I'm currently reading the Paizo Press/Planet Stories
edition of
Northwest Of Earth, a collection of gothic space opera stories originally published in
Weird Tales back in the 30s. They're written by
C.L. (Catherine) Moore, a well-regarded pulpster best known for her sword & sorcery heroine
Jirel of Joiry.
The Paizo Press/Planet Stories hardcover I own has a nice enough cover painting, but I prefer the vintage duotone illustration above, which graced a 50's edition of the material. I don't know who the artist is, but I really dig the Old School space opera vibe of the illustration.
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4 comments:
I believe the cover artist is Ric Binkley. Link: https://www.google.com/search?q=ric+Binkley+artist&client=firefox-a&hs=7WD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qgVDUrT6A8n22AXeyIGgBA&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=600&dpr=1
Yeah, nice art.
Those are the "Northwest Smith" stories, I believe? I should check them out sometime. Her Jirel was pretty good, and I'm always interested in reading the works of female adventure writers, because it's always interesting to see their style and approach in such a male-dominated genre.
Yeah, these are the "Northwest Smith" stories.
Actually, I had to put the book aside. It's not that it was bad, but I was in the mood for rockets and rayguns, and these are actually more "creeping horror" stories set on other planets. Lots of purple prose about how horrifying things are, and not much action.
I shouldn't have been surprised; they were written for WEIRD TALES, after all.
I've been reading the paperback version of that same volume. It's been a few decades since I read Northwest Smith stories and I'd forgotten the awesome mood Moore evokes in these horror-stories-dressed-in-science-fiction-attire yarns. They draw you in emotionally in a way that's surprising given their source.
I ordered the Jirel collection, but Amazon informed me a few days ago that they cannot fill the order. I have an old paperback around here, but I don't know if I can find it.
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