20 works of upbeat science fiction to brighten your day

Tales of Sector General (Cover image via Science Fiction Book Club)

11. Sector General

Sector General is actually a series of twelve science fiction novels, so this may be the place for you if you’re looking for a deep dive. Written by James White, this series is largely set on the Sector 12 General Hospital. Sector 12 isn’t like any hospital known here on Earth, however. Rather, it’s a huge space station floating in deep space.

That location makes Sector 12 a prime spot for all sorts of species to arrive. Inside the station are such a variety of treatments and life support systems that you may feel a little dizzy after a while.

Within the novels, Sector 12 was founded after humans experienced our first interstellar war. Turns out that a huge, floating hospital is a great way to interact with other species and promote galactic peace. No pressure on the hospital staff, then.

Unlike some other works of sci-fi, the aliens in Sector 12 are believably inhuman. No human actors with forehead prosthetics, here. One of the physicians, Dr. Prilicia, is a huge insect-like being who is both a formidable surgeon and a skilled empath. Another nurse is similar to a large caterpillar, while a pathologist happens to look like a six-legged elephant carrying a symbiotic life form. Oh, and there are a few humans here and there, too.

While our Earth-based medical dramas seem especially focused on cranky doctors (looking at you, Gregory House), the ones working at Sector 12 are genuinely nice. Sure, a few of them love to gossip and Dr. Prilicia uses their empathic powers to gently manipulate people, but it’s all relatively benign. The series is also decidedly pacifist. It looks like the doctors have enough work in peacetime anyway.