Bio Rescue

From Publishers Weekly
Peace may not rule the planets, but love does steer the stars, or at least the characters, in this earnest tale of space medical rescue. Viehl (Eternity Row, etc.) presents another strong female lead, Jadaira mu T'resa, a patrol commander who switches from combat to medevac work to save refugees fleeing an interstellar war, set in the author's StarDoc universe. Working to save lives, Jadaira still finds conflicts, as her people, the aquatic 'Zangians, are culturally accustomed to abandoning their wounded rather than staying nearby where predators will gather. To honor her terran heritage, the modified, half-human Jadaira takes on the task of ferrying doctors in and patients out of dangerous situations, all while struggling with bureaucratic plots, leftover space minefields and the amorous and envious interests of both her orphaned second-in-command, Onkar, and a refugee religious leader, Rushan Amariah, of the lupine Skartesh. Love, like war, crosses species boundaries, although the most explicit scenes do stay within kind. The focus remains on the interpersonal much more than the interstellar, and the book exudes an enthusiastic naïveté that forgives the occasional overly convenient asteroid belt. The strong romance elements, along with the general youth of the characters (Jadaira loses her virginity), will appeal to young adult SF fans. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
A military crew running planetary patrols rescues a ship of refugee lupine land-dwellers called the Skartesh. The refugees seem more than that, though, for there is evidence that their ship carried an explosive rigged to blow up if they landed. The rescue scotched that. The commander of the rescuers, Dair Mu T'resa, belongs to a basically aquatic race that disdains rescues, but she is basically altruistic. Dair tries to be friendly with the Skartesh, going so far as to teach one, Shan, to swim, which causes a number of problems, for Shan is supposedly a prophet whose destiny is to return the Skartesh to their desert world and restore its water through an ultimate sacrifice. Also, the Skartesh have a taboo against so much as talking to non-Skartesh. The book's strength lies in the aquatic nature of the main species in it (though they are slowly evolving toward amphibiousness) and the issues of interspecies interaction that it raises. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
Lieutenant Dair mu T'resa heads a squadron of SEAL (surgically enhanced/altered lifeform) pilots responsible for the security of the quadrant containing her home world of Kevarzangia Two. She finds a new calling in life as an interstellar paramedic leading the first Bio Rescue team. But the entire project faces opposition from a lupine species with a hatred for native 'Zangians like Dair...

About the Author
S.L. Viehl was raised and educated in South Florida. A U.S.A.F. veteran, she has medical experience from both military and civilian trauma centers.


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Born to the underwater race of `Zangians and saved from an early death by the introduction of human DNA into her body, Dair mu T'resa is a SEAL (surgically enhanced/altered life-form). As the head of a SEAL group that patrols the Pmoc Quadrant of space, Dair tries to save lives. But there are some who oppose the amphibious existence of Dair and her fellow SEALs and seek to destroy them. Viehl's (Blade Dancer) latest novel features a compassionate and intelligent heroine and lots of medical rescue scenes. A good choice for fans of medical and military sf. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


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