny makes a much more successful book-Companion and frankly I found it harder to reconcile the Doctor-hating ••••• of the novels with the wonderful (if occasionally embarrassing*) on-screen Ace.
I prefer to forget "Transit" and "The Pit" as much as possible
*Much sympathetic nodding*
though "The Higest Science" wasn't TOO bad
Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that.
Oh, and I'm sorry. I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to like The Janus Conjunction.
I s'pose it's nice that SOMEONE does.
*BOOM!
"In which book is he introduced?"
"The Taint."
Well, that's nice. I was looking ahead to the next book in the series that I didn't already have a copy of--and that being "The Taint" I placed an order for it from an online used book dealer only yesterday. Still three books away in reading order though.
'The TARDIS has left Janus Prime and is now in temporal orbit. We can take as long as we like' - isn't temporal orbit a ghastly telemovie CHEAT that should - like 'half-human' - never EVER be mentioned again? Why does the Doctor resort to THAT to find a cure when s/he can just 'channel a little temporal energy through the solution [and] can achieve months of incubation in seconds...' - The Knight, the Fool and the Dead?
And Interference proved that Jon Pertwee was destined to turn into Tom Baker _whatever_ the time and circumstances of his regeneration
Well, 'proved' may be putting it a bit strongly, given that Davison in Wicked Sisters regenerated into someone-who-mercifully-wasn't-Colin-Baker (Dan Starkey, according to Gallifrey Base - a vast improvement) when being eaten by smoke-creatures in the TARDIS.
Of course, it could be argued that Tom was destined to be the Doctor COME WHAT MAY (and more than once) whereas Colin was some sort of hideous one-in-a-million accident...