Review: Box: Uncanny Stories, the

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Box: Uncanny Stories, the by Richard Matheson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I’m not sure if it was the narration of Grover Cleveland (which was not bad, but not great), or the lack of production (like a definable break between stories), but whatever my reasons, the reasons why this collection didn’t set my heart on fire wasn’t because of the stories, but the way they were presented. When I could mark separate stories, I enjoyed them. Overall I wish the production value was better, but you get what you get.

Matheson remains one of my favorites and an influence, and the stories in this collection solidified that for me. He’s a man of his time, and his characters in this collection don’t hold up as well as they do in his novel, “Stir of Echoes”. “The Box, Dying Room Only, and Clothes Make The Man” are the ones I remember liking a lot.

Not everything worked. I wasn’t crazy about The Creeping Terror”, “The Jazz Machine” I remember as being a series of phrases that irritated more than engaged, “No Such Thing as a Vampire” felt obligatory, and I can’t even tell what “Shock Wave” was about, because it just doesn’t stick out in my head.

The exceptions certainly don’t take away from the whole, and I imagine had I read a physical copy I would have given a higher review.

Contents:
The Box
Girl of My Dreams
Dying Room Only
A Flourish of Strumpets
No Such Thing as a Vampire
Pattern for Survival
Mute
The Creeping Terror
Shock Wave
Clothes Make the Man
The Jazz Machine
Tis the Season to Be Jelly

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