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Imagine a future in which the sport of boxing has gone high-tech. Human boxers have been replaced by massive humanoid robots. And former champions of flesh-and-blood are obsolete . . . .Richard Matheson’s classic short story is now the basis for Real Steel, a gritty, white-knuckle film starring Hugh Jackman. But “Steel,” which was previously filmed as a powerful episode of the original Twilight Zone television series, is just one of over a dozen unforgettable tales in this outstanding collection, which includes two new stories that have never appeared in any previous Matheson collection. Also featured is a bizarre satirical fantasy, “The Splendid Source,” that was turned into an episode of The Family Guy.Richard Matheson was recently inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Steel demonstrates once again the full range of his legendary imagination.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
< Richard Matheson is The New York Times bestselling author of I Am Legend, Hell House, Other Kingdoms, Somewhere in Time, The Incredible Shrinking Man, A Stir of Echoes, The Beardless Warriors, The Path, Seven Steps to Midnight, Now You See It…, and What Dreams May Come, among others. He was named a Grand Master of Horror by the World Horror Convention, and received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He has also won the Edgar, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards. In 2010, he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. In addition to his novels, Matheson wrote screenplays, and he wrote for several Twilight Zone episodes, including “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” based on his short story. He was born in New Jersey and raised in Brooklyn, and fought in the infantry in World War II. He earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He lives in Calabasas, California.< Praise for Richard Matheson:“The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.”--Stephen King“His stories not only entertain but touch the mind and heart.”--Dean Koontz< STEEL The two men came out of the station rolling a covered object. They rolled it along the platform until they reached the middle of the train, then grunted as they lifted it up the steps, the sweat running down their bodies. One of its wheels fell off and bounced down the metal steps and a man coming up behind them picked it up and handed it to the man who was wearing a rumpled brown suit.“Thanks,” said the man in the brown suit and he put the wheel in his side coat pocket.Inside the car, the men pushed the covered object down the aisle. With one of its wheels off, it was lopsided and the man in the brown suit—his name was Kelly—had to keep his shoulder braced against it to keep it from toppling over. He breathed heavily and licked away tiny balls of sweat that kept forming over his upper lip.When they reached the middle of the car, the man in the wrinkled blue suit pushed forward one of the seat backs so there were four seats, two facing two. Then the two men pushed the covered object between the seats and Kelly reached through a slit in the covering and felt around until he found the right button.The covered object sat down heavily on a seat by the window.“Oh, God, listen to’m squeak,” said Kelly.The other man, Pole, shrugged and sat down with a sigh.“What d’ya expect?” he asked.Kelly was pulling off his suit coat. He dropped it down on the opposite seat and sat down beside the covered object.“Well, we’ll get ’im some o’ that stuff soon’s we’re paid off,” he said, worriedly.“If we can find some,” said Pole who was almost as thin as one. He sat slumped back against the hot seat watching Kelly mop at his sweaty cheeks.“Why shouldn’t we?” asked Kelly, pushing the damp handkerchief down under his shirt collar.“Because they don’t make it no more,” Pole said with the false patience of a man who has had to say the same thing too many times.“Well, that’s crazy,” said Kelly. He pulled off his hat and patted at the bald spot in the center of his rust-colored hair. “There’s still plenty B-twos in the business.”“Not many,” said Pole, bracing one foot upon the covered object.“Don’t Read Less
