Customer Reviews

Beyond Varallan (Stardoc II)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an emotional roller-coaster-- a fast-paced, page-tuning, can't-put-it-down even-though-it's-2a.m. absoulutely fabulous book! It rates higher than 5 stars! The story continues seamlessly from where the 1st book left off. (Be sure to read the first Stardoc-- it's also terrific and sets up the 2nd book.)

Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil is finding her place as a Healer on the Sunlace starship, but is wracked by guilt for the terrible danger she brings to her new family. The League won't let her alone; their mercenaries attack the ship at every turn. If that weren't bad enough, there's a killer stalking the ship, an unknown madman obsessed with Cherijo, and two men vying for her affections-- Xonea Torin, a hormonally-driven Clan warrior, and Duncan Reever, the enigmatic human who, after being raised among aliens, has little idea how to behave as a human.

Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan is a wonderfully plotted book, rich with detail and well-defined characters. In my opinion, it's a definite contender for the sf Hugo award! Run, do not walk, to the nearest bookstore and get both Stardoc books. You will not be disappointed.

Warning: My only complaint is that Stardoc II ends with Cherijo caught up in another impossible situation. My reaction was, "Nooooo! It can't end here! " I'm going crazy wondering what will happen next to Cheijo. I think Ms. Viehl should be chained to her word processor until the next book comes out!

And the plot thickens...Stardoc II: Beyond Varallan by S. L. Viehl. S. L. Viehl took Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil out of the frying pan and threw her into the fire! On board the Sunlace, Cherijo must deal with a jealous colleague, rogue killer, feelings of guilt. All while being hunted down by the League. As if that wasn't enough to deal with, Cherijo must contend with an escalating triangtle. This book is filled with surprising twists and turns that will leave you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, and wondering WHODUNIT! From the beginning of the first book, to the end of this book, S. L. Viehl leaves you guessing. If you haven't read Stardo: A Novel, you should definitely pick it up. It's not a prerequisite in order to read Stardoc II, but it's a must-have just because it's darn good. S. L. Viehl brings back a cast of unigue and lovable characters to join the new cast. It's a page-turner, even to the last page, when you're wishing there were more pages to turn. S. L. Viehl leaves you guessing to and through the end and hopefully the next book will be just as tantalizing. We, readers from the South, HIGHLY, recommend this book. Go out and get it!

I am again embarrassed to admit that I chewed this book up in a very short period of time; immediately following the first book in the series. First of all, you need to read StarDoc first in order to capture the mood and intent of this second novel in the series.
I will repeat that this is not great fiction, but one of the most pleasant fictional journeys I have made in awhile. Mostly Sci-Fi, the StarDoc novels surprisingly cross genres in a pleasing way. Space travel, fantastic aliens, medical thriller, murder mystery, romance, and comedy all come together in that rare way seldom achieved to bring us readers this un-mind-cluttering escape from our mundane everyday lives and suck us into the fantastic and unpredictable world of Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil.

Again, read StarDoc first, without it you will be lost.

After being rescued from her predicament on K2 by her adopted HouseClan, Cherijo travels with her HouseClan of Torin on their huge ship called The Sunlace. He is headed towards her betrothed's home plant of Joren, with some stops and surprises along the way. She immediately befriends the Senior Healer on board, and becomes fast friends with the older female. There is a clash with a fellow resident, resulting in a physical confrontation. Her ClanBrother Xonea becomes obsessed with protecting her, and further confrontations with her fellow Terran Duncan Reever are forthcoming. All while the League is still pursuing her, sending mercenaries after her consistently, while there is a betrayer on board that is killing off her Clan members in bizarre and brutal ways.

Cherijo must deal with Xonea's over-protectiveness extending even to the point of his Choosing of her to protect her, the enigma of Duncan Reever, the unresolved mysterious murders, a cacophony of injuries including her own, a hostile co-worker who will eventually become an ally, plus a huge new family when she has never known familial love before.

Light, entertaining, exciting; this is one of those series you will read for the pure unadulterated pleasure of reading. Life doesn't always have to be heavy. Enjoy.

As persuasive as Viehl can be within certain areas, outside those areas, her crafting is lazy and contrived. The author's use of medical jargon, for example, is absolutely convincing and the resulting suspension of disbelief is total. A good thing. On the other hand, compared to the reasoned and consistent treatment of space warfare by, say, Weber, or Drake, or even a romantic like McCaffrey, Viehl's conflicts are absolutely laughable. Where one might hope for at least a nod towards science or even a thoughtful pseudo-science, Viehl falls back on the light-switch school of writing. A bad thing. Evil interstellar mercenaries show up, abracadabra with a flip of the ol' switch, to harry the good guys and then, poof, are dismissed as readily when the plot need of the moment is served.

At one point the author walks us through a scene of planetary genocide. She wants us to empathize with the suffering of children and innocents. We're not talking about "light" fiction here. That being the case, it's hard to guess what Viehl was thinking when she turns to her description of the planet Ichthora, home, we're told, of the "Icky" people: reeking, slug-like, face-down-in-the-mud, bottom feeders (yet, inexplicably sentient -- contrary to everything known about evolution and biology) whom we are asked to believe can be impregnated by any other alien race that literally trips over them. In a Douglas Adams tale maybe this'd be funny, but this kind of throw away nonsense is out of place and completely at odds with the dramatic and serious tone Viehl adopts elsewhere.

Readers should be cautioned that there is a rape fantasy theme recurring throughout the Stardoc books. In Stardoc, the first book in the series, the heroine was subjected to a full-blown physical and psychic rape. In this book, Beyond Varallan, the author limits herself to a lesser course of sexual battery and repeated physical beatings. If the author were male, the literary community would be outraged. Since the author is female, it's just one of those things that make you go hmmmmm. The rape fantasy sequences are entirely gratuitous and do nothing essential to advance the plot; if they were removed, they'd never be missed.

With her medical expertise the author has come up with a fresh and rarely visited angle in contrast to the generic sci-fi same ol' same ol'. Viehl deserves kudos for creating an engaging principal character who is smart, courageous, tough, and a lot of fun, with the kind of lip that'd do a classic hard-boiled detective proud. I'll admit it, she's got me hooked, I want to know what happens next. But, with all the sado-masochistic submissive kink floating around, buying the next book 'd leave me feeling like a codependent enabler.

Everything StarDoc had, this first sequel has more. More non-stop, page-turning action. More thought-provoking ethical issues. More terrible adversity to be overcome. More colourful characters. More reasons to love Cherijo despite more moments of complete irrationality. More of Reever's compelling weirdness. More of everything that made the first book such a wonderful read.
There are, unfortunately, more of the flaws as well as the strengths. More impossibly bad luck for the heroine. More vaguely iffy science. More homogenous alien cultures. More plot twists that seem forced. More violence. More sex-related violence. If these things bothered you in the first book, I suggest putting this on your list of books-to-read-eventually-but-there's-no-rush. If, however, like me, you were so caught up in the action and fabulous characters of StarDoc that you barely registered the flaws, then you probably don't need to be told to hurry up and read this one.
So the science is only so-so. You can't expect hard science from space opera. Besides which, this book, like its predecessor, rides not on the science, but the characters. Cherijo is one of the most thoroughly likeable heroines I've come across. She's strong, noble and brave, but not annoyingly so. Certainly, as we see more in this book than in the first, she is not without flaws. Sometimes irrational, completely tactless, and with a decided lack of insight as to the natures of her relationships with some of the other characters. In this way, she is real. She's like your tough-talking friend, who, behind the loud mouth, is the most loyal and trustworthy person you know.
Reever is still strange, still unknowing of how to behave like a human, and, I'll admit it, I really like him. It's hard not to, as it becomes increasingly obvious that Cherijo has feelings for him, though she cannot, or will not, see that. The Chakacat Alunthri is back and as appealing to cat lovers as ever. Rogan makes his appearance and still harbours a vicious, illogical hatred toward Cherijo. New characters, including several Jorenians and the grumpy doctor Squilyp, are every bit as entertaining as those left behind on K-2.
Yes, the ending is the worst kind of cliffhanger, the kind that not only leaves you wondering what's going to happen, but also asking, 'what happened?' If you give in to the urge to read this book as fast as you can, it will take some thought to piece together the events that lead to the final, shocking (unless, like me, you made the mistake of reading the back of the next book before finishing this one) betrayal, but, looking back, the pieces were all there. At first, I was horrified, heartbroken even, by the ending, but the truth is, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense, and maybe, just maybe, isn't as bad as it seems. Be prepared to be left hanging.

I probably would have enjoyed this book less if I had read the first Stardoc novel before. I enjoyed them but there is too much repetion. Cherijo gets injured in every chapter it seems. It gets ridiculous. The moral dilemma was both realistic and difficult. Lots of action. Characters had more than one side. The medical science seemed a bit primitive for such an advanced people. I totally did not believe the romance near the end. It made no sense at all. I didn't mind the cliffhanger too much. I knew it was a series and felt a complete section had been told. I really hate it when there is no warning and what you're really getting is half a book. After having read the first book I'm concerned about the direction the author is heading. Rape fantasy seems to be playing a larger part in each book. Given the ending of this one I'm afraid it's going to be the main theme in book 3. I hope not. It's hard to find consistently good authors and I don't want to have to give up on this one.

Another reviewer said this is a masterpiece and compared it with the Honor Harrington series. Far be it from me to tell another reviewer what to say, but this book is not in the same league as Weber's Harrington series. That's not to say it isn't a good book, because it is. There are very few books to compare to the Harrington series, not being one of them is no shame.

Cherijo is now living aboard the Jorenian ship Sunlace on her way to Joren--her adopted people's homeworld. but her evil father and creator isn't giving up that easy. League warships and mercenary vessels constantly attack the Sunlace trying to retrieve Cherijo, while aboard the ship itself there is a series of murders. Time is running short for Cherijo as she struggles to patch up the injured Jorenians while dodging attempts on her life. She has more than enough to do, but it seems she is the only one who can solve the mystery of who is sabotaging the Sunlace and killing her crew.

A good book, but the series does benefit from reading them in order. Do read Stardoc first.

Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN:0954512200)

After reading S.L. Viehl's first novel in this series,Stardoc, I waited impatiently for the sequel. Beyond Varallan did not disappoint! The chartacters are wonderfully described and developed - you can visualize each by her detailed descriptions. And yet with all this detail, the story moves along smoothly. I especially enjoyed Squilyp, the chief resident with a serious superiority complex, and the enigmatic Reever who seems to have multiple personalities- who is the true Reever?

Throughout the novel the heroine manages to be a wonderful doctor clearly devoted to her adopted "family". I didn't want it to end! Can't wait for the next one - hurry up Ms. Viehl --PLEASE!

Danger! Danger! Danger! Don't pick up this book when you're day is already too long and you don't really have time for anything else anymore! You won't be able to put it down!

The second Stardoc book from S.L. Viehl (can I call you Susan?) is magnificent. Or, as an English reviewer would say: "Pretty good". The storyline from the original 'Stardoc' novel is continued seamlessly. The rollercoaster ride continues, filled with non-stop action, emotion and excitement. The characters are rich, sufficiently deep and come with nice twists. And Cherijo, our hero, explores new sides of her character, new depths in her relationships with men and finds new angles to her mate's character. I had to sniff away an occassional tear here and there.

Most definitely up there with James Gardner, Joan D. Vinge, Scott Westerfield, Valerie Freireich, B.A. Chepaitis and P.K. McAllister in the very limited space of writers very rewarding in the universes they create. Very, very rewarding.

My depression was gone within a day! *grin*

I don't often get the opportunity to read good science fiction, where the characters are well-developed, consistent, and evolving. It is additionally interesting to now follow the main character out of a planet-bound environment and on to a starship- from a Deep Space 9 environment and on to moving Enterprise space ship. It provides more room for the author to develop plot twists and character growth.

I particularly like this series because it focuses on a female- a group that often gets short-shrift in the genre. She is mysterious, powerful in her own right, but also acting and thinking in a feminine manner. This is not simply a book written by a male author where the heroine is female in body only, going out and courageously kicking alien butt, acting and thinking in everyway like a man. It is good to get into her head, as the book is all written from her perspective, as the author considers how this genetically engineered woman might respond to different developments. And this Veihl does very well.

At one point, for a good portion of the book, I started to be disappointed with Veihl. The characters she had so well portrayed in the first book, and in the beginning of the second, seemed to not be following their previous descriptions. They lacked credibility. It seemed that Veihl lost her touch. But stick with it- the explanation is convincing, when it finally comes.

Unfortunately, there is less thematic philosophical development in this book, compared with the series originator. I was hoping for more exploration of the ethical ideas involved in Dr. Grey's decision to clone, and the ramifications of slavery and ownership. Perhaps it is something that will be seen in the next book.