 | |
| Author | Carol Serling (ed.) |
|---|---|
| Subject | The Twilight Zone |
| Genre | Fiction, anthology |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | September 2009 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7653-2433-7 |
| OCLC | 316058888 |
Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary is an anthology of short stories written by various authors and edited by Carol Serling, the widow of series creatorRod Serling. Each story was written with themes or styles similar toThe Twilight Zone episodes, including a narrated introduction and conclusion. Authors who contributed stories includeTwilight Zone veteransEarl Hamner Jr.,Alan Brennert,William F. Wu, and Rod Serling. Reviewers listed some of the better stories as beingKelley Armstrong's "A Haunted House of Her Own", Alan Brennert's "Puowaina" andMike Resnick and Lezli Robyn's "Benchwarmer".
This anthology of short stories was published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the television debut ofThe Twilight Zone. Since the death of her husband,The Twilight Zone creatorRod Serling, Carol Serling had been acting as a consultant for a series of fiction anthologies and forthe 1983 theatrical film. She contributed to or edited books includingJourneys to the Twilight Zone,Adventures in the Twilight Zone,Return to the Twilight Zone,More Stories from the Twilight Zone, and the non-fiction bookRod Serling and The Twilight Zone: The 50th Anniversary Tribute. Among the authors solicited to write stories for the 50th anniversary book wereAlan Brennert andWilliam F. Wu, who worked on the 1980sThe Twilight Zone series;Earl Hamner Jr., who wrote episodes for the original series; and Rod Serling's older brother,Robert J. Serling.[1]Peter S. Beagle andHarlan Ellison were advertised as contributors but their stories did not make it into the book.[1]
The book begins with an introduction by the editor Carol Serling and ends with brief biographies of all the authors. Each of the 19 self-contained short stories includes an introduction and conclusion with the same tone and style as Rod Serling's narration at the beginning and end of eachTwilight Zone episode.[1]
Adam Balm onAin't It Cool News categorized the short stories into the following four basic types ofThe Twilight Zone episode formats: the social revenge fantasies ("The Art of Miniature", "Family Man", and "The Good Neighbor") use unlikable characters who eventually suffer an ironic twist to their predicament; stories about paranoid characters trying to convince others that something is wrong ("The Street that Forgot Time"); stories with a war theme ("Genesis", "Puowaina", "Ghost Writer", and "The Soldier He Needed to Be"); and stories centered on a hitch-hiker ("On the Road" and "Truth or Consequences").[2]
| Title | Author | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | David Hagberg | DuringWorld War II, an American platoon is under attack by the Japanese in the Philippines. As they strive to overtake the enemy position, one member of the platoon periodically suffers delusions that show him events in alternate times and places. |
| A Haunted House of Her Own | Kelley Armstrong | A woman purchases a country inn to market as ahaunted house to tourists. Though she does not initially believe in ghosts, a series of odd events and her husband acting possessed makes her re-examine her beliefs. |
| On the Road | William F. Wu | In 1970, two hitchhikers meet by chance and promise each other to pursue their desired career paths. In the present, they unexpectedly meet again in a cafe in Texas, fulfilling a promise to meet again when one of them needs the other's help. |
| The Art of the Miniature | Earl Hamner | A man obsessed withbonsai takes revenge on hispool cleaner whom he suspects is damaging his prized plants. |
| Benchwarmer | Mike Resnick &Lezli Robyn | Animaginary friend waits to play with his real-life friend. |
| Truth or Consequences | Carole Nelson Douglas | While traveling toTruth or Consequences, New Mexico, a retiredlibrarian becomes paranoid about a hitchhiker who seems to keep ahead of her. |
| Puowaina | Alan Brennert | A school girl in Hawaii foresees events including her father's death and a surprise attack onPearl Harbor. |
| Torn Away | Joe R. Lansdale | A man separated from his shadow by a witch is detained by police. The man convinces the police chief to help him flee his shadow just before it attacks. |
| Vampin' Down the Avenue | Timothy Zahn | An actor frustrated by the paparazzi starts taking drugs that make him invisible to cameras at night. When he forgets to take the antidote before dawn, he suffers a day that ruins his career. |
| A Chance of a Ghost | Lucia St. Clair Robson | A woman buys a supposedly hauntedwalking stick oneBay. The woman and the cane become friends and they fight off a collector seeking to acquire the cane. |
| The Street that Forgot Time | Deborah Chester | The adoption of a stray dog breaks a workaholic's routine and leads him to notice that everyone in hisgated community is stuck in their own routines. He escapes after discovering that someone is controlling the residents through subliminal messages on their televisions and computers. |
| The Wrong Room | R. L. Stine | A salesman checks into a hotel to attend a convention. After attending the wrong convention and being dismayed by the staff's ambivalence about not being able to leave the hotel or contact the outside world, the salesman believes he has died and is now in Hell. |
| Ghost Writer | Robert J. Serling | ThePresident of the United States and his speechwriter discuss the tone and substance of an upcoming speech regarding the future of a divisive war. |
| The Soldier He Needed to Be | Jim DeFelice | An American soldier in Afghanistan attributes his positive change in luck and combat effectiveness to a newiPod. He becomes so reliant on the good luck charm that their fates become intertwined. |
| Ants | Tad Williams | An abusive husband kills his wife with an axe. After he cleans away the body, he uses ants which have infested their house to track down left over pieces he missed. |
| Your Last Breath, Inc. | John Miller | A reporter refuses to accept the explanation of what a new business offers and struggles to uncover a rational explanation he can accept. |
| Family Man | Laura Lippman | A manager uses family obligations as a shield against criticism for toeing the corporate line and being disloyal to his staff. His world is turned upside down when he awakens to find no trace of his family ever having existed. |
| The Good Neighbor | Whitley Strieber | A homeowner fightsblockbusting by burning down the house of his new neighbor, but mistakenly kills some of the occupants. |
| El Moe | Rod Serling | A corrupt drifter is mistaken for a legendary Mexican folk hero who battled theFederales and must decide whether to become the legend or sell out to the Federales. |
The book was published byTor Books as a hardcover and paperback in September 2009. To help with its promotion a 39-second video trailer was produced.[3] Compared toRod Serling and The Twilight Zone: The 50th Anniversary Tribute, which was reviewed by writerElizabeth Hand as "a piece of hagiography that does little to illuminate Serling's genius or the enduring appeal of his most famous creation", the anthology was called "a far superior homage to Serling".[4] In herMagazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction column Hand listed Hagberg's "Genesis" as the best story in the anthology though Lansdale and Stine's are also good.[4] She called Rod Serling and Strieber's stories "the only real misfires".[4]
The review inPublishers Weekly listed Armstrong's "A Haunted House of Her Own", Brennert's "Puowaina", and Tad Williams's "Ants" as the best stories. The review also listed Wu's "On the Road", Douglas's "Truth or Consequences", and Robert Serling's "Ghost Writer" as being "less satisfying" stories. The review concluded that the book is "largely inoffensive and faithful to theTwilight Zone format, this anthology is primarily of interest to hardcore fans".[5] Carl Hays fromBooklist wrote a positive review, saying "superior craftsmanship ensures can't-miss entertainment for speculative-fiction fans and anyone nostalgic for the originalTwilight Zone aura".[6] Impressed by the authors, the reviewer in theLibrary Journal wrote "with this slate of authors and the perennial popularity of the show, all libraries should own a copy".[7]
TheStarlog reviewer, David McDonnell, lists the anthology's best stories as Lansdale's "Torn Away", Zahn's "Vampin' Down the Avenue", Resnick and Robyn's "Benchwarmer", and Armstrong's "A Haunted House of Her Own". McDonnell noted that Rod Serling's "El Moe" was least like a typicalTwilight Zone story, and that Williams's "Ants" belonged to theAlfred Hitchcock Presents universe rather thanThe Twilight Zone.[1] OnAin't It Cool News, Adam Balm identified Wu's "On the Road" as "the best entry in the collection". Balm wrote that the anthology is "uneven, with too many stories disappointing and too many that are nostalgianautic remember-whens, mining territory long since tamed and settled by others" but ultimately worth the money spent.[2]
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