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Journeys to the Twilight Zone
Gathers stories by Alan Dean Foster, Henry Slesar, William F. Nolan, Pamela Sargent, Jack Dann, Barry N. Malzberg, and Rod Serling
287 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
2 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Carol Serling
11 books11 followersBorn in 1929 as Carolyn Kramer. She is an actress. Died in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 10, 2023
This is a nice Martin Greenberg-produced anthology of original fantasy stories, but I didn't really buy any potential connection to the television series. I particularly remember enjoying the stories by Alan Dean Foster, Hugh B. Cave, and the short Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, but the only one that really knocked off my socks was Charles deLint's Waifs and Strays.
February 20, 2016
"Journeys to the Twilight Zone" is an anthology of original stories that attempt to capture the spirit of the classic '60s weekly TV program. Unfortunately, most of the these stories fail to do just that. There are a few solid entries here (Pamela Sargeant's "Out the Window" is particularly good), but most just leave the reader wanting more. The final story, "Suggestion," was written by Rod Serling in 1972; it is the best tale in the book, for the obvious reason that it carries Serling's hallmark ability to make otherwise ordinary people and situations into strange, intriguing events. Alas, "Suggestion" only shows what's missing from most of the other stories in the collection: Serling's trademark touch that made the Twilight Zone such an enjoyable show. A rather disappointing book.
May 19, 2015
A collection worth of the Twilight Zone legacy - many of the stories have that same, deep emotional resonance, speaking to what it means to be a human being. Also like the Twilight Zone, many of these stories are deeply rooted in reality, with just the finest TWIST in the speculative.
March 1, 2022
Man...these seem to mostly be random stories that don't even feel like TZ stories. The Rod Serling story is pretty good, as well as the Charles De Lint one, but other than those it's mostly pretty big misses. Quite a disappointment for the TZ fan like me.
December 2, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because there were a couple of stories that made me tear up
This is the second collection of short stories presented to the reader by Carol Serling, Rod Serling's wife. This book was published after Rod died, and the stories are ones that "Rod would have loved or appreciated", according to Carol. They are all, in their way, Twilight Zone-esque.
As with all short story collections, some stories are really good, some are not for me, and others are pretty forgettable. Overall, I think this collection of stories was stronger than the last Twilight Zone collection that I read.
The real standout stories in this collection are:
"Goodfood" - a dystopian story about a country that has banned bad food. There is a diner scene in this that tips its hat to George Orwell's 1984, which I really appreciated.
"Mists" - a profound and haunting story about a man who sees a ghost, while on a camping trip with his friends.
"The Extra" - a beautiful, slowburn story about a man who looks outside a window and winds up back in time.
"Inside Out" - a dystopian story about a world designed to fast-track children into the role that the state has designed for them. One father tries to save his son from a bleak destiny. This one will hit hard, and I am not even a parent. I now need to read something else by Karen Haber.
"Waifs and Strays" - another story that made me cry but in the best way. This is about a young woman who is trying to turn her life around but at a cost. There is also a ghost. This is the most relatable story in the collection. So much of Maisie's experience and what she is feeling rings so true. We push ourselves to be successful because we want a better life for ourselves and our loved ones, but we have to sacrifice our happiness and sometimes the happiness of others who want to spend time us in order to get where we need to go. I need to read more by Charles Le Bin.
Lastly,
"Suggestion" - this is the story by Rod Serling, and, once again, he blew me away. This is the story about a man who has a party gag. He can hypnotize people. He is asked to hypnotize a man, who all the guests hate, and the story gets dark from there.
This is the second collection of short stories presented to the reader by Carol Serling, Rod Serling's wife. This book was published after Rod died, and the stories are ones that "Rod would have loved or appreciated", according to Carol. They are all, in their way, Twilight Zone-esque.
As with all short story collections, some stories are really good, some are not for me, and others are pretty forgettable. Overall, I think this collection of stories was stronger than the last Twilight Zone collection that I read.
The real standout stories in this collection are:
"Goodfood" - a dystopian story about a country that has banned bad food. There is a diner scene in this that tips its hat to George Orwell's 1984, which I really appreciated.
"Mists" - a profound and haunting story about a man who sees a ghost, while on a camping trip with his friends.
"The Extra" - a beautiful, slowburn story about a man who looks outside a window and winds up back in time.
"Inside Out" - a dystopian story about a world designed to fast-track children into the role that the state has designed for them. One father tries to save his son from a bleak destiny. This one will hit hard, and I am not even a parent. I now need to read something else by Karen Haber.
"Waifs and Strays" - another story that made me cry but in the best way. This is about a young woman who is trying to turn her life around but at a cost. There is also a ghost. This is the most relatable story in the collection. So much of Maisie's experience and what she is feeling rings so true. We push ourselves to be successful because we want a better life for ourselves and our loved ones, but we have to sacrifice our happiness and sometimes the happiness of others who want to spend time us in order to get where we need to go. I need to read more by Charles Le Bin.
Lastly,
"Suggestion" - this is the story by Rod Serling, and, once again, he blew me away. This is the story about a man who has a party gag. He can hypnotize people. He is asked to hypnotize a man, who all the guests hate, and the story gets dark from there.
December 9, 2024
Journeys to the Twilight Zone, Carol Serling (Ed.) [DAW, 1993].
A collection of then-contemporary horror/sci fi stories (supposedly) in the Twilight Zone vein, including:
“Goodfood,” W. Warren Wagar: A satirical story about a future America run by nutritional zealots, in which a brisk black market trade in meat/fat/salt/sugar develops.
“Laying Veneer,” Alan Dean Foster: In this eco-horror story, an American engineer travels to the Australian outback where the land itself rebels against being paved over.
“I, Monster,” Henry Sleasar: After being shoved by a prospective client, a private detective comes to believe that he’s been transformed (Kafka-fashion) into a lizard man.
“Mists,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith: On a cabin fishing trip, a college professor is haunted by an ex-girlfriend who died from a botched (illegal) abortion.
“Suggestion,” Rod Serling: A post-Twilight Zone offering from Serling about a cocktail party hypnosis act that goes awry.
A collection of then-contemporary horror/sci fi stories (supposedly) in the Twilight Zone vein, including:
“Goodfood,” W. Warren Wagar: A satirical story about a future America run by nutritional zealots, in which a brisk black market trade in meat/fat/salt/sugar develops.
“Laying Veneer,” Alan Dean Foster: In this eco-horror story, an American engineer travels to the Australian outback where the land itself rebels against being paved over.
“I, Monster,” Henry Sleasar: After being shoved by a prospective client, a private detective comes to believe that he’s been transformed (Kafka-fashion) into a lizard man.
“Mists,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith: On a cabin fishing trip, a college professor is haunted by an ex-girlfriend who died from a botched (illegal) abortion.
“Suggestion,” Rod Serling: A post-Twilight Zone offering from Serling about a cocktail party hypnosis act that goes awry.
December 14, 2025
This book is quite disappointing if you are looking for Twilight like stories. Most of the stories have no twists, turns or unexpected outcomes. Save for the last by Rod Serling. If you find this book somewhere read the last story and clear your mind of the rest. I was really looking forward to reading this one too.
January 28, 2020
Suggestion 5/5
June 20, 2021
Not as good as some of the other Twilight Zone books. Most of the stories were odd, and didn't feel at all like they belonged in The Twilight Zone.
May 27, 2018
This is one of the better Twilight. Zone Anthologies books !! It goes to my to re read pile after reading :)
June 1, 2013
I felt the stories in the book were OK, but the book itself was poorly edited, putting together stories of the same format instead of spacing them properly. The story by Rod Serling was fascinating in its use of similes.
January 26, 2014
Growing up I loved reading Rod Serling's stories and watching the Twilight Zone on TV.
Now I look forward to New Year's Day when the SciFi channel runs 24 hours of Twilight Zone episodes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the stories in this book.
Now I look forward to New Year's Day when the SciFi channel runs 24 hours of Twilight Zone episodes.
I thoroughly enjoyed the stories in this book.
March 24, 2009
Not a bad collection, really. Some stories are better than others, but nothing falls way flat.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews