Customer Reviews

Button, Button: Uncanny Stories

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Though not as strong a collection as either of the previous two volumes published by Tor, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Duel", "Button, Button" is a slim volume that offers quality throughout and, in some places, true greatness. Matheson experiments stylistically more in this collection than in the other two. The best stories are those that he does not attempt to experiment with, or, in other words, those keeping with Matheson's trademarked style of cinematic minimalism applied to a dark fantasy story, or suspense story, constructed in the realist manner.

The title story is certainly one of the finer offerings in the collection. It is written almost as a parable, or a fable, with the lines of distinctions marking not the characters but the action and the consequences of those actions. "Girl of My Dreams" and "Dying Room Only" are crime/suspense stories, the former containing fantasy elements, that are driven by action and dialogue to a rational conclusion. "Girl of My Dreams" concern a battle between the mental and the physical and shows how fear and uncertainty can easily usurp the power of physical strength.

"A Flourish of Strumpets" is a darkly humorous story that is pervaded by an invasive atmosphere that underlies the funny moments in the story, including the twist ending, with a vision of human frailty. "No Such Thing As a Vampire" is a story dealing not only of vampires (of the real variety) but with revenge, myth, belief, and the conductive power of these intertwined. "Pattern for Survival" is a short piece with a surprisingly unexpected cohesiveness. "Mute" is a darkly brooding commentary on the frailty of genius, the corruptible innocence of a child, and the undeserving punishment inflicted upon the weak and helpless by those stronger yet mentally and emotionally inferior.

"The Creeping Terror" is a long, boring, experimental piece that aims to be satirical and comes off as pointless, dated, and unoriginal. "Shock Wave," however, is original, suspenseful, and a jolt to the senses. "Clothes Make the Man" is a story that plays solely off its twist ending but since the story is short and the twist a satisfying one, it is pulled off exceptionally. "The Jazz Machine" is an atypical prose poem that is actually quite a good story if the style doesn't weigh you down too much. "Tis the Season to Be Jelly" is a baffling stylistic piece of bizarre fantasy, and not very satisfying.

Richard Matheson has certainly written some of the most classic and well known masterpieces throughout his career, many of which are short stories. Usually with a Matheson anthology the title story is superb (such as with Duel: Terror Stories By Richard Matheson) and the rest are just fillers and to be honest are very average stories. Those coming across Button, Button Uncanny Stories will be pleased to know that the majority are of not only readable but fairly high quality. The only thing though this collection lacks is a masterpiece, there's nothing of the quality of Duel, or The Shrinking Man, I Am Legend or Nightmare At 20,000 Feet in this collection.

All short stories within, with the exception of Button, Button, (this anthology's title story) were all originally published in the 1950s or early 1960s. Button, Button is no new work either it first appeared in 1970. Trying to track down a lot of these Matheson gems today would be pretty difficult and expensive so it's good to see publishers republishing old work together for the first time in new anthologies.

So what are the stories about?

Button, Button - is more of a philosophical question than a story as other than the characters coping with the dilemma of being asked if they would push the button on a device delivered to their home which will give them $50 000 at the expense of someone they don't know being killed every time they push it. There is really not much substance to this story, it is actually one of the weaker stories of this collection simply because other than the what would you do aspect, nothing much happens after that.

Girl of My Dreams - has a woman who can see the future deaths of people. A loser guy sees her as his ticket to wealth and hot women by blackmailing those close to those she sees to hand over cash in exchange for the information so they can protect the ones they love.

Dying Room Only - is an interesting little tale. A married couple stop in an isolated town's service station to get something to eat. Both use the bathrooms as their food is cooking but the husband never comes out. What happened to him? You'll need to read and find out.

A Flourish of Strumpets - does show its age a bit but remembering when it was written (1956) and picturing that time period as the setting makes it brilliant. A conservative husband and wife answer the door to a prostitute who is bringing herself to her customers rather than wait on street corners and is after business. Appalled this couple ring the police who aren't that helpful. The husband soon learns his neighbours aren't as appalled by the daily visits of a different woman each day as he and his wife are.

No Such Thing as a Vampire - is certainly no I am Legend quality wise but still a worthwhile read. A women awakens to find puncture marks on her neck. No matter what vampire remedies and precautions are taken she is still bitten every night. Servants leave, the town fears they will be next when the vampire has finished with her. The husband is an unbeliever in vampires, there is no such thing as vampires surely!

Pattern for Survival - I reread this three and half page story twice and still have no idea what the point of it is. A popular writer gets another story published in a magazine, that's it.

Mute - Fire destroys an isolated house. A boy is later found to have in the woods having escaped. Remarkably he cannot speak. How did he escape the fire and why can he not speak? One of the few average reads in this anthology.

Creeping Terror - LA is alive! Citrus trees start growing where they shouldn't be, people dress for and start heading to the beach on foot in places where there is no beach. This story of LA expanding and taking over the world is written in the style of a paper written for assessment in a university class complete with footnotes. Easily other than Pattern for Survival the most average story in here.

Shock Wave - About an organ in a church which is old and some want to destroy and get rid of. An old man is infuriated that they want to get rid of his old girl which he knows is alive.

Clothes Make the Man - A man who is really into clothes finds that one day his clothes went to work without him. Also to his dismay his wife finds his clothes without him hold more sex appeal than he does inside them.

The Jazz Machine - is a story written as lyrics justifying why they broke a white man's jazz machine.

Tis the Season to be Jelly - A family talks as they begin to melt, their noses fall off and they fall apart.

The twelve stories that make up this collection were mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s (the newest is 1970) but continue to be timely as they showcase a strong suspense horror author who remains renowned for his Twilight Zone twists affirmed by this anthology. The title story is a terrific tale of ethics vs. greed as a married couple possesses a device in which each time they press a button they receive $50,000, but a stranger dies. "Girl of My Dreams" stars a rat who abuses his naive girlfriend's psychic gift to make money; greed is one of the deadly sins in the Matheson world while the loss of innocence ("Mute") is even deadlier. "No Such Thing as a Vampire" feels very Twilight Zone like. This superb anthology is top rate as the short stories are filled with everyday people with moral choices between avarice and ethics involved in scenarios beyond their normal existence; any moment Rod Serling will inform the audience they entered a world filled with imagination and much more.

Harriet Klausner

I picked up this book, once I realized the movie The Box was based on a short story by Richard Matheson. I wasn't familiar with Richard Matheson, but apparently, Stephen King was once quoted as saying that he is the author who influenced him the most as a writer, so I figured I would give him a try.

I read the first story, which the movie, The Box is based on called Button, Button and loved it. It is a tale of ethics vs. greed as a married couple possesses a device in which each time they press a button they receive $50,000, but a stranger dies. The other short stories in the book are all excellent and many have a Twilight Zone feel to them. I highly recommend this book.

I bought this book in order to read the story "Button, Button" in anticipation of the new movie coming out that is based on the story. The story turned out to be very clever, and while it is quite short, it packs a thought provoking punch. Many of the other stories in the book are equally clever and interesting, with surprise endings that either left me thinking or chuckling. In short, this is a fun and very quick read, with at least a handful of stories that are memorable.

Although Richard Matheson has an impressive body of work that includes novels, short stories and teleplays, many of his great short stories are absent from this compilation.

I bought this after I saw the movie "The Box" with Frank Langella, James Marsden and Cameron Diaz. Incidentally, unlike quite a few people, I actually enjoyed the movie. The story "The Box" is actually quite short and reminiscent of many Kurt Vonnegut stories: short, well-written and clever.

There are maybe four or five other good stories in the mix, but there are several more that aren't up to Matheson's usual snuff, particularly "The Creeping Terror." A great title for a not-so-great story that involves the spread of California-type culture, architecture and plant-life across America and the world. The story attempts to be funny, but is overlong.

All in all, you'll get some good Matheson out of this, but the selection of stories could have been better.

These short story's by Richard matheson (one of the writers of the hit T.V. show Twilight zone) is a very good collection of short stories.

This book was a very interesting and entertaining read I do recommended it
especially to fans of Mr. Matheson for me I picked it up because I was such a big fan of the Twilight zone finding out that Richard matheson was a author I went searching at bookstores finding this book.

Richard Matheson is a writer who has had a tremendous impact upon pop culture. Several of his stories were adapted into some of the best TWILIGHT ZONE episodes ever, Stephen Spielberg's first major directing project was a tv film based upon one of his stories, there have been numerous movies made based upon his novels and stories, and Stephen King has stated that Matheson is one of his creative influences. Yet, it wasn't until the past couple years that I read my first Matheson story ("I Am Legend"). Interest in Matheson seems to be picking up again and another film, THE BOX, based upon one of his stories, "Button, Button" was released in the fall of 2009. That short story has been out of print for awhile and when I saw that it was included in this new anthology of old Matheson works, I decided to pick up a copy of THE BOX. Most of the stories are pretty good and that quality, with a few exceptions, is pretty consistent throughout the collection. However, unlike other Matheson collections I have read or heard of, there really isn't one break-out story. The book includes the following stories.

"Button, Button"-a strange package arrives at a couple's homes with a message that a man will be there to visit them later about the package. The package is simply a button. The couple later learns that if they push the button, they will receive a large sum of money but someone they don't know will die as a result. The husband has no interest, but the wife is curious and they could really use the money. Perhaps people, even those as close as a husband and wife, don't know each other as well as they think.

"Girl of My Dreams"-a woman has the horrible ability of being able to see the future deaths of people. The woman wants to use her "gift" to help others, but her lecherous boyfriend just sees it as a way for them to make money and his ticket to fortune and a better looking woman.

"Dying Room Only"-a married couple stop in a service station/diner in a rural town to get a quick bite to eat. They go to use the bathroom. The wife comes out, but the husband never reappears. Thus, begins a tale of mystery and suspense as the wife tries to find out what happened to her husband. This story reminded me of older Wes Craven films (such as the beginning of THE HILLS HAVE EYES).

"A Flourish of Strumpets"-in an upscale, conservative neighborhood prostitutes go door to door selling themselves. The husband and wife are appalled but soon discover that they are about the only ones in their neighborhood who don't enjoy having daily visits from different women all selling the same thing. A somewhat humorous story with a warning about allowing oneself to compromise.

"No Such Thing as a Vampire"-a vampire story that isn't a vampire story at all, but is a detective story. A woman awakens to find puncture marks on her neck and no matter what she does to protect herself she awakens with the marks every morning. Her husband doesn't believe in vampires and is sure there is something else going on.

"Pattern for Survival"-a famous writer finishes writing his latest work. He sends it out to be published and his audience is excited to read his latest tale.

"Mute"-a fire destroys an isolated house in the country. A survivor, a boy, is later found in the woods. The boy is a full grown child, yet cannot speak and the townsfolk wonder what kind of experimental childrearing his parents committed. Meanwhile, a scientist from Europe travels to the town to find out what happened to the boy and his family.

"Creeping Terror"-written as an academic thesis, this tale discusses the discovery that the city of L.A. was alive and how it grew and took over most of the world.

"Shock Wave"-an old church organ is scheduled to be destroyed, but the organ player is convinced it's not a good idea. The organ has been a part of the church for over 80 years and the organist is sure the instrument is alive and senses what is being planned for her. Sometimes old things just are plain better.

"Clothes Make the Man"-fashion is everything, at least to one man in this story. He loves his clothes, so much so that he can't function without wearing the right suit. But one day his clothes literally walk up and go to work without him.

"The Jazz Machine"-written as lyrics to a song, they weave the story of what happened when a white man created a machine that was able to "translate" jazz.

"Tis the Season to Be Jelly"-a family talks and prepares for the wedding of their son as their bodies literally fall apart.

In my opinion, the best stories in the book are "Girl of My Dreams", "Dying Room Only", "A Flourish of Strumpets", "No Such Thing As a Vampire", "Mute", and "Shock Wave". Some of the stories do seem a bit dated, but overall they're a decent collection of stories, some of which are thought-provoking, some a bit suspenseful, and a few that are just full of fun and humor.

This is going to be short.
The stories in this book are older, but the great thing that draws many people to their well-written words are the fact that they're not like the stories that we're faced with today, the kind that seem like the reader has read them before, and that is because they have.
The main point is that all of these stories are original, and for the most part, brilliant. Their ideas are not that of today's, and their characters are actually moralistic and they do feel the burden of making decisions, as in the title story and "A Flourish Of Strumpets," some do show their age, but doesn't that help reel you in?
the characters are real and feel emotion, unlike many characters we read today.
Originality.

I bought this book during the "I am Legend" hubbub last year, remembering that Matheson had been a frequent contributor to the original Twilight Zone series, and, not interested in investing the time required for a full novel, I thought it would be fun to revisit some "Uncanny Stories". If I had ever read any of the selections in this volume before, I don't remember it, though the style of writing is familiar to anyone who, as I did, devoured innumerable science fiction and horror stories from the fifties and early sixties when they were younger. It must have been the prerequisite to getting a story published back then - set it up and then really sock it to the reader on the last line. Roald Dahl may have been the master of this form, though many others were also able to snap off a good yarn during this time period.

Even Dahl had to quit this type of story eventually - it's just too difficult to continually find new twists to keep the reader guessing. Of course, Harlan Ellison came around in the late 60's, and depending on your veiwpoint, either ruined it all or ushered in a brave new world for these genre type stories with "Dangerous Visions". I suppose that's beside the point, as Matheson's "Button, Button" is firmly entrenched in the latter form, and the whipcrack of the stories' last lines are intended to send a shiver down the spine or elicit a belly laugh of disbelief.

Perhaps I'm just too jaded for these types of stories anymore. I find myself involved in a guessing game with Matheson, extrapolating what the 'surprise' ending will be. Even if I'm not right, the surprise is already ruined simply because I'm waiting for it. It's not as though these stories are poorly written - that isn't the case at all. But after a while, they begin to feel contrived and pointless, sort of an end unto themselves. Taken together, stories of this type, collected and read one after another, rarely have any staying power with me anymore.

That's not to say that Matheson doesn't have an excellent imagination, and a few of the stories in "Button, Button" still carry with them some of that excitement I remember experiencing as a young teenager two or three eons ago while devouring hundreds of Sci-fi and horror anthologies. I think there may still be some younger readers, perhaps 12-13, who would still get a kick out of this collection, though it would probably seem incredibly dated to them, and they might not get all of the references. Then again, they might not be able to relate at all, as there isn't a boy wizard attending wizard school to be found anywhere here.

Lest I seem to be unfair, it's worth noting that Matheson was, if not a pioneer, then at least a highly successful writer of these types of stories. After all, I picked this collection up based on what I remembered about him from 30 years ago. He certainly made an impression on me once, at any rate.

There were 4 stories here that I still enjoyed, even in my jaded view. All four I thought were imaginitive, and though I still thought they were dated, they were written in an engaging enough manner that I forgot about that and could appreciate them for their humor, above and beyond the effectiveness (or not) of the snap ending.

In "A Flourish of Strumpets", a collective union of women practicing the world's oldest profession begin a new push for customers by knocking on doors like vacuum salesmen. The main character is extremely indignant, though his neighbors seem a little more indulgent. The brazenness and the availability begin to wear the man down, until he finally has to find some kind of compromise or go crazy.

"Pattern for Survival" is a short little tale reminiscent of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and concerns a man who's his own best audience.

In "Clothes Make the Man", a drunken party-goer relates a bizarre tale to another guest about his brother, who became unable to function without his clothes and accessories.

Finally, in "Mute", one of the most straight forward stories of the collection, a scientist comes to America to find out what happened to an experiment in human development, kept secret from the community where it took place.

Maybe it's telling that three of the stories I liked most were humorous. When the tale turned serious, what may have been creepy or shocking at one time seemed rather 'so what' to me. The title story, "Button, Button", suffers from this, though I thought the premise was good. I just didn't think Matheson followed through as well as he could have. The other stories ranged from so-so to forgettable.

Three stars for the memories, and for the four stories (out of a dozen) that I liked. Check it out from the library and you won't be disappointed.