Interesting. Nice stories, even if they got a bit involved sometimes with everything happening at once. Still, I liked the idea of 'medical emergencies' (reminds me of Star trek!) being the theme of a book. ( )

James White was a pacifist and so he created a science fiction setting based upon a medical space station rather than the more typical military space opera. According to Wikipedia, "White said that The Troubles in Northern Ireland induced him to write about the sort of world he would like to live in, and that he disliked war and militarists.
As a youth he wanted to become a doctor, but had to go out to work. Hence he relied on epidemics and natural disasters to provide the conflicts that stories need to make them interesting."

This first book in the series is actually a combination of several short stories that White had previously published in sci fi magazines, though they mesh well together as a single book. I found the number and variety of alien species impressive! ( )

Sector General is an immense hospital space station that treats aliens of all species. Many of the patients, as well as the doctors are completely non-humanoid, requiring environments of differing g forces and gasses to breathe as well as challenging nutritional requirements and non-human behavior. These first five stories center around a young human newcomer to the station, Dr Conroy.

Each of the aliens’ disorders are a medical mystery, as doctors tease out the illness and required treatments from the distinctly non-human but normal behavior.

For me it was refreshing to read SF without intergalactic war. According to Wikipedia, author James White abhorred violence (perhaps due to his upbringing in Northern Ireland) and chose to write these amazing stories about cooperation between very differing outlooks.

I look forward to continuing this series. ( )

Hospital Station by James White is the first book in the author’s science fiction series entitled Sector General and consists of five short stories that had been previously published in New Worlds magazine between 1957 and 1960.

Sector General is a huge inter-species hospital set in the outer reaches of the galaxy with a mission of offering medical assistance to all forms of life. The series builds on the challenges faced by the medical staff in diagnosing and solving the medical problems in the many aliens that they treat. The staff of the hospital is also multi-species so it needs to be able to supply all their needs, whether they breath oxygen or another gas, or need the amount of gravity required to be adjusted. Language problems are solved by the use of a translator system that works for all. Sector General has many departments and wards that are set to deal with every requirement needed.

These original five stories are mostly centered around one doctor. Dr. Conway is an idealistic, intelligent yet rather sheltered young doctor but as we read through the stories, his character develops and grows and by the end of the book I found him very likeable and trustworthy. Although the stories felt rather episodic and slightly repetitive, I enjoyed all of them and this first book has whetted my appetite for more. ( )

Clever, well constructed puzzle stories, but overly reliant on one person figuring out what others have missed in spite of repeatedly asserting that the others have huge stores of experience and information. Also, the hospital is staffed with intelligent beings with only the vaguest hints of personal lives, so the setting, while stimulating offers no hint of comforts. ( )