paizo.com - Northwest of Earth: The Complete Northwest Smith (Trade Paperback)

About the Author

Twenty years after her death, Catherine Lucille Moore (1911–1987) remains one of the most influential female fantasy authors of all time. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Moore published her first story in Weird Tales in 1933, where it met with immediate success and earned praise from contemporaries such as H.P. Lovecraft. In a time when female authors were still marginalized and practically unheard of in genre fiction, Catherine hid her gender by publishing under the name C.L. Moore. She proceeded to write high-profile stories for Weird Tales and Astounding for the next decade, earning particular acclaim for her characters Jirel of Joiry, the first strong female protagonist in the sword and sorcery genre, and daring spaceman Northwest Smith. Moore met science fiction author Henry Kuttner in 1936 when he wrote her a fan letter, mistakenly believing her to be a man, and in 1940 the two were married. Together the couple collaborated on numerous stories and scripts for television shows under their own names and at least 17 pseudonyms, of which Lewis Padgett and Keith Hammond are the most recognized. In 1998 C. L. Moore was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

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Product Reviews

Average product rating:

(3.8) based on 4 reviews

Indiana Jones meets Han Solo
Reviewer: B_Wiklund
Thu, Mar 5, 2009, 12:30 AM

The Northwest Smith stories showcase a splendid imagination, evocative worlds and are propelled by the brashness of Moore's titular rogue character. Heat guns, rockets side by side classic mythology and hard boiled street settings make for a potent brew. An excellent collection. Recommended.

Blast-off to Weirdness
Reviewer: Mairkurion {tm}
Sun, Nov 23, 2008, 03:31 PM

Charge up your heat guns and get ready for other-worldly adventure. Catherine Moore penned most of her moody and edgy space yarns in the thirties. I was not in the mood for space opera when I picked these up, but I got a good deal and the convenience of picking them up together with Black God's Kiss, so I did. I was more than rewarded for the venture. The horror of the unknown and the alien that Moore exhibited in her Jirel of Joiry stories is even more an element in her Northwest Smith stories. This brash interstellar rogue is carried through his adventures by Moore's brisk prose and evocative story-telling. In sum, I must use that most infelicitous but necessary term: unputdownable.

Reviewer: Blue Tyson
Sat, Aug 23, 2008, 02:45 AM

The introduction by C. J. Cherry to this Paizo Planet Stories is brief. Basically she says these are good, you should read them, as should your grandparents and grandchildren and children.

She doesn't mention the pets, although reading them to your parrot or budgie to get them to come out with 'heat gun' or 'Northwest' sounds like a good plan, to me.

Anyway, she is right. Atmospheric bordering on horror at times, in a similar fashion to some of the Jirel tales, Northwest runs into more odd monsters and women and even monster women than you would expect any space adventurer to do.

Speaking of the flame-haired sword swinging sorcerer slicing woman of Joiry, there is a great crossover story here : 'Quest Of the Starstone'.

Very nicely done indeed to have these all in one volume, as the stories have been available in different chunks in different places in the past.

Grab a copy.

Not a great collection
Reviewer: James Laubacker
Sun, Aug 3, 2008, 08:17 AM

Individually, these stories are good examples of early, innovative science fiction/fantasy, or more accurately, science fiction/horror. However, too many of them have the same plot and theme to really make this anthology great. If you are interested in H. P. Lovecraft style horror blended with science fiction elements, you'll find this worth buying, even if it is repetitive.

Northwest of Earth: The Complete Northwest Smith (Trade Paperback)


JMARK SAPPENFIELD, Mon, Nov 5, 2007, 08:08 PM

I remember seeing and meeting C.L. Moore back in the 1970s at a local fantasy/science-fiction convention, FOOLCON, in Overland Park, KS. She was a very nice lady and a very good guest. I remember when she was giving a talk about her work, when she was trying to think of one of her stories and couldn't think of the title. I blurted out "A Gnone There Was." I had her autograph the Ballantine/Del Rey paperback of "The Best Of C.L. Moore." I recomment both books being publshed this coming January. I know I will be purchasing both volumes.


Erik Mona (Publisher), Mon, Nov 5, 2007, 09:18 PM

Thanks, JMark. I really would have liked to meet Ms. Moore (and Kuttner, and Howard, and Kline, and Farnsworth Wright, and a dozen more). I am so pleased to introduce these tales to a new generation of readers. They are a treasure.


Nevynxxx (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Planet Stories Subscriber), Wed, Feb 27, 2008, 04:41 AM

Any more precise ETA on this one? I have a couple of things on order waiting for it. Thanks


Vic Wertz (Technical Director), Wed, Feb 27, 2008, 11:59 AM

Nevynxxx wrote: Any more precise ETA on this one? I have a couple of things on order waiting for it. Thanks It's working its way through U.S. Customs now, so it should be in our warehouse soon.


Nevynxxx (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Planet Stories Subscriber), Thu, Feb 28, 2008, 08:07 AM

Vic Wertz wrote: Nevynxxx wrote: Any more precise ETA on this one? I have a couple of things on order waiting for it. Thanks It's working its way through U.S. Customs now, so it should be in our warehouse soon. Fantastic. Thanks Vic

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