Stir of Echoes [Paperback]

Richard Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2000

Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he's hearing the private thoughts of the people around him - and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Wallace, who works in Publications of the North American Aircraft plant, near Los Angeles, heckles hypnotizing, finds he is susceptible and becomes the channel through which his neighbors' emotions and the secret of his house assume domination. Prescience, sensitive telepathy, and a sense of possession gnaw at his marriage; the haunting of a murder done and one to come lead him to apprehend a killer no saner than his experiences. A teaser which has more possibilities than performance. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author

Richard Matheson is The New York Times bestselling author of I Am Legend, Hell House, Somewhere in Time, The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, The Beardless Warriors, The Path, Seven Steps to Midnight, Now You See It . . . , and What Dreams May Come. A Grand Master of Horror and past winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, he has also won the Edgar, the Hugo, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards.

He lives in Calabasas, California. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Boxtree; paperback / softback edition (May 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752271946
• ISBN-13: 978-0752271941
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,608,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Matheson was born in 1926. He began publishing SF with his short story 'Born of Man and Woman' in 1950. I Am Legend was published in 1954 and subsequently filmed as The Omega Man (in 1971), starring Charlton Heston, and I Am Legend (in 2007), starring Will Smith. Matheson wrote the script for the film The Incredible Shrinking Man, an adaptation of his second SF novel The Shrinking Man. The film won a Hugo award in 1958. He wrote many screenplays as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone. He continued to write short stories and novels, some of which formed the basis for film scripts, including Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1971. A film of his novel What Dreams May Come was released in 1998, starring Robin Williams. Stephen King has cited Richard Matheson as a creative influence on his work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his best; different from the movie, June 17, 2004

By 

Craig Clarke "Living After Midnight: Hard and... (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Stir of Echoes (Mass Market Paperback)

This is another terrific thriller from Richard Matheson. When the film version came out a few years ago, it was instantly dismissed as a rip-off of The Sixth Sense -- a difficult feat considering that the novel that was the source of the film was written over forty years prior. As a fan of the film (it is highly underrated and will definitely provide entertainment for fans of the genre), and of Richard Matheson's work, I felt I owed it to myself to check out the original: A Stir of Echoes (What, a definite article is good enough for The Sixth Sense, but not for Stir of Echoes? I'll never understand Hollywood).

When Tom Wallace is hypnotized at a party by his brother-in-law, he turns out to be a surprisingly good subject. Afterwards, he is told how malleable he was, and a good laugh is had at his expense when he unwittingly performs a post-hypnotic suggestion. But afterwards things aren't the same for Tom: he begins having dreams that a woman in black is in his house, and then realizes that he is able to read people's minds. This comes in handy on more than one occasion, but generally appears to be a nuisance, especially to Tom's wife, Anne, who wants him to see a doctor.

Given what I have read of Matheson, I wasn't surprised by the level of quality presented in the story. What did surprise me, however, was that A Stir of Echoes, although first published in 1958, is not at all dated; it could have just as easily been written today, Matheson's story and characters are so "modern" and timeless. This is particularly true given the modern atmosphere of being more accepting to the idea of spirits "crossing over" from another plane.

As the story progresses, the tension ratchets higher and higher. Matheson hardly lets up, steadily adding more complications to the plot until the surprise revelation. This is one of the reasons that I like Matheson's work so much: the knowledge that I am always in for a ride.

(Fans of the movie please note: the plot of A Stir of Echoes differs from the film in many details. The base story is, of course, the same, but the identities of the participants -- the alleged ghost, the alleged killer -- are different, which allows for a novel experience in reading a book you think you're already familiar with.)

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A PLEA FROM THE GRAVE WILL NOT BE DENIED..., September 10, 2000

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Stir of Echoes (Mass Market Paperback)

Although not one of Matheson's best efforts, it nevertheless makes for a page turning, good read. Written nearly half a century ago, the book still has a contemporary feel to it. There are just a few issues which remind one how long ago it was written. Its central themes, however, are as fresh today, as when the book was first published.

The main character in the book is Tom Wallace, a working stiff with a house and family, who goes to a local gathering of friends and family. There he allows himself to be hypnotized by a relative who is an amateur hypnotist. A doubting Thomas, he agrees to undergo hypnosis in the belief that he would not be susceptible to it. Much to his chagrin and the amusement of others, he is, indeed, put under. Shortly after coming out of his trance, he finds that life, as he knew it, had irrevocably changed.

What he had thought was a cheap parlor trick, turned out to be the catalyst that changed his immediate reality. His existence began to be punctuated by visions, telepathic intrusions, psychic impressions, and other paranormal experiences. The effect that this has on him, his life, and those whom he loves is what gives the book its substance.

It is this altered reality, however, that makes his new life more meaningful than the one he had been leading prior to his being hypnotized. The book barrels on to a climactic ending, as events from the past intrude on the present, demanding a resolution. The realization that things or people are not always what they seem is brought home here with great impact.

Do yourself a favor, read the book and skip the movie. They bear little resemblance to one another.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost as fresh as the day it was written, April 30, 2000

By 

"saracen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Stir of Echoes (Mass Market Paperback)

While "Stir Of Echoes" is not as emotionally compelling as Matheson's classics "I Am Legend" or "What Dreams May Come," this is still one hell of a good read. It's a tribute to Matheson's skill as a writer that this novel is almost as fresh as the day it was written - there are only two or three items throughout the entire book that might give away the fact that it was penned over four decades ago. The "horror" in this novel will probably be as discomfitting as a hangnail for fans of the in-your-face "slice & dice" gore of a Clive Barker or a Robert McCammon. "Stir Of Echoes" doesn't rely on a steadily rising body count to draw you along - it keeps your interest by demonstrating just how fragile "normality" can be. Not just among your friends and neighbors, but also within your own family, within your own mind. The increasing sense of isolation in the main character, Tom Wallace, is what drives "Stir Of Echoes". This fast-paced novel is a very pleasant diversion for a Saturday afternoon at the beach or an evening at home.