James White (author)

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For other persons named James White, see James White (disambiguation).

James White (April 7, 1928 - August 23, 1999) was a prolific Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories. and novels.

He is probably best-known as the author of the Sector General series of novels. The first novels were assembled from strung-together short stories, but later Sector General adventures were written as full-length novels. The first Sector General novel was published in 1962, and the last published posthumously in 1999. The short-story collection The Aliens Among Us (1969) is also related to the Sector General series, since it includes the Sector General story "Countercharm" and the quasi-Sector General story "Occupation: Warrior".

His novel The Watch Below is considered by some aficionados to be his finest work - a claustrophobic book describing the travails of parallel survivors of war (human) and accident (alien).

"The Silent Stars Go By" is an excellent example of alternative history. A Gaelic visitor to Alexandria, Egypt, realizes the industrial potential of a primitive steam engine constructed by Hero. The resulting society launches a starship in the year 1492.

1 Published works
2 External links
3 See also

[edit] Published works

[edit] Sector General

Hospital Station (1962: collection of stories from New Worlds science fiction ca. 1958-1961)
Star Surgeon (1963)
Major Operation (1971)
Ambulance Ship (1979)
Sector General (1983)
Star Healer (1985)
Code Blue - Emergency (1987)
The Genocidal Healer (1992)
The Galactic Gourmet (1996)
Final Diagnosis (1997)
Mind Changer (1998)
Double Contact (1999)

Note that there is also a novel named Star Surgeon, by Alan Nourse.

Omnibus editions:

Beginning Operations (2001) contains Hospital Station, Star Surgeon and Major Operation.
Alien Emergencies (2002) contains Ambulance Ship, Sector General and Star Healer.
General Practice (2003) contains Code Blue - Emergency and The Genocidal Healer.