The Best of Richard Matheson

By: Richard Matheson, Victor LaValle - editor/introduction

Narrated by: Donald Corren, Peter Berkrot, Richard Powers, Hillary Huber, Traber Burns, Scott Brick, Devon Sorvari, Kevin Kenerly

Among the greats of 20th-century horror and fantasy, few names stand above Richard Matheson. Though known by many for novels like I Am Legend and his 16 Twilight Zone episodes, Matheson truly shines in his chilling, masterful short stories. Since his first story appeared in 1950, virtually every major writer of science fiction and fantasy has fallen under his influence, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, as well as filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and J. J. Abrams.

Matheson revolutionized horror by taking it out of Gothic castles and strange cosmos and into the darkened streets and suburbs we recognize as our own. He infused tales of the fantastic and supernormal with dark explorations of human nature, delving deep into the universal dread of feeling alone and threatened in a dangerous world. The Best of Richard Matheson brings together his greatest hits as chosen by Victor LaValle, an expert on horror fiction and one of its brightest talents, marking the first major overview of Matheson's legendary career.

Narrated by Robertson Dean, Donald Corren, Peter Berkrot, Paul Michael Garcia, Hillary Huber, Traber Burns, Scott Brick, Devon Sorvari, and Kevin Kenerly.

©2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Solid.

Like twilight zone? You'll probably dig this then. A bit sporadic in consistency but all solid.

A seminal collection of horror

In spite of this book not having many reviews at the time of my download and the fact that I did not love The Shrinking Man (one of Matheson's most famous novels), I took a chance and downloaded it anyway, mostly on the strength of Stephen King's reverence for Matheson's work. I was not disappointed. This book deserves much more love than it's so far received here at Audible. It is a hidden, under-appreciated gem of wide-ranging horror, from supernatural to sci-fi influenced.

Matheson's work is seminal; you know it even if you don't know you know it. But even aside from its better known inclusions such as Duel (which would become Steven Spielberg's first directed feature), Death Ship and Third Planet from the Sun (which would become beloved Twilight Zone episodes), all of which deserve their recognition, there are scads of genuinely unsettling tales here, all superbly written with a deft, understated style. At times humorous, and often existentially unnerving, any fan of horror, well-written prose, or student of suspenseful writing should give this book a listen.

The narrator's performances are nothing to write home about, but perfectly serviceable. It's Matheson himself and his writing that shines here, or rather, flickers before leaving you in the dark with a strange, heavy breathing coming from the corner of the room behind you.

Victor LaValle Introduction is NOT included

I was excited for this collection, as I've only read Matheson's novels and have always enjoyed his work. Unfortunately the introduction by Victor LaValle which is part of the reason I purchased this collection is not included even though it's listed in the book information on Audible.

There are several narrators here, which is a nice way to break up the stories. They are all very traditional style audiobook narrators, which isn't always my preference, but they fit Matheson's work nicely.

Save your credit

Most of the stories featured are available for free; however, there are small changes made. The first few stories fell flat both in story and performance.

A Brilliant Author.

I’ve only scratched the surface of this collection, but loving every minute so far! Dying Room Only is a brisk listen, and you can feel the panic!

That which you believe becomes your world

Richard Matheson was a fantastic science-fiction/fantasy writer who contributed greatly to "The Twilight Zone". In this collection are many wonderful stories, and a few that aren't that great. Matheson had a tremendous ability to take the ordinary and weave a weird, compelling story around it...which made his tales all the more intriguing, ominous and sometimes downright scary. I have given a brief synopsis without giving away any spoilers, twists or details that might take away from your enjoyment listening to these stories. And I graded them on how well I enjoyed them. There are multiple narrators, and I can honestly say they are all excellent. Enjoy!

Table of Contents:

Born of Man and Woman - deformed child kept chained in the basement, mistreated by parents, who begins to rebel. (B)
Prey - woman buys an African doll, which turns out to be more than she bargained for. (A)
Witch War - 7 young girls are used by the military because of strange abilities. (C)
Shipshape Home - residents of an apartment complex begin to suspect their home is not what it appears. (B)
Blood Son - young boy dreams of becoming a vampire, and takes actions to bring it about. (B)
Where There's a Will - man prematurely buried searches for way out of coffin. (B)
Dying Room Only - Man and wife stop at a roadside diner, man disappears, wife searches. (B)
Counterfeit Bills - a man clones himself with some predictable results. (C)
Death Ship - 3 astronauts investigate the wreckage of a ship which contains a surprise. (A)
Dance of the Dead - 2 couples travel to the city and a nightclub and are entertained by...something bizarre. (B)
Man with a Club - Caveman shows up in a city, an eyewitness describes the mayhem and ponders where the man came from. (C)
Button, Button - young married couple offered $50,000 if they push a button, causing someone they don't know to die. (A)
Duel - man driving through the desert is terrorized by a truck driver. Awesome movie by Steven Spielberg. (A)
Day of Reckoning - tale of young mother's revenge on a her child. (C)
The Prisoner - man awakens in prison, claims he isn't the man in prison, but is actually a scientist somehow transported into this other man's body. (B)
Dress of White Silk - young girl fascinated with her mother's belongings, and dark family secrets. (C)
Haircut - weird man comes in for a haircut, tells barber his hair and fingernails won't stop growing. (C)
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet - man spots a creature on the wing of his plane...but no one believes him. (A)
The Funeral - funeral director meets a man who is planning his own funeral, and the bizarre attendees of the funeral. (B)
Third from the Sun - family and neighbors plan to take a spaceship to a new planet to escape the destruction of their home. (B)
The Last Day - Earth is set to be destroyed by some phenomenon and this tells of how the inhabitants deal with the impending doom. (B)
Long Distance Call - old woman keeps getting calls and no one is on the line...until there might be. (A)
Deus ex Machina - man cuts himself shaving, and discovers he might not be human. (C)
One for the Books - Janitor and strange interactions with the books he comes in contact with. (C)
Now Die In It - A man and wife get a call from someone threatening to kill the husband, and then deal with whether the man is lying about ever having been to Chicago. (C)
The Conqueror - young man comes to western town to make a name for himself by killing the fastest gun around. (B)
The Holiday Man - A man is part of some organization which can either cause or predict deaths on a holiday. (C)
No Such Thing as a Vampire - A doctor's wife in Transylvania is the intended victim of a vampire, and the doctor tries to prevent it from happening. (B)
Big Surprise - an old man tricks boys into digging holes for him...with macabre results. (C)
A Visit to Santa Claus - man takes his son to see Santa, and may be plotting to have his wife murdered. (B)
Fingerprints - A man on a bus meets a strange woman who cares for a mute girl, and the encounter gets very bizarre. (B)
Mute - A young boy is raised to be a telepath, but his parents die and the story is about what happens to him. (B)
Shock Wave - a church organ may have a life of its own. (C)

Rich and thrilling storytelling

Great stories from Richard Matheson. The complete list (I think) is below:

Born of Man and Woman
Prey
Witch War
Shipshape Home
Blood Son
Where There's a Will
Dying Room Only
Counterfeit Bills
Death Ship
Dance of the Dead
Man with a Club
Button, Button
Duel
Day of Reckoning
The Prisoner
Dress of White Silk
Haircut
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
The Funeral
Third From the Sun
The Last Day
Long Distance Call
Deus ex Machina
One for the Books
Now Die in It
The Conqueror
The Holiday Man
No Such Thing as a Vampire
Big Surprise
A Visit to Santa Claus
Finger Prints
Mute
Shock Wave

If you're unfamiliar with Matheson, think "Man on the Wing of the Airplane", "The Box", and "I am Legend";. His stories are often macabre and imaginative, but not always scary. This is much more "Twilight Zone" (for which he was a repeated writer) than "Tales from the Darkside". After reading a bit of Hell House, I wasn't a big fan of Matheson. After such a large sampling of his short stories, my opinion has changed. At his best (The Last Day, Duel) Matheson describes humanity at the brink...at the edge of its survival, its sanity, or its ability to endure.

If you like strange tales with a dark flavor, try this selection out.

When Matheson is good, he's very good....

But when he's bad...he's still pretty damn good. Super-fun collection by a true, if slightly demented, storyteller.

not bad at all

beautifully narrated some of the stories lacked a little bit but all in all I would say it's a good book

Hallelujah! Got What I Paid For

The audiobook does not contain the long sermon that serves as an "introduction" to the print and ebook versions. This is Matheson with his mystery, his humor and his epoch. No social-progress speeches unrelated to the wonderful content from a 20th century master of thrillers. No redemption needed. Fun for everyone. Isn't that what we want?