Kuttner and Moore

I’ve been reading some old science fiction short stories recently, and I was reminded of just how good Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore were writing together after they got married. Writing separately they were notable. Moore in particular wrote the Northwest Smith series of stories in the 1930s, which were pulp stories but nevertheless vivid and memorable. Writing together they were excellent. Besides writing under their own names, they also used many pseudonyms, notably Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O’Donnell. Their story Mimsy Were the Borogroves was recently made into a movie, The Last Mimzy, although I didn’t go see it. Their stories range all over science fiction; they never fell into a rut.

Unfortunately, novels are where you get recognition, and their best work was in short stories. They are not well known today.