thumb|right|The original cover of [[Hospital Station, the first book in the series]]

Sector General is a series of twelve science fiction novels and various short stories (1957–1999) by the Northern Irish author James White. The series derives its name from the setting of the majority of the books, the Sector 12 General Hospital, a large hospital space station located in deep space, designed to treat a wide variety of life forms with a wide range of ailments and life-support requirements, and to house an equally diverse staff. The Hospital was founded to promote peace after humanity's first interstellar war, and in the fourth book the authorities conclude that its emergency services are the most effective way to make peaceful contact with new species.

In order to treat patients of other species, doctors must download into their brains "educator tapes" containing the necessary medical knowledge, and these tapes also transmit the personalities of their donors. As a result, doctors have to struggle with the tastes imported from their donors, ranging from a dislike of their own species' normal food to sexual attraction for members of the donor's species. Other running gags include the acerbic tongue of the Chief Psychologist and one very senior non-human doctor's love of gossip, especially about the sexual behavior of other species.

The series is noted for its diverse and believable non-humanoid alien life forms, and for its pacifist philosophy. White chose the hospital setting as a way to generate dramatic tension without violence, and because in his youth he wanted to be a doctor but had to go to work. Some commentators have praised the whole series, while others have thought there was a decline after the sixth book. One reviewer described the last book as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era in science fiction".

Background

Sector General is a gigantic multi-species hospital space station founded as a peace-promoting project by two heroes from opposite sides of humanity's first full interstellar war. The hospital accommodates patients and staff from dozens of species, with different environmental requirements, behaviors and ailments, but many of the stories feature types of patient that the builders did not anticipate. Initially most of the stories center round the career of Doctor Conway, who rises from junior surgeon to the top level, Senior Diagnostician.

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.

  • Murchison: a curvaceous female Earth-human first seen as a senior nurse in the Pathology department.

The Babylon 5 television series was also set in space station with atmospheres for different species. It is highly likely that the short lived 1998-99 television series Mercy Point was influenced by Sector General.

Many commentators attribute the series' popularity to the altruism of its doctors and the emphasis on seeking to build peaceful relations between different species. John Clute wrote that "in the depiction of goodness may lie the real genius of James White." White's hatred of war and xenophobia is a constant theme of the series, notably in: Star Surgeon, where the Monitor Corps fights a savage battle in defence of the hospital space station, to prevent the conflict from escalating into a full interstellar war that can only end in genocide;

Opinions differ about the quality of the series as a whole. For example, Gary Westfahl wrote that "the Sector General stories remained consistently fresh and involving, and they grew in prominence as the series progressed."

Publishers Weekly described Mind Changer as "White's finest performance, replete with wit, originality, medical expertise and sheer decency" and commented that the series shows no signs of aging, and Booklist described the book as an "enjoyable, witty resumé" of Chief Psychologist O'Mara's career.

Clinton Lawrence described the last Sector General book, Double Contact (1999), as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era in science fiction" since it is optimistic and depicts several advanced species working harmoniously. The struggle to build trust and produce a successful first contact is, he thought, as exciting and suspenseful as one could wish for. However he noted that the level of characterization was the minimum required to support the plot.

Stories in the series

The Sector General series began as short stories published in New Worlds from 1957 onwards. Originally White intended to end the series with Star Healer (1985), by which time the central characters had reached the top levels in their careers, but Ballantine Books persuaded him to continue. He extended the stories' range by introducing new central characters beginning with Code Blue - Emergency (1987), and The Genocidal Healer (1992) focused on psychological and theological issues of guilt and forgiveness rather than strictly medical ones.

The books in the series are:

  • Star Surgeon (1963)
  • Major Operation (1971: stories published in New Worlds 1968–1971)
  • Ambulance Ship (1979)
  • Sector General (1983)
  • Code Blue - Emergency (1987)
  • The Genocidal Healer (1992)
  • The Galactic Gourmet (1996)
  • Final Diagnosis (1997)
  • Mind Changer (1998)
  • Double Contact (1999)

These were also published as omnibus editions:

  • Beginning Operations (2001) contains Hospital Station, Star Surgeon and Major Operation.
  • Alien Emergencies (2002) contains Ambulance Ship, Sector General and Star Healer.
  • General Practice (2003) contains Code Blue - Emergency and The Genocidal Healer.
  • Tales of Sector General (1999) contains The Galactic Gourmet, Final Diagnosis, and Mind Changer.

Short stories

  • White's short story "Sector General" is included in the book Hospital Station.

Similar works

The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy is unrelated, but uses a similar hospital-in-space setting.

References

Further reading

  • This explains the system for coding the environmental requirements of patients and staff.