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Rating: 
Summary: The great book to read Duel
Review: "Duel" the title story of this terrific collection of terror, horror and science fiction stories, became the basis for Steven Spielberg's marvelous TV movie of the same name (by the way just released to DVD after a long, long delay by Universal). David Mann becomes involved in an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse with a truck driver. Their road rage leads to more and more dangerous confrontations until it's clear that the truck driver wants to kill Mann. A marvelous suspense story, "Duel" is the blueprint for Matheson's script to the movie of the same name.
We also get "Little Girl Lost", "Death Ship", "Steel", "Third from the Sun" and "Born of Man & Woman"(all of which were adapted by Matheson and/or Rod Serling for the classic "Night Gallery" and "Twilight Zone" series) with 12 other stories of terror and science fiction. Like Matheson's novels I Am Legend and The Incredible Shrinking Man, the author likes to mix equal elements of terror, science fiction and intelligent character studies in this collection of classic stories from the 50's ("Duel" is the lone story from the 70's).
You may ask yourself what the difference is between horror and terror? Well Boris Karloff stated that terror is anticipating the monster behind the door while horror is actually seeing it in all its gruesome glory. The former creates considerably more suspense and anxiety while the latter is a shock to the system that doesn't last very long (like the murder scene in "Psycho" as compared to the scene where Cary Grant is being pursued by the crop duster in "North by Northwest"). It also can be reduced to semantics. Either way, this collection will provide interesting thrills and chills. Even if you've seen the films adapted from Matheson's work (or TV programs), you'll still enjoy Matheson's fluid writing style and pacing. There's more here than meet the eye and it's well worth investigating.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite what it is marketed as
Review: Besides the title story (written in the early seventies) these are essentially science fiction stories written in the 1950's (rather than the straight horror that the book's cover seems to indicate). While these stories are fascinating as a product of their time, don't expect them to read as anything other than very dated. Matheson does include an element of horror in each story and that is generally the least dated, most successful aspect. If you don't mind the seriously lame 50's B movie sci fi trappings and the humorously outdated mores that appear in this collection, you can really see why Matheson would come to be a well regarded horror writer in later days.
Rating: 
Summary: short stories
Review: I was first introduced to Matheson through his famous novel, I am Legend. That novel and the short stories included with it impressed me very much. That impression has continued to grow as I've read books like Duel. Matheson writes very competently and always manages to surprise you as he displays his monsters, aliens, and human madmen. This book is well worth your time. It's one I know I will read over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely fantastic
Review: richard matheson seems to have been sadly forgotten amongst the horror writers of today. while this may be so, it is also true that he transcends a good deal, if not all, of these writers. "duel" and the collection of stories (many of which were used for twilight zone episodes) that follow are only an appetizer for this legendary author's incredible variety of inspiration. it seems that matheson's formula is as follows:take a perfectly ordinary situation, ordinary life, and throw a javelin of the irrational into it using the supernatural, extraterrestrial, et al. "Duel" is perhaps the best example of this: a simple car ride involving an ordinary man turns into a terrifying struggle for existence, revealing the calm facade of civilization for what it really is--a facade. In "Third From the Sun" Matheson tells a sad tale of a family trying to escape a planet about to self destruct. This really is horror in its purest form: it reflects the quakes and ruptures beneath everyday life without making them look absurd, costume like, or obvious. It is subtle and disturbing. Spielberg's film was great, but it is nothing compared to the story. Although he has stopped writing horror (for some philosophical reason, from what I've read (yawn) his work speaks for itself.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely fantastic
Review: richard matheson seems to have been sadly forgotten amongst the horror writers of today. while this may be so, it is also true that he transcends a good deal, if not all, of these writers. "duel" and the collection of stories (many of which were used for twilight zone episodes) that follow are only an appetizer for this legendary author's incredible variety of inspiration. it seems that matheson's formula is as follows:take a perfectly ordinary situation, ordinary life, and throw a javelin of the irrational into it using the supernatural, extraterrestrial, et al. "Duel" is perhaps the best example of this: a simple car ride involving an ordinary man turns into a terrifying struggle for existence, revealing the calm facade of civilization for what it really is--a facade. In "Third From the Sun" Matheson tells a sad tale of a family trying to escape a planet about to self destruct. This really is horror in its purest form: it reflects the quakes and ruptures beneath everyday life without making them look absurd, costume like, or obvious. It is subtle and disturbing. Spielberg's film was great, but it is nothing compared to the story. Although he has stopped writing horror (for some philosophical reason, from what I've read (yawn) his work speaks for itself.
Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this book unless you like dated science fiction!!
Review: The title of this book is intentionally misleading. What it should be is "Duel: DATED SCIENCE FICTION Stories by Richard Matheson". With only a couple exceptions, the stories in this book are not "Terror Stories", but in fact a bunch of old science fiction stories that Matheson wrote in the 1950's. When I discovered this I was extremely annoyed, because I love Horror, but hate Science Fiction. I had read I AM LEGEND by Matheson, and enjoyed this story immensely. I was looking forward to reading other "horror" stories by Matheson. What I got was a lot of dated sci-fi. This was a shameless attempt by the publisher to market some very old (and very good) science fiction as a new Horror short story collection. By the misleading title, the publisher is trying to deceive Horror fans, like myself, into purchasing a recyled Sci-Fi book. The publisher should be ashamed for this unethical marketing attempt.
Rating:
Summary: Do not buy this book unless you like dated science fiction!!
Review: The title of this book is intentionally misleading. What it should be is "Duel: DATED SCIENCE FICTION Stories by Richard Matheson". With only a couple exceptions, the stories in this book are not "Terror Stories", but in fact a bunch of old science fiction stories that Matheson wrote in the 1950's. When I discovered this I was extremely annoyed, because I love Horror, but hate Science Fiction. I had read I AM LEGEND by Matheson, and enjoyed this story immensely. I was looking forward to reading other "horror" stories by Matheson. What I got was a lot of dated sci-fi. This was a shameless attempt by the publisher to market some very old (and very good) science fiction as a new Horror short story collection. By the misleading title, the publisher is trying to deceive Horror fans, like myself, into purchasing a recyled Sci-Fi book. The publisher should be ashamed for this unethical marketing attempt.
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