To name just a few of the novels: I AM LEGEND, THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, A STIR OF ECHOES, HELL HOUSE, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME. To name just a few of the movie and television projects: four Edgar Allan Poe films for Roger Corman, THE TWILIGHT ZONE scripts, THE NIGHT STALKER, DUEL, SOMEWHERE IN TIME. And a list of exemplary short stories that fills three pages.

The man’s name is Richard Matheson, of course, and I would argue that he has had a greater influence on popular culture than any other storyteller of our time. Not simply by the startling number of classics he’s written, but also by the how many writers and directors have been inspired by his work. I would also argue that he has written more enduring classics than anybody else in our time.

THE RICHARD MATHESON COMPANION is the centerpiece of Gauntlet Press’ Matheson publishing program. Edited by Stanley Wiater, Matthew R. Bradley and Paul Stuve, this beautifully made, massive volume offers “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.”

The volume includes detailed discussions of Matheson’s work by Harlan Ellison, Dean Koontz, David Morrell and myself. Appreciations are included 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 — and there are heartfelt tributes from Matheson’s wife, Ruth, and their children, Bettina, Richard Christian, Chris and Alison, three of whom are also successful writers.

All this said, the most stunning aspect of the COMPANION is the novella THE YEARS STOOD STILL, which Matheson wrote when he was 14. Yes, 14. It has been republished here exactly as Matheson wrote it, infelicities and all. But infelicities don’t matter. YEARS is better-written, better-plotted, better-stage-managed than many novellas I’ve read by 25-year-olds. No exaggeration. Many of his famous gifts — creating and sustaining suspense especially — are here in early form. It allows you to understand why he was ready to shock the science-fiction community with “Born of Man and Woman” when he was still a young man. He had already been honing his genius for many years.

There is no one quite like Richard Matheson, man and writer. And no book quite like THE RICHARD MATHESON COMPANION. —Ed Gorman

Buy it at Amazon or Gauntlet Press.

OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• BLOOD LINES: RICHARD MATHESON’S DRACULA, I AM LEGEND, AND OTHER VAMPIRE STORIES by Richard Matheson
• BUTTON, BUTTON: UNCANNY STORIES by Richard Matheson
• I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson
• RICHARD MATHESON’S THE TWILIGHT ZONE SCRIPTS: VOLUME TWO edited by Stanley Wiater
• WOMAN by Richard Matheson