Duel
Matheson, whose best-known novels include the modern vampire classicI Am Legend(1954), here collects 18 short stories that debuted in various sf magazines in the 1950s. They have just the right blend of sf, chills, and humor. In "Third from the Sun," a man who is certain that Earth will be destroyed by a cataclysmic war prepares to flee to another solar system with his family and neighbors. In "Born of Man and Woman," the monstrous offspring of a normal couple lies chained in the basement, growing ever more resentful. Matheson shows his lighter side in "Srl Ad," in which a young man gets more than he bargained for when he answers an offbeat personal ad from a girl who claims to be from Venus. In "Little Girl Lost," a father must save his young daughter when she slips into another dimension. The title story, about a man menaced by a semi truck, was the source for Stephen Spielberg's filmDuel.Wearing their age well, Matheson's stories are snappy and smart.Kristine HuntleyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.