Rating: 
Summary: She did it again
Review: A word of caution: Shockball is not a book that sits back calmly and allows you to read it. Shockball is a book that seizes you violently in its jaws, shakes you like a hyperactive terrier, and slams you against a wall several times before letting you go, leaving you confused, exhausted, exhilarated, and not quite sure what just happened to you save that it was really cool and you can't wait to do it again. Shockball is the fourth novel is S.L. Viehl's Stardoc series, and fans won't be disappointed. Cherijo's past finally catches up with her, and she and Reever are taken back to Terra, where things don't go quite as either Cherijo and Reever or Joseph Grey Veil planned. Viehl's combination of medical knowledge and imaginative extrapolation create a host of alien creatures so believable that you'd swear she'd operated on them herself. The majority of the action in Shockball takes place on xenophobic Terra, so there isn't as much xenobiology in this book, but Viehl still manages to fit in an entirely new alien species, complete with architecture and art forms, as well as giving us a disturbing look at what has happened to the human race. The appeal of the Stardoc books lies partly in the extensive worldbuilding and the medical believability, but I find that most of it is due to the characters populating the books. They are sometimes funny, sometimes annoying, and come complete with a host of strengths and weaknesses. The heroes aren't perfect. The villains aren't wholly despicable. In short, they're real. Sure, Cherijo is a genetic construct tooling around the far reaches of the galaxy, but she's real enough to be my neighbour down the hall (who I also wouldn't trust with a dermal probe when she's in a bad mood). It's very, very easy to get attached to these people. Which is when Viehl goes into maniac mode and puts them through hell so fast that you have no choice but to hang on for the ride and hope you make it through. She's an expert at distracting you with something bright and shiny so that you don't see the punch coming until you're flat on your back. Viehl isn't content to wrap everything up in a neat little package for the reader, so the Stardoc series consists of a number of deftly-woven threads which connect each book and may come back to haunt you at any time. No one is safe, nothing is sacred, and you never know what she's going to do next. I've laughed, cried, and screamed out loud reading these books, sometimes within the course of a single chapter. These books are fun. Roller-coaster, breathless, heart-pounding kind of fun. Just make sure you start reading early, because they'll keep you up long past your bedtime.
Rating:
Summary: A great science fiction novel with crossover appeal
Review: As they travel through space, Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil and her spouse, Perpetua ship Captain Duncan Reever are pleased over her pregnancy. However, her joy turns to sadness when she learns her cloned body's immunity system is killing the baby. Before she informs her husband she has a miscarriage. Cherijo knows she can never birth a child with anyone except perhaps her demented creator Joseph Grey Veil.
While Cherijo recovers, a meteor shower disables the Perptua beyond repair. Transferring to their other ship Truman may mean that Cherijo's creator who gave her that spacecraft may be able to track them via some undetected device. Soon the duo is forced to go underground to live among half-breeds. Duncan has no choice but to participate in the local version of SHOCKBALL even as Cherijo now knows you can hide, but at some time you must fight especially when the cause is personal.
SHOCKBALL, the fourth Stardoc tale, is an exhilarating science fiction space adventure. The zestful story line stays at warp speed even when introducing new readers to the lead characters. Cherijo is as fresh as ever as she undergoes new heartaches while her spouse has his own problems. Fans of futuristic outer space novels will want to take off with this tale and the three previous Stardoc books as all four stories take the audience where they rarely have been before. Harriet Klausner
Rating: 
Summary: This book is ignorant and incredibly bad
Review: Can you say "had to get a book in at deadline?" This book is terrible. The "Shockball" that graces the title plays only a minor role in the book, and is nothing more than a thinly veiled excuse for the author to vent her hatred and misunderstanding of contact sports. The rules of the game are never explained, yet the main character rails against the "evils" and "testosterone-stoked mindlessness" of contact sports. It seems obvious Ms. Veihl has never even played an organized sport, let alone tried to understand the concept of one. The book is full of love triangles that are supposed to be shocking, yet the reader has no lead-up to who might love who. Characters constantly stray from their motivations, and the author changes character orientation at will in order to "surprise" you with another twist or turn. This reads like a poorly written eight grade melodrama. And, if you last long enough to read the ending, the author reveals that not only is she oblivious to the purpose of sports, she's oblivious to the concept of rules, scoring, and personnel. The dues ex machina at game's end staggered my ability to comprehend that not only did the author have to think this made sense, but so did test-readers and the editors.
Rating: 
Summary: Cherijo continues her search for who, and what, she is...
Review: Fourth book in the Stardoc series. This is a continuing story, and I very much recommend that you start with the first book, Stardoc, and read the sequels in order: Stardoc, Beyond Vallarean, Endurance, then Shockball. If you haven't, the rest of this review will contain spoilers for the first three. Again, I was a bit disappointed with Shockball, but only because the first two books were so very good. Shockball continues the adventures of Cherijo Grey Veil Torin, a genetically engineered human who is being pursued by her creator/father throughout the galaxy. After escaping the Hsktskt in Endurance, Cherijo finds herself surrendering to her father in order to keep the peace once again, but this time her husband Duncan is with her. After enduring many brutal hours of testing, she is miraculously rescued by an odd little man who takes her though miles of underground tunnels to his tribe that lives beneath the ground in caverns. Cherijo discovers she is not so much rescued as she is kidnapped by these strange people, half Indian and half alien.
Again, I found this book to be a step down from the first two in the series, there are not many aliens, as Cherijo spends most of her time underground with the half breeds; and not much titillating space travel either. Dhreen re-enters her life, finding her in the tunnels and once again helping her out, though this time she trusts him much less. She also discovers that experiments A through I were not destroyed as Joseph Grey Veil had told her, and also discovers that the reason Joe has pursued her so heavily throughout the galaxy is that he intended her to be his mate all along. Cherijo patches up patients, stops another outbreak, and develops her relationship with her husband Duncan who is forced to participate in the Shockball contests and discovers he actually enjoys the physical competition. But the story seemed almost blasé, missing the mystery of the aliens and the excitement Cherijo stretching her capabilities to the fullest. I have really enjoyed this series, but I am left hoping that the fifth book brings back the old Cherijo and the old mystery and excitement that made this such a special and unique reading journey.
Rating:
Summary: Cherijo continues her search for who, and what, she is...
Review: Fourth book in the Stardoc series. This is a continuing story, and I very much recommend that you start with the first book, Stardoc, and read the sequels in order: Stardoc, Beyond Vallarean, Endurance, then Shockball. If you haven't, the rest of this review will contain spoilers for the first three. Again, I was a bit disappointed with Shockball, but only because the first two books were so very good. Shockball continues the adventures of Cherijo Grey Veil Torin, a genetically engineered human who is being pursued by her creator/father throughout the galaxy. After escaping the Hsktskt in Endurance, Cherijo finds herself surrendering to her father in order to keep the peace once again, but this time her husband Duncan is with her. After enduring many brutal hours of testing, she is miraculously rescued by an odd little man who takes her though miles of underground tunnels to his tribe that lives beneath the ground in caverns. Cherijo discovers she is not so much rescued as she is kidnapped by these strange people, half Indian and half alien.
Again, I found this book to be a step down from the first two in the series, there are not many aliens, as Cherijo spends most of her time underground with the half breeds; and not much titillating space travel either. Dhreen re-enters her life, finding her in the tunnels and once again helping her out, though this time she trusts him much less. She also discovers that experiments A through I were not destroyed as Joseph Grey Veil had told her, and also discovers that the reason Joe has pursued her so heavily throughout the galaxy is that he intended her to be his mate all along. Cherijo patches up patients, stops another outbreak, and develops her relationship with her husband Duncan who is forced to participate in the Shockball contests and discovers he actually enjoys the physical competition. But the story seemed almost blasé, missing the mystery of the aliens and the excitement Cherijo stretching her capabilities to the fullest. I have really enjoyed this series, but I am left hoping that the fifth book brings back the old Cherijo and the old mystery and excitement that made this such a special and unique reading journey.
Rating: 
Summary: The weakest in the series
Review: I admit, I am a fan of the Stardoc series. Its fast, its fun, its cheese, but its just good. So I breezed through the first three books within a weekend, but with this edition, I came to an abrupt crawl. Shockball has a very weak plot, with a few shocking secrets unveiled about Cherijo's past but that seems to be the brunt of it. Its not up to par with the usual pace in action & suspense in the previous books. After Cherijo and Reever get hauled back to Earth they're soon rescued from Joseph's mad-laboratory by a group of Navajos. Knowing how irate Cherijo gets about her only family being House Clan Torin she doesn't take the Navajo's claim as her blood kin amiably, even if she is nearly 100% Navajo herself. Well, her rescue comes with a price and the chief, Rico, takes her captive as medic for their Shockball team. Some are human hybrids who need to be fixed to look 100% human to legally play on the team. For most of the book she cures another mysterious plague. Reever gets in a few squabbles, gets enlisted in the Shockball team, and enjoys some machismo time as the suave new MVP. Rico has a queer fascination with her upbringing (quite obvious why but the brilliant Cherijo is clueless). There were no interesting new characters like Quilyp, Furreva, or Rogan. Some, like Rico's short secondhand man were mere brutes - but for no reason other than to point out how much Cherijo hates short men. Cherijo's new assistant - Hawk, a Quasimodo lookalike is very timid and quiet. In the first chapter, they visited a world of flying people so I wonder what "Hawk"'s condition is. Anyway... I lost a lot of respect for Cherijo's character in the way she views the Navajos. She frequently mocks their beliefs & traditions just like she did the Torins' attitude toward suicide and continues to carry a superiority complex about advanced society and medicine. On the other hand, I respect Viehl's characterization because it makes Cherijo that more real. Shockball had nothing to do with the story. At the end the reason why she had to deal with the whole Shockball nonsense is so ludicrous and flimsy you'll feel like you just got hit by a shockball yourself! Nevertheless, I am anticipating the next edition and hope it will be just as good as Endurance. I recommend that you read it only to find out some few things about Cherijo's past, but the whole story in of itself, leaves much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: this is definitely a punch in the face
Review: I had been awaiting the new arrival in the Stardoc series for quite some time, and when I finally read it, all I can say is: wow. Shockball is definitely a jolt, to say the least, and fans of the series should not go into this book expecting anything because trust me, you will be surprised beyond belief. The book starts out innocently enough, and for those who know the series, you won't be surprised when Joseph Grey Veil shows up to kidnap Cherijo and Duncan Reever. Been there, done that. Then they get rescued by a mysterious Indian tribe living underground and suddenly you are thrown into a turmoil of confusion and terror and nothing is what it seems. When you think the book is starting to slow down, it punches you in the face and electrifies you.
Throughout this book, Stardoc series fans will learn a bunch of new strange and disturbing information about Cherijo and Joseph and you may think you know where this book is going but you have no idea. Like the previous books, Shockwall goes through some very disturbing, violent subjects, but if you could handle Endurance, than this will not be a problem. Bottom line: this book will definitely engross you.
Rating:
Summary: Great Yet Again!
Review: I have loved all the books in this series. I would compare this series with the Sector General books. This one has several twists that make it worth a read. Doctor Veil finds out more about her past, her parent, and her childhood friend. I must admit that I love any book that has doctors out treating aliens and zipping around to other planets. This book, for a large part takes place on Earth, but the things she finds out will answer lots of questions for the previous books. I am waiting to see what other twists and turns are in the next book!
Rating:
Summary: Great Yet Again!
Review: I have loved all the books in this series. I would compare this series with the Sector General books. This one has several twists that make it worth a read. Doctor Veil finds out more about her past, her parent, and her childhood friend. I must admit that I love any book that has doctors out treating aliens and zipping around to other planets. This book, for a large part takes place on Earth, but the things she finds out will answer lots of questions for the previous books. I am waiting to see what other twists and turns are in the next book!
Rating:
Summary: have all her books
Review: I really enjoyed this one. I have all of her books and have enjoyed this one almost as much as her first. The other two were a little violent for me, but her characters draw a reader into the world that the author has created. I feel this writer is very gifted and will continue buying and keeping her books, but would request a little more bonding with husband, child, family, a little less violence. Our real world has enough of it, I really don't care to read alot of it. I use books to escape the real world and go into one that is full of fun, life, fantasy, magic and a bit of unreality thrown in. people do usually read book, watch movies,etc to escape the things they don't or can't deal with at the moment. books, movies, etc help people deal with the crazy world we live in and we are very thankful for people like this author who can help us with this goal.
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