Charles Beaumont was a visionary unappreciated in his time and unlikely to be appreciated since his passing. His mastery of short fiction characterization and plot is unparalled by Stephen King and is only approached by the Short Fiction in Orson Scott Card's Unaccompanied Sonata.

The Howling Man and other stories in this collection are outstanding. Beaumont is a great talent of the writing craft and writers like King and Straub stand on his shoulders. He's the most gifted and least recognized writers I've had the pleasure of reading.

The Bible on fencing. The most complete and comprehensive guide to strategy and tactics of fencing I have ever come across. This classic will appeal mostly to serious practitioners of the art, who will appreciate the depth and intricacy of C.L. de Beaumont's discussions on swordplay. All three weapons are covered along with principles of offense, defense, counter-offense, similar and distinct for all three weapons. Each type of stroke is dealt with, not only in the ways to do them but with various considerations such as timing, circumstance, rationale, appropriacy. Also, copious guidelines for honing practice and aims for developing high-calibre proficiency. If you have read Roger Crosnier's books (out of print) on tactics, this book goes much beyond that. A very business-like treatment of fencing, where tactics and strategies are dissected and analyzed in minute detail. A definite must for serious fencers.

A detailed and well-reseached work, this book gives the reader an indepth analysis of the late Charles Beaumont, and his contributions to many genres. Whether a scholar, a scific researcher, or just a curious reader looking for an insightful and enjoyable read, this is the book for you. For those who remember Beaumont's work, this is a must have book for the reference library! The biographical analyis is excellent,accurate,and insightful. This is the first major book published about Charles Beaumont, in fact, it is the only one. It contains much material unavailable elsewhere.Excellent book.Fascinating reading!

At first this book was intresting,but it soon got confusing.One page he was flirting with Ben Franklin(as Chevaliere d'Eon,of course),the next page he was crying in his room to Madamoiselle Bertin.After he 'became' a woman,the book concentrated on the books in his library(Extremly boring).All in all,it's good,because it helped me realize that d'Eon wasn't this crazy politian,but he was 'pretending' so that he would get a second chance.But I still think it was a stupid move,but at least he'll be remembered for it.

D'eon was more interesting than I'd ever realized. It appears that she adopted womanhood out of faith and feminism as much as personal needs, yet her motives remain mixed and mysterious. This book does a good job of showing her own complexity and that of her era.

The question that will immediately come to the minds of many Charles Beaumont fans regarding this new collection of thirteen previously-unseen stories is: What could possibly be left to publish? The author, best remembered for his outstanding teleplays for "The Twilight Zone," passed away over thirty years ago; and two earlier retrospectives--"Best of Beaumont" and "The Holwing Man" (a.k.a. "Selected Stories")--contained a total of eight unpublished (and uneven) tales between them. The happy news here is that, indeed, there are good pieces still remaining, and Subterranean (in full cooperation with Beaumont's son Christopher) has found several to include in "A Touch of the Creature."

The best among these is certainly "Adam's Off Ox," a charming backwoods deal-with-the-Devil tale written in an amusing country vernacular. Here is Beaumont's Devil: "He was a study, let me tell you. A big man it was, standin there laughin at Billy Spiker--big and ornry looking and by no stretch of the imagination just exactly right. For one thing, he didn't have no hair on his whole body, and you could say this for a fact because the old vulgarian was naked as a jaybird, without even nothin to cover his modesty! Head slicker'n a bean and flatter on top than two pancakes...When he smiled, you could see his sharp pointy little teeth set in a row, and his bitty eyes, like a fish's eyes, ony a deep bright bloody red."

There are at least three other very good stories in the book as well: "The Indian Piper," a strange and beautiful tale of a would-be criminal's redemption; "The Junemoon Spoon," more backwoods fun with a marvelous sting-in-the-tail at the end; and "Mr. Underhill," an ambiguous, unsettling offering which might have made an excellent "Twilight Zone." Along with a couple of near-misses--the interesting but overwrought "Resurrection Island" and "Fallen Star," which appears to be unfinished--there is enough quality material here to make the book worthwhile.

Alas, it must also be reported that about half the works in "A Touch of the Creature" are weak, uninspired efforts which will do Beaumont's reputation no good at all. Worst are four stories ("A Long Way From Capri," "Lachrymosa," "The Rival," and "A Friend of the Family") seemingly written for the women's magazine market of the 1950s--hackneyed, half-baked "relationship" tales with substandard characterization and pat, formulaic happy endings. Utterly without individuality or style, it is difficult to imagine Charles Beaumont having written them at all.

Yet lovers of Beaumont's work will feel nothing but gratitude to Subterranean Press for publishing "A Touch of the Creature." The reader unfamiliar with Beaumont should certainly not start here--"Best of Beaumont" or "The Howling Man" would be much more appropriate--but longtime fans will be surprised and delighted by the best of what this new volume offers. It is a tribute to the depth of Beaumont's genius that, more than three decades after his death, he still has a few wonderful tales left to tell.