Most Popular Books by Richard Matheson

The definitive collection of terrifying stories by "one of the greatest writers of the 20th century" (Ray Bradbury), edited by award-winning author Victor LaValle 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 sixteen 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, horror, 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 setting it in 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. "[Matheson is] the author who influenced me most as a writer." -Stephen King "Richard Matheson''s ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories . . . For me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov." -Steven Spielberg "He was a giant, and YOU KNOW HIS STORIES, even if you think you don''t." -Neil Gaiman For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

What if you were told that you could make a fortune just by pushing a button on a box? But pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world . . . someone you don''t know. Would you still push the button? "Button, Button," Richard Matheson''s chilling tale of greed and temptation, is now the basis of The Box, the new film from the director of Donnie Darko. In addition, this outstanding collection also contains many other unforgettable stories by Matheson, the award-winning author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come. "The inventive plots and spare but convincing portraits of ordinary men and women caught up in forces beyond their control demonstrate why Stephen King has called Matheson his most significant influence." --Publishers Weekly At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

When Richard Collier, a dying screenwriter, becomes infatuated with Elise McKenna, a celebrated actress at the turn of the century, his love proves strong enough to bring him through time to her side.

An SF novel about vampires . . . Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville''s blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?

"The novel that inspired the thrilling new movie from Artisan Entertainment starring Kevin Bacon"--Cover.

The New York Times bestseller A LOVE THAT TRANSCENDS HEAVEN AND HELL What happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him from his beloved wife, Annie. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death. But even Heaven is not complete without Annie, and when tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair. Richard Matheson''s powerful tale of life---and love---after death was the basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Robin Williams.

Hollywood screenwriter Matheson''s first novel is a glossy thriller set in the ruthless world of prime-time TV. When a young TV writer finally comes up with a blockbuster--a violent series called "The Mercenary"--the plots he creates chillingly become real. For a copycat killer is imitating events from the show. . . .

As the Army and the Apache experience an uneasy peace, the discovery of the body of a man who had been brutally murdered and mutilated threatens to ignite all-out war, and it is up to Indian Agent Billjohn Finley to prevent it.

The legendary novel of science-fiction horror: "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson" (Stephen King). After he is exposed to a radioactive cloud, Scott Carey finds himself shrinking, slowly, day-by-day, inch-by-inch. Scott once had a normal, everyday existence as a husband and father, but as time passes, he becomes a national spectacle, something worthy of newspaper headlines. As Carey shrinks, smaller and smaller, his family become giants, more and more unreachable, and even the family cat becomes a predatory menace. In this world of disproportion, increasingly perilous with each passing day, Scott struggles to survive—and is pushed to the very limits of fear and existence . . . Adapted into the Hugo Award–winning film The Incredible Shrinking Man, this is a classic by the author of I Am Legend and other renowned works—a master of imagination whom Ray Bradbury called "one of the most important writers of the twentieth century." "A classic of suspense as poignant as it is frightening—a mix that only Richard Matheson could pull off." —Dean Koontz

Someone is Bleeding -- Fury on Sunday -- Ride the Nightmare.

A collection of horror including stories such as "Third from the Sun," "Little Girl Lost," "Death Ship," and "Duel," which was the basis for the Spielberg film of the same name.

An essential collection of rare tales of terror from the multi-award-winning Twilight Zone scripter and I Am Legend author—only available in ebook format. A researcher encounters an exotic new strain of "Backteria" that causes the infected person to vanish—leading the doctor on a path of discovery deep into a past he should have left buried. A simple "Haircut" that starts off as a routine trim becomes a dark and terrifying experience when a barber is confronted with a sick customer who seems otherworldly. A case of mistaken identity leads to a darkly farcical story of marriage, murder, and a love that knows no bounds in "Getting Together." Backteria & Other Improbable Tales gathers these and sixteen more uncanny short stories from master storyteller Richard Matheson, "one of the great names in American terror fiction" ( The Philadelphia Inquirer). Stories include: "Backteria", "He Wanted to Live", "Life Size", "Man with a Club", "Professor Fritz and the Runaway House", "Purge Among Peanuts", "The Prisoner", "The Last Blah in the ETC", "Counterfeit Bills", "1984 1⁄2", "Pride", "Now Die In It", "Leo Rising", "Where There''s a Will" (written with Richard Christian Matheson), "Getting Together", "Person to Person", "CU: Mannix", "Haircut", "An Element Never Forgets" "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson." —Stephen King "Perhaps no other living author is as responsible for chilling a generation with tantalizing nightmare visions." — The New York Times "Matheson''s a writer who just has the special knack, the deft skill to imagine terrifying scenarios on any scale, large and small, and give them chilling possibility." — Los Angeles Times

Richard Matheson''s classic short story is now the basis for Real Steel, a gritty, white-knuckle film starring Hugh Jackman. But "Steel," which was previously filmed as a powerful episode of the original Twilight Zone television series, is just one of over a dozen unforgettable tales in this outstanding collection, which includes two new stories that have never appeared in any previous Matheson collection. Also featured is a bizarre satirical fantasy, "The Splendid Source," that was turned into an episode of The Family Guy. Imagine a future in which the sport of boxing has gone high-tech. Human boxers have been replaced by massive humanoid robots. And former champions of flesh-and-blood are obsolete . . . . Richard Matheson was recently inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Steel: And Other Stories demonstrates once again the full range of his legendary imagination. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In this suspense thriller by the author of I Am Legend and Now You See It, a man is on the run for his life after he''s replaced by an impostor. Government mathematician Chris Barton lives a routine life—until, at the end of an ordinary workday, he finds his car missing from the employee parking lot. When he finally arrives home, there is a stranger living in his house—a man who claims to be him. Thrust suddenly into a surreal world where the evidence of his senses cannot be trusted and strangers are trying to kill him, Chris must avoid violent assassins while following a trail of cryptic clues to regain his life . . . "Matheson is the master of paranoia—pitting a single man against unknown horrors and examining his every slow twist in the wind. 7 Steps is a book to be devoured in one long swallow." — San Jose Mercury News "Richard Matheson is one of the great names in American terror fiction. 7 Steps to Midnight commands attention. . . . The writing is fortunately up to Matheson''s high standards. This is a novel that flies across the page." — The Philadelphia Inquirer Praise for Richard Matheson "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson." —Stephen King "One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century." —Ray Bradbury

The bestselling author of such classic novels as I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, Richard Matheson is one of the twentieth century''s acknowledged masters of suspense. Hunted Past Reason is a major literary event: Matheson''s first new novel in seven years-and a gripping tale of madness, paranoia, and murder. It''s supposed to be just an ordinary camping trip, two old acquaintances hiking through the wilderness toward a remote cabin in the woods of northern California. Bob Hansen, a middle-aged family man and author, isn''t anticipating anything worse than sore muscles and maybe a few chilly nights. But the enforced isolation of the hike soon exposes long-hidden rivalries and resentments between Bob and his guide through the forest, a fading TV actor whom Bob has known for several years. The deeper they get into the primeval wilderness and the farther from civilization, the greater the tension between the two men becomes-until the simmering hostility erupts into a terrifying life-or-death struggle for survival. Two men entered the woods, but only one may emerge alive. Hunted Past Reason is a nail-biting thriller in the classic Matheson tradition. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Personally selected by Richard Matheson, the bestselling author of I Am Legend and What Dreams May Come, the stories in Nightmare at 20,000 feet more than demonstrate why Matheson''s regarded as one of our most influential horror writers. Featuring the story "Duel," a nail-biting tale of man versus machines that inspired Steven Spielberg''s first film. Remember that monster on the wing of the airplane? William Shatner saw it on The Twilight Zone, John Lithgow saw it in the movie-even Bart Simpson saw it. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" is just one of many classic horror stories by Richard Matheson that have insinuated themselves into our collective imagination. Here are more than twenty of Matheson''s most memorable tales of fear and paranoia, including: "Prey," in which a terrified woman is stalked by a malevolent Tiki doll, as chillingly captured in yet another legendary TV moment; "Blood Son," a disturbing portrait of a strange little boy who dreams of being a vampire; "Dress of White Silk," a seductively sinister tale of evil and innocence. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.