A medicore tales experience.
592725
As a long time tales fan this game makes little progress and does more harm then good. Overall it's a alright game but previous entries are far superior.

Pros
-Game play is still solid
-Majority of the characters are interesting
-Music is great

Cons
-Story is by far the worst tales story I've experienced in the series. It's bland beyond belief.
-Forced party much like Xillia 2. The ultimate great concept about tales has always been freedom among party choice. This game forces you to use 2 of 4 characters the whole game. I miss the freedom to use anyone I want.
-Item Fusion system is a great idea however it's only needed for hard difficultys. You can bypass it completely on up to half the difficulty settings  and be fine. A new system would be a key element of the game and not something you can skip.
-Sorey is the just terrible and arguably one of the worst heroes I've seen in tales
-Dungeons were poorly done and take at most 10 minutes to run through. They are more bland then the story.
-Game length is much shorter then previous titles.

After the new team took over after tales of xillia this series has suffered a huge quality drop. I wouldn't spend the 60 I spent on it if I knew it was like this.
2769098
Not the best writer in the world but does he tell a fascinating medical detective story!!  It's very useful for those of us who have never been quite well but have never been properly dealt with by members of the medical profession.  Recommended.
4411487
A beautiful book telling the story of a Doctors experience with Life after Death and coming back to talk about it.....a wonderful book for those doubting Thomas's
929686
It reminded me of the many heartwarming stories of James Herriot, but this time the patients were Scottish humans.  Very entertaining, and opened my eyes to a part of the world that I did not know existed
4467172
Very moving story and expression of doctors needing to know their patients as they die in order to provide well.
1268815
Extremely interesting to me - I am not sure everyone would enjoy reading these stories, though there are currently more and more incidents of brain injury, brain diseases and brain tumors reported in news media. This might mean these stories would touch many people as they would see themselves in at least one story. This is what appealed to me. Having had surgery for a condition described by Dr Marsh I saw myself. What was surprising and somewhat sobering was that I was in much more delicate risk of error than I imagined. The neurosurgeon who performed my surgery - as I saw him - was confident and assured me of a successful outcome. I learned from Dr Marsh that my neurosurgeon may have felt as vulnerable and insecure as I might have been had I known more. I would recommend anyone with some curiosity about the brain and the doctors who perform surgery in that most delicate of human mechanisms read this book.
1752639
I liked the voice of the narrator.  The description of the town and its people, and, more importantly, the hospital and its people, was well done.  The plot was interesting, just the right amount of complications.
1559992
the author is a very good writer. pick up the book and skim for the anecdotal stories that form the central picture for each chapter. just enjoy them as an interesting observation about learning to be a surgeon. then read the last chapter "the case of the red leg", then decide if you want to read the whole book.

it is interesting on at least 3 levels. the first are these stories. the second is the context for the stories, the author's reason for seeing these events as important in his life/training. not only is he an observant storyteller, involving you emotional in his tale but he let's you see inside his head as to why this story and how does it fit. but as is usual what really interests me is this high level thinking--what makes a good surgeon, what makes a good medical system that finds out what is wrong with people and fixes it right. essentially the context of his experience of learning to be a surgeon in a hospital, the context of the second level.

take the last chapter. the story is about a lady with a really bad infected leg.a story well told, persuasive, interesting, emotional involving. it could end there, reader's digest style. but it doesn't because he writes for the new york times, which calls for a bit more thinking, thankfully. how did the system work, how did it almost not work right, you know when the medical system doesn't work right, people die. but it is this 3rd level, beyond constructive criticism of the system that fascinates me, how exactly did he know these particular bacteria infected the leg, and why did he push to demonstrate this knowledge?

the way he tells the story, he attributes it to that uneasy feeling brought on by a similar case in the recent past. but i think it's more than that. it is the idea that contrary to our dominate ideas of objective knowledge, all knowledge is subjective and is attached to a person, as polanyi stated personal knowledge. "we know more than we can say". it is training this intuitive, this up close personal who you are type vs what you can speak and consciously think about type that forms this top level. how you become a surgeon above and beyond thinking like a surgeon. neat, philosophy intersects with medicine.
507219
Interesting story about an Alms House (Hospital) in San Francisco.  It was/is (not sure) one of the last of its kind in the US.  Most patients are low income, some "street" people and the care given to these individuals.  The author gives examples of patient's history, treatment and cure.  It also describes the hospital operation, doctors and staff.  It is a different type of a successful medical practice.
3336325
A short enjoyable read, no nastiness.  In the story, just lovely to read whilst waiting in doctors surgery, not a long story.
4295721
I enjoy reading about experiences in the ED. Since it is my line of work, I totally relate to the patients, the docs and nurses and to the nuances.
1499048
This is not quite an entertainment, so those who look for "hot stories about crazy people" will probably be a little disappointed. The author does not display people in distress like they are in a human circus; he tells their stories in a compassionate manner with respect for who they are and where they came from. Those who look for serious discussions of particular disorders, or medications, or health care system will also be disappointed. This is not a textbook or a diagnostic manual.
Psych ER is a highly stressful environment with insanity pushed to its limits; patients represent a danger to self, or others, and to keep oneself not just calm and professional but respectful and sensitive to others' pain is a gift.
I like how Dr. Linde places the main focus on his patients and the hospital/city environment, not himself; this allows seeing unfolding dramatic stories in a context of a bigger picture of current medical/urban reality. At the same time, there is a strong author's presence in each story and his personality gradually reveals itself through little phrases, observations, and humor.
I enjoyed every story and I highly recommend this book to those who are in the process of becoming mental health professionals or just curious what it is like to be a psych doctor in ER.
4271635
There is something pervasive throughout this collection of stories which leads the reader through the author's ordeal and finally his coming to terms with whatever devastating blows life dealt him; and that is the quality of his writing, his ability to draw you in to stories regardless of how bizarre they might be. Pain, suffering, confusion, desperation, resolve and hope are vividly related in the stories, the foreword and the afterword. Most stories are enjoyable.
230871
I profound glimpse into the crazy world of an urban Paramedic. Paramedics separate and insulate us from some shocking alternate worlds that exist in our neighborhoods. Well done.
4357378
An amazingly intriguing tale of a new chief resident doctor, a young widower, attempting to discover why three patients with traumatic injuries mysteriously die  when they appeared to be progressing. This is another fast-moving tale written by a medical doctor so that there is so much more accuracy in the descriptions of the procedures which are detailed and add to the plot. Good character studies. and a few interesting twists.
4138511
K.Karthikeya Varma has read this book from start to finish. Dr. Varma has known Dr. Nathan for almost 60 decades. The stories really can be found to be coming from his heart and covers a vast swathe of experience. Dr. Nathan exhibits an empathy with his patients that runs deep and gives to clinicians a real feel of the vagaries of clinical medicine.
Well written and eminently readable. For clinicians, the case stories will certainly touch a chord of familiarity. Medical trainees will find the book a pointer towards how to approach clinical practice.
1394334
I enjoyed the story from a lay-persons view and it confirmed what I always knew-that drs are regular people too!  They have personal lives and loves outside if the hospital.  They also have a huge responsibility while inside the hospital.  I