Bloodlines: Richard Matheson's Dracula, I Am Legend and Other Vampire Stories

Gauntlet continues its tradition of reissuing the works of modern horror masters with Bloodlines, an oversized tome featuring all of Richard Matheson's work regarding vampires and vampirism. Thus, besides presenting his classic (and oh so influential) novel I Am Legend, it also features his script for the memorable 1974 television movie Bram Stoker's Dracula (featuring Jack Palance in the title role), and three short stories from the nineteen fifties, "Blood Son", The Funeral", and "No Such Thing as a Vampire". All are well worth your time--folks who are experiencing these works for the first time are in for a treat, those who are revisiting them can rest assured that they still hold up (and yes, you'll probably mist up again over the fate of that stupid dog in I Am Legend). The rest of the book is filled out with appreciations of Matheson written by editor Mark Dawidziak, John Carpenter, Frank Spotnitz, Mick Garris, Richard Christian Matheson, Steve Niles, Rockne S. O"Bannon, Ray Bradbury and John Scoleri. Mostly short exercises in reverence and praise, the essays offer little illumination regarding the subject matter. They are, however, entertaining and well written. The question you're going to have to ask yourself in trying to decide whether you want to own this impressive but pricey book is just how much you prize Matheson's writing. If you're looking for an impressive and collectible showcase of a lot of his important work, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for in depth scholarship, you'll probably be disappointed.

When discussing the most influential modern American horror fiction, the author whose name that most often enters the conversation would have to be Richard Matheson's. It was Richard Matheson who brought terror out of the drawing room and into the living room and who transformed the shadowy European demon into the stage-lit American devil. He was the father of all things we now consider quintessentially, horrifically American: vampires, zombies, serial killers and the rest. This volume charts the course of Richard Matheson's literary impact upon the vampire legend that began when Mr. Matheson first read Bram Stoker's DRACULA while serving in the U.S. Military. One very memorable result was the heart-stopping 1974 television movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula" starring Jack Palance, which held America spellbound, transfixed by an Old World story scripted for a New World audience by a very modern author. Here you'll find a copy of the actual shooting script complete with handwritten changes and film photos included along with heartfelt appreciations written by cult favorites John Carpenter, Frank Spotnitz, Mick Garris and others. Mr. Matheson continued modernizing the vampire legend with his novel, I AM LEGEND, about the last man alive on an earth inhabited by vampires, later scripted and filmed as THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring veteran horror actor, Vincent Price. Both the complete novel and the full movie script (titled The Night Creatures) appear in this volume. Another popular film based on he I AM LEGEND novel and starring a pre-NRA Charlton Heston appeared in 1971. THE OMEGA MAN was a box office hit in 1971, and you'll find an extensive archive of cast, credits and photos as part of this lush appreciation of the Matheson vampire canon. Also included are three Matheson shuddery vampire stories, plus more thoughtful appreciations from son and writer Richard Christian Matheson, graphic novelist Steve Niles, world renowned fantasist Ray Bradbury and others. Another gorgeous and very collectible volume from Gauntlet Press.

Now THIS is what I've been waiting for -- an all-out, deluxe treatment of Richard Matheson's I AM LEGEND. If you haven't heard of the book, do yourself a favor and give it a read; it has to be the best, if not one of the best horror novels of the 20th century. If you've been scared by the likes of Stephen King and George Romero, well...this is the book that inspired them. (Themes which resonate particularly with King's THE STAND and SALEM'S LOT, as well as Romeo's LIVING DEAD films--themselves the genesis of the ZOMBIE genre.) I AM LEGEND is a relatively short book, easily read in just a few hours. It's amazing how fresh and potent it still feels after all these years (nearly half a century!), and the scientific and psychological explorations into vampirism read no less dated. (Forget the silver screen treatments OMEGA MAN and LAST MAN ON EARTH; they bare little resemblance to their source.) The hefty pricetag is actually worthwhile; this is a limited edition printing, and the size of the book alone is much, much larger than your usual 6x9. The layout -- from the novel to the black and white reproductions of photos and script pages -- is beautifully done, and the tributes are also enjoyable. This is a MUST for not only Matheson fans, but for anyone who appreciates horror writing, especially those of the vampire subgenre.