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Alan E. Nourse Super Pack
Alan E. Norse was a leading science fiction author during the tail end of the golden age. His stories have stood the test of time and continue to entertain and enthral generation after generation of readers. His thought provoking stories are just as pertinent today as they were in the Golden Age when he wrote them. Collected here in this omnibus edition are over 700 pages of wonderful fiction including twenty three classics such as: Star Surgeon An Ounce of Cure Circus My Friend Bobby Consignment Second Sight Marley's Chain The Coffin Cure Letter of the Law Contamination Crew The Link Meeting of the Board Image of the Gods Peacemaker Derelict The Native Soil Brightside Crossing The Dark Door Infinite Intruder Bear Trap martyr A Man Obsessed Gold in the Sky
734 pages, Paperback
Published February 10, 2016
28 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Alan E. Nourse
257 books41 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 22, 2022
I read “Gold in the Sky” in a double novel with Lorelei of the Red Mists. I really liked it, and checked out this Super Pack which included Gold in the Sky and many others.
There are 3 novellas and the rest are short stories. 2 of the novellas I thought were phenomenal. Generally, I like more knuckle-dragging adventure sci-fi and have never been big on the more cerebral entries of the genre. That being said I found Star Surgeon to be a deeply compelling story. The allegory is pretty on the nose, but it’s done in this honest, earnest, uplifting way. So much of contemporary entertainment is hyper political but in a smug, self-satisfied, condescending sort of way. This was deeply political but in a way that was trying illuminate rather than talk down to the reader. I really loved it.
My second time reading Gold in the Sky I enjoyed it as much as the first. If you’ve seen or read The Expanse it’s basically the same beats but in a condensed 100 pages 60s pulp novella.
The third novella - A Man Obsessed is all over the place. It must have been formative on much of cyberpunk and even the X-men, but it’s kind of a mess. More creative than good.
The rest of the short stories are a mixed bag. The most notable to me was The Link, the writing was beautifully poetic, and painted a bizarre psychedelic and truly Alien picture.
I think it you like old SF, you’ll probably enjoy this, it’s clearly very formative for much of what was to come after it. I should note the pack itself is a little shoddy. There’s a story not listed in the table of contents thrown in, one duplicated and one missing. So for reprints of public domain stuff it’s a bit rough. If you’ve already read the better two novellas not sure it’s worth getting for the remaining stories, but if you haven’t read Star Surgeon or Gold in the Sky this is an absolute great time.
There are 3 novellas and the rest are short stories. 2 of the novellas I thought were phenomenal. Generally, I like more knuckle-dragging adventure sci-fi and have never been big on the more cerebral entries of the genre. That being said I found Star Surgeon to be a deeply compelling story. The allegory is pretty on the nose, but it’s done in this honest, earnest, uplifting way. So much of contemporary entertainment is hyper political but in a smug, self-satisfied, condescending sort of way. This was deeply political but in a way that was trying illuminate rather than talk down to the reader. I really loved it.
My second time reading Gold in the Sky I enjoyed it as much as the first. If you’ve seen or read The Expanse it’s basically the same beats but in a condensed 100 pages 60s pulp novella.
The third novella - A Man Obsessed is all over the place. It must have been formative on much of cyberpunk and even the X-men, but it’s kind of a mess. More creative than good.
The rest of the short stories are a mixed bag. The most notable to me was The Link, the writing was beautifully poetic, and painted a bizarre psychedelic and truly Alien picture.
I think it you like old SF, you’ll probably enjoy this, it’s clearly very formative for much of what was to come after it. I should note the pack itself is a little shoddy. There’s a story not listed in the table of contents thrown in, one duplicated and one missing. So for reprints of public domain stuff it’s a bit rough. If you’ve already read the better two novellas not sure it’s worth getting for the remaining stories, but if you haven’t read Star Surgeon or Gold in the Sky this is an absolute great time.
May 21, 2024
I read this in a very leisurely fashion, when I wanted something that's easy on the eyes late at night. It's a collection of Nourse's public domain works, probably scraped off of Project Gutenberg. Definitely dated but still enjoyable. I hadn't realized that The Mercy Men had a previous version entitled A Man Obsessed.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews