Teaser

Against her father’s wishes, Cherijo Grey Veil applies for a medical job on a far-flung planet. The only problem is that Cherijo has never operated on an alien before . . .

Review

This month I’m reading any and all sorts, finally making some headway on a massive stack of mass market paperbacks that have been building up all year. I’d like to get this mammoth TBR under control, so naturally I started the month with the first novel in a ten book series.

StarDoc is both the first novel and the name of the series, and fits into that niche of space medical drama. It’s not all that different from Casualty or Grey’s Anatomy, and even within this first volume, the story is broken up into a series of different medical cases. It does feel like a spiritual successor to James White’s Hospital Station in that regard, though is more conflict in StarDoc than in that series. That being said, Doctor Grey Veil’s problems are usually solved through wits and medical expertise rather than blowing things up or shooting at them.

You don’t need any medical expertise to enjoy this book, though the author has a medical background. While there is some technical detail, a there’s much more of a focus on the moral dilemmas and ethical considerations of being a doctor. As we all know, these are the things that make for good storytelling. Of course, it helps that Cherijo is a charming protagonist as she muddles her way through a life she isn’t really cut out for. There’s a real Julian Bashir energy about her at times, and you can’t help but root for her as she tries to make the best of a bad situation.

Where the book caught me by surprise is in the romance. There is a lot of romance in here. Now, Cherijo is charming, as I’ve said, but it does feel like men are falling over themselves to get at her. Those who don’t instantly dislike her, that is. It’s not so much a love triangle, as a love pentagon. The romance is largely kept at a 12A/PG-13 level, but then there is a very graphic scene of sexual assault late in the book that comes out of nowhere, and in a rather nasty twist seems to lead into a romance further down the line. Oh yes, and at one point Cherijo takes ownership of a slave who has inexplicably latched onto her. Those are definitely the weirder elements in a book already filled with bizarre aliens and foreign cultures. Yes, different societies have different taboo, but the moral implications of all these horrors are basically swept aside by the end of the novel.

Those rough patches aside, however, I had a lot of fun with this book. It’s generally charming, very fun, and an interesting setup for a bit of space opera that is best served on the lighter side.

Book Stats

• StarDoc Series (#1)
• First Published 2000 by Roc
• 396 Pages