A Stir of Echoes

By: Richard Matheson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now, he's hearing the private thoughts of the people around him - and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom's existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store, as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a compelling message from beyond the grave.

This eerie ghost story, by the award-winning author of Hell House and I Am Legend, inspired the acclaimed 1999 film starring Kevin Bacon.

©1986 Richard Matheson (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Perhaps no author living is as responsible for chilling a generation with tantalizing nightmare visions." ( The New York Times)
"One of the most important writers of the twentieth century." ( Ray Bradbury)
"Matheson is one of the great names in American terror fiction." ( Philadelphia Inquirer)

Damn you, David Koepp!

I first knew of this when I watched the film as a child. It immediately became a favorite. After finishing this book, I realize that the film massively missed the mark. The film is so narrow sighted and pointless by comparison.

Matheson is a master of the spine tinglers. A champi9n of suspense, and a grest one to make you think about life, society, and humanity in different lights. This book was deeply emotional, relatable in many ways, and a damn good read. One hell of a roller coaster, and worth every second spent on it.
I highly recommend it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great story

Narrator is perfect. Story was really good! S.King says this author influenced his own writing, after reading this I could feel the similarities. I recommend.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Better Than The Movie

This is an extremely well written story and quite different from the movie. I found the book to be far better. The narrator was very effective and it was hard to stop listening. I will not hesitate to listen to this again.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Matheson is excellent

One of the subtle things I loved most about "Echoes" is how this starts to affect this man in his everyday life and his family/wife. And the unexpected turns things take. Twists and turns have become in a way cliche, but this is done well and predates so much of this "genre" of "esp" story. And you can see the groundwork for things like King's Dead Zone etc. Looking forward to more Matheson.

6 of 10 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed

Not as gritty as I had hoped, then I see it written something like 60 years ago and can appreciate it more I suppose. Still enjoyed and glad I listened.

The book and movie are NOT the same!

Tom is a regular guy with an active social life. His life is very interwoven with his neighbors and he has a sweet little family.
The book was written in 1958 and it shows in fun little ways like the neighbors knowing all of each others business whether they want to or not, and other little social norms like the husband going to the grocery store for his wife, and all the meals are home cooked .
Sigh, makes me wish I could visit. But not say. Because only white males really had such a fantastic deal in those days, and I'm pretty sure my homemaking skills would get me beat on a regular basis much like one of the women in the book... but anyways back on track.
Tom is your everyday likable guy with a wife and baby who adore him and another baby on the way. One night, at a party at his brother in laws house, he allows his brother in law to hypnotize him for the groups entertainment.
But something must have gone wrong, because now Tom is seeing things, knowing things, that he shouldn't.
There was a movie with this title that came out in the late 90's and the two do have a lot in common. However, the book and the movie are different enough that I still recommend trying the book even if you've seen the movie.
The narrator, Scott Brick, did an excellent job. 5 stars

5 of 12 people found this review helpful

Could not get through it!

I wanted to like this book and maybe if I had been reading the hardback version instead of listening to the audio version I would have liked it better. The narrator's performance was just too over the top. It seemed like everything was exaggerated. It just was not enjoyable for me.

4 of 12 people found this review helpful

Narrator killed it for me

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The summary sounded interesting, but the narrator's exaggerated, breathy style killed the story for me. I struggled to get to the end and wouldn't want to put anyone else through the pain.

2 of 7 people found this review helpful

Slow Read

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not. It was hard to get into. But will admit, had a surprised ending.

Would you ever listen to anything by Richard Matheson again?

Yes

Which scene was your favorite?

The ending. Took me by surprise.

Was A Stir of Echoes worth the listening time?

Yes

Any additional comments?

One of the main reasons to listen to this book was Scott Brick narrated it and I do like listening to him.

2 of 7 people found this review helpful

Good story!

If you like sci fi mixed with horror you will like this story by Richard Matheson.

1 of 4 people found this review helpful

Scott Brick's brilliant narration of a Great Story

Would you consider the audio edition of A Stir of Echoes to be better than the print version?

Only seen the movie and listened to this

What did you like best about this story?

The descriptions of losing your mind to another power

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Excellent character voices and superb use of temprement and tone
and very good at first person narrative

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it is one of the best stories in the ghost story genre

Any additional comments?

I consider the author to be one of the greatest writers.