Thoughts on Ian Douglas's "Star Corpsman-Bloodstar-Book One"
I'm sharing a few thoughts on a book I recently finished reading, "Star Corpsman-Bloodstar- Book One" by Ian Douglas.
First.. as a former Navy Corpsman, the premise and perspective of the book was fantastic. We see so many sci-fi novels written from the "Captain's Perspective," or primarily focused on the "Captain figure," that the fresh perspective offered here-- the perspective of a junior enlisted man-- was a welcome novelty.
As a former enlisted man, I've noticed that enlisted men and women in most fiction are often overlooked, or treated as "extras" who die in some gruesome way, while the officer is left to deal with the aftermath of "his/her responsibility." A good example that many of us would be familiar with is in Star Trek. More often than not, the "Crewman" in any given Star Trek Episode is at a much greater risk for death than ANY officer, barring an Ensign-- Ensign's in the Star Trek universe seem to be a dime-a-dozen. The Original Star Trek Episodes are notorious for the Red Shirted away-team team member who promptly 'gets dead' shortly after arriving on the surface of whatever planet we've found on this episode to challenge our intrepid explorers.
Star Corpsman (for those who may not be familiar with the term Corpsman--Hospital Corpsman is the Navy's rating and title for the highly trained Medical Personnel who provide medical services to both Sailors and Marines) explores the life of a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman serving as a battle medic for a Space Marine Recon Expeditionary Unit. Douglas's goes into intricate detail to explain the high-tech workings of what it's like to be a Corpsman in the future, so much so that I have to wonder about the high-level medical jargon in which the lay-person might get lost or bored with. Beyond the medical jargon, Star Corpsman is an entertaining read that is speckled with Douglas's real-world experience as a Hospital Corpsman who served in Vietnam.
I highly recommend this novel for the Military and/or Medical Enthusiast!
First.. as a former Navy Corpsman, the premise and perspective of the book was fantastic. We see so many sci-fi novels written from the "Captain's Perspective," or primarily focused on the "Captain figure," that the fresh perspective offered here-- the perspective of a junior enlisted man-- was a welcome novelty.
As a former enlisted man, I've noticed that enlisted men and women in most fiction are often overlooked, or treated as "extras" who die in some gruesome way, while the officer is left to deal with the aftermath of "his/her responsibility." A good example that many of us would be familiar with is in Star Trek. More often than not, the "Crewman" in any given Star Trek Episode is at a much greater risk for death than ANY officer, barring an Ensign-- Ensign's in the Star Trek universe seem to be a dime-a-dozen. The Original Star Trek Episodes are notorious for the Red Shirted away-team team member who promptly 'gets dead' shortly after arriving on the surface of whatever planet we've found on this episode to challenge our intrepid explorers.
Star Corpsman (for those who may not be familiar with the term Corpsman--Hospital Corpsman is the Navy's rating and title for the highly trained Medical Personnel who provide medical services to both Sailors and Marines) explores the life of a Fleet Marine Force Corpsman serving as a battle medic for a Space Marine Recon Expeditionary Unit. Douglas's goes into intricate detail to explain the high-tech workings of what it's like to be a Corpsman in the future, so much so that I have to wonder about the high-level medical jargon in which the lay-person might get lost or bored with. Beyond the medical jargon, Star Corpsman is an entertaining read that is speckled with Douglas's real-world experience as a Hospital Corpsman who served in Vietnam.
I highly recommend this novel for the Military and/or Medical Enthusiast!
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