Customer Reviews

The Universe Between

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like several reviewers, I discovered this book around age 12 in a Junior high school library. It was my favorite novel for about 10 years, and remains in my top 5, even 30 years later.
The author, Alan E. Nourse was a physician, who wrote SF novels and short stories as a hobby. Given that, the combinaton of qualities that shine forth from this novel are very impressive, in my opinion.
First, Nourse uses some unique ideas, based on speculation about scientific questions of the day (the short stories which this novel sprang from were first published in 1951, in short stories called "The Universe Between" and "High Threshold", per my searching on the internet).
An example: Using the highly adapatable "blank slate" of a young child's brain to imprint/adapt/learn an environment which is incomprehensible and even dangerous to a "rigid" adult mind - utilizing the normally unused parts of the human brain. (I hate to give others, because they would be plot "spoilers" to some extent - but most of these utilize hard science concepts and are explained in a way that entertains and teaches too).
As I've reread and rethought this book as an adult, it also occurs to me that Nourse is most likely writing on multiple levels and sending multiple messages. Such as:

1. An exciting adventure appealing to the young, young at heart, and both the hard and the fantasy SF lover.
2. A commentary on the difficulty of meaningful communication between people of radically different cultures/backgrounds.
3. A commentary on the surprising number and nature of the wonderful discoveries about our universe the pursuit of science brings us.
4. A reflection/reminder of the precious nature of life, and how close/uncertain death can be at any moment - a reminder not to take anything for granted.
5. Commentary on how important it is not to squander our natural resources, and the critical need to plan ahead for humanities' resource needs - given the inevitiblity of population and technological expansion throughout the globe over time.
6. And finally, repeatedly, a reminder of how little we know, and how little our limited perception allows us to grasp the true nature of reality.

This novel should leave you thougtful; hopeful, yet challenged. An exciting, interesting and unique children's SF novel? Yes! But also quite a bit more - very commendably written by this "hobbyist" for the thinking adult SF fan, in this reader's opinion.

First true sci-fi novel I ever read. I was 12, attending a small parochial school in the outback of SE Missouri. Picked it out of the racks during a Book Mobile visit. Gave new maning to how we perceive our universe. The thought of something "feeling green", or "sounding red", set my imagination on fire!

For several years in Jr High and High School, I was a SF junkie. I just couldn't get enough. And Nourse was my favorite SF author (with the exception of the Foundation Trilogy).

The Universe Between had some almost bizarre ideas about transporting between two universes. But the very strangeness was part of the fun. If we ever actually do get to travel to another universe, the method used may end up being just as strange as the method presented herein.

One of the things that I appreciated most about Nourse was that he was able to tell a story and keep your interest without pandering to sexual innuendos like some other popular SF writers sometimes do. I would be completely comfortable letting any of my young children read Nourse's science fiction.

--George Stancliffe

...

It was also a junior high library copy that I read - possibly my first science fiction book. That was over 35 years ago for me but I have told scores of people about this impressive book. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about "The Universe Between" was the descriptions of things not possible in our world. The turning of a corner in space that would move your across galaxies and the geometric-sounding but impossible explanation of this "other diamension" was fascinating. If you enjoy mental gymnastics this book is a great adventure!

Two of my aunts suggested this book for me. I checked it out of my junior high library and read it. I ended up checking it out several times. Then one day I went back and it was missing. They never got it back. I was shocked to find out that it is out of print now! If it ever goes into reprint, I will be first in line to get a copy. Even if it doesn't, I will never forget this book. It grabs you from the start and holds you until the end. It is without a doubt the best science fiction book I've ever read!

I can't believe how similar the experiences I read are to mine. I, too, borrowed this book from my junior high library. It left such a mark that two decades later I returned to the school in hopes of finding it still there. Unfortunately it was listed as missing. I have searched used book stores many times since for a copy. It is truly a book that can set a young mind in motion to produce many eureka experiences as it explores the mysteries of science.

I read this book when I was 12 years old and checked it out from my school library. From that point on I have been very interested in Science Fiction. I have read Asimov and even written some short stories of my own, but have never found a book that affected me like this one did. I have searched for this book to purchase it for the past 12 years. It's such good material, I can't believe it is out of print! I hope that some day it will be in reprint. Until then, I'll be visiting The Universe Between in my dreams.

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.

Back when I was a teenager, (in the early 1980's), I loved this book. It was my favorite sci-fi novel. Really good stuff. parallel universes, and a girl with violet eyes...

This book whetted my appetite for science fiction at a very young age and I still remember its wonders 35 years later. I kept checking it out of the local library so it would stay in circulation and I would always have it available. Time got ahead of me and we moved away. When I returned, I headed for the library to follow my same pattern and found it was no longer in the system. It was a science fiction book, with a poet's soul, for young readers and older ones who have yet to loose the excitement of what fantasies await in the future.