Customer Reviews

ALIEN EMERGENCIES: A Sector General Omnibus (Sector General Series)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

"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 So, there are areas where the language and behavior may seem quaint or out of date to anyone who is not yet retired.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,

I'm so happy to find these stories available. They make me nostalgic for times past when science fiction filled us with, as the quote goes, "a sense of wonder" and hope for a fascinating future.

I like older science fiction. It is interesting to see the speed of change that has changed our thoughts and habits when it comes to technology and discovery. I like how pure fiction was a few decades ago. Everyone came at everything with an individual attitude and not as many factors were consistent because the discovers that teach us consistency now had not yet been made.

I advise that if you are a purest who can only accept the most current technological fiction, don't read these.

If you like a good solid story with interesting characters and an interesting world and interesting ways of solving their problem, these stories are amazing. The situations and stories are fun, unique and a bit quirky. The author steps it up a notch by stepping out of normal comfort areas and speculating on other lifeforms. Methane, Crystal? Bring it all on.

That is what makes Sector General fun. The stories are short stories linked together. The characters are the same but it is not one great story that covers the entire book. It is a series of smaller stories that build up the world. Each is created and resolved but they do not end abruptly but build into the next story. The past is not forgotten and it causes the future to develop depth an consistency.

It is easy to care about the people. It is easy to care about the patients. You wish that you wanted to be a doctor because it seems to be the most interesting profession ever. It is healing instead of killing but it is just as potent and mind bending. The world isn't going to end but they do have to keep the hospital together, somehow.

It is worth the time to read it if you like world immersion and character driven story lines.