Richard Matheson Treasure Hunt

I was a late arrival to the work of Richard Matheson; sure I had seen several episodes he wrote for the original Twilight Zone (including the terrific "Nightmare at 20,000-feet" based on his short story of the same name, and the moody--aren't all Twilight Zone episodes moody?--"Nick of Time") but I really didn't comprehend how good Matheson's work is until I purchased his recent novel Hunted Past Reason. I picked it up at a local bookstore when it was released in mass market in the spring of 2003 and devoured it in a few sittings. And I've been avidly reading his work as I come across it ever since.

Which is why I'm excited about a discovery I made this past Sunday at another local bookstore. TOR has released several--at least five--of Richard Matheson's older titles in mass market at the terrific price of $4.99 each. The titles? Earthbound, The Incredible Shrinking Man, What Dreams May Come, Beardless Warriors, and Stir of Echoes. At least those were the titles the bookstore had on hand. I purchased three and started reading The Incredible Shrinking Man last night--so far it's everything I expected: literate, exciting, meaningful, and relevant. All that and I'm only on page 30.

The really cool thing is: these aren't cheap editions. Certainly they're mass market, but I love mass market, and the covers are pretty cool; especially The Incredible Shrinking Man. If you enjoy Matheson's work and are missing a few titles, you should check these editions out. The price is right and the writing terrific. Not to mention if you haven't read Richard Matheson's short story "Nightmare at 20,000-feet" it, and several other short stories, are included with The Incredible Shrinking Man. Too cool.