Star Wars: Medstar I: Battle Surgeons [Kindle Edition]

Michael Reaves (Author), Steve Perry (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As Civil War between the Republic and the Separatists rages across the galaxy, nowhere is the fighting more fierce than on the swamp world of Drongar, where a beleaguered mobile hospital unit wages a never-ending war of its own . . .

A surgeon who covers his despair with wise-cracks; another who faces death and misery head-on, venting his emotions through beautiful music . . . A nurse with her heart in her work and her eye on a doctor . . . A Jedi Padawan on a healing mission without her Master . . .  These are the core members of a tiny med unit serving the jungle world of Drongar, where battle is waged over the control of a priceless native plant, and an endless line of medlifters brings in the wounded and dying -- mostly clone troopers, but also soldiers of all species.

While the healers work desperately to save lives, others plot secretly to profit from the war -- either by dealing on the black market or by manipulating the events of the war itself. In the end, though, all will face individual tests, and only those of compassionate hearts and staunch spirits can hope to survive to fight another day. 

Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

About the Author

Michael Reaves received an Emmy Award for his work on the Batman animated television series. He has worked for DreamWorks, among other studios, and has written fantasy novels and supernatural thrillers. Reaves is The New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, as well as the co-writer (with Steve Perry) of the two Star Wars: MedStar novels, Battle Surgeons and Jedi Healer. He lives in the Los Angeles area.

Steve Perry wrote for Batman: The Animated Series during its first Emmy Award—winning season, authored the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, and wrote the bestselling novelization of the summer blockbuster movie Men in Black. Perry has sold dozens of stories to magazines and anthologies, and has published a considerable number of novels, animated teleplays, nonfiction articles, reviews, and essays. He is currently the science fiction, fantasy, and horror book reviewer for The Oregonian.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1057 KB
• Print Length: 309 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345463102
• Publisher: LucasBooks (December 6, 2005)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FCKKT4
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,897 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Star Wars MASH Unit, August 19, 2004

By 

Joe Sherry (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (Star Wars: Clone Wars Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Battle Surgeons" is the first book in the Medstar duology. The action takes place two years after "Attack of the Clones." As can be guessed from the title of both the book and the duology, "Battle Surgeons" gives readers the first true look at a side of the Galaxy that has never been seen before. These battle surgeons are the ones who clean up the messes of all the wars and battles and try to save lives in the midst of a war. Think of it as the Star Wars version of M.A.S.H. and you will have a sense of exactly what "Battle Surgeons" is.

This story takes place on, and around, the planet Drongar. There is some backstory presented that there is a rare plant which can be used as something of a miracle drug for a variety of species throughout the galaxy and the Clone Wars have come to Drongar for the control of this plant/drug. This is the background, but it isn't terribly important because the story is really about the M.A.S.H. unit. The heart of "Battle Surgeons" lies in the interaction between the various surgeons: Jos Vondar, Zan Yant, Tolk le Trene, and the Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee sent to investigate the situation on Drongar. There is, of course, the love interest between Jos and Tolk, which is complicated by their cultural restrictions. But, added to the mix is also the protocol droid I-Five. Readers may remember I-Five from "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter", which was also written by Michael Reaves. I-Five is a droid which has more human emotional characteristics than most droids, more so than some humans would think possible for a droid. He is also a much more interesting character (on the page) than C-3PO (not in this book). For example, we see I-Five gambling with the other surgeons, holding his own in both the game as well as in the give and take of conversation.

There is a main plot thread about smuggling the rare plant from Drongar, but what makes this story shine is the interactions within the M.A.S.H. unit (if I were more familiar with the show I would be able to extend the analogy to the characters). This is a much funnier book than many of the other Star Wars novels, and while they all use humor, the humor in "Battle Surgeons" felt appropriate and fitting for who the characters are and the situation they are dealing with. Then again, I was prepped for this novel by periodically watching M.A.S.H. reruns over the years. "Battle Surgeons" is an entertaining look into an overlooked part of the Star Wars universe, and one which also sets up the continuing story in "Medstar II: Healer". This volume was good enough that I am looking to read the second volume over many of the other Star Wars novels that have been published.

-Joe Sherry

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look beyond the Jedi point of view, June 25, 2004

By 

A. Timson (Livonia, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (Star Wars: Clone Wars Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

For those expecting an action-adventure piece like the prior works of Michael Reaves (DARTH MAUL: SHADOW HUNTER) and Steve Perry (SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE), you're in for a surprise. I'm not sure how to describe its style; I'd say it's about three-quarters E.R., and one-quarter Aaron Allston's X-WING. There's not much action onscreen; instead, we mostly see characters dealing with its consequences.

However, like both of their earlier books, we're treated to a cast of "normal" citizens of the universe, as opposed to hordes of Jedi. This gives us a perspective rarely seen, and (especially since the Clone Wars novels are supposed to deal more with perspectives and people than overall plot) is a welcome insight into the effects of the war glossed over by other media. More than a mere thousand Jedi and a million clones are involved in this conflict, both directly and not.

The book does suffer from some minor continuity glitches; there were also references to things from the movies that the POV characters shouldn't have been aware of, even though the reader is. But in its favor, there were also some other unexpected nods to the Expanded Universe.

Unlike almost every other multipart story, BATTLE SURGEONS accomplishes something unusual: it feels complete. There's really only one thread introduced during the novel that's left to be resolved in JEDI HEALER, but even that has a partial resolution which would be satisfactory without the forthcoming sequel.

Overall, a highly recommended read for fans of character-based pieces or seeing beyond a certain point of view.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New spin on the Star Wars universe, July 5, 2004

By 

J. K. Moser "JKM" (Flemington, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (Star Wars: Clone Wars Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Clone Wars have given the Star Wars universe new life. The Cestus Deception helped to transform the clones from drones to actual people, while Star Wars: Medstar 1: Battle Surgeons Medstar 1 by MICHAEL REAVES, STEVE PERRY, looks at the consequences of battle. Impressions received from other expanded universe books as well as from the movies hint that all medical treatment is given by droids, but Reaves and Perry prove that that is not the case here. Surgeons are the main characters in this book. Even the Jedi Barriss Offee, last seen in Foster's The Approaching Storm does much more healing than fighting. Life is not just compartmentalized and the idea that clones are real people is also pushed. Things are difficult and patients are lost all the time for the weary doctors drafted into a war about economics. Also interesting was the return of I-Five a droid from Reaves Shadow Hunter whose fate was left up for grabs in the previous book. Overall an interesting if not particularly complex read, Battle Surgeons is a welcome addition to the expanded universe.