I am glad that I finally broke down and bought this book (in the Kindle omnibus "General Practice") - the only entry in the Sector General series I couldn't get through any of my libraries.

This book marks a turn in the series away from Conway as the main character and towards varying non-human main characters who have come to Sector General for one reason or another. White does an excellent job of conveying how someone from an alien culture understands (or not!) both the humans & other aliens both in terms of language and protocol. In this 7th entry in the series, the main character Cha Thrat is from a world that has just made contact with the wider galaxy & before arriving at the station, she had very little other-species contact. ( )

Another interesting lead character and progression in the history of Sector General. I enjoyed it and would read it again.

An interesting story that deals with a first contact between a doctor, Sector General and a new civilisation. James White creates a character who is completely alien to the situation and to humanity but is a complete character with a well worked out society behind her. I liked how she grew from her contact with different races and the issues with her assumptions had to be dealt with by the powers that be in the Hospital. I would recommend it as a good read for fans of SF and ER alike. ( )