Title: Medstar II: Jedi Healer
Author: Michael Reaves
Steve Perry
Pages: 302
Type: War/Medical
Time: 20 BBY

Novel quality
We return to the planet Drongar and to our group of battle surgeons for the climax of the two novel spanning story. If you have read my review of Medstar I you know that I enjoyed that novel a lot. The only problem was that it might have put the bar a bit high for this novel. I'm very glad to tell you that this novel was in no way disappointing to me and that it was a good end to a great story. Every character in the novel gets a lot of attention and they all have their ups and downs. In itself that's not very special, but the way they help each other when they're feeling down is written very good. You really get the feeling that the group grows closer by the minute and that they need each other to remain relatively stable throughout all the horrors war brings to those not in the midst of the fighting. I will not go into detail about any of the character, that would make the review to long, but rest assured that the amount of depth of each of them is enormous. Every single one of the main characters will have to face his/her demons and will have to try to overcome them. Black Sun is also back in the game, as long as there is Bota on the planet, they will be there. Their involvement provides yet another interesting perspective on war. Their agent on Drongar is quite an interesting character and he is the only character in the novel who knows the identity of the spy. Yes! The spy is back as well, and is busy trying to help the separatists defeat the republic. During the story you will get some idea of who the spy is, but the authors keep the identity of this spy hidden quite well. In the end, however, the spy is revealed and you will see the motives behind the spy's actions are very interesting and even make you feel bad for the spy. Great writing! There are two new characters that are worth mentioning. First there is the new surgeon named Uli. He is fresh out of med school and is immediately thrown into the thick of things. This character fits extremely well into the group and after a couple of chapters you won't see him as the "new kid" any more. Especially his interaction with Bariss is good to read, he helps her to get though some of the tougher moments and there exists some kind of mutual understanding. The second new character is the new republic Admiral "Uncle Erel" who is a relative of Jos and who shares Jos' problem of falling in love with "exters". The use of this character feels somewhat convenient, but the way he's implemented into the story makes up for that. It actually provides for some interesting plot-twists. This all makes this novel a joy to read. So, Medstar II is as good as Medstar I then? Almost, but not quite. There are one or two cliché moments in the novel and the end of the story misses some of the dramatic feeling that is present during the rest of it. In addition, you could argue that the story is a bit long. There are two three hundred page novels of it and there doesn't really happen that much. But that is not the strength of the story, the strength lies in the picture it paints of a small community of surgeons and others in a war zone, and that is done exceptionally well. A great novel! I can honestly recommend anyone to read both the Medstar novels. It gives a new flavor to Star Wars, one that changes the way we look at the Clone Wars.
Rating: 84/100

Personal tilt
In spite of the sometimes cliché characters and moments and the slightly disappointing ending, this novel is still one of the better one's I've read so far. The stress the surgeons and their friends are under starts to take its toll and we see some moments of desperation. The interaction between the characters has been written very well and the way the characters depend on each other is very realistic and shows us how fast people can start to "love" each other when in a stressful situation. In short: The character development is amazing and the plot-twists kept me interested tot the extreme. Just pick the two Medstar novels up; you don't want to miss out on them.
Rating: 89/100

Overall rating: 86.0/100

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For an overview of all reviews and a ranking see my Book review summary