- Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; 1st Mass Market Ed edition (10 May 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0812568605
- ISBN-13: 978-0812568608
- Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.9 x 2.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 653,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
"A splendid series, a worthy addition."--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Sector General fans old and new will enjoy, enjoy."--"Booklist"
"Sector General fans old and new will enjoy, enjoy."--"Booklist"
Product Description
Now, in the latest adventure, the empathic Dr. Prilicla, a veteran of Sector General for years, is put in command of an expedition answering three distress beacons. What he finds is two hitherto-unknown intelligent species, one of which has nearly wiped out the other. And he also finds evidence of a botched first contact--along with a rare opportunity to set matters right.
Assuming, as always, that he can make an accurate diagnosis....
Assuming, as always, that he can make an accurate diagnosis....
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most plot-driven installment yet,
By A Customer
This review is from: Double Contact (Sector General Series/James White) (Hardcover)
After two books referring heavily back to Sector General's past history, which would probably have left non-fans floundering, White produces a throwback to the less introspective, earlier books of the series. There's little deep philosophical discussion or psychological depth in what is probably the first of the Sector General books to cover a single case throughout.Fans will be pleased to see a book from Prilicla's point of view, but there's not much new that we learn about what makes everybody's favourite telepathic cranefly tick. No-one gets much time for introspection as the Rhabwar mob are dumped into one of the most delicate (in all senses of the word) situations they've ever had to deal with. Fans may or may not be pleased at this return to the older, puzzle-driven style, but it'd be a great introduction to those SF fans and other readers who haven't encountered this marvellous series before. I've got few complaints. White's recent tendency to holier than thou ecological preaching continues, and the treatment of Murchison is somewhat dated, and may be obnoxious to female readers (unless you argue that the book's set in a brave new post-feminist future where the sexes can exchange banter with no inequality getting in the way). These niggles aside, though, this is an excellent book.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Last Book.....,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Double Contact (Sector General Series/James White) (Hardcover)
Another wonderful book from James White in his Sector General Series. Unfortunately,he passed away right after the book was written. The Sector General novels have been great fun to read, reminding me of the "old" sci-fi style of books. What made his book so interesting was the mix of aliens in his books and how they worked together in a medical setting to help other species. Some of his ideas were great! If you get a chance to read this book, I say start from the beginning of the series if you can get the books and enjoy yourself. This is his last book and I am sad to think another Sector General novel will not happen since he has passed away. Bless him!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A solid addition to the series,
By Colin Croft - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Double Contact (Sector General Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
If you are a fan of the Sector General series then you will welcome the latest addition. As usual it presents a first contact situation but this time with not one but two new races at the same time. Interestingly the story this time is told from the point of view of Dr Prilicla and offers some new insights into this character which has formerly offered support without taking the central role.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
4th volume from an alien viewpoint: Prilicla,
By Michele L. Worley - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Double Contact (Sector General Series/James White) (Hardcover)
Sadly, this is the last Sector General story, published posthumously.After _Star Healer_, White never again used Conway as the viewpoint character. This story is from the viewpoint of his old friend Prilicla, the spider-like empath, who like Conway has been groomed for years (without his knowledge) for eventual Diagnostician status, if only he can overcome his empath's aversion to being assertive, with the subsequent risk of having unpleasant emotional radiation turned back on him. (In other stories Prilicla is referred to as a neuter "it", in keeping with polite cross-species standards, but from his own viewpoint he's referred to as "he".) After all these years, White still finds new things to tell us about Prilicla, especially from his point of view: the only member of his species at Sector General. For instance, we always knew that he was fragile, but did you know that he uses up so much energy that every few hours he *has* to sleep? (He'll pass out on duty otherwise, but everyone knows it so it doesn't happen.) His empathic talent is exceptionally strong even for his own people; and by his own standards, he thinks he's pretty well crazy, from a culture where cowardice is considered necessary for sanity. Mind you, he doesn't *care*; life on Cinruss was boring. :) Prilicla is still assigned to Rhabwar, having taken over when Conway was promoted, and due to the nature of interstellar travel, Rhabwar in its job of answering distress calls is the most frequent means of making first contact with newly encountered starfaring species. On the present occasion, Rhabwar will make not one, but two first contacts. The first such contact, with the Trolanni, involves a civilization from a world wherein the ecology has been damaged to the point that it no longer really supports life; the Trolanni blame another group on their planet, the druul, but that's only their side of the story. Unfortunately, to Trolanni eyes, while Prilicla isn't frightening, humans *are* - Trolanni think they look like druul. It should be said that while White's galactic civilization has a non-interference directive of sorts, it's tempered by intelligence and good sense. On several occasions, having discovered a culture that hasn't achieved starflight but is in severe distress, a planet has been declared a disaster area and relief has been sent, rather than letting people die needlessly. Granted, this has been known to go wrong, sometimes spectacularly (see _The Genocidal Healer_), but at least they err on the side of compassion. |
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