Richard Matheson

Richard Matheson's body of work--suspense, science fiction, western and yes horror--is one of the most inventive, stylish and important in the history of popular fiction. That it will live forever--however you care to define forever--is guaranteed by such seminal works as I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man. Among many, many other achievements.

Gauntlet Publishing has spent a good deal of its existence producing fine volumes of Matheson work that most of us would never see otherwise. The latest is Visions of Death: Richard Matheson's Edgar Allan Poe scripts edited by Lawrence French.

Not only do we have scripts for The Fall of The House of Usher and The Pit and The Pendulum (accompanied by photographs of the actors and others associated with the productions), we also have an introduction by producer Roger Corman, an excellent overview by editor French and a wry afterword by Joe Dante. All of it packaged in the usual slick Gauntlet fashion.

I've been reading Matheson since I was thirteen or fourteen. His work stays not only fresh for me but even more impressive and imposing as the years roll on. It's a particular thrill to read two of the Poe scripts that showed even the fine folks at Hammer how it all should be done.