Customer Reviews

Stardoc 03 Endurance

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think Veihl is trying to keep the readers here, and answer as many questions as she can in this book, before they start to lose interest. It feels like too much is put in, and simultaneously not enough.

This is darker than the previous two novels, as Cherijo becomes a slave for reptilian creatures. Throughout it seems that Duncan, her on-and-off-again lover, is frankly evil, and in league with the slavetraders. And his evil nature is never adequately resolved in the book. He is supposed to have this amazing telepathy with Cherijo- and yet he never uses it once to explain his actions to her, and there is never once an explanation as to why he doesn't! Veihl throws everything together literally in the last chapter, and acts like everything is fixed. It is, if you don't understand human nature, philosophy, or basic psychology. Which is disappointing, considering how well characters have been painted and built up in the previous two novels.

I don't want to read extensive litanies of torture (of which there are several) or detailed descriptions of bizarre sexual practices. I'd like to explore beliefs and philosophies- something science fiction is an ideal medium for. But in this book, I am trying to figure out why in the world Cherijo is making the choices she is, and why the author doesn't realize that these choices don't bear semblance to reality. I think the only way they can is if it turns out in the last book that Cherijo's psychology has been substantially altered along with her genetic code. So I'll read the fourth book, to find out if this is explained, and what happens to Cherijo. But I'm looking forward to it with less relish.

Third novel in the StarDoc series. Now we find Cherijo Grey Veil Torin taken captive by the Hsktskt's, on their way to a trade port that deals in selling slaves. She is branded and made slave to OverMaster HalaVar, who is not a true Hsktskt but her own husband Duncan Reever.

Under his protection she is allowed to serve on the HskTskt ship as a medical doctor, and along the way discovers a strange disease among the league prisoners that kills without leaving behind any traces except a resemblance to spinal meningitis.

This series is best started at the first book, StarDoc, and followed through in its sequence. The first two novels, StarDoc and Beyond Varallan are much better than Viehl's third effort here. Although I still give it four stars for the quality of characterization and imagination in dreaming up new species, Viehl's plot in this sequel falls flat compared to the other two.

I became a little bored with the repetitive "catch and release" theme that seemed to dominate here: she's working in medical, a bad guy takes her to solitary (or torture) Reever rescues her, she goes back to medical, a bad guy takes her to solitary (or torture), Reever rescues her, and so on and so on.

This plotline cycled through itself way too many times in this follow-up in Cherijo's journeys, but I like the character so much I was willing to cycle with her. I am now reading the fourth installment and have both confidence and hope that Viehl will not repeat the weak plot mistake she made in this book.

All in all, the series is an extremely imaginative and fun romp through space with odd aliens and medical disasters and action packed thrills, just consider this third in the series a break from the norm. Enjoy!

There is no doubt that Viehl is a talented author. Her alien creatures are very imaginative and her worlds believable, but this book was... well it was boring. Endurance is the third book in the Stardoc series and like its title, any reader will need exceptional endurance to read it.

Cherijo has made it safely to Joren only to have the planet attacked by the league. When her husband runs away and leaves her stranded, Cherijo thinks it can't get worse but wait... yes it can. The Heskiit raiders turn up to pirate the planet and steal anything not nailed down. Cherijo makes a deal with them, helps them capture the league fleet and turn its crew into slaves, but the Heskiit decide they'll take her too.

Now a slave, she is used and abused constantly. She is forced to run the medical facility at the slave compound, where she saves lives every few minutes--no surprise, and is hated by her colleagues--no surprise, who are (most of them) incompetent--no surprise, but come around and warm to her--no surprise, and eventually see her as a supersurgeon and hero--no surprise.

Get it?

This book was so repetitive that I wanted to scream "GET ON WITH IT!" I persevered groaning at the repeated scenes of torture and abuse the author subjects Cherijo too. Enough already! We know she heals super fast, we know the slave brand disappears from her arm. We don't need to see her branded and tortured every five minutes. Also, how realistic is it for slaves to be taken to torture chambers and have them escape over and over and over again only to reappear in the normal slave population under the noses of the slavers? The slavers just look at them and send them back to work. Come on!

Okay, enough ranting. The Stardoc series is an excellent one, but this book is the worst of them so far. I would have given it one star, but the series is so good I couldn't do it. I really really hope the following stories make up for the huge disappointment I felt for this one.

Mark E. Cooper
Warrior Within (ISBN:0954512200)

Endurance is the third novel in S.L Vieh's fantastic Stardoc Series, featuring the trials of Doctor Cherijo Jorin. This latest installment, sees Cherijo captured on a slave world betrayed by her ex husband, emotionless, cold-hearted Reever. This novel was an emotional roller-coaster ride, as Cherijo, now being forced to minister to the sick and injured, is universally reviled by her captors, the other slaves, and her would-be friends.

As per most romance novel heroines, Cherjo goes through a lot in order to make everyone liker her. Despite this its not enough. Throughout the book, she is beaten, abused, harassed assaulted and tortured, and almost eaten. The man who loves her remains emotionally detached and (seemingly) distant.

While the beatings, torture and maiming were incredibly distasteful, Cherijo's reaction (wise-cracking comments, snappy come-backs, and karate punches), made some of the scenes unrealistically comical instead of serious. I would like to have seen Cherijo use her brain, for once, and THINK before acting. Instead, half the time, Cherijo charges into danger half-cocked like Don Quixote on his donkey forcing half of the male crew to rescue her. (Please girl! This is a sci-fi, not a bodice ripper!)

I know, I'm making some negative comments, but I really did like the book. Viehl writes in a way that makes you overlook the fact that there isn't a /huge/ amount of substance to the middle portion of the novel, and that parts of the plotline are largely repetitive. I recommend this book for fans of the series, although there wasn't a huge amount of character development until the end.

This series continues with "Shockball" the latest Stardoc novel.

This third StarDoc novel, which finds Cherijo Torin enslaved by the Hsktskt Faction, succeeds almost in spite of itself. The basic problem is that it should never have happened. In StarDoc, Duncan Reever told Cherijo that being named designate for a Hsktskt infant "virtually guarantees you'll never be taken as a Hsktskt slave." Agreed, "virtually" isn't the same as "absolutely," but it's close enough so that only a serious crime against the Faction should trigger such a fate. All Cherijo did was negotiate a trade-the safety of Joren's inhabitants in exchange for the easy capture of an entire League military fleet. The Hsktskt admit the undamaged fleet is a major prize. So TssVar demotes his child's godmother to slave status for handing him this prize? Not likely. Viehl's disregard of her own back-story here makes it harder for readers to trust anything she writes.

Regular romantic fiction readers may find no complaints beyond Endurance's basic premise. Those who prefer their protagonists smart, savvy, and quick on the uptake will find part of the plot very frustrating. Despite all they've been through together, Cherijo has now arbitrarily pegged Duncan as a bad guy without so much as a "you owe me an explanation." This is a convention often used in books with torrid covers of Fabio clutching a chesty female in long skirts. Readers know the heroine will torture herself interminably for loving a monster, disregarding mounting evidence to the contrary. At no point will either she or said monster insist on simply talking it all out. Cherijo supposedly has a genetically enhanced brain, but it doesn't show here. Viehl can do better. Her readers-and characters-deserve better.

Luckily for everyone involved, Viehl does do better in much of Endurance. The star-crossed-love theme runs its full course, but isn't the whole story. As Cherijo adjusts to slave life, first aboard ship and then at the slave depot on Catopsa, she resumes medical duties by tending to her fellow captives. Since she got them into this mess, her life's as much at risk from them as from her captors. The pangs of tortured love pale beside the tale's almost casual physical brutality and occasional bodily torture. When push comes to shove, Cherijo morphs back into the protagonist of previous books-a diminutive Arnold Schwarzenegger, only with better gag writers. The action sequences are fast-paced, creative, and leavened with humor. Along the way, Cherijo gains new information about the mysterious Maggie and about herself.

Even at the darkest points, there's reason to hope. Cherijo's old pal Alunthri is back. She earns the grudging respect of some League captives, and makes friends among the slaves on Catopsa. Then there's Noarr, a slave runner of unknown species who becomes more than friendly. Other allies appear from unexpected quarters. The cavalry appears in the nick of time.

Viehl's basic writing skills continue to improve, though sentence structure remains a problem for her. Both of her extended attempts at dialect will annoy some readers.

Wow... wow.... wow... There are really no words I can say about the awesomeness of this book. This is just so kewl. I can't wait for the fourth book. This author kick major cutie booty!!

As a writer myself, I can tell you how difficult it is to suck it up and just tell the story the way it is, without shrinking from the tough parts. S.L. Viehl does that. It isn't easy to write about torture and slavery, but how realistic would it have been if she had glossed over those parts of the story? I've been a fan from the very first StarDoc, and can't wait for the next one. Cherijo is an interesting, funny, tough character. So she doesn't have the best instincts about men; I know a lot of very bright women who are like that. And as it turns out, her instincts weren't far off.

It isn't every writer who can make me care about a blue guy, a spider, or cry when a lizard dies. I hope the Cherijo series goes on a long, long time.

This was a page-turner, no doubt about it. The plight of Catopsa's prisoners is a desperate one indeed. But I keep asking myself why Ms. Viehl deems it necessary to put Cherijo in such extremely violence situations? Other reviewers seem to agree with me.

Someone with her intellect and tragic experiences should be wiser about potential lovers and enemies. Also, she never gives Duncan a chance to explain his actions until everything is said and done. How could she be so dense? She's so busy shooting off her mouth that she doesn't listen and when she does listen it to the wrong people!

The first book in this series was fresh, engaging and a touch of mystery with Cherijo's "step" Mom Maggie. Now the question remains: what stupid, mindless act of violence is going to occur next? Quit padding the plot and and let's get on with the real questions: Who was/is Maggie? Why was Cherijo created? Will she ever be free of Dr. Grey Veil's relentless pursuit? Is Duncan Reever going to ever loosen up? My writing teacher once told me if you need to rely on sex and violence to move a plot along than its not really a plot. Ms. Viehl, Dr. Torin is a breakthrough character, don't demean her with all this nonsense.

Viehl is an excellent writer. Which is one of the reasons that I could not put this book down in spite of the fact that I wanted to because of the incredible amount of violence. I don't believe that the extremely graphic scenes were absolutely necessary to the plot. I found myself skimming past most of these sections. Otherwise, the action is fast and furious giving the reader barely enough time to take a breathe before the good Doc gets herself into yet one more dangerous and/or violent situation. My constant reaction was: How can a supposedly super intelligent person have absolutely no control over her emotions or her big mouth? In spite of all, I still like Cherijo and find myself eagerly awaiting the next volume. I have my own ideas about some of the next plot twists and I hope I am right.

I've been reading this series since the first book came out, and this author still shocks me. The latest of Dr. Cherijo's adventures takes place as she becomes a slave of the Hskskt. She and the League soldiers captured at the end of the second book are taken to a crystal prison where they wait to be sold. Cherijo is forced to become a slave doctor to keep the Hskskt from executing the sick. Even though she joins up with an alien freedom fighter, she also operates on guards and makes friends with one of them. There is romance and more betrayal in this book, but not what you'd think. I didn't expect the plot twists at the end of the book at all, in particular the ones about Helen and Noarr. I admire that Ms. Viehl didn't back away from describing the suffering endured by the slaves in this novel. There is plenty of her usual humor, but she doesn't use it to joke about slavery. I would have been offended if she had. Because there is some graphic violence, I rate this one PG13 for parents. It isn't fluffy sci-fi for the middle class, who want to pretend things like this don't happen. This is the real deal. My only complaint about this series is why do we have to wait until Nov. for the next one?