Customer Reviews

Twilight Zone

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...and if you'd like to delve further into the mind of Rod Serling, you're in for a real treat with this collection of short stories. Serling's angst and passion shines beautifully in his well-crafted, flowing prose, which bring those classic TV shows to a higher level since Serling writes in 3rd-person omniscient so more of his thoughts come to light. My only regret is that this book is the only published work of Serling's (that I know of). He's one of my favorite authors.

This wonderful book of Rod Sering's TV stories for the Twilight Zone. What he's done here is taken the scripts and made them into stories so it is ______________________________________________________________ Escape Clause, Walking Distance, The Fever, Where Is Everybody?, The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street

BOOK #2 MORE STORIES FROM THE About Machines, The Big, Tall Wish, A Stop At Wiloughby, The Odyssey Of Flight 33, Dust

BOOK # 3 NEW STORIES FROM THE TWILIGHT ZONE The Night Of The Meek, The Midnight Sun, The Rip Van Winkle Caper ______________________________________________________________ All of these stories are featured in this book. A must for all Twilight Zone fans!

It's difficult to write a review on the whole book, so I would like to cut it into pieces.
~The Mighty Casey- I must say that I hate baseball and baseball stories, but the way Rod Serling brought the Mighty Casey together just made it an instant favorite. 3 ***'s
~Escape Clause- A great story, and the way Rod brought it together makes it another favorite. 3 ***'s
~Walking Distance- A great episode and a great story. It fit all together. 5 *****'s
~The Fever- Has got to be one of my favorite stories in the whole book. 5 *****'s
~Where is Everybody?- Another great story- 5 *****'s
~The Monsters are Due on Maple Street- I love this story so much. The episode is a classic and the story in this book is classic. 5 *****'s
~The Lonely- Another classic story- 5 *****'s
~Mr. Dingle, the Strong- Great story- 4 ****'s
~A Thing about Machines- Creepy story- 5 *****'s
~The Big, Tall Wish- Another great example of a twist ending 5 *****'s
~A Stop at Willoughby- Wonderful episode and wonderful story- 5 *****'s
~The Odyssey of Flight 33- This might be my second least favorite in the book. It's a good story, but it isn't an attention grabber. 2 **'s.
~Dust- Good story- 3 ***'s
~The Whole Truth- Least favorite in the book to me. It's okay, but it's just not the best one. I give it 2 **'s.
~The Shelter- Great and exciting story! 4 ****'s
~Showdown with Rance McGrew- 2 **'s
~The Night of the Meek- I've heard that this wasn't a great episode, but I loved this story. I give it 3 ***'s
~The Midnight Sun- Excellent Story! I loved it! 5 *****'s
~The Rip Van Winkle Caper- 3 1/2 stars

There you go. All in all, you have a great book. If you are a Twilight Zone fan, you will probably agree that it is a great book. I'm not sure if you can enjoy this book if you've never seen the tz episodes it was based on. For me, the stories were brought to life in such a way that I could pick out lines of the dialogue actually used in the show.

"The Twihlight Zone" was never a concept from its inception, but rather the shellshocked flashback torments of Rod himself. The book made true strides in connecting each story presented to the episodes that Serling later converted into teleplay. Like Roddenberry who came later to tv with "Star Trek," Serling was a man of hope, vision, & an eternal optimist as pertains to the potential for humanity. Issues from bigotry, rascism, the horror of war, & governments gone mad with power are all here. The Twilight Zone was arguably the best show of its or any other time on American Tv since it made the viewer THINK!

For me the best episodes were those involving gentler themes. From the hardships of common folks to the moral questions that are still very valid in todays world. "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, The Mighty Casey,' & The Fever are fine examples of Serling's ability to hold up a mirror & strip away the pretense & hypocrisy that exists when people truly have to act when facing the unknown. A good read, you won't be disappointed.

I first read this book when I was in high school because a teacher of mine let me borrow it. He told me to keep it as long as I wanted, but I only kept it for a week because I couldn't put it down. Simply put, this book is amazing. Author Rod Serling was really ahead of his time, in my opinion. Every story in this book was truly innovative, and really deserves everyone's attention.

This is truly a great collection of stories. I am a fan of the Twilight Zone and have read Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, Damon Knight and others who have contributed to the series. This anthology is by far the best. I enjoyed Serling's clear and fluid style. Images of the episodes they were based on constantly entered my mind.
However the stories themselves went beyong the television series and could very well stand on there own. Anyone not familiar with the series could enjoy this collection. An absolute must have for fans and sci-fi/fantasy lovers.

I think there was one story that resonated with me the most. One was called A Stop at Willoughby. 1. A Stop at Willoughby was about a charachter having job burnout. He told his boss "why don't you eat a Crisco sandwich" then stormed out of the office angry and disollusioned. On his way home from the train ride he day dreams of a place called Willoughby. The place is like an 1880's Courrier and Ives postcard of a quaint town in hot summer July. Without giving away too much of the main story, his wife does not support him, although his secretary likes him. On his final train ride home he gets off of a place called Willoughby where the 1880's train conductor says "Willoughby, a place where you can live your life in full measure." The last scene is where some coroner is calling his death a suicide.Also read Night of the Meek, a real sweet Christmas story with a happy ending.