astronomy

Northwest Smith

Northwest Smith is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Northwest Smith rather than just read about it. In short: Northwest Smith is a fictional character, and the hero of a series of stories by science fiction writer C. L.

Key takeaways

Northwest Smith belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Northwest Smith to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Northwest Smith from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

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

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 (which might stand for China and other ancient Asian cultures, as they seemed to Westerners at the time). This general milieu was shared by a number of other writers, including Moore's friends Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett.

Character description By profession, Smith is an outlaw who lives by a variety of criminal means, including smuggling. By nature, he is an anti-hero, ruthless, self-serving, and cynical. Despite this, he has a core of goodness and often does the right thing in spite of himself. Smith is described as a dark haired man with "space bronzed" skin and pale eyes, who wears brown spacer's leathers and carries a raygun at his side like an old west gunfighter. His ship, the Maid, is small and unspectacular but surprisingly fast and agile. His closest ally is the equally amoral Venusian, Yarol. 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. 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. Moore traced the origin of the character's name to the typing work which she was doing for a living while writing Shambleau and which included a letter addressed to a "Mr. N.W.Smith." Moore admitted that the name of Smith's Venusian buddy, Yarol, was simply a permutation of the name of her favorite typewriter. In the history of both the United States and Canada, the term "Northwest" recurs in various contexts, greatly variant with time and place but all carrying associations of wild frontier areas, exploration and adventure (Northwest Territory in early US history, North-Western Territory/Northwest Territories in Canada, Northwest Passage, North-West Rebellion and more). Northwest Smith is sometimes compared to the Star Wars character Han Solo; both are violent, gun-wielding, rogue smugglers with hearts of gold who travel among planets that are stand-ins for existing Earth cultures.

Story listing The Northwest Smith stories include the following:

Primary stories "Shambleau" (Weird Tales, November 1933). On Mars, Northwest rescues a strange, beautiful girl from the Lakkdarol mob. They become very close - but in fact, she is not a girl, nor a human being at all, and the mob had a good reason to try to kill her... "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 more dangerous 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. "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. The full text of Yvala at Wikisource "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. The full text of The Tree of Life at Wikisource

Fanzine stories and collaborations "Nymph of Darkness" (Fantasy Magazine fanzine, April 1935; written with Forrest J. Ackerman) "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.

Collections Northwest Smith stories appear in the following collections:

Shambleau and Others (1953): "Shambleau", "Black Thirst", "The Tree of Life", "Scarlet Dream" (the collection also includes "Black God’s Kiss", "Black God’s Shadow" and "Jirel Meets Magic", three Jirel of Joiry stories) Northwest of Earth (1954): "Dust of Gods", "Julhi", "Lost Paradise", "The Cold Gray God", "Yvala" (the collection also includes "The Dark Land" and "Hellsgarde", two Jirel of Joiry stories) Scarlet Dream (1981): Published by Donald M. Grant, hardcover. "Shambleau", "Black Thirst", "The Tree of Life", "Scarlet Dream", "Dust of Gods", "Lost Paradise", "Julhi", "The Cold Gray God", "Yvala", and "Song in a Minor Key" Northwest Smith (1982): Published by Ace Books, paperback: Reprint of Scarlet Dream. Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams (2002): The same stories as Scarlet Dream, together with five stories of Jirel of Joiry. Northwest of Earth (2007): All of the Northwest Smith stories, both primary and fanzine/collaborations.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Northwest Smith

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Northwest Smith claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Northwest Smith before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Northwest Smith ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Northwest Smith

In research: Northwest Smith appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Northwest Smith in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Northwest Smith is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Characters in pulp fiction, Characters in written science fiction, Fiction about the Solar System, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Northwest Smith outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Northwest Smith” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Northwest Smith in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Northwest Smith means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Northwest Smith out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Northwest Smith in simple terms?

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

Why does Northwest Smith matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Northwest Smith?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Northwest Smith.