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The Universe Between
This is a novel-length expansion of two previously published stories, "High Threshold" and "The Universe Between" from 1951.
160 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
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177 people want to read
About the author
Alan E. Nourse
254 books40 followersAlan Edward Nourse was an American science fiction (SF) author and physician. He also wrote under the name Dr. X
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
He wrote both juvenile and adult science fiction, as well as nonfiction works about medicine and science.
Alan Nourse was born to Benjamin and Grace (Ogg) Nourse. He attended high school in Long Island, New York. He served in the U.S. Navy after World War II. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1951 from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. He married Ann Morton on June 11, 1952 in Lynden, New Jersey. He received a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree in 1955 from the University of Pennsylvania. He served his one year internship at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. He practiced medicine in North Bend, Washington from 1958 to 1963 and also pursued his writing career.
He had helped pay for his medical education by writing science fiction for magazines. After retiring from medicine, he continued writing. His regular column in Good Housekeeping magazine earned him the nickname "Family Doctor".
He was a friend of fellow author Avram Davidson. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1964 novel Farnham's Freehold to Nourse. Heinlein in part dedicated his 1982 novel Friday to Nourse's wife Ann.
His novel The Bladerunner lent its name to the Blade Runner movie, but no other aspects of its plot or characters, which were taken from Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In the late 1970s an attempt to adapt The Bladerunner for the screen was made, with Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs commissioned to write a story treatment; no film was ever developed but the story treatment was later published as the novella, Blade Runner (a movie).
His novel Star Surgeon has been recorded as a public domain audio book at LibriVox
His pen names included "Al Edwards" and "Doctor X".
He died in Thorp, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 21, 2022
Three and a half stars.
I love retrofuturism, so I love classic science fiction that is based on ideas that today are considered outdated, partially or totally, or in concepts that have evolved to a different vision. A typical example is telepathy, with masterpieces like “Dying Inside” or “The Demolished Man”´; but in the case that concerns us, the novel deals with… the fourth dimension! Well, as far as I know -I'm not a scientist- today the concept has evolved into a slightly (?) different thing, what we would call alternate realities due to quantum physics, and today -again as far as I know- the fourth dimension it is considered to be time itself. On the other hand, the idea of a multiverse is still very much in vogue today, for example in superhero comics and movies/series.
About the novel itself, it is very entertaining and even with some moments of sense of wonder, and I must warn the reader with certain apparent anachronisms that are not such. So for me, this is one of the "good" classics, worth reading even after seventy years (it was first published in 1951!). It should be noted that the great novel "The Gods Themselves" by Isaac Asimov, also about alternative universes and the possibility of exploiting their resources, was written twenty years later than this one.
I love retrofuturism, so I love classic science fiction that is based on ideas that today are considered outdated, partially or totally, or in concepts that have evolved to a different vision. A typical example is telepathy, with masterpieces like “Dying Inside” or “The Demolished Man”´; but in the case that concerns us, the novel deals with… the fourth dimension! Well, as far as I know -I'm not a scientist- today the concept has evolved into a slightly (?) different thing, what we would call alternate realities due to quantum physics, and today -again as far as I know- the fourth dimension it is considered to be time itself. On the other hand, the idea of a multiverse is still very much in vogue today, for example in superhero comics and movies/series.
About the novel itself, it is very entertaining and even with some moments of sense of wonder, and I must warn the reader with certain apparent anachronisms that are not such. So for me, this is one of the "good" classics, worth reading even after seventy years (it was first published in 1951!). It should be noted that the great novel "The Gods Themselves" by Isaac Asimov, also about alternative universes and the possibility of exploiting their resources, was written twenty years later than this one.
September 6, 2019
A sentimental favorite from my childhood. The story concerns the discovery of another dimension, another universe right next door to ours. It's mind-bending stuff, especially for a grade schooler.
Update: I just re-read this book to my eleven-year-old daughter. I was delighted to find it holds up well. She found the story intriguing, just as I did when I read it at approximately the same age. It was my first full-length science-fiction novel, and now it is hers as well.
Most of this book was written in the early 1950s. When I first read this book, in the late 70s, the events were still in the future. Something funny happened since then, however: now it's all set in the past, but it's a past that didn't happen.
At least, not in this universe.
Update: I just re-read this book to my eleven-year-old daughter. I was delighted to find it holds up well. She found the story intriguing, just as I did when I read it at approximately the same age. It was my first full-length science-fiction novel, and now it is hers as well.
Most of this book was written in the early 1950s. When I first read this book, in the late 70s, the events were still in the future. Something funny happened since then, however: now it's all set in the past, but it's a past that didn't happen.
At least, not in this universe.
November 8, 2017
It's been too long since I last read this for a proper review, but I remember liking it enough that I've still got it on my bookshelf at home. I was reminded of it today when I listened to his short story "The Dark Door" in "Science Fiction Collection 003" by Librivox. The read date here is just a guess.
January 27, 2017
Dr. John McEvoy has made a discovery. But he doesn't really know what his discovery is. It is a box. But it's not a box. He bounces in several tennis balls which bounce back out the other side. One of them comes back inside out, but with no marks on the ball suggesting any method by which that happened. Several pencils were pushed through. One came back with a wood core and a thin graphite covering.
McEvoy has also had men volunteer to go in. All come back either insane or in a coma. What are they seeing? He learns of a girl, a high-adaptive, Gail, who demonstrates a keen ability to rapidly adjust to any new environment in which she is placed. McEvoy gets permission to ask her to try. Gail goes into the box and comes back badly shaken. But she refuses to talk. McEvoy goes into her hospital room, insisting she tell him what she saw, what she learned. He goes to the door and locks it. She knows what he wants, that she can't tell him. She turns the "corner" she learned about in the other place. And is gone.
Twenty years later, strange things are happening. A section of Manhattan disappears. The bottom 3 floors of a building in Philadelphis wink out of existence and the rest of the building collapses into the hole. Has McEvoy's new machine gone rogue? He all but dismantles it and still it continues to function. He is certain it has something to do with the other place and he need someone to go in and discover the connection. He must contact Gail and, suddenly, Gail is contacting him. But the one who agrees to go is not Gail, but her teenage son Robert.
A story of discovery, confusion, elation with some very odd "corners" of it's own.
McEvoy has also had men volunteer to go in. All come back either insane or in a coma. What are they seeing? He learns of a girl, a high-adaptive, Gail, who demonstrates a keen ability to rapidly adjust to any new environment in which she is placed. McEvoy gets permission to ask her to try. Gail goes into the box and comes back badly shaken. But she refuses to talk. McEvoy goes into her hospital room, insisting she tell him what she saw, what she learned. He goes to the door and locks it. She knows what he wants, that she can't tell him. She turns the "corner" she learned about in the other place. And is gone.
Twenty years later, strange things are happening. A section of Manhattan disappears. The bottom 3 floors of a building in Philadelphis wink out of existence and the rest of the building collapses into the hole. Has McEvoy's new machine gone rogue? He all but dismantles it and still it continues to function. He is certain it has something to do with the other place and he need someone to go in and discover the connection. He must contact Gail and, suddenly, Gail is contacting him. But the one who agrees to go is not Gail, but her teenage son Robert.
A story of discovery, confusion, elation with some very odd "corners" of it's own.
March 11, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2971062.html
This was the first novel by the mid-twentieth century sf writer Alan E. Nourse, published in two parts in 1951, the year he turned 23. I must admit that I was pretty impressed. It's a story in two halves, set twenty years apart, in the near future (of 1951), about the effects of a machine that enables access to parallel dimensions in which things lurk which may or may not be hostile to humanity. Where a lot of writers of this era would make McEvoy the heroic inventor of the machine, Nourse instead shows him as so narrowly focussed as to miss the dangers he has unleashed, and instead the heroes are the two people who are able to travel between the dimensions unharmed - the teenage Gail in the first half, and her young son Robert in the second half. I won't pretend it's great literature, but the conceptualisation of what might lurk in the other dimensions and what they might think of us was very original, and although the setup did not go much more than 100 miles from New York, it was well enough realised.
This was the first novel by the mid-twentieth century sf writer Alan E. Nourse, published in two parts in 1951, the year he turned 23. I must admit that I was pretty impressed. It's a story in two halves, set twenty years apart, in the near future (of 1951), about the effects of a machine that enables access to parallel dimensions in which things lurk which may or may not be hostile to humanity. Where a lot of writers of this era would make McEvoy the heroic inventor of the machine, Nourse instead shows him as so narrowly focussed as to miss the dangers he has unleashed, and instead the heroes are the two people who are able to travel between the dimensions unharmed - the teenage Gail in the first half, and her young son Robert in the second half. I won't pretend it's great literature, but the conceptualisation of what might lurk in the other dimensions and what they might think of us was very original, and although the setup did not go much more than 100 miles from New York, it was well enough realised.
June 28, 2024
I bought this book because of the great cover (possibly by Jack Gaughan, per the ISFDB) and because I thoroughly enjoyed The Bladerunner. This isn’t nearly as deep as The Blade Runner but it could have been as enjoyable if it weren’t for the tacked-on ending. The original story was written in 1951 as, if I’m interpreting the front page matter correctly, two stories for Astounding Science Fiction. The novel joins them together for this 1965 printing with an ending that could only have been written in or after 1963.
The ending section changes the story around a lot, from a focus on scientific adventure to a surprise “and their names were Adam and Eve”-style end that draws all focus into the ending. This could have been fun, too, if the main story had been rewritten to take the new perspective into account, but the only clues to the new perspective were also in the new ending; the other 80% of the book, if it didn’t directly contradict the ending, came very close to contradicting it.
Even if the ending had made sense, it should have been its own book instead of a rushed several pages. The first two stories had a full arc and a real ending. A sequel about the interactions between Earth and the Universe Between might well have been interesting (although it should have been something fantastic instead of turning the whole thing from the fantastic to the mundane) but it needed more space to develop.
As it is, however, it’s too pat, and angled too obviously to bring it to the surprise conclusion.
I can see, however, why these stories were chosen for publication—the original two sections were very weird, with a sense of urgency, conflicting visions for the survival of the human race, and an impossible new universe to explore.
If the dates weren’t altered for the novel, it gets the first moon landing very close, setting it in 1966. It does, of course, then assume continued rapid development, putting more and further space travel in the nineties, but that, along with the “overpopulated planet” crisis, is normal for the era. (Although in Nourse’s case there are hints that the overpopulation is fake, with wide-open spaces available to some of the protagonists, who don’t seem to be especially rich.)
Overall it was fun, marred by an ending that didn’t match the aspects of the originals that had made them worth collecting to begin with.
The ending section changes the story around a lot, from a focus on scientific adventure to a surprise “and their names were Adam and Eve”-style end that draws all focus into the ending. This could have been fun, too, if the main story had been rewritten to take the new perspective into account, but the only clues to the new perspective were also in the new ending; the other 80% of the book, if it didn’t directly contradict the ending, came very close to contradicting it.
Even if the ending had made sense, it should have been its own book instead of a rushed several pages. The first two stories had a full arc and a real ending. A sequel about the interactions between Earth and the Universe Between might well have been interesting (although it should have been something fantastic instead of turning the whole thing from the fantastic to the mundane) but it needed more space to develop.
As it is, however, it’s too pat, and angled too obviously to bring it to the surprise conclusion.
I can see, however, why these stories were chosen for publication—the original two sections were very weird, with a sense of urgency, conflicting visions for the survival of the human race, and an impossible new universe to explore.
If the dates weren’t altered for the novel, it gets the first moon landing very close, setting it in 1966. It does, of course, then assume continued rapid development, putting more and further space travel in the nineties, but that, along with the “overpopulated planet” crisis, is normal for the era. (Although in Nourse’s case there are hints that the overpopulation is fake, with wide-open spaces available to some of the protagonists, who don’t seem to be especially rich.)
Overall it was fun, marred by an ending that didn’t match the aspects of the originals that had made them worth collecting to begin with.
The bed alarm had been designed for maximum annoyance with minimum noise. Buried in the pillow, a tiny speaker emitted a perfectly electronically, modulated imitation of the irregular and unrelenting howl of a hungry baby, the most totally intolerable and sleep-shattering racket known to man.
April 8, 2024
Well, that was an interesting take on the whole multiverse theory!
Considering this was written in the 50’s, an easy “ahead of his time” award goes to the author. Especially considering his respect for women; I still don’t know what anyone looks like, aside from the main guy having bleach-blonde hair, and one girl has violet colored eyes.
No one is throwing themselves at the opposite gender, and every woman in the book has agency and independence.
The whole setting and story are intriguing. It’s like Wrinkle in Time meets, um…. dude, I dunno. Narnia? The future version of humanity in the Dark Forest?
All that set in the world of The Expanse maybe?
It’s unique. It’s very unique.
Considering this was written in the 50’s, an easy “ahead of his time” award goes to the author. Especially considering his respect for women; I still don’t know what anyone looks like, aside from the main guy having bleach-blonde hair, and one girl has violet colored eyes.
No one is throwing themselves at the opposite gender, and every woman in the book has agency and independence.
The whole setting and story are intriguing. It’s like Wrinkle in Time meets, um…. dude, I dunno. Narnia? The future version of humanity in the Dark Forest?
All that set in the world of The Expanse maybe?
It’s unique. It’s very unique.
March 14, 2022
My hs read.
April 19, 2018
Here's another book from my distant past (circa 1951), and I am pleased to record that it has held up very well.
Tangentially I must protest the description of The Universe Between as given on the Goodreads site. While not totally incorrect, that blurb offers a distinctly wrong impression of the story.
Tangentially I must protest the description of The Universe Between as given on the Goodreads site. While not totally incorrect, that blurb offers a distinctly wrong impression of the story.
December 29, 2024
one of the two books that hooked me on science fiction, the other bring Andre Norton's Star Rangers. The young me thought it was so adventurous and the concepts were amazing. A fond memory.
April 20, 2024
Revisiting some of my childhood favorites.
My school library had a lot of science fiction, including several books by Alan Nourse. This one was one of my favorites. The final twist shocked me and made me look at my world differently.
Like most books of this era it was very male dominated, which is of course obvious to me now. But I think that I had no trouble relating to the main protagonist as a child. I don’t remember viewing the world as particularly gendered.
It was a very pleasant few hours reacquainting myself with the story.
My school library had a lot of science fiction, including several books by Alan Nourse. This one was one of my favorites. The final twist shocked me and made me look at my world differently.
Like most books of this era it was very male dominated, which is of course obvious to me now. But I think that I had no trouble relating to the main protagonist as a child. I don’t remember viewing the world as particularly gendered.
It was a very pleasant few hours reacquainting myself with the story.
May 30, 2025
This is a 75 year old book (almost) filled with ideas that feel modern. It is both an alternate history and a future history, exploring both psychological and scientific notions. What makes a person capable of adapting to extreme changes in perception?
It is sufficiently focused on youth that it is arguably a YA title, but I don't think it should be pigeon-holed that way.
Yes, it is a little dated, but not so much as one might expect given its vintage.
It is sufficiently focused on youth that it is arguably a YA title, but I don't think it should be pigeon-holed that way.
Yes, it is a little dated, but not so much as one might expect given its vintage.
April 16, 2020
Universal coordinator
Exciting books that I read on numerous occasions it shows a way to travel from our universe to others. Would recommend this book to those looking for another way
Exciting books that I read on numerous occasions it shows a way to travel from our universe to others. Would recommend this book to those looking for another way
June 5, 2024
Good short read, but wish there was a little more adventure. Everything was sort of vague and not well-explained, which perhaps is the authors intention, but I kept waiting for elaboration and there was very little.
June 10, 2025
Love love love
Golden Age sci-fi is so wonderful and this one did not let me down. It examined the possibilities of the futuer and left me with a great feeling at the end. NOt to give anything away, but I couldn't wait to finish to see how it all turned out.
Golden Age sci-fi is so wonderful and this one did not let me down. It examined the possibilities of the futuer and left me with a great feeling at the end. NOt to give anything away, but I couldn't wait to finish to see how it all turned out.
January 19, 2018
A collection of stories centered around the same concept and written in the same universe - imaginative, fascinating "hard" science fiction.
April 1, 2018
I read this in junior high (middle school) and was very impressed. I plan to re-read this again to see how it holds up after 4+ decades.
December 17, 2020
Big Alan Nourse fan always enjoy his books.
May 14, 2021
Vintage SF
I originally read this book as a young teen. It affected me by its hard science feel.
I went on to read everything I could find by the author.
I originally read this book as a young teen. It affected me by its hard science feel.
I went on to read everything I could find by the author.
December 1, 2022
Very well written with non-cardboard character development, excellent plot, great scientific extrapolation, atmospheric yet believable descriptions and a great twist at the end!
September 27, 2025
An older SF novel I first read in high school this one is a little dated but still has some intriguing ideas.
October 23, 2008
Bob Benedict is one of the few scientists able to make contact with the invisible, dangerous world of The Thresholders and return-sane! For years he has tried to transport-and receive-matter by transmitting it through the mysterious parallel Threshold. At first his efforts met only with failure and madness. But now The Thresholders have risen in fury.
March 21, 2014
Dr Alan Nourse didn't write much sf -- though he had a prolific career writing non-fiction, esp. with a medical bent -- but what he did was solidly plotted and exciting. Most of his fiction is out of print now, sadly, but it stands up well with the contemporary works by Del Rey, Bova, Norton and Asimov.
This is a collection of ten short stories.
This is a collection of ten short stories.
September 5, 2021
I first read this book thirty plus years ago and since the book became available in KU I decided to revisit it. It's amazing how much I remember about this story from way back then... Although I forgot the twist at the end where it is revealed as an inconsequential aside that if this is a book about our future that it is our universe that is the universe between where the protagonist is from.
November 22, 2022
Briefly, this is the book that started my science fiction journey. Given to me by a school librarian in sixth grade the wonders of hidden dimensions and inside out tennis balls have intrigued me ever since. Well written for middle school or high school readers and a quick read for adults wanting to place it in the hands of curious young minds.
July 29, 2008
This is an interesting book that I read once as a teenager and then again as an adult. This book is about a teenager who learns to move between dimensions. And learns to cope with the huge differences between them.
November 29, 2009
Alan Nourse is best remembered now as the medical columnist for Good Housekeeping, but he also wrote a number of excellent YA science fiction novels. This one involves scientists piercing a threshold barrier into another reality and experiencing the horror of the incomprehensible other world.
August 18, 2012
I really loved the idea of getting from "here" to "there" by hanging a right angle to the 3rd dimension... back in 1967. Today that's the only thing I remember about the book. If I ever find it, I must read it again!
December 16, 2022
I read this book when I was in the sixth or seventh grade, about the time I started reading science fiction from the adult section of our public library. My mom, who read the book after I did, had to tell me about the twist at the end.
February 14, 2009
Terrific preteen lit.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews