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Image of the Gods
An Earth colony battles for freedom.
Audiobook
First published December 29, 2007
About the author
Alan E. Nourse
258 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 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 28, 2012
Image of the Gods: spoiler - nonviolent dark-skinned aliens protect colonists against earth-based oligarchs. Why? Because the semi-intelligent, indigenous "dusties" worship the colonists. Why? We really don't know. What kind of a metaphor is being created? Hmmm. I read Nourse's stuff when I was young, medically-based novels (like the original Blade Runner, not Dick's novel), but this short story is pretty much a racist allegory.
January 31, 2011
In this science fiction story by A. Nourse, an Earth colony suddenly learn that the Earth government has been overthrown and that they now have to conform to this totalitarian system but the colonists refuse to succumb to such and, with the help of the planets original inhabitants called 'dusties', fight for thier freedom.......
April 15, 2021
The "Dusties" were guilty of the one non-venial sin, bad taste.
April 3, 2018
Part of LibriVox Short Science Fiction Collection 001. A remote colony on a distant planet that is under threat from both the harsh climate and it’s political overlords receives unexpected help from the locals. Moving story of passive resistance.
May 8, 2017
A rather interesting short story about colonists fighting for survival on a hostile planet, against even more hostile authorities. Loved the little aliens.
November 4, 2018
Old-Timey SF.
November 8, 2025
Scifi, short story by a master.
March 7, 2017
Love the noble fur-balls known as the 'Dusties'.
December 6, 2015
Not really good, but considering what I usually read, quite unique. The little creatures, native to a planet, simpler creatures, then us, worship people when they arrive to colonize their planet, yet all their biology is a total mystery to humans, since they don't know, where do they live, what do they eat, but there are thousands of them... I don't know, maybe author tried to write it from as alien perspective as possible. :( Another thing is that people came there, not knowing anything about weather patterns. If I try to suspend my disbelief, I can try to imagine space travel, where it is so much more expensive to send machines, that to send people. People just go to planet XYZ and cope, how they can :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2016
A story of non-human beings that worship human beings for some unknown reason. And die for them too. This seems like a very anthropocentric view of things.
We have no reason to believe that sentient beings that have their land taken over by humans, would actually help those humans.
Life doesn't work that way, and so the story seems so false.
We have no reason to believe that sentient beings that have their land taken over by humans, would actually help those humans.
Life doesn't work that way, and so the story seems so false.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews