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Sector General #7
Code Blue-Emergency
To the doctors and nurses of Sector General Hospital, Cha Thrat was just another trainee, but for Cha Thrat, life at Sector General was a most unnerving experience. Because her world had only recently been discovered by the Galactic Federation, she had never experienced the multiplicity of life-forms that populated Sector General—and no one knew what to expect of her.
Cha Thrat was a skilled healer, diligent, careful, and—according to her world's strict medical ethics— very responsible. Chief Psychologist O'Mara tried to help her adjust to her new life, but time after time, her best intentions caused only catastrophe. And even after she had been barred from nearly every ward in Sector General, O'Mara was still surprised by just how much havoc one nurse-trainee could cause...
Cha Thrat was a skilled healer, diligent, careful, and—according to her world's strict medical ethics— very responsible. Chief Psychologist O'Mara tried to help her adjust to her new life, but time after time, her best intentions caused only catastrophe. And even after she had been barred from nearly every ward in Sector General, O'Mara was still surprised by just how much havoc one nurse-trainee could cause...
280 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 12, 1987
4 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
James White
94 books135 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 17, 2019
As Conway has ascended to Diagnostician and no longer works as well as a protagonist, now we have Cha Thrat, who treated an injured human and is brought to Sector General to study. However, her quick transfer means that several important cultural mores and taboos are overlooked, and she makes mistakes where her conditioning clashes with Sector General expectations. Big, exciting mistakes!
I enjoyed her as a protagonist, though the sexism in previous books is repeated again, the book also seems to imply the sexism isn't accurate or tolerable.
I enjoyed her as a protagonist, though the sexism in previous books is repeated again, the book also seems to imply the sexism isn't accurate or tolerable.
March 3, 2021
I am glad that I finally broke down and bought this book (in the Kindle omnibus "General Practice") - the only entry in the Sector General series I couldn't get through any of my libraries.
This book marks a turn in the series away from Conway as the main character and towards varying non-human main characters who have come to Sector General for one reason or another. White does an excellent job of conveying how someone from an alien culture understands (or not!) both the humans & other aliens both in terms of language and protocol. In this 7th entry in the series, the main character Cha Thrat is from a world that has just made contact with the wider galaxy & before arriving at the station, she had very little other-species contact.
This book marks a turn in the series away from Conway as the main character and towards varying non-human main characters who have come to Sector General for one reason or another. White does an excellent job of conveying how someone from an alien culture understands (or not!) both the humans & other aliens both in terms of language and protocol. In this 7th entry in the series, the main character Cha Thrat is from a world that has just made contact with the wider galaxy & before arriving at the station, she had very little other-species contact.
July 17, 2022
It’s been a good while since I’ve read a SectorGeneral book. I am amazed at how well the series has held up and the ingenuity of White’s multi species medical setting. The explicit pacifism of the series is also refreshing i hard SF, a genre which tends yo be warlike. White portrays the thought processes of medical personnel of many species to perfection and makes them endearing. In this book, he makes the reader slowly grow fond of the prickly misfit Cha Thrat. She makes a great focus, and although this is the seventh book in the series, it makes a good starting point for a new reader.
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April 21, 2016This book comes so closely on the heels of Star Healer that the Protector of The Unborn delivered in Star Healer would still be wet behind the ears, if newborn Protectors have placental fluid.
I've encountered the idea that Conway became uninteresting when he became a Diagnostician, and I find it ridiculous. Did Thornnastor become uninteresting when IT became a Diagnostician?
My own opinion is that White became aware that stories all told from the point of view of members of one species tend to become a little ethnocentric (anthropocentric, in this case). So he began experimenting with other viewpoint characters. The remaining (counts...) five books in the series are all but one from the position of non-DBDGs (parenthetically, I would like a more complete explanation of the four-letter code. For one thing, it's just plain untrue that plants came before fish. Many species of plants are quite a bit more recent than some of the older fishes.).
This book is from the point of view of the (literally and figuratively) unbending Cha Thrat. From the beginning it's made clear that one of the reasons Cha Thrat was unpopular at home is that she (and, since the story is told from her point of view, it's made quite clear that she is female) was so inflexible a traditional purist that she was unable to comply with what she regarded as corruption of values.
This is not a good place to start from at Sector General. It's made clear that if Cha Thrat hadn't correctly treated an injured Earth-human, she wouldn't have been accepted for training at Sector General, not only because she hadn't sufficient experience with other-species patients, but also because she was so intolerant of other viewpoints.
But she's a more than competent surgeon, and so the Sector General authorities (meaning, in this case, o'Mara) decide to give her a chance, and hope that she can adapt.
And she makes a go of it, although she's clearly having a hard time with what she considers unforgivably lax standards. By the point I've gotten to, she's made rapid progress with her education, and is working regularly in the AUGL (Chalder) ward. What could possibly go wrong there? (NB: the phrase 'what could possibly go wrong?' is one of the most powerful curses in the English language).
Cha Thrat questions the practice of relegating highly trained doctors to menial (the word she uses is 'servile' roles as part of their training. I confess I wondered at it myself. At first blush it would seem more reasonable to hire highly trained nurses to do the bulk of the on-the-floor patient care, and have convalescent patients do the routine work (fetching bedpans, socializing with the bored bedridden patients, fetching meals, etc). And the evidence indicates that this was the original plan. So why was it changed?
My conjecture is that one original reason was to get the interns to see themselves as very low-status rookies. They may or may not have come up from the mailroom on their home planets, but if so, probably it was some time in the past, and they need to realize that they're once again tyros.
But there's more. High ranking people need to be periodically reschooled in empathy for those doing 'servile' tasks. These tasks are much more skilled and supplemented by mechanisms than in many other places, but they still tend to be relegated to lower status. And particularly for haughty members of
caste-level societies, such a reminder should not only
take place on moving to a new place, it should also take place at least annually. One good model is the various Boxing Day status reversals in British social groups.
Cha Thrat, who apparently hasn't encountered such customary reversals before, and who therefore regards the 'servile' work she's doing as humiliating and dishonorable, can't resist the tendency to meddle with patient medical care. And in this case, the Sommavardan caste system leads Cha Thrat to engage in meddling ABOVE her station in life. This calls for a quote:
"You are NOT a psychologist!" Cha Thrat said...(to o'Mara)
..."On Sommaradva a psychologist is a being, neither
servile-healer nor warrior surgeon, who tries to be
a scientist by measuring brain impulses or bodily
changes caused by physical and mental stress, or by
making detailed observations of behavior. A
psychologist tries to impose immutable laws in an
area of spells and nightmares and changing realities,
and tries to make a science of what has always been an
art, an art performed by wizards."
"A wizard will use or ignore the instruments and tabulations of
the psychologist," she continued, "to cast spells that
influence the complex, insubstantial structures of the mind.
A wizard uses words, silences, minute observations, and
intuition to compare and gradually change the sick, internal
reality of the patient to the external reality of the world."
This represents one of the most cogent criticisms of present-day psychology I've encountered, and makes me wonder if White wasn't speaking from personal experience. If this is the distinction of the difference between a psychologist and a wizard, give me a wizard any day.
Cha Thrat's amateur attempts at wizardry have unexpectedly traumatic results, nearly wrecking the AUGL ward. Though she succeeds in brokering a successful cure, it's not surprising that Charge Nurse Hredlichli (of whom more later) doesn't want Cha Thrat in its ward anymore.
And since rumor spreads rapidly, there's little chance Cha Thrat will be able to get another job in Sector General. But in fairness, the staff have to admit that Cha Thrat has failed largely through bad advice and cultural misunderstandings--and the Geriatric FROB ward is always short on staff (If you've read the immediately prior Star Healer, you'll know why). Cha Thrat is NOT familiar with the emotional and physical problems with aging Hudlars, and is unsurprisingly horrified. But the problem which the horrified Cha Thrat faces as a consequence of the proposed solution to the problem is a good example of why you can't just rely on universal translators to solve your communications problems.
After this incident, no ward in the hospital will have Cha Thrat on staff. Cha Thrat is (sort of) offered one of three choices: return to Sommaradva as a cultural envoy, go somewhere other than Sector General, or transfer to maintenance inside Sector General. All of the choices involve joining the Monitor Corps.
Cha Thrat, based not only on her strong code of honor, but also on her fascination with Sector General, chooses the last (not really serious) choice. She joins the maintenance workers in Sector General, leading to fascinating tours through the maintenance tunnels (I have to say, as a sidenote, that I don't agree with the decision to keep bright lighting in the maintenance tunnels. Maintenance staff have to wear uniforms, anyway, and it would be a better plan to light the staff than the tunnels. But that's based largely on my own light-averse condition). In the process of training, Cha Thrat begins to break down her previous strict distinction between servile, warrior, and ruler occupational statuses. Much of the work done is what she would heretofore have regarded as servile, combined with work for 'warriors' (actually usually scientists, engineers, and technicians by her own lifetime) and some of the work she would regard as appropriate to rulers: administrative and executive work.
Subject to the vicissitudes of fortune, Cha Thrat may have thought that she could stay in this work lifelong. Knowing o'Mara, I doubt it. But wheels do swing, and what looks like a temporary job setting up quarters for the healer Khone inside Sector General and on Rhabwar ends up becoming massively more complex.
Thus we come to the cover picture. I know that cover pictures are often less than satisfying to readers of books, and this one's no exception. I personally would NOT have considered the Healer Khone to look the way she's depicted. I mean, does the being in Cha Thrat's arms look like a multicolored haystack, or even remotely like a cactus?
The transportation of the Healer Khone to Sector General to give birth should NOT have resulted in telepathic melding between Cha Thrat, Khone, and Conway. Conway isn't even present, but (see Star Healer) there had been a previous melding between Khone and Conway. It's a particular quirk of fate that Cha Thrat happens to resemble a Gogleskan doll. But the successful take the gifts of fate, however burdensome, and make use of them.
This episode, frankly, should completely put an end to the stereotypic notion that women can't use the Educator Tape system. Here are women who HAVE done so. And while they don't have an untroubled experience (there are serious threats to their sanity), I would say it's not much worse that what males face. In some ways, it's even easier. Cha Thrat is able to use the acquired data to arrange a successful delivery of a transverse breach birth, using Gogleskan anatomical knowledge and knowledge of Federation technology from various sources.
The trip back to Sector General with the Healer Khone and its newborn son should have been a milk run. But of course it isn't. Rhabwar, of course, is on call at all times--and an emergency call comes in. Captain Fletcher is of two minds whether to drop mother and child off at Sector General before answering the call. This would add several days to the trip, but it would protect Khone from being exposed to possibly menacing ship accident survivors.
Khone itself argues that emergencies take priority, and that any survivors would likely be incapacitated anyway.
In the event, the ship seems to be crewed by idiots. Literally. They don't seem to be able to speak, or even to figure out how to unwrap food packages, or disconnect their restraints. I disagree with the idea that with no dangers to compete against, no creature has a need to develop intelligence. Much of intelligence is things like foraging strategies, anyway. Threats of violence are much less prevalent than threats of food shortages in any known environment. But I also disagree with the policy of not providing creature comforts to the animal hosts. It's just not plausible that they wouldn't care about comfort and beauty. An aesthetic sense is almost certainly a survival characteristic in ALL creatures. If this were not so, why would it be necessary to provide enrichment programs to captive animals? Anybody who has seen animals pacing in their cages (a sure sign of psychosis) would understand that sapience is NOT a prerequisite for a delight in the beautiful and a hatred for the ugly. Probably one of the best things the Federation can supply the Rhiim with is an understanding of the importance of providing an enriching environment for their host creatures. If the FGHJ hosts were provided with a better environment, anger might stop being their primary emotion.
I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I don't believe in the Gogleskan antediluvian 'monsters'. I don't believe such a large creature COULD be as mindlessly ravenous as is proposed (it'd starve to death, for one thing, if it used more energy getting food than it got from food, even if it was in no danger from its prey), or that the FOKT precursors couldn't come up with ways to detect, escape from, hide from, or discourage the predator. For one thing, the proposed creature wasn't able to come out of water, and the Gogleskan people could--so why not live close to land, with an easily accessible escape route nearby?
I also object to the argument that on Sommaradva large insects often have toxic stings. This isn't so on Earth. Most insects on Earth are quite a bit smaller than Prilicla (though this wasn't always so). But very few of them have stings potent enough to be fatal to megafauna--and Sommaradvans are quite large indeed: one of them would probably make three Nidians, for example. The really toxic bites come from arachnids, which are still arthropods, but not insects. And not many of them, either. The only arachnids in the US capable of injecting fatal amounts of venom to humans are black widow and brown recluse spiders, representing only 2 species out of more than 4000.
And in general, large creatures are more serene than small ones. My father used to say that a small dog will bite you as soon as it sees you, whereas you really have to provoke a big dog to get it to attack you.
Note, by the way, that there's a subtle correction in this book of an earlier mistake. The symbiont which some Tralthans use to increase their surgical dexterity are described in earlier books as OTSB. But as the system was later developed, this would make them chlorine breathers. So in this book they are tacitly reclassified as DTSB.
There's also the question of why it should be considered particularly perverse that a person who has essentially become a default Diagnostician should be sexually attracted to a same-sex member of another species. Granted, as the situation is set up, this would mostly not happen, since tape donors and their families are not supposed to meet tape recipients. But while I can see why Cha Thrat should resist romantic and sexual feelings for Murchison on grounds that they couldn't possibly be reciprocated, I CAN'T see why they should be extra disturbing because the individual is not only of another species, but of the same sex. I do recognize that White's feelings on this matter had evolved somewhat: in Countercharm, Mannen argues without reflection that such an attraction would be wrong. Here it's a little less doctrinaire: but it's still disturbing to Cha Thrat personally. A little progress, anyway.
By the end of the book, it's pretty obvious to most readers what Cha Thrat's permanent assignment will be. But it's not as obvious to the participants, including Cha Thrat herself. O'Mara has to argue pretty fiercely to get the obvious solution accepted. And Cha Thrat has to face the consequences of being a very rank-conscious individual who nevertheless often feels morally compelled to be 'insubordinate'. To see how the situation works out, it's necessary to read the last books. Next is The Genocidal Healer.
On rereading this; I realize that I meant to develop Hredlichli's character a little more. Hredlichli is; at the time of this book; the Ilensan charge nurse in the AUGL ward. It appears again later in the book; after Cha Thrat is translated (whoops--I meant transferred--same root; different part of the conjugation) to Maintenance. I'm pretty sure it's one of the Ilensans in The Galactic Gourmet as well. The question of why so many Ilensans end up as charge nurses is often raised; and rarely successfully addressed.
I've encountered the idea that Conway became uninteresting when he became a Diagnostician, and I find it ridiculous. Did Thornnastor become uninteresting when IT became a Diagnostician?
My own opinion is that White became aware that stories all told from the point of view of members of one species tend to become a little ethnocentric (anthropocentric, in this case). So he began experimenting with other viewpoint characters. The remaining (counts...) five books in the series are all but one from the position of non-DBDGs (parenthetically, I would like a more complete explanation of the four-letter code. For one thing, it's just plain untrue that plants came before fish. Many species of plants are quite a bit more recent than some of the older fishes.).
This book is from the point of view of the (literally and figuratively) unbending Cha Thrat. From the beginning it's made clear that one of the reasons Cha Thrat was unpopular at home is that she (and, since the story is told from her point of view, it's made quite clear that she is female) was so inflexible a traditional purist that she was unable to comply with what she regarded as corruption of values.
This is not a good place to start from at Sector General. It's made clear that if Cha Thrat hadn't correctly treated an injured Earth-human, she wouldn't have been accepted for training at Sector General, not only because she hadn't sufficient experience with other-species patients, but also because she was so intolerant of other viewpoints.
But she's a more than competent surgeon, and so the Sector General authorities (meaning, in this case, o'Mara) decide to give her a chance, and hope that she can adapt.
And she makes a go of it, although she's clearly having a hard time with what she considers unforgivably lax standards. By the point I've gotten to, she's made rapid progress with her education, and is working regularly in the AUGL (Chalder) ward. What could possibly go wrong there? (NB: the phrase 'what could possibly go wrong?' is one of the most powerful curses in the English language).
Cha Thrat questions the practice of relegating highly trained doctors to menial (the word she uses is 'servile' roles as part of their training. I confess I wondered at it myself. At first blush it would seem more reasonable to hire highly trained nurses to do the bulk of the on-the-floor patient care, and have convalescent patients do the routine work (fetching bedpans, socializing with the bored bedridden patients, fetching meals, etc). And the evidence indicates that this was the original plan. So why was it changed?
My conjecture is that one original reason was to get the interns to see themselves as very low-status rookies. They may or may not have come up from the mailroom on their home planets, but if so, probably it was some time in the past, and they need to realize that they're once again tyros.
But there's more. High ranking people need to be periodically reschooled in empathy for those doing 'servile' tasks. These tasks are much more skilled and supplemented by mechanisms than in many other places, but they still tend to be relegated to lower status. And particularly for haughty members of
caste-level societies, such a reminder should not only
take place on moving to a new place, it should also take place at least annually. One good model is the various Boxing Day status reversals in British social groups.
Cha Thrat, who apparently hasn't encountered such customary reversals before, and who therefore regards the 'servile' work she's doing as humiliating and dishonorable, can't resist the tendency to meddle with patient medical care. And in this case, the Sommavardan caste system leads Cha Thrat to engage in meddling ABOVE her station in life. This calls for a quote:
"You are NOT a psychologist!" Cha Thrat said...(to o'Mara)
..."On Sommaradva a psychologist is a being, neither
servile-healer nor warrior surgeon, who tries to be
a scientist by measuring brain impulses or bodily
changes caused by physical and mental stress, or by
making detailed observations of behavior. A
psychologist tries to impose immutable laws in an
area of spells and nightmares and changing realities,
and tries to make a science of what has always been an
art, an art performed by wizards."
"A wizard will use or ignore the instruments and tabulations of
the psychologist," she continued, "to cast spells that
influence the complex, insubstantial structures of the mind.
A wizard uses words, silences, minute observations, and
intuition to compare and gradually change the sick, internal
reality of the patient to the external reality of the world."
This represents one of the most cogent criticisms of present-day psychology I've encountered, and makes me wonder if White wasn't speaking from personal experience. If this is the distinction of the difference between a psychologist and a wizard, give me a wizard any day.
Cha Thrat's amateur attempts at wizardry have unexpectedly traumatic results, nearly wrecking the AUGL ward. Though she succeeds in brokering a successful cure, it's not surprising that Charge Nurse Hredlichli (of whom more later) doesn't want Cha Thrat in its ward anymore.
And since rumor spreads rapidly, there's little chance Cha Thrat will be able to get another job in Sector General. But in fairness, the staff have to admit that Cha Thrat has failed largely through bad advice and cultural misunderstandings--and the Geriatric FROB ward is always short on staff (If you've read the immediately prior Star Healer, you'll know why). Cha Thrat is NOT familiar with the emotional and physical problems with aging Hudlars, and is unsurprisingly horrified. But the problem which the horrified Cha Thrat faces as a consequence of the proposed solution to the problem is a good example of why you can't just rely on universal translators to solve your communications problems.
After this incident, no ward in the hospital will have Cha Thrat on staff. Cha Thrat is (sort of) offered one of three choices: return to Sommaradva as a cultural envoy, go somewhere other than Sector General, or transfer to maintenance inside Sector General. All of the choices involve joining the Monitor Corps.
Cha Thrat, based not only on her strong code of honor, but also on her fascination with Sector General, chooses the last (not really serious) choice. She joins the maintenance workers in Sector General, leading to fascinating tours through the maintenance tunnels (I have to say, as a sidenote, that I don't agree with the decision to keep bright lighting in the maintenance tunnels. Maintenance staff have to wear uniforms, anyway, and it would be a better plan to light the staff than the tunnels. But that's based largely on my own light-averse condition). In the process of training, Cha Thrat begins to break down her previous strict distinction between servile, warrior, and ruler occupational statuses. Much of the work done is what she would heretofore have regarded as servile, combined with work for 'warriors' (actually usually scientists, engineers, and technicians by her own lifetime) and some of the work she would regard as appropriate to rulers: administrative and executive work.
Subject to the vicissitudes of fortune, Cha Thrat may have thought that she could stay in this work lifelong. Knowing o'Mara, I doubt it. But wheels do swing, and what looks like a temporary job setting up quarters for the healer Khone inside Sector General and on Rhabwar ends up becoming massively more complex.
Thus we come to the cover picture. I know that cover pictures are often less than satisfying to readers of books, and this one's no exception. I personally would NOT have considered the Healer Khone to look the way she's depicted. I mean, does the being in Cha Thrat's arms look like a multicolored haystack, or even remotely like a cactus?
The transportation of the Healer Khone to Sector General to give birth should NOT have resulted in telepathic melding between Cha Thrat, Khone, and Conway. Conway isn't even present, but (see Star Healer) there had been a previous melding between Khone and Conway. It's a particular quirk of fate that Cha Thrat happens to resemble a Gogleskan doll. But the successful take the gifts of fate, however burdensome, and make use of them.
This episode, frankly, should completely put an end to the stereotypic notion that women can't use the Educator Tape system. Here are women who HAVE done so. And while they don't have an untroubled experience (there are serious threats to their sanity), I would say it's not much worse that what males face. In some ways, it's even easier. Cha Thrat is able to use the acquired data to arrange a successful delivery of a transverse breach birth, using Gogleskan anatomical knowledge and knowledge of Federation technology from various sources.
The trip back to Sector General with the Healer Khone and its newborn son should have been a milk run. But of course it isn't. Rhabwar, of course, is on call at all times--and an emergency call comes in. Captain Fletcher is of two minds whether to drop mother and child off at Sector General before answering the call. This would add several days to the trip, but it would protect Khone from being exposed to possibly menacing ship accident survivors.
Khone itself argues that emergencies take priority, and that any survivors would likely be incapacitated anyway.
In the event, the ship seems to be crewed by idiots. Literally. They don't seem to be able to speak, or even to figure out how to unwrap food packages, or disconnect their restraints. I disagree with the idea that with no dangers to compete against, no creature has a need to develop intelligence. Much of intelligence is things like foraging strategies, anyway. Threats of violence are much less prevalent than threats of food shortages in any known environment. But I also disagree with the policy of not providing creature comforts to the animal hosts. It's just not plausible that they wouldn't care about comfort and beauty. An aesthetic sense is almost certainly a survival characteristic in ALL creatures. If this were not so, why would it be necessary to provide enrichment programs to captive animals? Anybody who has seen animals pacing in their cages (a sure sign of psychosis) would understand that sapience is NOT a prerequisite for a delight in the beautiful and a hatred for the ugly. Probably one of the best things the Federation can supply the Rhiim with is an understanding of the importance of providing an enriching environment for their host creatures. If the FGHJ hosts were provided with a better environment, anger might stop being their primary emotion.
I don't remember if I've mentioned it before, but I don't believe in the Gogleskan antediluvian 'monsters'. I don't believe such a large creature COULD be as mindlessly ravenous as is proposed (it'd starve to death, for one thing, if it used more energy getting food than it got from food, even if it was in no danger from its prey), or that the FOKT precursors couldn't come up with ways to detect, escape from, hide from, or discourage the predator. For one thing, the proposed creature wasn't able to come out of water, and the Gogleskan people could--so why not live close to land, with an easily accessible escape route nearby?
I also object to the argument that on Sommaradva large insects often have toxic stings. This isn't so on Earth. Most insects on Earth are quite a bit smaller than Prilicla (though this wasn't always so). But very few of them have stings potent enough to be fatal to megafauna--and Sommaradvans are quite large indeed: one of them would probably make three Nidians, for example. The really toxic bites come from arachnids, which are still arthropods, but not insects. And not many of them, either. The only arachnids in the US capable of injecting fatal amounts of venom to humans are black widow and brown recluse spiders, representing only 2 species out of more than 4000.
And in general, large creatures are more serene than small ones. My father used to say that a small dog will bite you as soon as it sees you, whereas you really have to provoke a big dog to get it to attack you.
Note, by the way, that there's a subtle correction in this book of an earlier mistake. The symbiont which some Tralthans use to increase their surgical dexterity are described in earlier books as OTSB. But as the system was later developed, this would make them chlorine breathers. So in this book they are tacitly reclassified as DTSB.
There's also the question of why it should be considered particularly perverse that a person who has essentially become a default Diagnostician should be sexually attracted to a same-sex member of another species. Granted, as the situation is set up, this would mostly not happen, since tape donors and their families are not supposed to meet tape recipients. But while I can see why Cha Thrat should resist romantic and sexual feelings for Murchison on grounds that they couldn't possibly be reciprocated, I CAN'T see why they should be extra disturbing because the individual is not only of another species, but of the same sex. I do recognize that White's feelings on this matter had evolved somewhat: in Countercharm, Mannen argues without reflection that such an attraction would be wrong. Here it's a little less doctrinaire: but it's still disturbing to Cha Thrat personally. A little progress, anyway.
By the end of the book, it's pretty obvious to most readers what Cha Thrat's permanent assignment will be. But it's not as obvious to the participants, including Cha Thrat herself. O'Mara has to argue pretty fiercely to get the obvious solution accepted. And Cha Thrat has to face the consequences of being a very rank-conscious individual who nevertheless often feels morally compelled to be 'insubordinate'. To see how the situation works out, it's necessary to read the last books. Next is The Genocidal Healer.
On rereading this; I realize that I meant to develop Hredlichli's character a little more. Hredlichli is; at the time of this book; the Ilensan charge nurse in the AUGL ward. It appears again later in the book; after Cha Thrat is translated (whoops--I meant transferred--same root; different part of the conjugation) to Maintenance. I'm pretty sure it's one of the Ilensans in The Galactic Gourmet as well. The question of why so many Ilensans end up as charge nurses is often raised; and rarely successfully addressed.
May 18, 2025
This book is a tale of two halves from me , this book onwards is supposed to be a pivot in the story as james wanted the series to end, but the publisher wanted it to continue , so he decided to freshen it up by interesting tra chat.
The first half of the book was her bumbling around the hospital being absolute chaotic and a nuisance as she was inducted to be a trainee after being removed from her world for treating an offworlder major . I think the issue with alot of the book was the weird terms used by the sommarwan people , like warrior surgeons , wizards , etc which added alot of confusion to what was happening in the book.
I did like the creative ass accidents she got into , for example causing the augl patient to go and a rampage due to mispeaking and not knowing it's creature's behavour , literally amputating herself after trying being asked to due hudlar surgery to prove a point after conway asked her too.
That being said she fucked up so much she got into an a maintenance job , because omara didn't know what to do with her. Where she eventually was building a place for Khone to be brought back to sector general.
Up to this part of the book , it was really a slog , because of the jargon and really unlikeable MC tra chat .
When she found herself part of the rhamwabar emergency ship that was forced to leave early due to khone's condition destabilizing. The book starting feeling like home seeing all the familiar characters of the ship , also somemore airtime for danalata !! yayyy altho not as much? The ship as usual had the medical team and the corps team forever arguing. Also there is alot of character development from prilica which shows her being more able to speak out and say certain things without fear of emotional radition , as predicted by omara that she should be able to.
Back to our MC the comedy of her being at the wrong place at the wrong time as , khone did not allow anyone to touch it during surgery , and tra chat was picked to become it's surgeon. It eventually joined minds with it and somehow got conway's diagnostician brain and literally was insurbodinate to prilica,but in the end did manage to save khone's life and gave birth to her kid . Also can i just saw khone is really cute with her kid too , and when they onboarded the creatures from the rescue mission , next part of the book , she pressed up against the glass curious about what's happening , LOVE LOVE HER , she IS SO CUTEEE.
But yeah next part of the book , rhambwar had to respond to another distress singal that had the crew confused as it was a bunch of unintelligent species roaming around being aggersive around a starship , the whole mystery being in the end they were controlled by a species that attaches via the next. Again a bunch of insubordination occurs and tra chat somehow manages to save the day but piss off the monitor corps too .
In the end she is the hero again , adding a new species to the federation and in a short amount of time was gained experience from so many different species , that she was an invaluable member that no one wanted.
omara decided to take her in the end which was really heartwarming to be a psychologist , or a wizard as they called it . awesome ending
i think by the end of the book i still have not warmed up to tra chat yet ,might drop the series if the next book dosen't implore me to continue, but the fact she is a trainee psychologist really intrigues me tho. This would have been a 2 stars , but the second half of the book CARRIED HARD , 2.5 is a more apt score , but 3 it is cuz goodreads has no damn fractional ratings. In hindsight i think i was just annoyed by the set up of the book , and the unlikeableness of the MC. The meandering of the first half to shift MC around till eventually hitting rhamwbar was uneccesarry IMO . But yeah still a decentish read
The first half of the book was her bumbling around the hospital being absolute chaotic and a nuisance as she was inducted to be a trainee after being removed from her world for treating an offworlder major . I think the issue with alot of the book was the weird terms used by the sommarwan people , like warrior surgeons , wizards , etc which added alot of confusion to what was happening in the book.
I did like the creative ass accidents she got into , for example causing the augl patient to go and a rampage due to mispeaking and not knowing it's creature's behavour , literally amputating herself after trying being asked to due hudlar surgery to prove a point after conway asked her too.
That being said she fucked up so much she got into an a maintenance job , because omara didn't know what to do with her. Where she eventually was building a place for Khone to be brought back to sector general.
Up to this part of the book , it was really a slog , because of the jargon and really unlikeable MC tra chat .
When she found herself part of the rhamwabar emergency ship that was forced to leave early due to khone's condition destabilizing. The book starting feeling like home seeing all the familiar characters of the ship , also somemore airtime for danalata !! yayyy altho not as much? The ship as usual had the medical team and the corps team forever arguing. Also there is alot of character development from prilica which shows her being more able to speak out and say certain things without fear of emotional radition , as predicted by omara that she should be able to.
Back to our MC the comedy of her being at the wrong place at the wrong time as , khone did not allow anyone to touch it during surgery , and tra chat was picked to become it's surgeon. It eventually joined minds with it and somehow got conway's diagnostician brain and literally was insurbodinate to prilica,but in the end did manage to save khone's life and gave birth to her kid . Also can i just saw khone is really cute with her kid too , and when they onboarded the creatures from the rescue mission , next part of the book , she pressed up against the glass curious about what's happening , LOVE LOVE HER , she IS SO CUTEEE.
But yeah next part of the book , rhambwar had to respond to another distress singal that had the crew confused as it was a bunch of unintelligent species roaming around being aggersive around a starship , the whole mystery being in the end they were controlled by a species that attaches via the next. Again a bunch of insubordination occurs and tra chat somehow manages to save the day but piss off the monitor corps too .
In the end she is the hero again , adding a new species to the federation and in a short amount of time was gained experience from so many different species , that she was an invaluable member that no one wanted.
omara decided to take her in the end which was really heartwarming to be a psychologist , or a wizard as they called it . awesome ending
i think by the end of the book i still have not warmed up to tra chat yet ,might drop the series if the next book dosen't implore me to continue, but the fact she is a trainee psychologist really intrigues me tho. This would have been a 2 stars , but the second half of the book CARRIED HARD , 2.5 is a more apt score , but 3 it is cuz goodreads has no damn fractional ratings. In hindsight i think i was just annoyed by the set up of the book , and the unlikeableness of the MC. The meandering of the first half to shift MC around till eventually hitting rhamwbar was uneccesarry IMO . But yeah still a decentish read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2024
My second foray into this unusual series, where conflict arises not from outright villainy but from ignorance or misunderstandings between characters with different personalities, cultural backgrounds, and evolutionary imperatives. The stakes aren’t galactic-sized but are significant enough for Sector Twelve General Hospital and for me as a reader.
Although I don’t know them well, the characters I remember from The Galactic Gourmet were a welcome bit of familiarity and made me want to start this series from the beginning. Meanwhile the protagonist here, Cha Thrat, grew on me as it becomes clear which elements of her rigid personality are hers alone and which are expected social behaviors—and as she unlearns some of her caste prejudices and expectations. Her growth and eventual landing place are satisfying.
Although the writing isn’t the smoothest, this book and likely the whole series fits a treasured place in my reading wishlist: SF that’s lighter not because it’s goofy fluff but because it posits a universe where humans live and work in peace with a variety of aliens. There’s conflict not because of constant inter-group hatred but because sometimes colleagues get on your one last nerve and now there are exciting new ways for that to happen! Plus there are new life-forms to save and multifarious politics to navigate. Fun stuff, and sometimes pretty funny.
Although I don’t know them well, the characters I remember from The Galactic Gourmet were a welcome bit of familiarity and made me want to start this series from the beginning. Meanwhile the protagonist here, Cha Thrat, grew on me as it becomes clear which elements of her rigid personality are hers alone and which are expected social behaviors—and as she unlearns some of her caste prejudices and expectations. Her growth and eventual landing place are satisfying.
Although the writing isn’t the smoothest, this book and likely the whole series fits a treasured place in my reading wishlist: SF that’s lighter not because it’s goofy fluff but because it posits a universe where humans live and work in peace with a variety of aliens. There’s conflict not because of constant inter-group hatred but because sometimes colleagues get on your one last nerve and now there are exciting new ways for that to happen! Plus there are new life-forms to save and multifarious politics to navigate. Fun stuff, and sometimes pretty funny.
January 25, 2024
I find the Sector General series to be a fun, comfortable read. Even though there might be tension and danger involved in the stories, the whole feel is one of optimism about the future. Species from all over the universe are treated at Sector General; the staff also consists of many different types of species. In this one, a newly discovered species is represented by a new recruit to the hospital's trainees. Unfortunately, Cha Thrat is a product of her own different society, although she was often thought an outsider there, too! Her strong personality ends up getting her in trouble all over the hospital, even though no one really questions her abilities. But when several serious situations occur, Cha Thrat definitely suceeds in helping find the solutions, even when her methods clash with those of other more experienced personnel.
This volume in the series really made me think of many of the episodes of various Star Trek shows when new lifeforms or cultures are encountered. If you are looking for something along those lines, this series may be of interest!
Yes, I'll keep following the adventures of Sector General's various personnel.
This volume in the series really made me think of many of the episodes of various Star Trek shows when new lifeforms or cultures are encountered. If you are looking for something along those lines, this series may be of interest!
Yes, I'll keep following the adventures of Sector General's various personnel.
December 29, 2017
The Sector General novels are a comfortable example of optimistic science fiction, though dated in their treatment of human gender relations. Rather like the early episodes of DS9, they portray a liberal milieu in which multiple species coexist in relative harmony, with plots centering around how differences among the species may be successfully resolved. In the case of Sector General, a huge multi-species hospital complex on the edge of the galaxy, the plots turn on brute physical or emotional differences that are typically resolved through clever technological advances. Not terribly realistic, but enjoyable exercises in Utopian escapism.
December 18, 2024
Read as an ebook, as part of the General Practice omnibus, which appears to have had some big problems with hyphenated words. I really enjoy White's non-human characters: so much care taken to understand the benefits and limitations of the bodies and cultures he creates. I also enjoy seeing things from the perspective of someone reared in a non-human culture. Here we have the pov of a surgeon having to train as a nurse and ending up in some very non-surgical levels in the hierarchy. Also a callback to the Goglesk and the discovery of new cultures.
Altogether an entertaining read.
Altogether an entertaining read.
February 19, 2022
I was not sure how moving to extra characters would work, but it worked well.
June 20, 2024
One of the best in this series!
September 19, 2014
The novel is a welcome change of perspective in the series. I think the author caught the exact moment when Conway as the main character had exhausted his potential, and moving the focus to the clumsy female non-Earth human is a breath of fresher air.
I quite liked the description of Sector General from the viewpoint of someone alien to it, and not as already well-established as Conway has always been, and of someone who does things beyond doctoring — the chapters on Cha-Thrat's work in Maintenance are delightful, revealing how all the snooty doctors are actually enabled to do their work in the station. Too bad this part is a bit short, and quickly enough it´s all back to medicine.
However, Cha-Thrat's character does feel forced at times, she screws up a little too often: I approve that the author used this to show different sides of space medicine and the station, but it doesn't completely mask the impression of fakeness (oh, and in between the cock-ups, she always conveniently manages to have read everything there is to read about that thing that this sudden deadly crisis is about).
I quite liked the description of Sector General from the viewpoint of someone alien to it, and not as already well-established as Conway has always been, and of someone who does things beyond doctoring — the chapters on Cha-Thrat's work in Maintenance are delightful, revealing how all the snooty doctors are actually enabled to do their work in the station. Too bad this part is a bit short, and quickly enough it´s all back to medicine.
However, Cha-Thrat's character does feel forced at times, she screws up a little too often: I approve that the author used this to show different sides of space medicine and the station, but it doesn't completely mask the impression of fakeness (oh, and in between the cock-ups, she always conveniently manages to have read everything there is to read about that thing that this sudden deadly crisis is about).
August 25, 2016
HOSPITAL IN SPACE.
Therefore, awesome.
Okay, serious review time. I picked this book up for $2 off the street because I thought it looked pretty entertaining. I was not at all disappointed! The premise was very engaging and I loved that the book was written from a nonhuman POV. I though the author did a pretty good job writing through the eyes of an alien, considering that he is not (as far as I know) an alien himself :)
I did find some of the reactions to Cha Thrat's antics irritating, as I thought some of the fault lay with the hospital staff. I'm still not sure if that's because they were in fact overreacting, or if White just did a really good job of getting me to sympathize with his protagonist...
A couple of odd things. Does the huge, multispecies space hospital really only have one ambulance ship? Also, being a medically minded nerd, I would have loved a thorough explanation of the species classification system. But that's just me.
In any case, pretty darn entertaining and certainly good enough for me to keep an eye out for the rest of the series. Because hospitals in space.
Therefore, awesome.
Okay, serious review time. I picked this book up for $2 off the street because I thought it looked pretty entertaining. I was not at all disappointed! The premise was very engaging and I loved that the book was written from a nonhuman POV. I though the author did a pretty good job writing through the eyes of an alien, considering that he is not (as far as I know) an alien himself :)
I did find some of the reactions to Cha Thrat's antics irritating, as I thought some of the fault lay with the hospital staff. I'm still not sure if that's because they were in fact overreacting, or if White just did a really good job of getting me to sympathize with his protagonist...
A couple of odd things. Does the huge, multispecies space hospital really only have one ambulance ship? Also, being a medically minded nerd, I would have loved a thorough explanation of the species classification system. But that's just me.
In any case, pretty darn entertaining and certainly good enough for me to keep an eye out for the rest of the series. Because hospitals in space.
August 16, 2012
My favourite book from the series, but only by a small margin since I LOVE every single book.
By "Star Healer", the main character, Conway, had reached the top of his career. What to do when your main characters are at the peak of their careers and there's nothing much more you can write about them?
Write about someone else, of course! The best part for me is that this time, it's not an Earth Human.
This is the first book in the series from the POV of a non-Earth human character. I started to read this book at night and I just could not put it down until I had finished it in the wee hours of the morning.
The character of Cha Thrat is fascinating to me. Through her, we get an understanding of the type of cultural misunderstandings that can occur. Things that we take for granted are so different in the eyes of someone from a different culture.
In so many ways, this story mirrors the kind of turmoil that occurs in our world today. In this book, it's presented in a humorous, witty and touching way.
A truly enjoyable read.
By "Star Healer", the main character, Conway, had reached the top of his career. What to do when your main characters are at the peak of their careers and there's nothing much more you can write about them?
Write about someone else, of course! The best part for me is that this time, it's not an Earth Human.
This is the first book in the series from the POV of a non-Earth human character. I started to read this book at night and I just could not put it down until I had finished it in the wee hours of the morning.
The character of Cha Thrat is fascinating to me. Through her, we get an understanding of the type of cultural misunderstandings that can occur. Things that we take for granted are so different in the eyes of someone from a different culture.
In so many ways, this story mirrors the kind of turmoil that occurs in our world today. In this book, it's presented in a humorous, witty and touching way.
A truly enjoyable read.
January 1, 2012
Cha Thrat was an unpopular healer on a planet newly discovered by the Federation, but she healed one of the Earth-human officers, so her people offered her as their ambassador, to train at the multi-species space hospital. Cha Thrat has had no training in the acceptance of foreign cultures, much less off-planet cultures, and even among her own people she has not been adaptable.
The title, CODE BLUE - EMERGENCY, is an example of the ways marketing people sometimes seem to try to put me off a book. So is the blurb, which shows Cha Thrat to be an accident-prone nurse. In actuality, she is such a talented medic that she can't be made to fit any mould. Additionally, CODE BLUE continues the stories of Khone the Gogleskan and of the Protectors. So in spite of the marketing department, this book is one of my best reading experiences of this year.
My favorite science fiction new read of 2011
The title, CODE BLUE - EMERGENCY, is an example of the ways marketing people sometimes seem to try to put me off a book. So is the blurb, which shows Cha Thrat to be an accident-prone nurse. In actuality, she is such a talented medic that she can't be made to fit any mould. Additionally, CODE BLUE continues the stories of Khone the Gogleskan and of the Protectors. So in spite of the marketing department, this book is one of my best reading experiences of this year.
My favorite science fiction new read of 2011
August 16, 2007
This seventh book in the sector general series added a lot to the world by developing some of the behind the scenes happenings and focusing on a completely different side of the hospital (by or through multiple accidents). I didn't like this book as it started by by the end it was one of my favorites in the series.
August 12, 2017
Cha Thrat is a female Sommaradvan Warrior-Surgeon. Through a combination of circumstances, she winds up as part of the staff of Sector General Hospital, where things become -- interesting -- to say the least.
Cha Thrat is one of the most intriguing life-forms to be introduced in this series. Although, personally, the empathic insect-alien, Prilicla, is my all-time favorite.
Cha Thrat is one of the most intriguing life-forms to be introduced in this series. Although, personally, the empathic insect-alien, Prilicla, is my all-time favorite.
April 22, 2019
Another interesting lead character and progression in the history of Sector General. I enjoyed it and would read it again.
June 5, 2015
1989 grade A
series book SG7
series book SG7
February 11, 2016
Wonderful story about a misfit surgeon coming to train in a vast general hospital serving species from all over the known universe.
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