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honestconman's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bobpony's review against another edition
3.0
Charles Beaumont was a mid-century science fiction writer most famously known for his Twilight Zone episodes. This book is a collection of twenty-three of his short stories. Beaumont passed away in the late 60's, so these stories are rather old, but still captivating. Beaumont is able to deliver a very homey, mid-American feel to his stories, much like Ray Bradbury. But Beaumont's stories often veer from the normal to dive straight down into a chasm of weird, unsettling twists. He likes to play with point of view, often his stories appear normal, until you discover that the narrator is anything but. You'll find Twilight Zone-ish surprises here too (several of the stories in this collection were adapted for the show), my favorite of all being 'The Howling Man'. I love that TZ episode, and it's 95% the same here, just fleshed out ever so. Terrific stuff. Some other favorites - Perchance to Dream (another TZ 'twist' ending), Fritzchen (a weirdly monstrous tale), and Night Ride (on the nature of greatness and sacrifice). There are a lot of fun stories here, but there are some that just don't work anymore, society has grown out of some of these situations. But taken as a whole it's easy to recommend this collection, especially if you're a fan of the Twilight Zone. Beaumont passed away when he was just thirty-eight, from what's believed to be early onset Alzheimers. Apparently he aged very rapidly towards the end, giving the appearance of an old man, even though he was in his thirties. It sounds like one of his stories, doesn't it?
schaffyd's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
bunnieslikediamonds's review against another edition
4.0
Many of theses stories can be found in the excellent collection The Howling Man, but this Penguin Classics cover is so pretty I had to have it. The stories I hadn't read were well worth the buy.
nightmarekitty13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
marplatense's review against another edition
3.0
Beaumont se murió a finales de los 60s (en el corolario del libro William Shatner describe un envejecimiento vertiginoso que se lo llevó con 38 años) así que estas historias tienen al menos 40 años. El paso del tiempo se le nota bastante y parte de sus maravillas están opacadas para públicos modernos.
Disfruté mucho The new people y The new sound (los únicos relatos verdaderamente de horror) y tiene un relato noir situado en el mundo del jazz que no está nada mal (Night ride), luego hay algunos cortos con sus gracias (Perchance to dream y Free dirt).The music of the yellow brass es también entretenido.
Disfruté mucho The new people y The new sound (los únicos relatos verdaderamente de horror) y tiene un relato noir situado en el mundo del jazz que no está nada mal (Night ride), luego hay algunos cortos con sus gracias (Perchance to dream y Free dirt).The music of the yellow brass es también entretenido.
david_agranoff's review against another edition
5.0
A few months back I read a Penguin classics edition for Richard Matheson stories. The Penguin line is devoted to the finest voices in literature. So it is really cool that in the last couple years we have seen collection from Penguin for Lovecraft, Liggoti, Philip K. Dick and Richard Matheson. I was surprised and pleased to see Charles Beaumont get the same treatment as he died at a tragically young age and didn't get the chance to build the career that the other writers did.
This edition comes with a wonderful and personal forward by Ray Bradbury written for an earlier collection, and short but heartfelt Afterword by William Shatner who played the lead role in Beaumont's most intense film script - the Intruder.
Richard Matheson had a huge impact in TV, movies and prose. Beaumont was starting to have the same kind of success when he died looking like a 95 year old man at the age of 38. Little was know about what caused his death, and it believed that had early on-set Alzheimer.
None the less with a couple of films including Roger Corman's masterpiece the Intruder that CB adapted from his own novel, and some of the most classic Twilight zone episodes, his work is remembered but fading. That is sad and that is why young writers would do themselves a favor and read this book.
If you read these in a 2018 context some might seem totally out of date and readers have to keep there mind on when they were written, most in the late 50's. Take for example Blood Brother, a simple but funny story about a Vampire who goes to get counseling. It might see silly that he decides to wear a cape, but this was written in 1956.
Many of my favorite stories turned out to be Twilight Zone episodes but outside of the Howling Man I had not seen them in a enough time that I didn't remember the stories.
My favorites in this book included Night Ride, The Howling Man, Place of Meeting, and the Beautiful People. Night Ride was a silky smooth tale of supernatural tied to the world of nightclub jazz. The Howling Man is probably the best episode of the twilight zone that CB wrote the concept that peace time comes because the devil is locked away in a European castle. I really enjoyed reading this tale, even though I have seen the Twilight Zone episode many times. The Beautiful People was a TZ episode with a different title, and honestly I didn't remember it. This sci-fi story written in the fifties becomes a odd surreal out of date period piece. I loved it. My favorite story however was Place of Meeting. I kinda liked the concept even though it was a little goofy.
That is the thing. I don't normally do this but I skimmed through a few goodreads reviews and read a few of the bad ones. I admit that Matheson stories felt a little more timeless. It is not just the concepts but CB pretty much always builds ALL his stories to be a twist. Can you blame him when the TZ was a huge chunk of his income? William F. Nolan is a author who came from the same circle of friends often uses the trick concept or the twist ending often. Matheson and Bradbury stories might feel more timeless because they wrote with a wider variety of style. Beaumont however was a fantastic writer and those who write Bizarro, Sci-fi or horror shorts should read this book to discover the work of a master.
This edition comes with a wonderful and personal forward by Ray Bradbury written for an earlier collection, and short but heartfelt Afterword by William Shatner who played the lead role in Beaumont's most intense film script - the Intruder.
Richard Matheson had a huge impact in TV, movies and prose. Beaumont was starting to have the same kind of success when he died looking like a 95 year old man at the age of 38. Little was know about what caused his death, and it believed that had early on-set Alzheimer.
None the less with a couple of films including Roger Corman's masterpiece the Intruder that CB adapted from his own novel, and some of the most classic Twilight zone episodes, his work is remembered but fading. That is sad and that is why young writers would do themselves a favor and read this book.
If you read these in a 2018 context some might seem totally out of date and readers have to keep there mind on when they were written, most in the late 50's. Take for example Blood Brother, a simple but funny story about a Vampire who goes to get counseling. It might see silly that he decides to wear a cape, but this was written in 1956.
Many of my favorite stories turned out to be Twilight Zone episodes but outside of the Howling Man I had not seen them in a enough time that I didn't remember the stories.
My favorites in this book included Night Ride, The Howling Man, Place of Meeting, and the Beautiful People. Night Ride was a silky smooth tale of supernatural tied to the world of nightclub jazz. The Howling Man is probably the best episode of the twilight zone that CB wrote the concept that peace time comes because the devil is locked away in a European castle. I really enjoyed reading this tale, even though I have seen the Twilight Zone episode many times. The Beautiful People was a TZ episode with a different title, and honestly I didn't remember it. This sci-fi story written in the fifties becomes a odd surreal out of date period piece. I loved it. My favorite story however was Place of Meeting. I kinda liked the concept even though it was a little goofy.
That is the thing. I don't normally do this but I skimmed through a few goodreads reviews and read a few of the bad ones. I admit that Matheson stories felt a little more timeless. It is not just the concepts but CB pretty much always builds ALL his stories to be a twist. Can you blame him when the TZ was a huge chunk of his income? William F. Nolan is a author who came from the same circle of friends often uses the trick concept or the twist ending often. Matheson and Bradbury stories might feel more timeless because they wrote with a wider variety of style. Beaumont however was a fantastic writer and those who write Bizarro, Sci-fi or horror shorts should read this book to discover the work of a master.
spiderfelt's review against another edition
Too oddball and old school chauvinist for my current state of mind.