Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Book!!!
Review: I read this book with many reservations....thinking how exciting can it be to be a doctor. Boy, was I wrong. This was one fantastic book. It starts a little slow but the ending is great. I wept at the end, it was so moving. After reading this, I quickly devoured the next three books. This book and its sequels are real page-turners. Maybe the science is a little weak but the character development is superb. This series has turned out to be one of my favs. I really care what happens to Cherijo. I'm eagerly awaiting volume 5!
Rating:
Summary: StarDoc -- A Cure for Dull SF!!
Review: Some writers have memorable characters with stories that grip your heart. Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil is one of those. Some writers have great aliens that plausibly vary across the entire spectrum of possible sentience and yet bring out some important aspect of human existence by their lacking it or having it to excess. There are too many of those in StarDoc to count. I haven't read it the requisite 58 times to know them all by heart, yet I suspect I will. Some writers do immersive settings that make readers come back again and again because they love the place. S. L. Viehl has created that in spades. Some writers do idea stories that make you think. S. L. Viehl has definitely achieved that with StarDoc, the first book in a great series that I'm completely hooked on. Finding all those qualities in one book puts it firmly on my favorite reread list, because the richness in StarDoc will probably make me wear out my copy.The scope of StarDoc is tremendous. In it, Ms. Viehl introduces a richly varied universe full of many different civilizations, this volume barely scratches the surface but opens the epic theme of the series: ethics. Yeah, those ugly systems human beings try to create and live by, yet so often fall short in. This book manages to combine galactic and historical scope with intensely personal stories of human tragedy, cruelty and triumph. For starters, just for starters, Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil's relationship with her father both echoes dysfunctional abuse families and the uglier reality of dysfunctional governments and the people who hold a lot of power within them. I'm sure with 38 other reviews, someone's done the traditional plot synopsis. I won't bother with it. Cherijo's personal quest for freedom is literal and she's a doctor with the one quality doctors need most. She needs to heal. She can't bear to look away from tragedy and suffering, her hands will move to do something about it and she will try rather than give up. On a personal note, I love her cat, Jenner, too. And the alien character Alunthri is just as likely to get under a cat-lover's skin - she's written cat people plausibly and if the rating system allowed it, she'd get five and a half stars for the realistic cats! Robert A. Sloan, author of <i>Raven Dance: A History of the Utopian Revolution</i>
Rating: 
Summary: High Quality SF, with a strong heroine and a good plot!
Review: The quality of SF within "Stardoc" will have me picking up "Endurance," and the rest of the Stardoc series at my next earliest opportunity. The heroine is a strong character, with a twist in her past sure to make you blink a few times. The plot itself is not just the "science fiction meets medical thriller" it first appears to be, and again, the plot twist in this regard is a good one. Dr. Cherijo is a worthy character, with a strong personality (ie: stubbourn and headstrong), interesting neuroses, and strong and wonderful without being infallable and annoying. This is not a woman who weeps easily, nor is she a cold-hearted statue. The line is difficult to walk, but Viehl did so.
What the novel suffers from slightly - and the only reason I didn't give it a five-star rating - is the overabundance of aliens. While plot-centric, this tendancy to earth animals into aliens is somewhat frustrating (Spider-aliens, for example, who can spin webs, etc). Regardless of this shortcoming, however, I really enjoyed the book.
What is also suprising is the number of ethical or moral dilemmas that Viehl manages to toss into the mix: The rights of sentients, animal rights, racism. There's a lot in here that you don't normally find in your SF paperbacks.
Overall, this one is worth it - grab it and read it, but be prepared to fall in love with the heroine, and want more of her in the form of the rest of the series! 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful world-building and characterizations
Review: An intriguing tale of Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil, a terran physician who has traveled deep into space to distance herself from an overbearing and manipulative father. Her brilliance as a surgeon appears to be of little benefit at Kervarzangia Two's FreeClinic, where humans are a despised minority. Cherijo grows as both a doctor and as a person as she faces medical emergencies in treating species and illnesses that seem unfathomable, including a 'plague' which puts the entire planet at risk. S. L. Viehl does an excellent job in creating a character that is both compassionate and fallable; a likable charcter that faces change and the unknown with bravery and very human emotion. Viehl's worldbuilding skills are excellent, and her panapoly of aliens is one of the finest I have ever encountered. I look forward to reading the continuing tales in this rapidly growing series of novels.
Rating: 
Summary: A good read with poor science
Review: This was a very well written book. The human characters are excellent and powerful. A few of the alien characters are interesting, but most are pretty bland. The ideas are interesting, but I'm too much of a scienctist to be able to ignore the small errors. However, I will be reading the rest of the books.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. Reading the first three in this series really played havoc with my sleeping schedule this week, since I wanted to finish the books more than I wanted to sleep. The characters were interesting and I like the way it blends 3 genres: science fiction, medical thriller, romance. The main character is great and reminds me of two of my favorite fictional characters: Honor Harrington (David Weber) and Anita Blake (Laurell K. Hamilton). She is certainly obstinate and has a couple of blind spots, but then who of us doesn't? I was a little bit concerned about buying this because of the couple of negative reviews. I agree with their comments on the face of it, but those aspects of the book weren't an issue for me. One reader pointed out that this is not a romance novel. She is certainly correct, and I did think it was odd that Catherine Coulter was plugging this book. However, while this is not a romance novel, romance was a large part of this novel and its sequels. The romantic elements are not the center of the story; rather they add depth and interest. In later books in the series, the romance elements are more prominent. Another reader was concerned that the science behind the book was not accurate. While he's correct that many of the elements in the book are bizarre and beyond unlikely, it didn't bother me. If you're the type who can let your imagination and interest in the characters and what happens to them carry you past any inconsistencies in the plot and background, you'll enjoy this book. Overall I found this to be a very good book, and I'll add this author to my must-read list.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging, well written story!
Review: You pick this up and the story engages you right away. Written in the first person, the likeable female protagonist is easy to relate to; even though she's a doctor on an alien planet, she could be you. Deftly written, the story of her life unfolds, whooshing you along with her own discovery. Some romance, mystery and intrigue are well tossed into the mix. Re: other comments of unbelievable-ness--Yes, it's unbelievable if you keep your mind rigid--let me say if you have a mind like that, do us all a favour and cease reading fantasy and treating fiction like it's a sporting event, comparing this passage/character/detail to another author--this is not a competition, it's fantasy, a pleasurable read. A note about what is mentioned as a rape scene--this is *not* a rape that's represented in Stardoc, take heart, it's spooky that some folk think it is. A very enjoyable book, another kick butt SF heroine to add to the ranks of Sparta (Lee/Clarke),Marghe (Griffith), or any of Anne Logston's tough crew of female protagonists. You are assured of a great read in Stardoc!
Rating:
Summary: wildly unrealistic, but who cares
Review: This book is fun. It has the classic features--intelligent, interesting person in peril, trying to make her way in a complex world and doing it with humor and grace. Mind you, both the depiction of medicine and that of aliens is more influenced by sitcoms and James White rather than anything more realistic. So don't try to figure out whether the biology, or ethics, make sense. Instead, just enjoy. My only caveat is that I can't figure out what the rape scene is doing in what is basically lighthearted entertainment. Why? I'd encourage the author to go with what are very real strengths--a sense of scene and character--and avoid trying to make relationships too complex.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I bought this book after reading some glowing reviews, but I was very disappointed. It's hard to believe we're talking about the same book. It's very much like the Sector General stories of James White - which I enjoyed - but it doesn't make much sense. A tiny snail walking across the floor of a reception area turns out to be a sentient alien coming in for his medical appointment. There's so much that's not logical about that! Cross-species romances seem to be common (apparently, humans are irresistible) and result in healthy human-alien hybrids. The heroine practices seat-of-her-pants surgery on aliens she's never even heard of before (and injects her own blood into an alien because he's dying of a disease that doesn't harm her?). Throughout the book, I kept thinking "This doesn't make sense." Also, I never understood the motivation of any of the characters. Humans are apparently notorious bigots, except for every human we meet in the book. Aliens are just people dressed up in costume; they look but don't act alien. We read that the heroine falls in love, but we certainly don't see it. In fact, through most of the book we are TOLD, but we aren't SHOWN. It's hard to care about characters that you haven't gotten to know. The book isn't horrible, but it's not a keeper. Some of the aliens are clever (actually, it could have been pretty funny, if it had been written as a comedy). But if you love science fiction with lots of aliens (as I do), you're much better off with David Brin or C.J. Cherryh.
Rating:
Summary: Stardoc
Review: I've been devouring science fiction for over 35 years, my biggest fear is running out of good SF. Stardoc is without a doubt one of the top 10 books I've ever read. The characters are interesting and well developed and plot has enough twists and turns to delight even mystery buffs. You have to read this!
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