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Cuentos Fantásticos #2
Pesadilla a veinte mil pies y otros relatos espeluznantes
Si Nacido de hombre y mujer, y otros relatos espeluznantes recogía los primeros trabajos de Matheson y abarcaba solo un lustro (1950-1954), este segundo volumen compila relatos escritos a lo largo de los siguientes diecisiete años (1955-1971). Hasta que decidió abandonar el formato, sus cuentos le abrieron acceso a publicaciones cada vez más mayoritarias; mientras tanto, su carrera como guionista despegaba. Y es precisamente gracias a las versiones audiovisuales como sus relatos se han vuelto más conocidos. Desde Serling, Corman y Fisher, pasando por el mismísimo Hitchcock, hasta Spielberg o un triunfante George Miller, sus cuentos han constituido una fuente de inspiración continuada para el cine y la televisión y han dejado una huella indeleble en varias generaciones.»
544 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2005
10 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Richard Matheson
759 books4,794 followersBorn in Allendale, New Jersey to Norwegian immigrant parents, Matheson was raised in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. He then entered the military and spent World War II as an infantry soldier. In 1949 he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and moved to California in 1951. He married in 1952 and has four children, three of whom (Chris, Richard Christian, and Ali Matheson) are writers of fiction and screenplays.
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. The tale of a monstrous child chained in its parents' cellar, it was told in the first person as the creature's diary (in poignantly non-idiomatic English) and immediately made Matheson famous. Between 1950 and 1971, Matheson produced dozens of stories, frequently blending elements of the science fiction, horror and fantasy genres.
Several of his stories, like "Third from the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959) and "Button, Button" (1970) are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954) and "Mute" (1962) explore their characters' dilemmas over twenty or thirty pages. Some tales, such as "The Funeral" (1955) and "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) incorporate zany satirical humour at the expense of genre clichés, and are written in an hysterically overblown prose very different from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), portray the moral and physical struggles of ordinary people, rather than the then nearly ubiquitous scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and everyday. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) and perhaps most famously, "Duel" (1971) are tales of paranoia, in which the everyday environment of the present day becomes inexplicably alien or threatening.
He wrote a number of episodes for the American TV series The Twilight Zone, including "Steel," mentioned above and the famous "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"; adapted the works of Edgar Allan Poe for Roger Corman and Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out for Hammer Films; and scripted Steven Spielberg's first feature, the TV movie Duel, from his own short story. He also contributed a number of scripts to the Warner Brothers western series "The Lawman" between 1958 and 1962. In 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his teleplay for The Night Stalker, one of two TV movies written by Matheson that preceded the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Fanatic (US title: Die! Die! My Darling!) starring Talullah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.
Novels include The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay), and a science fiction vampire novel, I Am Legend, which has been filmed three times under the titles The Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth and once under the original title. Other Matheson novels turned into notable films include What Dreams May Come, Stir of Echoes, Bid Time Return (as Somewhere in Time), and Hell House (as The Legend of Hell House) and the aforementioned Duel, the last three adapted and scripted by Matheson himself. Three of his short stories were filmed together as Trilogy of Terror, including "Prey" with its famous Zuni warrior doll.
In 1960, Matheson published The Beardless Warriors, a nonfantastic, autobiographical novel about teenage American soldiers in World War II.
He died at his home on June 23, 2013, at the age of 87
http://us.macmillan.com/author/richar...
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 30, 2016
Reseña completa
Cuando era pequeño me encantaba sentarme a ver la tele y tragarme horas de series y programas sobre terror, como las adaptaciones de Pesadillas, o la enorme Twilight Zone, Expediente X, Historias de la cripta o Más allá de límite. Desde luego cuando llegaban los créditos cambiaba de canal o me iba a hacer otra cosa. Fue bastantes años después cuando descubrí que Richard Matheson era el artífice de muchas de estas historias que me succionaban el tiempo de pequeño y me dejaban tiritando bajo las sábanas por la noche. Pesadilla a veinte mil pies y otros relatos espeluznantes no es solo un libro, es un homenaje a uno de los maestros del terror contemporáneo. Un autor que ha sembrado nuestra juventud de pesadillas y ahora la editorial Gigamesh reedita en un ejemplar de puro lujo, y desde luego, de lo mejor que hay en el mercado (junto a esa maravillosa edición de Valdemar).
Pesadilla a veinte mil pies y otros relatos espeluznantes es el segundo tomo de los relatos de Richard Matheson que se complementa con Nacido de hombre y mujer (el cual recomiendo leer previamente). Richard Matheson no necesita presentación, pero para los que llegáis aquí queriendo saber, os diré que es el autor de Soy leyenda, Pesadilla a veinte mil pies o El increíble hombre menguante entre otras obras. En otras palabras (en las del propio King), Richard Matheson fue maestro e inspiración directa del autor de terror de Maine, Stephen King. Ahí es nada. Matheson fue una revolución en el género de terror a mitad del siglo XX, donde el pulp salido de autores como Poe o Lovecraft eran la moda imperante. Un Matheson freelance envió el relato Nacido de hombre y mujer a la revista “Magazine of Fantasy and Sciencei Fiction”, relato que hizo que Richard Matheson empezara a ser un autor reconocido entre el público más fandom. Pero no fue hasta 1954 con su Soy leyenda cuando Matheson fue reconocido como una de las figuras más importantes del terror en su época.
Cuando era pequeño me encantaba sentarme a ver la tele y tragarme horas de series y programas sobre terror, como las adaptaciones de Pesadillas, o la enorme Twilight Zone, Expediente X, Historias de la cripta o Más allá de límite. Desde luego cuando llegaban los créditos cambiaba de canal o me iba a hacer otra cosa. Fue bastantes años después cuando descubrí que Richard Matheson era el artífice de muchas de estas historias que me succionaban el tiempo de pequeño y me dejaban tiritando bajo las sábanas por la noche. Pesadilla a veinte mil pies y otros relatos espeluznantes no es solo un libro, es un homenaje a uno de los maestros del terror contemporáneo. Un autor que ha sembrado nuestra juventud de pesadillas y ahora la editorial Gigamesh reedita en un ejemplar de puro lujo, y desde luego, de lo mejor que hay en el mercado (junto a esa maravillosa edición de Valdemar).
Pesadilla a veinte mil pies y otros relatos espeluznantes es el segundo tomo de los relatos de Richard Matheson que se complementa con Nacido de hombre y mujer (el cual recomiendo leer previamente). Richard Matheson no necesita presentación, pero para los que llegáis aquí queriendo saber, os diré que es el autor de Soy leyenda, Pesadilla a veinte mil pies o El increíble hombre menguante entre otras obras. En otras palabras (en las del propio King), Richard Matheson fue maestro e inspiración directa del autor de terror de Maine, Stephen King. Ahí es nada. Matheson fue una revolución en el género de terror a mitad del siglo XX, donde el pulp salido de autores como Poe o Lovecraft eran la moda imperante. Un Matheson freelance envió el relato Nacido de hombre y mujer a la revista “Magazine of Fantasy and Sciencei Fiction”, relato que hizo que Richard Matheson empezara a ser un autor reconocido entre el público más fandom. Pero no fue hasta 1954 con su Soy leyenda cuando Matheson fue reconocido como una de las figuras más importantes del terror en su época.
March 29, 2022
No comprendo como una sola persona puede tener tanta imaginación para escribir tantas historias, tan diferentes y tan buenas. Lo dije en la reseña del primer volumen y lo repito: este tío era un genio.
Aunque predomina el "terror", muy entrecomillado porque es un terror bastante suavecito, ¡aquí hay de todo, oigaaa!
"Era un gigante y todos conocéis sus relatos, aunque no lo sepáis" Neil Gaiman -más razón que un santo-
Aunque predomina el "terror", muy entrecomillado porque es un terror bastante suavecito, ¡aquí hay de todo, oigaaa!
"Era un gigante y todos conocéis sus relatos, aunque no lo sepáis" Neil Gaiman -más razón que un santo-
October 5, 2018
So, here we are at the second of 3 collections featuring all the work of one Mr. Richard Matheson. I gave a pretty thorough explanation of what Matheson meant/means to me personally in the intro to my review of Collected Stories, Vol. 1 so go check that out if you want some context.
What we have here are 29 stories spanning 1953 to 1958 - 5 years of work. And these are an important 5 years. Somewhere around the 3/4 mark here Matheson's storytelling skills had begun to pay off not just in accolades but in actual paying work and he began his lucrative career of screenwriting. This afforded him more time to concentrate on crafting good stories and not be enslaved to poor-paying genre markets that required certain elements before they would purchase a story. The high point is really reached late in the collection with his first 2 sales to PLAYBOY MAGAZINE and ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, the former (along with READER'S DIGEST) one of the best paying short fiction markets at the time ($1000 for a story in 1958, comparable to $75 dollars for a sci-fi magazine that same year). The stories are more mature and thoughtfully composed (the discipline of screenwriting tightens up his dialogue and cuts down descriptive verbiage even further, while also sharpening his use of gesture and expression). Some of his strongest work, a writer firing on all cylinders and confident in his abilities - some stories that made the most impression on a youthful me are featured in this volume (which, sadly, seems to have a higher ratio of misprints and dropped letters than the previous one. Proofreaders need to eat too, people!)
As usual, lessers firsty. Matheson had a liking for cute, small, simple ideas, usually making effective cameo stories out of them (nowadays, they'd be called flash fiction). Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. "The Doll That Does Everything", about exactly that, is a sci-fi tale that goes on for too long relative to it's punchline and "The Man Who Made The World" is one of Matheson's musings on identity and reality involving a psychiatric patient who claims he is the titular. It's nothing to write home about, as even the author admits in the afterword. "The Wedding" is a dark little tale about a man obsessed with superstitions - like something that would have shown on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS back in the day, except the ending, which is the dark part, would have been a little much for television. Slight. "When Day Is Dun" is a "last man on earth" story about composing the perfect eulogy for the dead world...but what happens if.... The use of poetic language (see comments later in the review) is interesting but, again, a slight tale.
Solid stories with some minor flaw would include "Being", which is like a condensed 50's sci-fi B-movie, as a couple stuck in the desert visit a roadside gas-station zoo and find a man in one of the cages. The opening is like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE in atmosphere (long before that film existed) and then gets crossed with IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and it's a cracking good suspenseful read, if a bit too long. I actually ended upgrading my rating of it since the last time I'd read it. Also a bit longish are "Trespass" and "Slaughter House". The former (adapted as a TV-Movie called THE STRANGER WITHIN with Jeannie herself, Barbara Eden, and viewable here) was, Matheson claims, the first sci-fi story to deal with , which is interesting, I'll grant. Still, knowing that, it does go on a little too long, although the basic set-up (man return's home from long trip to find wife unaccountably pregnant) is well-handled and emotionally honest. A pretty grim ending, as well. "Slaughter House" finds Matheson, usually the exponent of sharp, scaled-back writing, deliberately composing in the style of the verbose, overwrought Victorian ghost story, as two brothers move into an old, reportedly haunted, house and begin to go mad. It's interesting - seeing Matheson write in a diametrically opposed style is instructive, and it contains a pretty well-done version of the sexually destructive femme fatale as supernatural threat (the ending revelation even seems to contain a nod to Shirley Jackson's WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE).
"Miss Stardust" (which was adapted on AMAZING STORIES, see here) might also be accused of being a little too long for it's cute idea (organizers of a bathing beauty contest run into trouble) but the writing really makes this one enjoyable, as Matheson experiments with slangy argot, slinging around jive talk and promotion lingo. I found it enjoyably funny, and I'm not much of sci-fi fan, and even less a humorous sci-fi fan. "Pattern For Survival", on the other hand, is a humorous take on a rather grim idea: "the writer who can never fail to write masterpieces", and is exactly as long as it needs to be. Finally, "The Curious Child" is an extremely well-done story featuring one of Matheson's pet concerns, memory, and is interesting to look at in comparison to the last volume's "Disappearing Act" and this volume's "The Edge" (in a sense, they're all variations on a theme). In this case, a man leaves work and realizes he can't remember where he parked his car... or what kind of car it is... or if he owned a car or at all... or.... The slow, suspenseful accretion of detail (or lack of detail) makes this story very effective, but the bolted on sci-fi ending actually works against it, torpedoing what could have been a paranoid classic (see the following comments on "The Edge" for more on this). Still, it reminds me a bit of Shirley Jackson's classic "Nightmare".
As for the solid good stories, well, as I said, "The Edge" is similar to "The Curious Child" but without the bolted-on ending. 4 years had elapsed between the earlier story and "The Edge" and in his afterword the author says that he'd realized that explanations sometime defuse powerful effects (and that he'd toyed with going back and removing the endings from stories he'd already written). In this one, a harried businessman is met by someone whom he doesn't recognize at all but who claims to know him intimately. It builds to a very strong punchline that suspends the tale at the moment of total imbalance and horror. Wonderful story. "Dear Diary", "The Funeral" and "The Holiday Man" are all small ideas well told. The first is a cute musing on how people's complaints never change over time (in the form of 3 diary entries from different eras) and, as I've said of other stories, just as long as it needs to be and no longer. "The Funeral" (which was adapted on NIGHT GALLERY with Werner "Hoooo-gan!" Klemperer, viewable on Hulu here) is a fun little humorous take on the venerable "monster rally" idea. "The Holiday Man" is a rather grim joke about the prescience of newspapers and their death statistics.
"The Descent" puts me in mind of Volume One's "The Last Day", and is another take on "this is the way the world will end", focusing not on sci-fi detail (the threat is barely examined) but instead on what it means for human beings and the toll it takes on their emotional lives. Very strong writing as two families, and the rest of humanity, prepare themselves for years, if not centuries, living underground. I'm not a religious person (at all) but "The Traveler" is an incredibly moving story about a time-travel project that goes back to view the crucifixion of Christ, and well worth anyone's time. "Dance Of The Dead" was adapted on MASTERS OF HORROR and I didn't like it very much there - getting to read the original story, it's no surprise the adaptation didn't work, as it's less about the post-apocalyptic setting and decadent treatment of the "walking dead", and really about youths and the way we enculturate ourselves to inhumanity (happening right now, even as we speak). You can view the inferior MOH version here. Along with "Slaughter House" and "Day Is Dun", it's also another experiment in poetic language. "One For The Books" (also adapted on AMAZING STORIES, but I can't find a link) is a solid little sci-fi story, as a lowly university janitor wakes up one morning speaking French, and soon discovers he has all the knowledge of the world in his head. Great last line.
Along the same lines of quality are two takes on a ghost story. "Wet Straw" is a straight-ahead creep-fest that uses one of my favorite devices, the non-visual evidence of a haunting - in this case scent and tactile evidence of a breeze. In lesser hands, this would be hard to pull off but Matheson manages a nice little haunting tale with a fairly gruesome ending (puts me in mind of Robert Bloch). The other story in this vein is "Old Haunts" and it is less a scary story and more a somber rumination on age and our memory of the past, as a traveling salesman decides to stop back at his old college town and reminisce about the glory days, slowly becoming aware that he's being followed and that the glory days weren't actually so glorious... honest, humanistic writing in this one. There are also two examples of Matheson stretching his genre boundaries here: "A Visit To Santa Claus" was published in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE and is a taut little crime story about a well-planned murder that doesn't work out so well and "The Conqueror" is a nicely done Western about a young man who arrives at a small town looking to become the top gunslinger. It may not be the first story about how the dime novel sold a version of the West that wasn't true, or how popular youth culture always glamorizes violence, but it's one of the best.
And now, the creme de la creme. "Matheson the humanistic writer" is in top form for two science fiction tales here. "The Test" posits a future in which aging citizens must pass a test to be considered viable, and the stress this puts on the relationship between a son and his aging father. Very moving, very sad, very well done. "Steel", adapted in a great TWILIGHT ZONE episode starring Lee Marvin (viewable here), is about a future in which boxing is illegal and instead robots fight (I remember when "Robot Wars" began on cable in the mid-90's, I said to myself "'Steel' starts here"). It's also about a man and his slow decline, about honor, about courage. Matheson has a wonderful observation in the afterward about how maturity changed the likely outcome of the story if he'd written it early in his career - it's still a powerful, moving piece of writing, top-notch work.
"Matheson the ribald humorist" is here in two stories that mark his PLAYBOY sales. They're not genre work, more like humorous stories turned out by, say, Jean Shepherd. I didn't understand "A Flourish Of Strumpets" when I read it as a kid and now, re-reading as an adult, I can see why. It's a superbly turned piece of wry comedy about what happens when the oldest profession goes door-to-door, told in well-crafted writing that elides every lurid detail ("that night, in the frantic dark, there was a desperate reaffirmation of their love"). Love that title and the last line, which is a perfect ending to a gem of a story. "A Splendid Source" (which recently got adapted on FAMILY GUY of all places see here) follows a rich eccentric as he attempts to discover just where all those dirty jokes come from. Again, a very well done ribald story, with wity gestures towards jokes we all know yet the story somehow never actually states anything smutty.
Finally, "Matheson the Horror/Weird Tale writer" is here in 3 consummate works. "Lemmings" is probably one of the greatest flash pieces ever written, and it blew my mind when I read it as a kid. There's almost nothing to it, just a scenario and no explanation, and yet it's just great. "Children Of Noah" is something that's a rarity nowadays - a well-told straight-up horror story in the EC Comics TALES FROM THE CRYPT mold. It's also Matheson firing on all cylinders, the writing is so tight it snaps and it's all perfectly composed in service of reaching its final goal while sustaining suspense and mood throughout. A man is pulled over late at night in a small town for running the speed limit - that's a wonderfully prosaic set-up to start with and Matheson just walks you right up to the moment of horror's precipice from there. I heard an episode of a radio show that adapted this, they did it sometime back in the 60s (probably without getting the rights), but I can't remember the name of the show (and they didn't call it "Children Of Noah", another indication that rights weren't purchased) or I'd link to it. A certified classic.
Last but certainly not least is "The Distributor". This was another story that made a strong impression on me as a kid. Later in life I became a fan of dark monologist (and Dachau survivor) Brother Theodore but it was only from reading the afterward here that I found that Matheson had written this story after seeing Theodore's show and spending a weekend with him. This is simply an amazing story that starts when a man moves into a neighborhood. And that's all I'll say. When I read Ramsey Campbell's "A Street Has Been Chosen", I realized he was mining the same area as "The Distributor". This story is true horror, the banality of evil, and may be my favorite Richard Matheson story ever....
...and yet, Collected Stories, Vol. 3 awaits....
(And I would be remiss if I didn't yet again thank my wonderful, late sister Susan for buying me these 3 volumes. I love you and miss you so very much Sue!)
What we have here are 29 stories spanning 1953 to 1958 - 5 years of work. And these are an important 5 years. Somewhere around the 3/4 mark here Matheson's storytelling skills had begun to pay off not just in accolades but in actual paying work and he began his lucrative career of screenwriting. This afforded him more time to concentrate on crafting good stories and not be enslaved to poor-paying genre markets that required certain elements before they would purchase a story. The high point is really reached late in the collection with his first 2 sales to PLAYBOY MAGAZINE and ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, the former (along with READER'S DIGEST) one of the best paying short fiction markets at the time ($1000 for a story in 1958, comparable to $75 dollars for a sci-fi magazine that same year). The stories are more mature and thoughtfully composed (the discipline of screenwriting tightens up his dialogue and cuts down descriptive verbiage even further, while also sharpening his use of gesture and expression). Some of his strongest work, a writer firing on all cylinders and confident in his abilities - some stories that made the most impression on a youthful me are featured in this volume (which, sadly, seems to have a higher ratio of misprints and dropped letters than the previous one. Proofreaders need to eat too, people!)
As usual, lessers firsty. Matheson had a liking for cute, small, simple ideas, usually making effective cameo stories out of them (nowadays, they'd be called flash fiction). Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. "The Doll That Does Everything", about exactly that, is a sci-fi tale that goes on for too long relative to it's punchline and "The Man Who Made The World" is one of Matheson's musings on identity and reality involving a psychiatric patient who claims he is the titular. It's nothing to write home about, as even the author admits in the afterword. "The Wedding" is a dark little tale about a man obsessed with superstitions - like something that would have shown on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS back in the day, except the ending, which is the dark part, would have been a little much for television. Slight. "When Day Is Dun" is a "last man on earth" story about composing the perfect eulogy for the dead world...but what happens if.... The use of poetic language (see comments later in the review) is interesting but, again, a slight tale.
Solid stories with some minor flaw would include "Being", which is like a condensed 50's sci-fi B-movie, as a couple stuck in the desert visit a roadside gas-station zoo and find a man in one of the cages. The opening is like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE in atmosphere (long before that film existed) and then gets crossed with IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE, and it's a cracking good suspenseful read, if a bit too long. I actually ended upgrading my rating of it since the last time I'd read it. Also a bit longish are "Trespass" and "Slaughter House". The former (adapted as a TV-Movie called THE STRANGER WITHIN with Jeannie herself, Barbara Eden, and viewable here) was, Matheson claims, the first sci-fi story to deal with , which is interesting, I'll grant. Still, knowing that, it does go on a little too long, although the basic set-up (man return's home from long trip to find wife unaccountably pregnant) is well-handled and emotionally honest. A pretty grim ending, as well. "Slaughter House" finds Matheson, usually the exponent of sharp, scaled-back writing, deliberately composing in the style of the verbose, overwrought Victorian ghost story, as two brothers move into an old, reportedly haunted, house and begin to go mad. It's interesting - seeing Matheson write in a diametrically opposed style is instructive, and it contains a pretty well-done version of the sexually destructive femme fatale as supernatural threat (the ending revelation even seems to contain a nod to Shirley Jackson's WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE).
"Miss Stardust" (which was adapted on AMAZING STORIES, see here) might also be accused of being a little too long for it's cute idea (organizers of a bathing beauty contest run into trouble) but the writing really makes this one enjoyable, as Matheson experiments with slangy argot, slinging around jive talk and promotion lingo. I found it enjoyably funny, and I'm not much of sci-fi fan, and even less a humorous sci-fi fan. "Pattern For Survival", on the other hand, is a humorous take on a rather grim idea: "the writer who can never fail to write masterpieces", and is exactly as long as it needs to be. Finally, "The Curious Child" is an extremely well-done story featuring one of Matheson's pet concerns, memory, and is interesting to look at in comparison to the last volume's "Disappearing Act" and this volume's "The Edge" (in a sense, they're all variations on a theme). In this case, a man leaves work and realizes he can't remember where he parked his car... or what kind of car it is... or if he owned a car or at all... or.... The slow, suspenseful accretion of detail (or lack of detail) makes this story very effective, but the bolted on sci-fi ending actually works against it, torpedoing what could have been a paranoid classic (see the following comments on "The Edge" for more on this). Still, it reminds me a bit of Shirley Jackson's classic "Nightmare".
As for the solid good stories, well, as I said, "The Edge" is similar to "The Curious Child" but without the bolted-on ending. 4 years had elapsed between the earlier story and "The Edge" and in his afterword the author says that he'd realized that explanations sometime defuse powerful effects (and that he'd toyed with going back and removing the endings from stories he'd already written). In this one, a harried businessman is met by someone whom he doesn't recognize at all but who claims to know him intimately. It builds to a very strong punchline that suspends the tale at the moment of total imbalance and horror. Wonderful story. "Dear Diary", "The Funeral" and "The Holiday Man" are all small ideas well told. The first is a cute musing on how people's complaints never change over time (in the form of 3 diary entries from different eras) and, as I've said of other stories, just as long as it needs to be and no longer. "The Funeral" (which was adapted on NIGHT GALLERY with Werner "Hoooo-gan!" Klemperer, viewable on Hulu here) is a fun little humorous take on the venerable "monster rally" idea. "The Holiday Man" is a rather grim joke about the prescience of newspapers and their death statistics.
"The Descent" puts me in mind of Volume One's "The Last Day", and is another take on "this is the way the world will end", focusing not on sci-fi detail (the threat is barely examined) but instead on what it means for human beings and the toll it takes on their emotional lives. Very strong writing as two families, and the rest of humanity, prepare themselves for years, if not centuries, living underground. I'm not a religious person (at all) but "The Traveler" is an incredibly moving story about a time-travel project that goes back to view the crucifixion of Christ, and well worth anyone's time. "Dance Of The Dead" was adapted on MASTERS OF HORROR and I didn't like it very much there - getting to read the original story, it's no surprise the adaptation didn't work, as it's less about the post-apocalyptic setting and decadent treatment of the "walking dead", and really about youths and the way we enculturate ourselves to inhumanity (happening right now, even as we speak). You can view the inferior MOH version here. Along with "Slaughter House" and "Day Is Dun", it's also another experiment in poetic language. "One For The Books" (also adapted on AMAZING STORIES, but I can't find a link) is a solid little sci-fi story, as a lowly university janitor wakes up one morning speaking French, and soon discovers he has all the knowledge of the world in his head. Great last line.
Along the same lines of quality are two takes on a ghost story. "Wet Straw" is a straight-ahead creep-fest that uses one of my favorite devices, the non-visual evidence of a haunting - in this case scent and tactile evidence of a breeze. In lesser hands, this would be hard to pull off but Matheson manages a nice little haunting tale with a fairly gruesome ending (puts me in mind of Robert Bloch). The other story in this vein is "Old Haunts" and it is less a scary story and more a somber rumination on age and our memory of the past, as a traveling salesman decides to stop back at his old college town and reminisce about the glory days, slowly becoming aware that he's being followed and that the glory days weren't actually so glorious... honest, humanistic writing in this one. There are also two examples of Matheson stretching his genre boundaries here: "A Visit To Santa Claus" was published in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE and is a taut little crime story about a well-planned murder that doesn't work out so well and "The Conqueror" is a nicely done Western about a young man who arrives at a small town looking to become the top gunslinger. It may not be the first story about how the dime novel sold a version of the West that wasn't true, or how popular youth culture always glamorizes violence, but it's one of the best.
And now, the creme de la creme. "Matheson the humanistic writer" is in top form for two science fiction tales here. "The Test" posits a future in which aging citizens must pass a test to be considered viable, and the stress this puts on the relationship between a son and his aging father. Very moving, very sad, very well done. "Steel", adapted in a great TWILIGHT ZONE episode starring Lee Marvin (viewable here), is about a future in which boxing is illegal and instead robots fight (I remember when "Robot Wars" began on cable in the mid-90's, I said to myself "'Steel' starts here"). It's also about a man and his slow decline, about honor, about courage. Matheson has a wonderful observation in the afterward about how maturity changed the likely outcome of the story if he'd written it early in his career - it's still a powerful, moving piece of writing, top-notch work.
"Matheson the ribald humorist" is here in two stories that mark his PLAYBOY sales. They're not genre work, more like humorous stories turned out by, say, Jean Shepherd. I didn't understand "A Flourish Of Strumpets" when I read it as a kid and now, re-reading as an adult, I can see why. It's a superbly turned piece of wry comedy about what happens when the oldest profession goes door-to-door, told in well-crafted writing that elides every lurid detail ("that night, in the frantic dark, there was a desperate reaffirmation of their love"). Love that title and the last line, which is a perfect ending to a gem of a story. "A Splendid Source" (which recently got adapted on FAMILY GUY of all places see here) follows a rich eccentric as he attempts to discover just where all those dirty jokes come from. Again, a very well done ribald story, with wity gestures towards jokes we all know yet the story somehow never actually states anything smutty.
Finally, "Matheson the Horror/Weird Tale writer" is here in 3 consummate works. "Lemmings" is probably one of the greatest flash pieces ever written, and it blew my mind when I read it as a kid. There's almost nothing to it, just a scenario and no explanation, and yet it's just great. "Children Of Noah" is something that's a rarity nowadays - a well-told straight-up horror story in the EC Comics TALES FROM THE CRYPT mold. It's also Matheson firing on all cylinders, the writing is so tight it snaps and it's all perfectly composed in service of reaching its final goal while sustaining suspense and mood throughout. A man is pulled over late at night in a small town for running the speed limit - that's a wonderfully prosaic set-up to start with and Matheson just walks you right up to the moment of horror's precipice from there. I heard an episode of a radio show that adapted this, they did it sometime back in the 60s (probably without getting the rights), but I can't remember the name of the show (and they didn't call it "Children Of Noah", another indication that rights weren't purchased) or I'd link to it. A certified classic.
Last but certainly not least is "The Distributor". This was another story that made a strong impression on me as a kid. Later in life I became a fan of dark monologist (and Dachau survivor) Brother Theodore but it was only from reading the afterward here that I found that Matheson had written this story after seeing Theodore's show and spending a weekend with him. This is simply an amazing story that starts when a man moves into a neighborhood. And that's all I'll say. When I read Ramsey Campbell's "A Street Has Been Chosen", I realized he was mining the same area as "The Distributor". This story is true horror, the banality of evil, and may be my favorite Richard Matheson story ever....
...and yet, Collected Stories, Vol. 3 awaits....
(And I would be remiss if I didn't yet again thank my wonderful, late sister Susan for buying me these 3 volumes. I love you and miss you so very much Sue!)
June 18, 2016
Volumen ligeramente superior al anterior. Se nota la profesionalización de Matheson, especialmente a través de relatos mucho más enfocados, resueltos alrededor de un par de claves (el giro, la reinterpretación de lo ocurrido cuando se alcanza la visión global). En el proceso se pierde diversidad pero se gana una narración generalmente mejor resuelta. Aparte de los pequeños clásicos que atesora (Pesadilla a veinte mil pies, Duelo, Presa...) estos cuentos destacan por la manera en la cual Matheson se aleja de la ciencia ficción para zambullirse al terror y el suspense, tocando uno tras otro los grandes temas del fantástico (el doble, el homúnculo, el espectro, el pacto fáustico...). Y cómo se acerca a la podredumbre detrás de la idílica clase media de los 50 y 60; esos maridos con planes para deshacerse de sus parejas, ya sea matándolas o cambiándolas por otra. El miedo a esa clase trabajadora que domina el mundo más allá de la frontera de sus suburbios. En este sentido contiene relatos ciertamente acojonantes como "Ajuste de cuentas" donde una forma no demasiado apropiada no atenúa la escabrosa idea sobre la que se sostiene.
Claro, como en toda obra más o menos completa hay cuentos prescindibles, cuando no malejos. Pero cualquiera interesado en el género de los 50 y los 60, que ha colonizado nuestro imaginario colectivo a través del cine, la televisión y otros escritores posteriores, encontrará aquí abundantes motivos de satisfacción.
Claro, como en toda obra más o menos completa hay cuentos prescindibles, cuando no malejos. Pero cualquiera interesado en el género de los 50 y los 60, que ha colonizado nuestro imaginario colectivo a través del cine, la televisión y otros escritores posteriores, encontrará aquí abundantes motivos de satisfacción.
December 14, 2021
Segunda parte del compendio de cuentos fantásticos (no he conseguido el primero ya que está descatalogado) contiene 43 cuentos y en su mayoría me han gustado mucho, hay algunos realmente brillantes lo que me ha dejado gratamente sorprendido del autor de quien sólo conocía "Soy leyenda". Muchos de ellos han sido llevados a la pantalla principalmente en la vieja serie "The twilight zone" que en mi país se llamaba "La dimensión desconocida". Los que más me gustaron son: Digno de mención, Al borde, Fecha de caducidad, Desde lugares sombríos, Presa y Duelo.
Me encantó los comentarios al final de cada historia por el mismo Richard Matheson dándote alguna referencia histórica o anécdota, excelente.
5 estrellas bien ganadas.
Me encantó los comentarios al final de cada historia por el mismo Richard Matheson dándote alguna referencia histórica o anécdota, excelente.
5 estrellas bien ganadas.
January 19, 2017
El nombre de Richard Matheson no puede ser desconocido para los amantes del terror y el fantástico, ya que en palabras de Neil Gaiman, incluso los que no saben quién es lo conocen. Así de larga es su sombra. Efectivamente, no es exagerado decir que él es el gran reformulador americano del género a mediados del siglo XX, ya que antes de consagrarse en la tarea de realizar guiones para el cine y la televisión, Matheson fue el autor de dos novelas clave para entender el género: Soy leyenda (1954) y El hombre menguante (1956). Además de escribir a lo largo de veinte años un gran número de relatos breves maravillosos, que son los que ha reunido en orden cronológico Ediciones Gigamesh en esta rica antología en dos volúmenes, con las preceptivas presentaciones, introducciones, apéndices y notas que uno se espera encontrar en una obra canónica y con voluntad de ser referencia.
La reseña completa en español en http://elbiblionauta.com/es/2017/01/1...
La ressenya sencera en català a http://elbiblionauta.com/ca/2017/01/1...
La reseña completa en español en http://elbiblionauta.com/es/2017/01/1...
La ressenya sencera en català a http://elbiblionauta.com/ca/2017/01/1...
May 26, 2020
EL FUNERAL - 4
MISS ENCANTO SIDERAL - 5
DIGNO DE MENCIÓN - 6
PAUTAS DE SUPERVIVENCIA - 7
FANFARRIAS DE MERETRICES - 6
LA FUENTE GENEROSA - 7
ACERO - 8
VAMOS A VER A PAPÁ NOEL - 8
LOS HIJOS DE NOAH - 7.5
EL HOMBRE DE LOS FESTIVOS - 6
LEMMINGS - 7
VIEJAS FANTASMAGORÍAS - 7.5
EL REPARTIDOR - 9
AL BORDE - 7
UNA GRAN SORPRESA - 7.5
EL ABOMINABLE AVANCE DEL TERROR - 5
FECHA DE CADUCIDAD - 6
MANTAGE - 10
LOS VAMPIROS NO EXISTEN - 8
GRILLOS - 7
AJUSTE DE CUENTAS - 8
PRIMER ANIVERSARIO - 8
DESDE LUGARES SOMBRÍOS - 9.5
PESADILLA A VEINTE MIL PIES - 9
HUELLAS DACTILARES- 8
LA ESTAMPA DE JULIE - 7
MUTISMO - 8
DEUS EX MACHINA - 8
LA CHICA DE MIS SUEÑOS - 7
LA MÁQUINA DE JAZZ - 7
ONDA EXPANSIVA - 6
OH, BLANDA NAVIDAD - 5
INTERESES - 6,5
UN POCO DE AGUA - 8
THERESE - 8
PRESA - 8
BOTÓN, BOTÓN - 9,5
SOLO CON CITA PREVIA -9
EL TOQUE MAGISTRAL - 4
HASTA QUE LA MUERTE NOS SEPARE - 6
LA CASI DIFUNTA - 6
TALENTOS ENTERRADOS - 5
DUELO - 10
MISS ENCANTO SIDERAL - 5
DIGNO DE MENCIÓN - 6
PAUTAS DE SUPERVIVENCIA - 7
FANFARRIAS DE MERETRICES - 6
LA FUENTE GENEROSA - 7
ACERO - 8
VAMOS A VER A PAPÁ NOEL - 8
LOS HIJOS DE NOAH - 7.5
EL HOMBRE DE LOS FESTIVOS - 6
LEMMINGS - 7
VIEJAS FANTASMAGORÍAS - 7.5
EL REPARTIDOR - 9
AL BORDE - 7
UNA GRAN SORPRESA - 7.5
EL ABOMINABLE AVANCE DEL TERROR - 5
FECHA DE CADUCIDAD - 6
MANTAGE - 10
LOS VAMPIROS NO EXISTEN - 8
GRILLOS - 7
AJUSTE DE CUENTAS - 8
PRIMER ANIVERSARIO - 8
DESDE LUGARES SOMBRÍOS - 9.5
PESADILLA A VEINTE MIL PIES - 9
HUELLAS DACTILARES- 8
LA ESTAMPA DE JULIE - 7
MUTISMO - 8
DEUS EX MACHINA - 8
LA CHICA DE MIS SUEÑOS - 7
LA MÁQUINA DE JAZZ - 7
ONDA EXPANSIVA - 6
OH, BLANDA NAVIDAD - 5
INTERESES - 6,5
UN POCO DE AGUA - 8
THERESE - 8
PRESA - 8
BOTÓN, BOTÓN - 9,5
SOLO CON CITA PREVIA -9
EL TOQUE MAGISTRAL - 4
HASTA QUE LA MUERTE NOS SEPARE - 6
LA CASI DIFUNTA - 6
TALENTOS ENTERRADOS - 5
DUELO - 10
June 8, 2025
Standout stories:
-Being
-The Conqueror
-Descent
-The Doll That Does Everything
-The Test
-The Traveller
-The Children of Noah
-Being
-The Conqueror
-Descent
-The Doll That Does Everything
-The Test
-The Traveller
-The Children of Noah
June 3, 2016
Hoy os traigo un libro que llamó poderosamente mi atención al estar escrito por Richard Matheson.
Si bien es verdad que yo no soy muy dada a los relatos, no me pude resistir ante esta joyita del suspense y terror y estaba deseando hincarle el diente y, además, Matheson, al menos de momento bajo mí experiencia personal, es apuesta segura.
De él había leído en el pasado Soy leyenda y La casa infernal, ambos me gustaron pero sobre todo el primero que, personalmente, catalogo como obra maestra y que dejó un profundo calado en mi bagaje personal como lectora.
Por todo ello, pese a que los relatos no son lo mío, como os acabo de decir, no podía resistirme y la verdad es que no me ha defraudado. Me han resultado unas historias tremendamente curiosas en algunas ocasiones, e inquietantes y fascinantes en otras tantas.
Las que catalogaría como curiosas son aquellas que el autor deja con un final abierto y si explicación. En las notas que encontramos al finalizar cada uno de los relatos, Matheson, nos explica que estos finales son a propósito. De hecho, pretende sacudir y sorprender al lector con algo diferente, algo que le haga reflexionar y dejar, precisamente en la incertidumbre, plantada la semilla que dé lugar a la especulación y a la reflexión.
Sobre estas notas os hablaré más adelante.
Por otro lado, las que más he disfrutado son las más terroríficas e inquietantes. Me ha sorprendido muchísimo la capacidad magistral que posee el autor para zambullirnos en la historia en unas pocas lineas y que quedemos totalmente enganchados a la "mini-trama" que nos ofrece cada una de ellas. Tanto es así, que en más de una ocasión hubiera deseado que el relato fuera más largo, aunque fuese una novela corta, para poder disfrutar mucho más tiempo de él y de sus personajes. Porque, ese es otro tema... ¿Como demonios consigue Matheson que nos resulten tan cercanos y empaticemos tan rápidamente con ellos en unas breves lineas? Definitivamente es un GIGANTE. Sí, con mayúsculas.
Quiero comentar, y me gustaría que si alguien ha leído este volumen me diga si está de acuerdo conmigo, que en múltiples ocasiones las historias y el estilo del autor me recordaban bastante a Stephen King, incluso encontré alguna que otra trama parecida a alguna novela de este. Lo cual me agradó bastante pues, por consiguiente, pertenece al tipo de historias que me hacen disfrutar ya que ya sabéis que soy una gran seguidora de King.
Casi se me olvida, pero también quiero destacar el humor soterrado que he encontrado en muchísimas de las historias y que le da una vuelta más de tuerca, si cabe, a la hora de enriquecerlas más aun. Siempre he considerado que el ingenio y el sentido del humor son signos de gran inteligencia, pero vaya usted a saber... esto ya son divagaciones mías personales. Lo que quiero decir, es que aun me muestran más la genialidad del autor, al menos a mi modo de ver y a riesgo de repetirme ensalzando su talento.
Respecto a las notas que antes os comentaba que podemos encontrar al finalizar cada relato, son muy breves pero me han servido de muchísima ayuda. Pues en ellas el autor nos deja unas pequeñas explicaciones diciéndonos en qué se inspiró a la hora de construir el relato, cual era su razón de ser, en que medio fue publicado y/o otras muchas curiosidades por el estilo que me han encantado e incluso me han resuelto alguna duda, respecto al relato en cuestión, en más de una ocasión.
En fin, un libro que se disfruta de cabo a rabo, que no tiene desperdicio. En el cual queda patente la grandeza y maestría del autor, sobre todo a la hora de constuir un universo completo en tan pocas páginas, dejándonos un regusto como si una obra más extensa es lo que hubiéramos leído. No os lo perdáis.
Mi puntuación es: 8/10
Si bien es verdad que yo no soy muy dada a los relatos, no me pude resistir ante esta joyita del suspense y terror y estaba deseando hincarle el diente y, además, Matheson, al menos de momento bajo mí experiencia personal, es apuesta segura.
De él había leído en el pasado Soy leyenda y La casa infernal, ambos me gustaron pero sobre todo el primero que, personalmente, catalogo como obra maestra y que dejó un profundo calado en mi bagaje personal como lectora.
Por todo ello, pese a que los relatos no son lo mío, como os acabo de decir, no podía resistirme y la verdad es que no me ha defraudado. Me han resultado unas historias tremendamente curiosas en algunas ocasiones, e inquietantes y fascinantes en otras tantas.
Las que catalogaría como curiosas son aquellas que el autor deja con un final abierto y si explicación. En las notas que encontramos al finalizar cada uno de los relatos, Matheson, nos explica que estos finales son a propósito. De hecho, pretende sacudir y sorprender al lector con algo diferente, algo que le haga reflexionar y dejar, precisamente en la incertidumbre, plantada la semilla que dé lugar a la especulación y a la reflexión.
Sobre estas notas os hablaré más adelante.
Por otro lado, las que más he disfrutado son las más terroríficas e inquietantes. Me ha sorprendido muchísimo la capacidad magistral que posee el autor para zambullirnos en la historia en unas pocas lineas y que quedemos totalmente enganchados a la "mini-trama" que nos ofrece cada una de ellas. Tanto es así, que en más de una ocasión hubiera deseado que el relato fuera más largo, aunque fuese una novela corta, para poder disfrutar mucho más tiempo de él y de sus personajes. Porque, ese es otro tema... ¿Como demonios consigue Matheson que nos resulten tan cercanos y empaticemos tan rápidamente con ellos en unas breves lineas? Definitivamente es un GIGANTE. Sí, con mayúsculas.
Quiero comentar, y me gustaría que si alguien ha leído este volumen me diga si está de acuerdo conmigo, que en múltiples ocasiones las historias y el estilo del autor me recordaban bastante a Stephen King, incluso encontré alguna que otra trama parecida a alguna novela de este. Lo cual me agradó bastante pues, por consiguiente, pertenece al tipo de historias que me hacen disfrutar ya que ya sabéis que soy una gran seguidora de King.
Casi se me olvida, pero también quiero destacar el humor soterrado que he encontrado en muchísimas de las historias y que le da una vuelta más de tuerca, si cabe, a la hora de enriquecerlas más aun. Siempre he considerado que el ingenio y el sentido del humor son signos de gran inteligencia, pero vaya usted a saber... esto ya son divagaciones mías personales. Lo que quiero decir, es que aun me muestran más la genialidad del autor, al menos a mi modo de ver y a riesgo de repetirme ensalzando su talento.
Respecto a las notas que antes os comentaba que podemos encontrar al finalizar cada relato, son muy breves pero me han servido de muchísima ayuda. Pues en ellas el autor nos deja unas pequeñas explicaciones diciéndonos en qué se inspiró a la hora de construir el relato, cual era su razón de ser, en que medio fue publicado y/o otras muchas curiosidades por el estilo que me han encantado e incluso me han resuelto alguna duda, respecto al relato en cuestión, en más de una ocasión.
En fin, un libro que se disfruta de cabo a rabo, que no tiene desperdicio. En el cual queda patente la grandeza y maestría del autor, sobre todo a la hora de constuir un universo completo en tan pocas páginas, dejándonos un regusto como si una obra más extensa es lo que hubiéramos leído. No os lo perdáis.
Mi puntuación es: 8/10
April 13, 2017
Tan imprescindible como el primer tomo. Matheson fue un autor a reivindicar y rescatar, tanto en su primera época "bradburiana", con algunos relatos de ciencia ficción bastante buenos, como en el campo del terror, que es donde mejor se destacó
Read
February 23, 2020Slaughter House
Trespass 5
The Wedding 3
Wet Straw
Being 5
The Conqueror 3
The Curious Child
Dear Diary 5
Descent 4
The Doll That Does Everything 5
The Man Who Made the World
The Test 4
The Traveller
When Day is Dun 2
Dance of the Dead
The Funeral
Miss Stardust
One for the Books 4
Pattern for Survival
A Flourish of Strumpets
The Splendid Source 5
Steel 5
A Visit to Santa Claus 5
The Children of Noah
The Holiday Man
Lemmings 3
Old Haunts
The Distributor
The Edge 5
Trespass 5
The Wedding 3
Wet Straw
Being 5
The Conqueror 3
The Curious Child
Dear Diary 5
Descent 4
The Doll That Does Everything 5
The Man Who Made the World
The Test 4
The Traveller
When Day is Dun 2
Dance of the Dead
The Funeral
Miss Stardust
One for the Books 4
Pattern for Survival
A Flourish of Strumpets
The Splendid Source 5
Steel 5
A Visit to Santa Claus 5
The Children of Noah
The Holiday Man
Lemmings 3
Old Haunts
The Distributor
The Edge 5
June 3, 2020
It is Richard Matheson so you can expect a higher than normal hit rate, occasionally there was a story that did not grip as well as others but overall there is a wealth of untapped potential. Now to read the other two volumes.
April 14, 2025
I was disappointed by this collection as I feel it's not Matheson's strongest material. Even he admits in the afterword of some stories that they're weak. That being said, "weak" Matheson stories are still better than most authors' efforts. But I only enjoyed two or three of these.
August 29, 2019
As you get further into the book, the stories get better. You can see the master beginning to hone his storytelling ability.
August 13, 2022
Richard Matheson. Enough said.
December 31, 2008
Slaughter House ***oo (3 stars)
Trespass ***oo
The Wedding ***oo
Wet Straw ***oo
Being **ooo
The Conqueror ***oo
The Curious Child ***oo
Dear Diary ***oo
Decent ***00
The Doll That Does Everything ****o
The Man Who Made the World ****o
The Test ****o
The Traveler ***oo
When Day is Dun ***oo
Dance of the Dead **ooo
The Funeral ***oo
Miss Stardust ***oo
One For the Books ****o
Pattern For Survival **ooo
A Flourish of Strumpets ***oo
A Splendid Source ***oo
Steel ***oo
A Visit to Santa Claus ***oo
The Children of Noah ***oo
The Holiday Man ***oo
Lemmings ***oo
Old Haunts ***oo
The Distributor ****o
The Edge ***oo
Trespass ***oo
The Wedding ***oo
Wet Straw ***oo
Being **ooo
The Conqueror ***oo
The Curious Child ***oo
Dear Diary ***oo
Decent ***00
The Doll That Does Everything ****o
The Man Who Made the World ****o
The Test ****o
The Traveler ***oo
When Day is Dun ***oo
Dance of the Dead **ooo
The Funeral ***oo
Miss Stardust ***oo
One For the Books ****o
Pattern For Survival **ooo
A Flourish of Strumpets ***oo
A Splendid Source ***oo
Steel ***oo
A Visit to Santa Claus ***oo
The Children of Noah ***oo
The Holiday Man ***oo
Lemmings ***oo
Old Haunts ***oo
The Distributor ****o
The Edge ***oo
March 29, 2016
This collection included a few humorous stories which I didn't care for. They were still eerie stories, but had a touch of comedy about them which some people might like. I prefer the more seriously eerie stories, especially the ones with a neat twist at the end. There were a couple gems in this collection. Noah's Children had a touch of Lovecraft about it. The Distributor reminded me of King's Needful Things. Really excellent stories. I can't imagine anyone not finding some of these stories enjoyable. The collection is more diverse than book 1.
Want to read
April 15, 2008Remember the version of "The Twilight Zone" they brought back in the mid-80s? I was reminiscing about it on the Intarwebs and mentioned by fav episode "Button, Button," which apparently was written by this hugely respected and widely adored writer Richard Matheson. They're even making it into a Cameron Diaz movie out later this year. Livejournal FTW!
'
So I'm just using this as a bookmarker to remind myself to revisit Matheson's oeuvre.
'
So I'm just using this as a bookmarker to remind myself to revisit Matheson's oeuvre.
March 27, 2009
48th book of 2009!
It is really hard to star rate a book of short stories. Richard Matheson is one of my favorite authors, however his collection only gets four stars because I didn't adore every single story.
I think any writer of horror or science fiction needs to read Matheson. Especially short story writers. He was one of the innovators and knocks me dead often.
Some favorites:
"Dance of the Dead"
"Children of Noah"
"Lemmings"
It is really hard to star rate a book of short stories. Richard Matheson is one of my favorite authors, however his collection only gets four stars because I didn't adore every single story.
I think any writer of horror or science fiction needs to read Matheson. Especially short story writers. He was one of the innovators and knocks me dead often.
Some favorites:
"Dance of the Dead"
"Children of Noah"
"Lemmings"
July 15, 2013
The best thing about this collection is that the material is so fresh. Sure, a few stories sound dated, but most contain unique ideas and concepts, even 60 years after they were published. That's pretty neat, and a testament to Matheson's talent and imagination.
Want to read
July 19, 2011Stephen King tribute to Matheson included in collection of 3 books.
Author discussed in chapter 9 of Danse Macabre, published in 1981.
Author discussed in chapter 9 of Danse Macabre, published in 1981.
Currently reading
October 23, 2012Matheson is the real shit.I envy you who are encountering him for the first time.
August 10, 2014
Matheson is founder and master of science-fiction horror. This second anthology of three makes proof of such aptitude easily accessible. A must-own for aficionados.
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