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Reviewed
by Carol Reid
Like
Ray Bradbury and Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson is one of a handful
of SF writers who both epitomize and transcend the genre. As a
raconteur of ordinary folks thrust into extraordinary situations, no
one spins a yarn like Matheson.
Readers who dip
into this collection will quite possibly get a strong sense of déjà lu . So many
of these stories have appeared in other collections and anthologies;
others have been filmed for the silver and the small screen. The most
casual fan of speculative fiction is likely to know Matheson's work if
not his name.
The title
story, Button Button,
delivers a one-two punch of story and character in Matheson's trademark
unadorned prose. Would you commit murder if there were no chance of
being caught? All you have to do is press the button.
In Girl of my Dreams,
a hapless woman with a psychic gift is exploited by her abusive
partner. This is a brutal, ugly tale, barely redeemed by a nightmarish
conclusion.
Dying Room
Only is a coiled spring of a story which might make
readers reconsider that upcoming road trip. Suspicion and xenophobia
abound here. A
Flourish of Strumpets and Clothes Make the Man
are lighter pieces which reveal flashes of a wry, playful, often
gallows humor.
To me the most
memorable and remarkable story in the collection is the heartbreaking
post-apocalyptic tale
Pattern for Survival whose main character orchestrates a
palatable existence in an unusual and profoundly human way.
These are
"what if…" stories of the highest order, which back up Ray
Bradbury's comment that he considers the author "one of the most
important writers of the 20th century". And for good or ill, Stephen
King points the finger at Richard Matheson for being "the author who
influenced me most as a writer."
Carol
Reid is a fan of mid-twentieth century speculative fiction. She lives
in a small community on the west coast of Canada, where she is working
on a collection of short stories set in a fictional small community on
the west coast of Canada.
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Publisher: Tor Books
Publication
Date:
April 2008
Paperback/Hardback?
Paperback
First
collection?: No
Author
bio: Richard
Matheson was born on February 20, 1926 in Allendale, New
Jersey, U.S.A. Among his best-selling novels are I am Legend, The
Shrinking Man (a.k.a. The Incredible Shrinking Man), What Dreams May
Come and Stir of Echoes. His collected stories fill three volumes, so
far. He is also a prolific author of screenplays and scripts for
classic television series such as The Twilight Zone. He has been
honored with the Edgar, the Spur and Writers Guild awards and the Bram
Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.
Buy this book (used or
new) from:
The
Publisher's Website: Tor Books
AbeBooks
Amazon
BetterWorldBooks.Com
And...don't
forget your local booksellers and independent book shops! Visit IndieBound.org to find an independent bookstore near
you in the US
If
you liked this book you might also like....
Richard Matheson
"Nightmare At 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories "
What
other reviewers thought:
L A Times
Genre Go
Round
SciFi
Dimensions
Bookgasm
SciFi.com
Unmainstream
Mom Reads
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