When I was a kid, I remember watching a lot of older B Movies on television and I always enjoyed the science fiction movies where radiation turned small insects into giant ants or spiders but my absolute favorite was the one about a man exposed to radiation that caused him to become The Incredible Shrinking Man. Now I have finally read the book that was written by author Richard Matheson.

I found the book quite different from how I remember the movie. In the book Scott Carey is less of the stalwart hero and more of the flawed leading man who is frustrated, angry and self-pitying, in actuality much more believable. He strikes out at those closest to him and resents any gesture that he thinks is pity. The book does become more cerebral toward the end as he contemplates the meaning of his life – but for those action lovers, don’t worry, he still has battles with the giant (to him) spider.

The Incredible Shrinking man is very much a product of the 1950s with it’s reference to radiation and it’s assignment of the roles that men and women play.
Along with his disappearing height and self-esteem, Scott very much feels that his shrinking body is shedding his masculinity as well. He loses confidence and becomes estranged from his family. Although sad, this is a well-written, imaginative survival story of one man’s emotional and psychological journey. ( )

Oddly filled with rage. ( )

I sincerely disliked this character’s attitude. Yes something terrible happened to him, and I’m guessing it was because the universe (or whatever) decided that he had a lesson to learn about being a better person. But in the meantime this dude Scott Carey was a whiny little shit, pun intended. He whined and raged and generally acted like a spoiled baby, and then got all lusty after a rather weird 16 year old babysitter and acted exceedingly pervy about her. (Yeah ok, she was being really weird while babysitting as well, but that’s no excuse). I was also quite tired of hearing about how Carey no longer felt like a “real man” anymore. Ugh, tmi. The novel could have been so much better without that aspect of it in there.
So I’m giving this novel three stars, and yet excusing Matheson of his transgression in writing this. I’m pretty sure his other novels are better...... good lort I hope they are....!
3 stars, and not really recommended. ( )

I like Richard Matheson, and two of my favorite stories are in here - "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Duel"! And "The Test" is now another! But the title story, not a fan. I liked the idea of the shrinking, the battles with the spider, cat, and bird, and the end, but I did not like the main character or any of his other adventures/activities. I would say that I was bored through most of the story, and rooting against Scott Carey almost all of the way through. The little jerk... Also, it seems Stephen King borrowed pretty heavily from this story in his new 'novel', "Elevation". An issue that popped up again for me after I read Matheson's "The Distributer" in this collection. Again, it appears that King took the basics of that short story and turned it into the book "Needful Things"! Just a case(s) of imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? Well, Stephen King and Joe Hill wrote "Throttle", a short story homage to "Duel", so maybe flattery/obsession? Hmm...
On the other hand, "Button, Button", again redone by King as "Gwendy's Button Box", is itself an echo of W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw", so maybe I'll just leave it at that.

And stay away from flies... ( )

The titular novella is quite memorable, and a bit of a shock for the time it was written in. I've read about the story a fair bit prior to actually reading it, though in truth the analyses that I read were a bit unnecessary. Themes of emasculation and what makes a man a man run high, though the sheer sexuality of the story was a bit shocking given the time it was written. Parts of it were genuinely unnerving (i.e. the car ride, the way his wife reacted to him making a move on her, the climb to the top of the fridge, the daughter), the black widow fight is naturally wonderful and the descriptions that followed. A lot of the dialogue felt a bit forced (notably the circus scene) but I was willing to forgive that for the mere fact the story was interesting. What happens when you reach 0 inches, right?

The rest of the stories in the collection were decent to forgettable. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet is naturally a classic. Mantage has stuck with me to a certain degree, and felt a bit like an early attempt at slipstream. Shoofly was all right, though it lost its momentum a bit quickly. For the most part I think I was a bit bored just because so many of these themes have been explored better by other authors.

It's easy to see the influence that [a: Richard Matheson|8726|Richard Matheson|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1200467797p2/8726.jpg] had on [a: Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]. Again, though, I feel that [a: Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] has explored similar themes within his work in a much more memorable way.
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