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handoftheemperor94's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
beyondtime's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jtashoff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
aabravanel32's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i would like to add some new books me to read next
kb_208's review against another edition
3.0
This was a decent Clone Wars novel. It is not really essential SW reading, but I like Reeves' characters and dialogue. This is a good book to read if you're a fan of his other SW books like Darth Maul and the Coruscant Nights trilogy. This book deals with the doctors and surgeons on the planet of Drongar and how they cope with the mass amount of death and destruction caused by the war. The main plot is that they are fighting on this planet, because of the bota plant, which is a miracle plant with many uses. Black Sun is also involved; trying to get their hands on the plant as well. It's a pretty decent story and it also has my favorite Reeves character: I5. Overall a good read, but not necessarily essential.
jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
4.0
Star Wars Legends Project #152
Background: Battle Surgeons was written by [a:Michael Reaves|12537|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272842062p2/12537.jpg] and [a:Steve Perry|6262|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463048818p2/6262.jpg]. It was published in June of 2004. Reaves has written or co-written 9 Star Wars novels (including one of my all-time favorite Star Wars books, [b:Shadow Hunter|413043|Shadow Hunter|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333577597s/413043.jpg|1116086], my review) and a smattering of other things. Perry co-wrote a few novels and a short story with Reaves, and also wrote Shadows of the Empire and the comic sequel.
Battle Surgeons is set 2 years after the Battle of Geonosis (20 years before the battle of Yavin). The main POV character is Republic army surgeon Jos Vondar, along with Barriss Offee and Den Dhur (and a few others), plus a major role for I-5.
Summary: Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee arrives on Drongar, assigned to join the medical staff at one of the Republic Mobile Surgical Units (RMSU or "Rimsoos"). The Republic and the Separatists are locked in combat over the planet's priceless supply of Bota, a plant with near-miraculous healing properties, and someone is siphoning the Republic's supply. As part of her trials before becoming a Jedi Knight, Barriss's mission is to find out who is responsible while maintaining the fiction that she is simply there as a healer.
Review: There is a lot going on in this novel and, at the same time, very little. My brief summary only scratches the surface and lays out the subplot most important to the larger Clone Wars narrative, but it doesn't have a whole lot to do with the action that takes up most of the book. I'm tempted to describe the novel as episodic, but the episodes aren't discrete. Just as Shatterpoint owes obvious inspiration to Apocalypse Now, this is openly inspired by M*A*S*H, and that probably has something to do with all the different subplots and shifting perspectives.
It's very well-written and the sizable cast is likable. Barriss almost feels like a minor character given how little impact she has on the overall narrative and her lack of perspective on it, even though she's the only major non-EU character. Also not a major character (but a welcome presence) is I-5, a favorite character from Reaves's Shadow Hunter. It was nice to see the wisecracking droid return, even though his role felt a bit unlikely and forced as a bridge to set up later appearances. Den Dhur, the cynical Sullustan journalist, is another solid recurring character (introduced for the first time here). I feel like I'm kind of avoiding getting to Jos Vondar because he's the least interesting of the main group. Maybe that's intentional, and maybe I'd feel more invested in him if it felt like he'd ever resurface in the larger narrative. In any case, while his perspective is probably a good choice for how much of the novel plays out, his main motivations and character arc are a bit tiresome.
Reaves and Perry do a pretty good job of world-building here, and a good job of creating and writing characters and their interactions. These are obvious strengths. I'm not sure which of them to blame the idiom issue on, but I suspect it's Perry . . . They get way too cute way too often with common earth metaphors and phrases nonsensically repurposed into Star-Wars-ese. It draws attention to itself and throws me out of the story almost every time because it feels like an inside joke to the audience. This isn't unique to these writers or these books, but it felt like they did it more than anyone else I've come across.
I also wish that the book had resolved a bit more by the end. It's a duology and there are going to be loose threads and things left for the next half, but it's almost like not only do the characters not figure out or accomplish anything related to the larger story, but little to nothing happens that makes this feel like a consequential story in its own right. I'm not sure how to explain, but it almost feels like you could skip this entire novel and just read the second half and not really have missed anything. I'm left feeling that this book is a good read, but also wondering what the point of it was.
B
Background: Battle Surgeons was written by [a:Michael Reaves|12537|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1272842062p2/12537.jpg] and [a:Steve Perry|6262|Steve Perry|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1463048818p2/6262.jpg]. It was published in June of 2004. Reaves has written or co-written 9 Star Wars novels (including one of my all-time favorite Star Wars books, [b:Shadow Hunter|413043|Shadow Hunter|Michael Reaves|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333577597s/413043.jpg|1116086], my review) and a smattering of other things. Perry co-wrote a few novels and a short story with Reaves, and also wrote Shadows of the Empire and the comic sequel.
Battle Surgeons is set 2 years after the Battle of Geonosis (20 years before the battle of Yavin). The main POV character is Republic army surgeon Jos Vondar, along with Barriss Offee and Den Dhur (and a few others), plus a major role for I-5.
Summary: Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee arrives on Drongar, assigned to join the medical staff at one of the Republic Mobile Surgical Units (RMSU or "Rimsoos"). The Republic and the Separatists are locked in combat over the planet's priceless supply of Bota, a plant with near-miraculous healing properties, and someone is siphoning the Republic's supply. As part of her trials before becoming a Jedi Knight, Barriss's mission is to find out who is responsible while maintaining the fiction that she is simply there as a healer.
Review: There is a lot going on in this novel and, at the same time, very little. My brief summary only scratches the surface and lays out the subplot most important to the larger Clone Wars narrative, but it doesn't have a whole lot to do with the action that takes up most of the book. I'm tempted to describe the novel as episodic, but the episodes aren't discrete. Just as Shatterpoint owes obvious inspiration to Apocalypse Now, this is openly inspired by M*A*S*H, and that probably has something to do with all the different subplots and shifting perspectives.
It's very well-written and the sizable cast is likable. Barriss almost feels like a minor character given how little impact she has on the overall narrative and her lack of perspective on it, even though she's the only major non-EU character. Also not a major character (but a welcome presence) is I-5, a favorite character from Reaves's Shadow Hunter. It was nice to see the wisecracking droid return, even though his role felt a bit unlikely and forced as a bridge to set up later appearances. Den Dhur, the cynical Sullustan journalist, is another solid recurring character (introduced for the first time here). I feel like I'm kind of avoiding getting to Jos Vondar because he's the least interesting of the main group. Maybe that's intentional, and maybe I'd feel more invested in him if it felt like he'd ever resurface in the larger narrative. In any case, while his perspective is probably a good choice for how much of the novel plays out, his main motivations and character arc are a bit tiresome.
Reaves and Perry do a pretty good job of world-building here, and a good job of creating and writing characters and their interactions. These are obvious strengths. I'm not sure which of them to blame the idiom issue on, but I suspect it's Perry . . . They get way too cute way too often with common earth metaphors and phrases nonsensically repurposed into Star-Wars-ese. It draws attention to itself and throws me out of the story almost every time because it feels like an inside joke to the audience. This isn't unique to these writers or these books, but it felt like they did it more than anyone else I've come across.
I also wish that the book had resolved a bit more by the end. It's a duology and there are going to be loose threads and things left for the next half, but it's almost like not only do the characters not figure out or accomplish anything related to the larger story, but little to nothing happens that makes this feel like a consequential story in its own right. I'm not sure how to explain, but it almost feels like you could skip this entire novel and just read the second half and not really have missed anything. I'm left feeling that this book is a good read, but also wondering what the point of it was.
B
colls's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
4.0
I'm torn between rating this 3 stars and 4 stars - so I round up because a) it's Star Wars and b) it feels like a M*A*S*H fusion attempt.
My largest complaint (besides the casual misogyny where everyone has to eye up the ladies in order for the author to be able to describe them) is that the protagonist is sort of bland. The story was rather fun to follow and the "crew" interactions were entertaining. I find the droid the most fascinating of all, which I'm sure surprises no one.
My largest complaint (besides the casual misogyny where everyone has to eye up the ladies in order for the author to be able to describe them) is that the protagonist is sort of bland. The story was rather fun to follow and the "crew" interactions were entertaining. I find the droid the most fascinating of all, which I'm sure surprises no one.
hstapp's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really very into the Dr. Drama aspects, but some of the background elements are interesting. This is another of series where the book just ends in the middle of the story. It's a bit more satisfying feeling than the one in Karen Miller's duology, but it's still not a complete story. I suppose several other long series are like this, so I don't know why it's bothering me lately. Perhaps those do a better job of having a story that wraps up and concludes within the novel despite having an overarching story that's unfinished. Or perhaps I am just being picky.
divyareadssister's review against another edition
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0