ALIEN EMERGENCIES: A Sector General Omnibus (Sector General Series) [Paperback]

James White (Author), David Langford (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2002

The second three volumes of James White's Sector General SF saga, in a single omnibus edition.

Sector General: A vast hospital complex in the depths of outer space. The thousands who work there, human and alien both, have a single mission: To care for all patients, of all species. At Sector General, anything can happen-and frequently does.

James White's tales of Sector General are lively, humorous, and humane, at times shot through with a healer's anger at violence and destruction. These are endlessly inventive dramas of civility and spirituality, tempered with White's gently wicked wit and his keen eye for the remarkable in the everyday.

Now, in a single omnibus, the second three volumes of the series-Ambulance Ship, Sector General, and Star Healer-return to print in complete and corrected editions, including a sequence ("Spacebird") omitted from previous American editions of Ambulance Ship. The volume is introduced by Hugo-winning SF writer and critic David Langford.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A remarkable achievement...The argument developed in the series has lost none of its force.” —Brian Stableford

“Neat, humorous, and humane.” —The Ultimate Guide to SF on the Sector General series

“Dry wit and a glimpse into alien psychology . . . Highly recommended!”—Library Journal

“Sector General is one of the few places in SF that one would really, really like to exist.”—David Langford

About the Author

James White lived in Northern Ireland. He was a popular writer of science fiction for over forty years. He died in 1999.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Orb Books; First Edition edition (April 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312877706
• ISBN-13: 978-0312877705
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #818,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally, James White is being reprinted., June 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: ALIEN EMERGENCIES: A Sector General Omnibus (Sector General Series) (Paperback)

AMBULANCE SHIP, SECTOR GENERAL, AND STAR HEALER are the three stories in this volume. These are medical s/f stories. I had been trying to track down the Sector General stories that are out of print, when this was published. Unfortunately, quite a few of the stories are out of print. Even the libraries have only a few of the stories. These are books about people/aliens/things and how we may interact on a medical level. Mr. White offers viewpoints and ideas on inter-species relationships and the stories are always nicely done. The only drawback (?) is that you shouldn't read all the stories all at once. I found that if I read something different in between reading each book, the stories read better and had a little more tenseness.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 5 for Story , 1 for Format, July 21, 2010

By 

Mark W Hartong - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Alien Emergencies: A Sector General Omnibus (Kindle Edition)

These James White stories are wonderful. However the publisher needs to conduct some SERIOUS editing and proof reading. Its obvious that this hasn't been done, and it shows. Misspelled words, sentence fragments, missing words, and incorrect words abound. Having printed copies of the original works and comparing them side by side with the e-version, the lack of care that went into preparing the e-versions is VERY VERY apparent. My printed copies were getting worn, so I purchased the e-version as a possible replacement. If you have printed copies, keep them and don't waste the purchase price of the e-version.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining collection of Science Fiction stories, December 20, 2008

By 

Norman Strojny "retired tech-person" (western desert of Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ALIEN EMERGENCIES: A Sector General Omnibus (Sector General Series) (Paperback)

"Alien Emergencies: A Sector General Omnibus" is a very entertaining collection of science fiction stories concerning Sector General, a space hospital invented by the author. I always enjoyed these stories when I could find them. I recommend this book.

However, it has been a number of years since these were written and some of our customs and our social values have changed. So, there are areas where the language and behavior may seem quaint or out of date to anyone who is not yet retired. It is worth some effort to let the author take you through his stories.

The first reviewer, "A Customer", gave a good review and is correct in suggesting that you pace yourself in reading these stories. Read something else between these stories.

These stories are really good science fiction,