 The Newest in Filmbook Literature |
THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPLETE STORIES by Rod Serling, TV Books, Hardcover, 413 pages, $22.95, CALIFORNIA SORCERY: A GROUP CELEBRATION edited by William F. Nolan and William Schafer, Cemetery Dance Publications, Hardcover, 285 pages, $40.00, A TOUCH OF THE CREATURE by Charles Beaumont, Subterranean Press, 175 pages, $40.00
During The Twilight Zone's five-year run, Rod Serling wrote 92 episodes-nearly two-thirds of the entire series. Some of these were based on both new and previously published stories by other writers. Most, however, were Serling originals. After each of the first three seasons, Serling wrote a paperback of short stories based on some of them. Now, TV Books has collected them into this single, hardcover volume.
There's a good chance that Serling's Twilight Zone books would not have been written if the VCR had been invented back then because today, we can watch a tape of our favorite episode whenever we wish. It's a boon to us that he did write them, though, because Serling loved good short stories and understood the advantages that form has over a half-hour television show (which, of course, has advantages of its own).
Unlike the typically shoddy hack work of most books based on TV series, Serling had it in him to craft fine short stories. Had he not been so successful as a film and television scenarist, these stories show that he might have been a prose writer of the same caliber as the writers with whom he collaborated-Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, Richard Matheson, and Jerry Sohl. These were the writers that Serling respected, and they were where he turned for Twilight Zone stories and scripts.
These men, collectively, formed
the core of a gathering known to themselves as The Group and to fancy
schmancy, latter day academic types as The California School. Bradbury
was the unofficial leader, and Beaumont was their catalyst. The Group
also included such literary luminaries as Harlan Ellison, Robert Bloch,
Chad Oliver, and elder statesman (in experience but not in spirit) Theodore
Sturgeon. Bloch and Sturgeon provided the link to the true inspiration
for The Twilight Zone and the origin of modern contemporary fantasy,
John W. Campbell's legendary early '40s magazine Unknown Worlds.
Recently, Christopher Conlon wrote an excellent essay on The Group which he submitted to Cemetery Dance. They charged William F. Nolan (another member) and William Schafer with building an anthology around this piece (which you'll find on page ?? of this issue of Filmfax) called California Sorcery. This marvelous volume contains stories by most of the people affiliated with The Group, including new stories from Bradbury, Matheson, Johnson, and Sohl as well as a previously unpublished little gem by Beaumont. Don't wait too long to obtain yours, though. This edition is limited to 1500 copies.
In Charles Beaumont's too brief lifetime (he passed away in 1965, at age 38) only three cherished volumes of his short stories saw print. His publisher, Bantam, had another one ready but, for some reason, never released it. It was to be called A Touch of the Creature. Now, this book is finally available to us in the form of a wonderful hardcover edition from William Schafer's Subterranean Press. Fans of Beaumont's work will not be disappointed and, for those of you who know him by reputation only, the opening story, "Adam's Off Ox," is ample evidence of why readers of taste find unlimited joy in his stories, and some of the finest writers of our time scratch their heads in awe of his powers. Note that this, too, is a limited edition, so don't procrastinate in procuring it.
-James J.J. Wilson