Mind Changer

White, James. Mind Changer. Sector General No. 11. Tor, 1998.
James White’s Sector General novels are always entertaining, and Mind Changer is no exception. The multispecies medical center at the edge of the galaxy is thrown into crisis when chief psychologist O’Hara is promoted to temporary hospital head. Will his fear-based leadership style work, or will we get to see a kinder, gentler O’Hara? Meanwhile, the medical staff is having problems treating a telepathic patient who broadcasts infectious anxiety and xenophobia. If you can forgive White for his mid-twentieth attitudes toward gender and his assumption that most humans in the far-future are Irish, you will enjoy all the Sector General stories. 4 stars.

The Chief Psychologist of Sector General gets a promotion to Chief Administrator, too. It comes with an order to pick his successor and then retire. O'Mara reflects on his thirty years at Sector General while considering the applicants to replace him. Meanwhile, a new species patient becomes the center of a danger to the entire hospital.
O'Mara's tale is touching. His coming to the hospital, becoming a psychologist, and implementing hospital policy are commendable. I can see myself rereading this volume happily in the future.

O'Mara is kicked upstairs with orders to find and train a replacement and then retire. He looks back over some highlights of his career, most of which are new to the reader.

Some intriguing cases, especially the last one with Tunneckis. I am not sure how the series can continue without O'Mara in the background but he certainly went out with a bang and deserves his HEA.

Full circle. The reader meets O'Mara in book one and says goodbye to him in this book. It feels like it should be the last book in the series. We have total closure, we even meet Padre Carmody before he died. All the blanks are filled in and there is nothing left to wish for...so why is there another book.

Full circle. The reader meets O'Mara in book one and says goodbye to him in this book. It feels like it should be the last book in the series. We have total closure, we even meet Padre Carmody before he died. All the blanks are filled in and there is nothing left to wish for...so why is there another book.

This penultimate book in the Sector General series focuses on O'Mara, who was the main character in the first book of the series. I was glad to learn more about him though it was sad that he was leaving the hospital. The story is told in alternating sections of present day and flashbacks to the early days of the hospital.

All the Sector General books are good, and this is no exception.