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dbroebuck96 's review for:
Northwest of Earth
by C.L. Moore
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Before Han Solo, before the Stainless Steel Rat, there was 'Northwest Smith' - the prototypical space outlaw.
Northwest of Earth is a collection of C.L. Moore's stories involving her character Northwest Smith, which originally appeared in the Weird Tales magazine. This history is important to understanding Moore's work as that magazine printed the early work of the likes of H.P. Lovecraft. Moore also met her future husband and frequent writing partner Henry Kuttner through their shared love of Lovecraft's work and it shows here in Northwest of Earth; many of the tales employ the use of what we now call 'Cosmic Horror', with frequent mentions of unknowable ancient entities and nightmarish sensations.
Northwest Smith is usually depicted as struggling against said entity or nightmarish scenario in each story, so he may be handy with a ray gun but this often doesn't serve him too well. Some of the stories are repetitive, but the highs are high - I think the stories which include Smith's associate Yarol (the Venusian) were the best ones for me as it adds a bit more dimension to the story to have two outlaws interacting.
It's an important set of stories that paved the way for similar heroes (or probably more precisely, anti-heroes) to come. Seedy Martian marketplaces jostling with weird and varied creatures to ruined civilisations once populated by ancient gods who have long vanished are some of the rich and atmospheric settings Moore describes here, so if you like your Han Solo-esque escapades mixed with a dash of existential cosmic terror in the vein of Lovecraft, Northwest of Earth is essential reading.
Northwest of Earth is a collection of C.L. Moore's stories involving her character Northwest Smith, which originally appeared in the Weird Tales magazine. This history is important to understanding Moore's work as that magazine printed the early work of the likes of H.P. Lovecraft. Moore also met her future husband and frequent writing partner Henry Kuttner through their shared love of Lovecraft's work and it shows here in Northwest of Earth; many of the tales employ the use of what we now call 'Cosmic Horror', with frequent mentions of unknowable ancient entities and nightmarish sensations.
Northwest Smith is usually depicted as struggling against said entity or nightmarish scenario in each story, so he may be handy with a ray gun but this often doesn't serve him too well. Some of the stories are repetitive, but the highs are high - I think the stories which include Smith's associate Yarol (the Venusian) were the best ones for me as it adds a bit more dimension to the story to have two outlaws interacting.
It's an important set of stories that paved the way for similar heroes (or probably more precisely, anti-heroes) to come. Seedy Martian marketplaces jostling with weird and varied creatures to ruined civilisations once populated by ancient gods who have long vanished are some of the rich and atmospheric settings Moore describes here, so if you like your Han Solo-esque escapades mixed with a dash of existential cosmic terror in the vein of Lovecraft, Northwest of Earth is essential reading.