Richard Matheson

[j d worthington]

No, "Nightmare" is a short story (included in one of the Shock volumes, iirc). It was also adapted as a Twilight Zone episode by Matheson as well (and re-adapted -- not by Matheson, I believe -- in the movie).

weirdside: well, I think you could gather some of that by reading the various mentions in the thread. Quite a lot of Matheson is worth pursuing, but personal favorites would be The Shrinking Man (a novel which only grows with rereading, I think), Hell House, a number of the short stories (try "Born of Man and Woman", for instance; it's only three or so pages in length, but it packs quite a wallop!), and Bid Time Return. A lot of his others are not far behind....

 

[dask]

Yes, it was the longish short story I was referring to, however I didn't think of it until just now but I'm fairly certain I saw a novelization of the movie version (called "Nightmare At 40,000 Feet") adapted by Robert Bloch. I'd do a google but I'm too lazy right now.

 

[Connavar]

Have anyone here read The Gun Fight by Matheson ?

I found it very interesting when I read about it. It sounded very interesting knowing how well Matheson can write about stories that look simple.

 

[3dfan]

I read it but "I am Legend" is still one of my fav horror books by him, after Stephen King's works

 

[Connavar]

Was typical Matheson quality ?

Doesnt have to be brilliant like I Am Legend.

 

[3dfan]

Was typical Matheson quality ?

Doesnt have to be brilliant like I Am Legend.

I think you should be if so many people like it!

 

[TheLastBard]

I LOVE I Am Legend... I can remember around 15 years ago picking it up for the first time while I was working in a book store. Started reading and finished same night... couldn't put it down.

 

[Fried Egg]

It must be about fifteen years since I read my first Matheson novel ("I am Legend") and I am only now getting around to reading another. I don't know why, I loved that book; I guess I just didn't come across any or I would have been sure to pick them up. Very recently though, I stumbled upon a paperback copy of "Hell House", second hand but in very good condition.

I'm nearly halfway through now and I must say that I am really enjoying it. So far so good. I was quite surprised by J.D.'s comments regarding it's closeness to Shirley Jackson's "Haunting of Hill House". I am yet to read that and hope I've not done the wrong thing by reading this first because I really want to read that one too.

 

[Nesacat]

My experience is similar to Fried Egg's. I read I Am Legend years ago and that was all there ever seemed to be on the shelves by Matheson. I found Hell House buried in a stack of books in a remainder book sale. It was the first time I'd seen something different by Matheson.

I too greatly enjoyed reading it and am quite puzzled as to why the stores would chose to only stock I Am Legend. They all do and in several different editions too, including the graphic novel. But nothing else.

And yes there is a closeness to Haunting of Hill House though I did not find that the one in any way spoilt my enjoyment of the other.

 

[Fried Egg]

I see "Shrinking Man" on the shelves quite a bit but that's probably because it's in the SF Masterworks. I also saw "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" (a short story collection) in the horror section in Waterstones the other day...

 

[Lobolover]

I actualy listened to Michale Henson reading "Born of Man and Woman" and while his voice acting was phenomenal , the story didn't get my atention .

 

[j d worthington]

That one may well work better read off the page. The very appearance of the text seems (to me) to carry a fair amount of impact, with its distortion of language and structure. I must admit, though, that I've always found it a chilling little piece on several levels....

No, F.E., I don't think reading the one before the other should have that sort impact... I myself read Hell House before I read Jackson's novel, and it certainly didn't. But the relationship is nonetheless there, and adds some interesting layers in the reading of each....

 

[Lobolover]

Wasn't Jackson one of those authors whose out of print and whose titles rank up prices in the triple and (similar word for four ?) digits .

 

[Nesacat]

Lobo ... am not sure about out of print. Perhaps JD or GOLLUM would know. I have however seen both Haunting of Hill House and Lottery & Other stories in bookstores in the UK and Europe pretty regularly.

Fried Egg ... I think I shall try and find Nightmare at 20,000 feet in the UK later this month. I rather like short stories and am interested to see what Matheson with this style of writing.

 

[jojajihisc]

If you liked I Am Legend, then you're almost certain to like The Shrinking Man. Again, an emotionally complex book, very well written, and completely honest in dissecting the emotional impact of Scott Carey's plight -- and therefore its strength as metaphor for the plight of modern man in general -- and yet with an intense dose of the strength of the human spirit....

Excellent, concise summary of The Shrinking Man I think. Would you say the reverse is also true? I haven't read I Am Legend yet. Or anything else by Matheson except for a few of the stories from Third from the Sun.

 

[j d worthington]

Excellent, concise summary of The Shrinking Man I think. Would you say the reverse is also true? I haven't read I Am Legend yet. Or anything else by Matheson except for a few of the stories from Third from the Sun.

In some ways, at least... yes. Though that bit about the strength of the human spirit might be said to take a very strange turn in I Am Legend. Damn' fine novel, though.

As I have said before, Matheson has a tendency to at some point put his characters through sheer, unmitigated hell. As he has noted, he feels that part of a writer's job is to make people uncomfortable, to get them to examine their preconceptions and beliefs, to rethink that which they take for granted, with no guarantee of any kind of security at the end of the process. I think that is one of the great strengths of his work, and why he was so often able to probe so deeply into (to use a trite phrase) the human condition. There was a phrase that was once used for Harlan Ellison's work, which I think applies equally well here: "the healing art of razor-blade fiction". I'd say that in the majority of his work, Matheson fits that description rather well; his work can be quite painful, but there is something about it which is very salutary, even therapeutic....

At any rate, I would recommend quite a few of his novels and story collections; the man has had a surprisingly high rate of success in pulling this sort of thing off....

 

[Fried Egg]

Well, "Hell House" was great. "I am Legend" wasn't just a fluke. This Matheson is obviously a damn fine writer.

 

[GOLLUM]

IMHO one of the best the Genre has ever seen...

 

[Connavar]

I Am Legend Not a fluke ? Thats the understatement of the century

I could read only I Am Legend of him and nothing else and now it was not a fluke. The writing,story was too good for that.

 

[J Riff]

Eats up King and spits him out, with half the words.