---
product_id: 53903390
title: "The Best of Richard Matheson (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 10, 2017"
brand: "richard mathesonvictor lavalle"
price: "R571"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/53903390-the-best-of-richard-matheson-penguin-classics-paperback-october-10
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# The Best of Richard Matheson (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 10, 2017

**Brand:** richard mathesonvictor lavalle
**Price:** R571
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** The Best of Richard Matheson (Penguin Classics) Paperback – October 10, 2017 by richard mathesonvictor lavalle
- **How much does it cost?** R571 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/53903390-the-best-of-richard-matheson-penguin-classics-paperback-october-10)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A sweeping collection from a grand master
*by J***N on May 13, 2025*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A worthwhile read from an amazing author.
*by A***W on August 28, 2018*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best stories by one of the legends of suspense - what else do you need to know?
*by J***E on April 5, 2020*

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?

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-02-14*