- The Best of Richard Matheson (Penguin Classics)

This eclectic compilation is storytelling at its best, most puzzling, most frightening, most insightful. As a fellow novelist, it’s an honor to read such great work.

I've always been a fan of Richard Matheson's work going back to his Twilight Zone days. A few of these short stories were made into some of the better episodes. The story that was used for the TV movie "Duel" was my favorite. That was the movie that launched Steven Spielberg. The story was much more gripping than the movie. It moved along at a faster pace without all of the filler needed to stretch it out into a movie. All in all this was an enjoyable book for anyone who's a fan.

Neil Gaiman once said about Richard Matheson that "you know his stories, even if you think you don't." And that's true even for those of us who think we know them. Sure, I knew to expect some of Matheson's classics in this anthology - the murderous trucker of "Duel," the wing-dwelling monster of "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," the miniature hunter of "Prey" - but it's easy to forget how many of these other tales have forced themselves into the public consciousness. (Much of this, of course, is due to Matheson's work on The Twilight Zone, a series that I'm currently working my way through with my children, which has made Matheson's talent all the more obvious.)And yet, no matter how much you know them, it's hard not to just be floored by Matheson's imagination at all times, especially as you see how many genres he could take one. You want a Western? How about "The Conquerer," the story of a young man coming to town to take on the fastest draw in the West for reasons that only become clear in the story's quietly tragic final moments? Comedy? Oh, man, are there some odd little wonders here, including "Counterfeit Bills," a shaggy dog tale with a groaner of a punchline (which admittedly cracked me up), or "The Funeral," which finds some classic monsters wanting to celebrate a death they never actually had. More of a science fiction fan? Matheson has those in spades, using other genres to extend the feel of his tales into the range of horror, suspense, thriller, and so much more - all genres that are well represented here. And you know the master has plenty to offer in all of those latter ones as well - which may leave you surprised by the heartfelt supernatural drama of "Mute" or the strange and awful humanity of "Day of Reckoning."As noted by Victor LaValle in his (excellent) introduction, Matheson's prose isn't always something you walk away remembering, and that can feel like a detriment at times. There aren't those beautiful sentences, those perfect images that can so often elevate tales like this. No, Matheson was a career writer, and his gift was in telling a tale clearly, tightly, and without frills. But what you lack in style and and flowery language, you more than make up in pure narrative momentum. As a killer doll stalks a woman in "Prey," or a housewife ponders the moral choice of "Button, Button", or a man flees from the trailer truck of "Duel," you find yourself absolutely gripped, flying through pages as Matheson turns the screws tighter and tighter.Even when he's not trading in suspense, Matheson has a way of making you need to just keep reading. We're sucked in by the tragic narrators of "Born of Man and Woman" and "Dress of White Silk"; we need to know what horror is awaiting the men on the "Death Ship"; we're right there with the elderly woman getting the "Long Distance Call" even though we know there's nothing good on the other end of the line. Matheson plays into that "need to know," sucking us into the tales all the way to their endings, which so often go in directions that feel inevitable and yet wholly surprising.I want to spend paragraphs and paragraphs talking about these stories, and yet, I don't want to spoil the joy of reading them. Sure, there are a few that don't quite live up to the rest - "Finger Prints," while deeply human, never really coalesces into a point; "A Visit to Santa Claus" starts off fantastically but whimpers out and feels like it's giving us a weaker ending than Matheson wanted to; "The Holiday Man" feels like a great idea in search of a richer tale. But those even those are compulsively, effortlessly readable, and they're more than made up for by the ample riches of this collection. You've got more than thirty stories here, written by one of the legendary authors of horror and suspense - an influence on almost every modern day practitioner of the genre. You've got nightmares and absurd comedies, tragic tales of human cruelty and darkly violent tales of violence, thrillers and mysteries - and all done with a sense of human nature that shines through and makes them all work, even nearly half a century later.Basically, what I'm saying is this: it's an anthology of some of the best work Richard Matheson ever did. What are you waiting for?

One of the great writers who stands level with Bradbury, Heinlein and Sturgeon as a great story teller of much more than just science fiction.

Before Stephen King or Rod Sterling came along with their tales of suspense, a satire, and darkness, Richard Matheson was the first occupant of that grand hall of literature. His short stories, in this book alone, brought about some of the best movies and stories that aired in the Twilight Zone. They tap into the dark and weird recesses of the human mind and soul with a flair of intensity, horror, humor, despair, and human drama. So I highly recommend this book to all of you who want to awed, spooked, and thrilled. Your fingernails will be gnawed to the quick by the time you finish.

Superbly written tales sure to unnerve you. Matheson, amongst the very best of writers of horror, is a master at crafting situations in which individuals come to find themselves alone against the unspeakably terrifying.I didn't care for the editor's self-indulgent introduction and would like to have been given the publication years for all and not just some of the stories -- hence, four stars for this fine collection.

Richard Matheson may be one of the most underrated writers of the 20th century. Known primarily for his contributions to The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery television shows, his short stories are witty, dark, and instantly recognizable. He is the absolute master of depicting ordinary people caught up in horrifying situations (it's no wonder that Stephen King cites him as the major influence of his writings).Some of the highlights of this collection include "Prey," a young woman fights for her life in an apartment against a 6-inch tall Zulu warrior; "Duel," a man is terrorized by 18-wheeler driver on an empty stretch of desert road in California; "Where There's a Will," a man wakes up buried alive in a coffin and struggles to free himself; "The Last Day," a sobering look at the end of the world from the perspective of a young man trying to make it home to his mother; and "Shipshape Home," a young couple discovers a terrifying secret about their apartment complex.One of the most fascinating aspects of Richard Matheson's writing style is how little it calls attention to itself. At times, it's almost Hemingway-esque in its simplicity and starkness. Even though these stories were written in the 60s and 70s, a lot of them feel timeless in their depiction of middle-American life.This collection is highly recommended (and talk about gorgeous cover art), and these 30+ stories will thrill, amuse, and horrify you at every nasty twist and turn.

Liked this a lot, found many of the stories familiar as they have become cultural tropes in Sci-fi, or horror since they were written. Found the first half of the collection better than the second half, but all in all a worthwhile read.