Shambleau

Image by Andrew Hou (nJoo)

I got turned on to C.L. Moore way too late. It's embarrassing. But better late than never, right?

Catherine Lucille Moore was a huge contributor to Weird Tales, along with quite a few other pulps. Among her first published stories, blessing the pages of Weird Tales in 1933-1934, was a series of weird space tales featuring the coolest astro-smuggler ever--Northwest Smith. He finds himself entangled with various gorgeous and deadly ladies (as happens when you're cooler than a carbonite cucumber) and enduring the strangest and most perilous experiences.

There's much more to C.L. Moore than Northwest Smith, of course. Her work, like that of many pulp writers of the time, explored the fullness of the early fantasy genre--including science fantasy, swords and sorcery, space opera, horror and the just-plain-weird--often within a single story! Married to confoundingly prolific pulp badass Henry Kuttner, she also collaborated with him on dozens of short stories, novelettes, and novels.

There's quite a lot to share when it comes to Moore's work (this isn't the last time I'll be posting from her...) but let's begin with one of her most iconic tales, an especially good introduction for those just meeting this amazing author for the first time.

Strap on your photon pistols and stay frosty, for here comes...

Shambleau