A Stir of Echoes

This book was absolutely one of the worst excuses for literary effort since Cather in the Rye (yes, that's an insult). It saddens me that a theme with such potential could be so maliciously bastardized by an author who had obviously little business tackling the whole concept. I think the worst thing about the whole book was how unreal the characters were. It's like, TOM: Honeey, I'm psychic. ANNIE: My God, you're right! That's pretty much the first 100 pages in a nutshell. The character's actions are completely unfounded, and I thought the work was little more than something to keep the coffee table level. I did give it one star however, but not for the book. I feel that the poor guy sho drew the short straw and had to type up the damned thing ought to get some credit.

Richard Matheson is apparently the writer who influenced Stephen King more than any other. The similarities in the carefully constructed worlds of each are obvious, every detail crafted to draw paralells with the daily life of each reader. Subsuqently the descent into nightmare is believable and chilling, and something ordinary can achieve a terrifying significance. Matheson is on top form here as ever, easing us gently into the lazy pace of suburban life. When the main character is hypnotised at a party, the slide begins. Awareness of things previously unseen and telepathic messages from people he's never met are only the beginning. Matheson's gift is to make the outlandish seem possible, if not probable. He makes no mistakes here. Chilling, entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable. Matheson is a giant of the genre.

Excellent. One of those rare cases in which I liked the movie for what it was, and the book, completely different, I liked, also. Not really a haunted house story, per se. More a form of ghost/supernatural phenomena story...

I have read this book being very excited about the theme and storyline, but the writing style just fell flat. I kept putting the book down, just because the way it was written. I didn't like any of the characters, really. I found myself just not caring that much about anything going on in the book. I read his other book––What Dreams May Come––and I very much liked it. This one, however, was a disappointment.

Kevin Bacon does an excellent job of developing his character and I really feel sorry for him as he slowly starts coming apart because of all the pain that comes from his new psychic abilities. Maybe if people were more accepting of psychic abilities,he wouldn't have some many problems

Actually, I would give this three and a half stars because I found the writing a little stilted...but the story is really good. The movie, though set in the present day (the book is early sixties-ish) keeps the atmoshphere of the book, and Kevin Bacon is awesome!

Very compelling. Don't let the movie trailers fool you this is not a scary horror story. It's not a mushy love story either. It's a great mix of suspense with a good cast of characters. I was turning pages so fast I didn't want it too end as quickly as it did -- wanted more of the story to read. As always, Matheson's characters seem to portray a deep sense of what love means to a relationship.

This book was an interesting story and hard to put down. I did feel, however, that the frightened reaction of Tom's wife was somewhat overdone as well as Tom's naivity of psychic phenomenon. In spite of that, I enjoyed the story, especially the suspense and surprizing ending.

Awesome Awesome Awesome! Richard Matheson has got to be one of the coolest writers of all time! This book is in one word. Amazing! I like stories like these, suspense, no horror please. Kmart isn't famous for providing best sellers but I loved it!

Although I absolutely love the movie, I wasn't impressed by the book. Not quite as spooky, and too many details were so different from the movie that I couldn't get used to it. It might appeal to others, though, especially if you've never seen the movie starring Kevin Bacon!