Editing Sector General (section)

{{Short description|Short stories and novels by James White}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}{{italic title}}
[[Image:HospitalStation1962Paperback.png|thumb|right|The original cover of ''[[Hospital Station]]'', the first book in the series]]
'''''Sector General''''' is a series of twelve [[science fiction]] novels and various short stories (1957–1999) by the [[Northern Ireland|Northern Irish]] author [[James White (author)|James White]]. The series derives its name from the setting of the majority of the books, the Sector 12 General Hospital, a huge [[hospital]] [[space station]] located in deep space, designed to treat a wide variety of life forms with a wide range of ailments and life-support requirements, and to house an equally diverse staff. The Hospital was founded to promote peace after humanity's first interstellar war, and in the fourth book  the authorities conclude that its emergency services are the most effective way to make [[First contact (science fiction)|peaceful contact]] with new species.

In order to treat patients of other species, doctors must download into their brains "Educator tapes" containing the necessary medical knowledge, and these tapes also transmit the personalities of their donors. As a result, doctors have to struggle with the tastes imported from their donors, ranging from a dislike of their own species' normal food to sexual attraction for members of the donor's species. Other [[running gag]]s include the acerbic tongue of the Chief Psychologist and one very senior non-human doctor's love of gossip, especially about the sexual behavior of other species.

The series is noted for its diverse and believable non-[[humanoid]] [[Extraterrestrial life|alien life forms]], and for its [[pacifism|pacifist]] philosophy. White chose the hospital setting as a way to generate dramatic tension without violence, and because in his youth he wanted to be a doctor but had to go to work. Some commentators have praised the whole series, while others have thought there was a decline after the sixth book. One reviewer described the last book as "in a very positive way, a throwback to an earlier era in science fiction".