The Richard Matheson Companion
Edited by Stanley Wiater and Matthew R. Bradley and Paul Stuve. Published by Gauntlet Press.
Since his classic story "Born of Man and Woman" appeared in the Summer 1950 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Richard Matheson has been one of the world's most acclaimed and influential fantasists. He is the award-winning author and screenwriter responsible for such diverse and unforgettable works as I Am Legend, The Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, The Beardless Warriors, Hell House, Duel, The Night Stalker, Trilogy of Terror, What Dreams May Come, Somewhere In Time, Journal of the Gun Years, four of Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe films, and sixteen episodes of the original Twilight Zone.
The Richard Matheson Companion is a unique collection of writing by and about this prolific, multitalented storyteller, edited by Matheson experts Stanley Wiater, Matthew R. Bradley and Paul Stuve. They have assembled the work of more than two dozen contributors – much of it published for the first time – that both celebrates and sheds new light on Matheson's extraordinary career.
It contains:
- Detailed discussions of Matheson's work by Harlan Ellison, Ed Gorman, Dean Koontz, and David Morrell.
- Appreciations by those who have been influenced or inspired by Matheson over the years, such as Dennis Etchison, Jack Ketchum, Joe R. Lansdale, Brian Lumley, producer Stephen Simon, F. Paul Wilson, and Gahan Wilson.
- Recollections by George Clayton Johnson and William F. Nolan, Matheson's fellow members of the famed Southern California School of Writers (aka the California Sorcerers or simply "The Group"), about their personal and professional relationships.
- Extensive and revealing interviews in which Matheson recounts his career.
- Heartfelt tributes from Matheson's wife, Ruth, and their children Bettina, Richard Christian, Chris, and Alison, three of whom are also successful writers.
- Essays by two of Matheson's literary editors, Gauntlet publisher Barry Hoffman, and artist Harry O. Morris, who has illustrated thirteen of his books, on working with a living legend.
- Photos of Matheson throughout his life and career, as well as reproductions of magazine and book covers and rare correspondence.
- The most complete documentation of Matheson's work ever compiled, with comprehensive and annotated lists of his books, stories, nonfiction, films, television episodes, published and unproduced scripts, adaptations, awards, and much more.
- Special Bonus! The Years Stood Still, a never-before-seen novel Matheson wrote at the age of fourteen, with an introduction by Richard Christian Matheson.
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson (1926–2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He may be known best as the author of I Am Legend, a 1954 horror novel that has been adapted for the screen four times, although five more of his novels have been adapted as major motion pictures: The Shrinking Man, Hell House, What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time), A Stir of Echoes and The Box. Matheson also wrote numerous television episodes of The Twilight Zone for Rod Serling, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel". He later adapted his 1971 short story "Duel" as a screenplay which was promptly directed by a young Steven Spielberg, for the television movie of the same name.