What do you think?
Rate this book
Sector General
Futures Past
A collection. Science fiction stories depict encounters with weird creatures from other planets and the strange adventures of outer space explorers. A CASE FOR SECTOR GENERAL: The big birdlike creature, found floating in the vastness of space by the Scoutship Torrance, was obviously sick. A strange, and perhaps deadly, rash that covered its body may well have caused the creature's companions to abandon their helpless friend. But the crew couldn't leave the beast to die. First they would have to find a way to tow it...and then the doctors and nurses at Sector General could find a cure! PLUS Ten more super science-fiction stories.
Contents:
Spacebird [Sector General] (1973) / novelette by James White
Commuter (1972) / short story by James White
Assisted Passage [Allen • 1] (1953) / novelette by James White
Curtain Call (1954) / short story by James White
Boarding Party (1955) / novelette by James White
Patrol (1957) / novelette by James White
Fast Trip (1963) / novelette by James White
Question of Cruelty (1956) / novelette by James White
False Alarm [Allen • 2] (1957) / novelette by James White
Dynasty of One (1955) / short story by James White
Outrider [Allen] (1955) / novelette by James White
.
Contents:
Spacebird [Sector General] (1973) / novelette by James White
Commuter (1972) / short story by James White
Assisted Passage [Allen • 1] (1953) / novelette by James White
Curtain Call (1954) / short story by James White
Boarding Party (1955) / novelette by James White
Patrol (1957) / novelette by James White
Fast Trip (1963) / novelette by James White
Question of Cruelty (1956) / novelette by James White
False Alarm [Allen • 2] (1957) / novelette by James White
Dynasty of One (1955) / short story by James White
Outrider [Allen] (1955) / novelette by James White
.
228 pages, Paperback
First published July 12, 1982
4 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
James White
94 books134 followersLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
James White was a Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories and novels. He was born in Belfast and returned there after spending some early years in Canada. He became a fan of science fiction in 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines, from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965. Encouraged by other fans, White began publishing short stories in 1953, and his first novel was published in 1957. His best-known novels were the twelve of the Sector General series, the first published in 1962 and the last after his death. White also published nine other novels, two of which were nominated for major awards, unsuccessfully.
White abhorred violence, and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories. The "Sector General" series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction, and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens. Although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times, White gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction. He was also Guest-of-Honour of several conventions.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 2, 2022
2.5⭐ Rounded Up
Not the best of White's stories, in my humble opinion. There's an OK short story from the Sector General series, "Spacebird."
The rest are individual and unrelated tales, running between 2-3 stars. They are very much of the '50s and early '60s in their subject matter and style and more dated than the later, Sector General tales. Good for fans of White's writing, could be heavy going for others.
Not the best of White's stories, in my humble opinion. There's an OK short story from the Sector General series, "Spacebird."
The rest are individual and unrelated tales, running between 2-3 stars. They are very much of the '50s and early '60s in their subject matter and style and more dated than the later, Sector General tales. Good for fans of White's writing, could be heavy going for others.
December 20, 2017
A fantastic collection of short stories. All scifi, and all with elements of hard science, so the setting is first rate and believable. However the stories are full of intense emotions, personal sacrifice, heroism, courage, with some fine characters.
A great read, even if scifi is not your favourite genre, as the stories are so character driven that the humans (and sometime aliens) drive the plot. With some clever twists, each story will have you hooked until the last paragraph.
A great read, even if scifi is not your favourite genre, as the stories are so character driven that the humans (and sometime aliens) drive the plot. With some clever twists, each story will have you hooked until the last paragraph.
June 22, 2020
Short story collection. First story takes place in the Sector General series. The other stories don't. Various interesting stories, often with problems to be solved. Some readers may find many of the stories to be of an "old science fiction" type.
October 10, 2024
Good read, with a good variety of sci-fi themes from human spaceflight to alien worlds, from present to far-future. I enjoyed the surprise of finding a few stories set in the same world at different points in time.
Thought provoking, never dull, sorry it's over.
Thought provoking, never dull, sorry it's over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
November 5, 2013The title prepares one for outdated stories, but this isn't quite the case. Technology often outstrips sci-fi writers, but White is mostly writing about ideas and social interactions, anyway.
Not to say that that sort of thing can't become dated, as well--but that's rarely so with James White, and mostly not so in these stories.
Table of contents:
I Spacebird (A Sector General story)--This fits in just after Star Surgeon. The title (and the cover picture of the collection) tells the story: Space. Bird. Spacebird. A spaceship without metallic content. It's a fascinating idea, although the cruelty involved is more than a little disturbing. I understand that it was an emergency, but even so, couldn't they have come up with a less barbaric method?
II Commuter--What kind of luggage can a time traveler carry? And what must be left behind, if the return process fails?
III Assisted Passage--Think Starman, except that the stranded wayfarer doesn't have quite so serious adaptation problems. But Allen still wants to go home.
III Curtain Call--A fairly desperate attempt at disarmament.
IV Boarding Party--Contact with the Rhagman is almost certain death. But to make peace, it's an unavoidable necessity.
V Patrol--Earth has been invaded by insectile intelligent life. Making peace will involve, for one thing, abandoning the war against insects that ALREADY exists on Earth. Because these insects shoot back...and they're winning...
VI Fast Trip--An accident aboard an early passenger flight to Mars looks as if it will result in the loss of all aboard. It's not just that the fuel is critically low and the other consumables (food, air, etc) are not sufficient. The main problem is that spaceships are precisely tailored to their operators, who are able to achieve superhuman reflexes as a result of their conditioning: but who can't adapt to other ships. And the pilot is incapacitated, and the only possible substitute is positive he can't adapt in time.
VII Question of Cruelty--The basic premise of this story (that all but one starfaring societies are so rabidly, inescapably violent that the one 'sane' society has to spend its few remaining years committing wholesale genocide) is so absurd that one has to suspect the executioners of being the worst offenders. If their assessment of the mental capacities and nature of a spaceship pilot test monkey (a rhesus monkey, from the description) is in any way indicative, they attribute inescapable malice to creatures with no real basis. At least, the aliens do have some qualms whether they are obligated to strip Earth's atmosphere, to destroy humanity. But will they take the sane route, for once?
VIII False Alarm--(a sort of sequel to Assisted Passage)--so why WERE Allen's people in the Solar System?
IX Dynasty of One--The immortality process in this story causes obsessive reliving of one's own history. The little guilts, flaws, and failures are almost always fatal--and the process is not permanent. The process has to be gone through over and over... To date, only one person has repeatedly survived the ordeal, and there's no guarantee he can go on doing so. But is there new hope?
X Outrider--A disabled space traveler is the only hope of survival when a ship's electronic 'eyes' are accidentally burned out. But it's almost certain death for him...
Not to say that that sort of thing can't become dated, as well--but that's rarely so with James White, and mostly not so in these stories.
Table of contents:
I Spacebird (A Sector General story)--This fits in just after Star Surgeon. The title (and the cover picture of the collection) tells the story: Space. Bird. Spacebird. A spaceship without metallic content. It's a fascinating idea, although the cruelty involved is more than a little disturbing. I understand that it was an emergency, but even so, couldn't they have come up with a less barbaric method?
II Commuter--What kind of luggage can a time traveler carry? And what must be left behind, if the return process fails?
III Assisted Passage--Think Starman, except that the stranded wayfarer doesn't have quite so serious adaptation problems. But Allen still wants to go home.
III Curtain Call--A fairly desperate attempt at disarmament.
IV Boarding Party--Contact with the Rhagman is almost certain death. But to make peace, it's an unavoidable necessity.
V Patrol--Earth has been invaded by insectile intelligent life. Making peace will involve, for one thing, abandoning the war against insects that ALREADY exists on Earth. Because these insects shoot back...and they're winning...
VI Fast Trip--An accident aboard an early passenger flight to Mars looks as if it will result in the loss of all aboard. It's not just that the fuel is critically low and the other consumables (food, air, etc) are not sufficient. The main problem is that spaceships are precisely tailored to their operators, who are able to achieve superhuman reflexes as a result of their conditioning: but who can't adapt to other ships. And the pilot is incapacitated, and the only possible substitute is positive he can't adapt in time.
VII Question of Cruelty--The basic premise of this story (that all but one starfaring societies are so rabidly, inescapably violent that the one 'sane' society has to spend its few remaining years committing wholesale genocide) is so absurd that one has to suspect the executioners of being the worst offenders. If their assessment of the mental capacities and nature of a spaceship pilot test monkey (a rhesus monkey, from the description) is in any way indicative, they attribute inescapable malice to creatures with no real basis. At least, the aliens do have some qualms whether they are obligated to strip Earth's atmosphere, to destroy humanity. But will they take the sane route, for once?
VIII False Alarm--(a sort of sequel to Assisted Passage)--so why WERE Allen's people in the Solar System?
IX Dynasty of One--The immortality process in this story causes obsessive reliving of one's own history. The little guilts, flaws, and failures are almost always fatal--and the process is not permanent. The process has to be gone through over and over... To date, only one person has repeatedly survived the ordeal, and there's no guarantee he can go on doing so. But is there new hope?
X Outrider--A disabled space traveler is the only hope of survival when a ship's electronic 'eyes' are accidentally burned out. But it's almost certain death for him...
October 2, 2016
Interesting collection of short stories! Some had a bit of a predictable end with an odd element, others kept me guessing longer. All the stories are sufficiently unusual and engaging. This book is definitely one of my re-reads.
March 12, 2009
not Sector General but still fun stories by James White.
April 17, 2019
I actually liked this anthology better this time around. Every story had something to recommend it.
June 5, 2015
1986 grade B+
short stories
short stories
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews