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The Link
The Link began as a 557-page outline Richard Matheson wrote for a proposed 20-hour ABC-TV mini-series in the 1970's. Television executives asked him to shorten the series into 7 hours. Later, after Matheson had written three hours of the miniseries the two parted company. Matheson's vision could not be condensed without destroying the essence of the plot and characters. This is that original outline, in narrative form, appearing here in publication for the first time.
The story follows Robert Allright as he explores both his own demons and those of psychics past, as he struggles to decipher his father's dying wish to explore an archeological dig in Arizona. His only clue is a mystifying crystal that his father believes is the key to a great discovery.
The story follows Robert Allright as he explores both his own demons and those of psychics past, as he struggles to decipher his father's dying wish to explore an archeological dig in Arizona. His only clue is a mystifying crystal that his father believes is the key to a great discovery.
349 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
16 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Richard Matheson
759 books4,789 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 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 11, 2013
Richard Matheson originally pitched the idea for "The Link" to ABC in the seventies and was given a "go" to start up a treatment for a 20 hour-long mini-series. Somewhere along the way, ABC first wanted him to cut back the story to 7 hours, then wanted an entirely new storyline added to the project, all before they finally lost interest.
Matheson then toyed with the idea of turning the entire project into a novel. When Part One of the story came in around 800 pages, his agent advised him to drop it as the entire book would end up at around 2,000 pages long, and as such be unsellable.
Fast forward a few decades when Gauntlet Press decides to publish not the novel, but the treatment for the mini-series, and you have "The Link."
In a nutshell, (and considering the size of the story it's one heck of a nutshell) the book tells the story of Robert Allright, a man who's family has a psychic past. He's hired to help write a film about psi - parapscychology et al - with the help of two "technical advisors" from England. Throughout the book, Robert and his companions, Cathy and Peter, have an opportunity to delve into every aspect of psi through a wide ranging variety of experiences and setups. They work psychically on a crime with a police department. They investigate two separate hauntings. They travel to Russia to meet with people involved with everything from psychic healing, to remote vision, to telekinesis. They meet dozens of psychics who's abilities range from the mundane to the fantastic. The whole history of psi is discussed via flashbacks, (which led me to wonder if this entire project wasn't Matheson's impetus for "Mediums Rare"...) and a host of theories are brought in from both sides (pro and con) of psi that round out the story and make it not seem like a commercial for parapsychology.
So, that's the backdrop. Through all of this, Robert is trying to solve a family mystery that seems to become clearer through each of his experiences.
A mini-series?
After finishing this book I felt like I'd read the synopsis for a nine-season network drama. There really is enough material contained within "The Link" for something so much more... broad, for lack of a better word. How would it have worked as a television show? I'm not sure. There's a lot alluded to in the book that would have been difficult to convey on the screen without a lot of elaboration that wasn't there... but it sure as hell would have been fun to watch.
"The Link" - novel or not - is a masterpiece. The story is sweeping, engaging, and written so well that you don't even realize how much you're learning while you're reading it. Pure Matheson.
Matheson then toyed with the idea of turning the entire project into a novel. When Part One of the story came in around 800 pages, his agent advised him to drop it as the entire book would end up at around 2,000 pages long, and as such be unsellable.
Fast forward a few decades when Gauntlet Press decides to publish not the novel, but the treatment for the mini-series, and you have "The Link."
In a nutshell, (and considering the size of the story it's one heck of a nutshell) the book tells the story of Robert Allright, a man who's family has a psychic past. He's hired to help write a film about psi - parapscychology et al - with the help of two "technical advisors" from England. Throughout the book, Robert and his companions, Cathy and Peter, have an opportunity to delve into every aspect of psi through a wide ranging variety of experiences and setups. They work psychically on a crime with a police department. They investigate two separate hauntings. They travel to Russia to meet with people involved with everything from psychic healing, to remote vision, to telekinesis. They meet dozens of psychics who's abilities range from the mundane to the fantastic. The whole history of psi is discussed via flashbacks, (which led me to wonder if this entire project wasn't Matheson's impetus for "Mediums Rare"...) and a host of theories are brought in from both sides (pro and con) of psi that round out the story and make it not seem like a commercial for parapsychology.
So, that's the backdrop. Through all of this, Robert is trying to solve a family mystery that seems to become clearer through each of his experiences.
A mini-series?
After finishing this book I felt like I'd read the synopsis for a nine-season network drama. There really is enough material contained within "The Link" for something so much more... broad, for lack of a better word. How would it have worked as a television show? I'm not sure. There's a lot alluded to in the book that would have been difficult to convey on the screen without a lot of elaboration that wasn't there... but it sure as hell would have been fun to watch.
"The Link" - novel or not - is a masterpiece. The story is sweeping, engaging, and written so well that you don't even realize how much you're learning while you're reading it. Pure Matheson.
July 28, 2011
Wow. I never wanted it to end.
September 25, 2025
Interesting book
At first, I couldn't really get into this book. It is a screenplay for a TV mini-series turned into a novel. My frustration with that was he didn't "novelize" it. There are stage directions throughout. However, I am a fan of Richard Matheson, so I persisted. After a bit, I got used to the stage directions, and it really helped me to keep the various timelines separated. I ended up really enjoying the book and the characters.
At first, I couldn't really get into this book. It is a screenplay for a TV mini-series turned into a novel. My frustration with that was he didn't "novelize" it. There are stage directions throughout. However, I am a fan of Richard Matheson, so I persisted. After a bit, I got used to the stage directions, and it really helped me to keep the various timelines separated. I ended up really enjoying the book and the characters.
January 30, 2016
Like Hell House, this deals with conflicts between skeptics, spiritualists, and parapsychologists.
The book has a nice bit of mystery and romance.
I found the last parts of the book less interesting than the beginning and middle.
The book has a nice bit of mystery and romance.
I found the last parts of the book less interesting than the beginning and middle.
December 29, 2015
Another wonderful story with depth and heart by the wonderful Richard Matheson.
If you are a Matheson fan at all, you will be rewarded by reading this one.
If you are a Matheson fan at all, you will be rewarded by reading this one.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews