Most Popular Books by Richard Matheson

Back East, they told tall tales about Marshall Clay Halser, the fearless Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the Wild West. But the truth, as revealed in his private journals, is even more compelling. A callow youth in search of excitement, Halser travels to the raucous cow towns of the frontier, where his steady nerve and ready trigger finger soon mark him as a gunfighter to be reckoned with. As both an outlaw and a lawman, he carves out a legendary career. But fame proves to be the one enemy he can never outdraw–and a curse that haunts him to the bitter end . . . . At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

This tale of summer camp horror and mystery by the author of I Am Legend is "a deeply engaging story with a clear writing style that is a pleasure to read" ( Publishers Weekly). Camp Pleasant is a place of natural beauty and campfire singalongs. But when Matt Harper arrives there to work as a counselor, he discovers it is also a place of unrelenting abuse and brutality. The new camp director "Big Ed" Nolan is such a bully that the bucolic paradise feels more like a miniature Third Reich . . . until someone finally has enough and kills Big Ed. The suspects include a troubled young camper, a counselor who quit in the face of homophobic humiliation, and Big Ed''s own wife, Ellen. "[This] minimalist plot would be inadequate in other hands, but Matheson—author of Somewhere in Time and Hell House as well as classic Twilight Zone teleplays—has such a command of his craft that this book is a pure pleasure . . .The simple style recalls Hemingway" ( Publishers Weekly).

Together in one volume, the epic stories of two legendary gunfighters! Journal of the Gun Years Winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel Back East, they told tall tales of Marshal Clay Hauser, the steely-eyed Civil War veteran who became known as the "Hero of the Plains" for his daring exploits in the raucous cow towns of the frontier. But fame proves to be the one enemy he can never outdraw–and a curse that haunts him to his violent end . . . . The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok James Butler Hickok was a celebrity before there was a Hollywood. As a gunfighter and U.S. marshal, he carved out a legend greater than any fictional hero. Now read the unforgettable story of the man behind the myth. "Matheson excels at the depiction of one man alone, locked in a desperate struggle against a force or forces greater than himself." --Stephen King At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In the dusty frontier town, a legendary Texas Ranger''s honor is put to the ultimate test. John Benton was one of the toughest men ever to wear a Texas Ranger badge. But eight years ago, in August 1871, he hung up his guns for good. Or so he hoped. When young Robby Coles challenges him to a fight over an imagined slight to the boy''s sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Benton tries to laugh off the affair. But rumors and gossip spread like wildfire through their small community, goading both men towards a fatal confrontation neither one truly wants. Benton doesn''t want to kill again. Robby is secretly terrified of facing the legendary gunfighter. Yet, with both men''s honor on the line, is there any way to avoid a duel to the death? Gun Fight is a classic Western novel from acclaimed author Richard Matheson, known for his masterful storytelling in the Western genre. This gripping tale of pride, honor, and the human condition is a must-read for Western fiction enthusiasts and fans of classic Western novels. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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.

1981 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film (Given by the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Films). A love story, wherein a young man uses hypnosis to find the woman in an old hotel portrait.

The visionary first novel by the author of What Dreams May Come in which a man paralyzed by a gunshot reflects on his sordid past and hopes for redemption. Hunger and Thirst is Richard Matheson''s first and until now previously unpublished novel, written fifty-plus years ago when Matheson was only twenty-three-years-old. Matheson''s agent told him it was unpublishable due to its length and so to that end, Matheson put the manuscript in a drawer and left for California where his writing career changed dramatically. Hunger and Thirst centers around Erick, who lies paralyzed on his hospital bed after being shot during a botched bank robbery. Erick contemplates how his life became such a mess—from his childhood, to his service in the war, his romantic life, and now—and holds out hope to be saved... Perfect for fans of Stephen King''s Gerald''s Game Praise for Richard Matheson "One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century."—Ray Bradbury "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson."—Stephen King

For over half a century, Richard Matheson has enthralled and terrified readers with such timeless classics as I Am Legend, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Duel, Somewhere in Time, and What Dreams May Come. Now the Grand Master returns with a bewitching tale of erotic suspense and enchantment.... 1918. A young American soldier recently wounded in the Great War, Alex White comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul. True, the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent, spirits, but surely those are just old wives'' tales. Aren''t they? A frightening encounter in the forest leads him into the arms of Magda Variel, an alluring red-haired widow rumored to be a witch. She warns him to steer clear of the wood and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself. Drawn to its verdant mysteries, he finds love, danger...and wonders that will forever change his view of the world.

From the iconic author of I Am Legend: The fascinating, unfinished teleplay of a saga encompassing the Titanic, Jack the Ripper, and the paranormal. Richard Matheson, the celebrated Twilight Zone scripter, explored his interests in metaphysics, spiritualism, and parapsychology in such stories as Hell House, Somewhere in Time, and What Dreams May Come. In the early 1980s, he approached the ABC television network with a twenty-hour mini-series about such phenomena in contemporary times—and included two in-depth historical accounts of the psychic events related to the Jack the Ripper murders and in the Titanic disaster. Titled The Link, Matheson turned in a 557-page outline that ABC executives requested he condense into seven hour-long episodes. Unable to realize his original vision under such restrictions, Matheson abandoned the television project and attempted to novelize the outline. After writing 800 pages that only comprised the first part of the novel, he decided it was too unwieldy and moved on to other stories. Now, Matheson''s fans can discover what might have been with this publication of The Link, which includes the entire original outline as well as part of the teleplay. The story follows Robert Allright, a writer working with paranormal investigator Cathy Graves to decipher a mystery unearthed by his father in an Arizona archeological dig. Allright''s only clue is the mystifying crystal that his father believes is the key to a great discovery. "The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson." —Stephen King "Matheson peppers [ The Link] with innumerable historical incidents of supposed paranormal activity that make fascinating reading." — Publishers Weekly

Affected by radiation, the main character, a family man in suburbia begins to shrink so that the safe and comforting aspects of home become ever more menacing. An undoubted classic of the fifties sci fi and still one of the most intelligent and well crafted films of the genre which effectively captures the paranoia of Cold War America.

When a mysterious impostor takes his place, Chris Barton, a mathematician, must flee for his life