Offbeat

Trunk tales and previously uncollected treasures make a rough but rewarding mix in this baker's dozen of dreads from dark-fantasy virtuoso Matheson (I Am Legend). More often than not the contents¢which date back decades, and include four previously unpublished works as well as a fragment of a never-completed novel don't show the author at the top of his form, but do show him finding new angles on his trademark themes of paranoia and the individual's struggle to survive in a threatening environment. The Prisoner is a Twilight Zone-ish tale of a death-row inmate racing the clock to convince his jailers that they're executing the wrong man. Maybe You Remember Him is a basic deal-with-the devil treatment that propels a Damn Yankees plot to a gruesome EC Comics climax. Though several of the selections offer compelling portraits of characters driven by desperation to mental breakdown or morbid fancy, most conclude with hasty or vague resolutions that give them a first-draft feel. Two notable exceptions measure up to the best of Matheson's groundbreaking tales of the dark side of ordinary experience. And in Sorrow, a heartbreaking reflection on the emotional toll of future reproductive technologies on prospective parents, is as prescient as it is poignant. Always Before Your Voice is a subtle tale of malignant motives redolent of the work of Shirley Jackson. Though clearly aimed at diehard fans, this book boasts a fair share of stories that should interest general fantasy readers.


Genre: Science Fiction