Published : 1956Pages : 200
Overall Mark : 8/10
Scott Carey has been exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray. Now he can no longer deny the extraordinary truth. Not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter. Scott Carey has begun to shrink. At first Carey tries to continue some kind of normal life. Later, having left human contact behind, he must survive in a world where insects and spiders are giant enemies. And even that is only a stage on his ultimate journey into the unknown.
RICHARD MATHESON (1926-)
The Shrinking Man, first published in 1956, stands alongside I Am Legend (also published as an SF Masterworks) as Richard Metheson's most important contribution to the genre, and was filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man. Matheson is the author of many film and TV scripts.
VERDICT
This is such a great book that really looks at the human condition and how something that sounds so simple as being smaller can change the attitudes of people towards you. Matheson starts the book off with the view that the shorter someone is the less respect they have, something of a social commentary really, but then delves into true sci-fi realms as Carey shrinks down to 7 inches and eventually shrinks so much he disappears from the world we know altogether. A fantastic fantasy that feels just as fresh today as the day it was first published.
