this is my review of it: the authors are Michael Reaves and Steve Perry; 2004. yeah, it's a few years old, but given my busy life i finally got around to reading it this year.

well, bottom line is Reaves and Perry have a command of the written language, as crafting a novel. for me, it was mediocre not due to their ability as it was more of their style of sub-genre.

obviously, the sub-genre is about the medical aspect in the SW Universe, specifically, the planet of Drongar; based beyond the Outer Rim of the SW galaxy (i never knew the name of this far, far away galaxy...perhaps one of my fellow Star Warriors could help here). it's an extremly humid, fetid, over-grown swamp of a planet that, apparently, makes Dagobah look like a beach front property in Florida! ok, i liked that idea for a setting, but the story that unfolds in that setting is a bit too small in scale for my taste in novels...

i tend to be more epical in my personal philosophy in life, my own Sci-Fi novels, and the other Sci-Fi authors that i love to read (Stephen Baxter, Timothy Zahn, Greg Bear...). Medstar has too much of a parochial sub-plot for me. the main protagonist--for there are several: Jos, Tolk, Zan, Den Dhur, I-5, Uli--is Padawan Jedi Barriss Offee. it's kind of a 'coming of age' tale, in the sense that she goes through some personal, inner battles while on Drongar...from battling a Jedi killer, Phow Ji, to her temptations of the panacea drug found on Drongar, "bota." this, and she still had to fulfill her duties as a Healer and help the surgeons on Drongar and heal Clone troopers and civilians.

plus, with all those other protagonists, Reaves and Perry go deep in to each of these characters' personal demons and struggles...inherently, that makes for a too much character-focussed novel. that's not a slam at the authors, it's just a question of authors' choice of painting a picture of a Forest or of painting a scene of Trees.

i didn't even mention the antagonists in this work! they do the same with them, to a varying degree. there's Admiral Bleyd and Kaird (both Black Sun agents), to Filba the Hutt and, ultimately, Klo Merit--the spy within the Republic military camp on Drongar that caused many a death there.

ironically, at the very end, we find out why Klo Merit had joined with the Separatists to fight against the Republic...his home planet had been destroyed by the Republic after Republican scientists and military brass had blown up Merit's homeworld's star while testing the blaster that would, eventually, be afixed to the Death Star in the future!

wow, now that would have been a great plot to center Reaves and Perry's book on! for one, it's a great way to tie any novel within the existing SW Universe. secondly, there is a lot more at stake than just one character going through some personal spiritual journey so that he or she could discover him or herself.

i did like the idea of the protocol droid, I-5, having a personality that i've never read about any other droid having one in any other SW novels, or in any of the movies, for that matter.

i also liked Reaves and Perry's message found throughout the book about Jos being in love with Tolk, both of different humanoid species, but was considered taboo in Jos's home-planet. in the end, they stayed together dispite the bigoted customs.

in the end, Medstar was not one of my favorite SW novels that i've read. that still belongs to Timothy Zahn and his SW series, especially the Outbound books! but i still recommend reading Medstar.