Northwest Smith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Northwest of Earth Cover

Northwest Smith is a fictional character, and the hero of a series of stories by science fiction writer C. L. Moore.

[edit] Story setting

Smith is a spaceship pilot and smuggler who lives in an undisclosed future time when humanity has colonized the solar system.

The stories are set in a milieu common to science fiction stories of the pulp era. All of the planets of the system are able to support life and have their own civilizations. Many of the intelligent races living on the planets have comparatively primitive cultures. The relationship of the planetary primitives to the earth colonists is analogous to the situation of Native Americans, Africans and other indigenous people facing colonialism. Exceptions to this rule are the planets Mars and Venus which Moore depicts as having ancient and decadent cultures. This general milieu was shared by a number of other writers, including Moore's friends Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett.

[edit] Character description

Northwest Smith is an anti-hero who is ruthless, self-serving, and cynical. Despite this, he has a core of goodness and often does the right thing in spite of himself. His stories often involve ancient alien beings who have been worshipped as gods. This theme is similar to the tales of H.P. Lovecraft though, unlike Lovecraft's tales, Moore provides a hero who always manages to win out over hopeless odds. The classic Northwest Smith story is "Shambleau" in which Moore plays with themes of sexuality and addiction in Smith's encounter with a strange female alien.

The story "Quest of the Starstone" is also worth noting because it connects Smith with Moore's other most famous character, Jirel of Joiry.

There are some interesting parallels between Northwest Smith and Han Solo from the Star Wars series of movies. Smith's physical description as a dark haired man with "space bronzed" skin and pale eyes, who wears brown spacer's leathers and carries a blaster at his side like an old west gunfighter roughly fits Solo. Likewise, Smith's ship, the Maid is small and unspectacular but surprisingly fast and agile, like Solo's Millennium Falcon. Both men are cynical loners who smuggle spices and other goods for a living. Both men furthermore have extraterrestrial sidekicks, the Venusian Yarol for Smith and the Wookie Chewbacca for Solo.

The name "Northwest Smith" also bears some resemblance to the name of Indiana Jones. Like Solo, Jones was created by George Lucas and played by Harrison Ford. Despite the similarities, Smith does not seem to have been an inspiration for either character^{[citation needed]}.

Moore originally created Smith as a western character and kept the name when she switched to science fiction. She reportedly liked the absurdity of a character named "Northwest" in space, where compass points are meaningless.

[edit] Story Listing

The Northwest Smith stories include the following:

"Shambleau" (Weird Tales, November 1933). On Mars, Northwest rescues a strange, beautiful girl from the Lakkdarol mob. They become very close.
"Black Thirst" (Weird Tales, April 1934). A Minga woman invites Northwest into the forbidden Venusian fortress where she lives. It turns out to be even larger than expected.
"Scarlet Dream" (Weird Tales, May 1934). An oddly-patterned shawl that Northwest picks up in Lakkdarol gives him unpleasant dreams.
"Dust of Gods" (Weird Tales, August 1934). Northwest and Yarol take a job searching for the physical remnants of a dead god in northern Mars.
"Julhi" (Weird Tales, March 1935). Northwest takes a wrong turn in the ruins of Vonng, Venus.
"Nymph of Darkness" (Fantasy Magazine fanzine, April 1935; written with Forrest J. Ackerman)
"The Cold Gray God" (Weird Tales, October 1935). In the polar city of Righa on Mars, Northwest meets a Venusian lady who isn't quite herself.
"Yvala" (Weird Tales, February 1936). Northwest and Yarol go looking to capture slave-women on one of Jupiter's moons, and find out more about themselves.
"Lost Paradise" (Weird Tales, July 1936). A little old man with a big secret helps Northwest learn more about ancient Lunar history.
"The Tree of Life" (Weird Tales, October 1936). In the ruins of Illar Northwest finds out more about the Martian drylanders' past.
"Quest of the Starstone" (Weird Tales, November 1937; written with Henry Kuttner)
"Werewoman" (Leaves fanzine, Winter 1938/39)
"Song in a Minor Key" (Scienti-Snaps fanzine, February 1940). Northwest meditates on his own past life.

Northwest Smith stories appear in the following collections:

Northwest of Earth (1954): Dust of Gods, Julhi, Lost Paradise, The Cold Gray God, Yvala (collection also includes The Dark Land and Hellsgarde, two Jirel of Joiry stories)
Scarlet Dream (1981): Black Thirst, Dust of Gods, Julhi, Lost Paradise, Shambleau, The Cold Gray God, The Tree of Life, Yvala, Scarlet Dream, Song in a Minor Key
Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams (2002): The same stories as Scarlet Dream, together with five stories of Jirel of Joiry.