If you've read "I am Legend" then you know Matheson writes as much horror as he does SF. This collection of stories is a mix of the two. Perhaps more horror then science fiction. I liked most of the stories though I don't enjoy creepy tales as much as I used to. Several had surprise endings and at least one was amusing. All of these are from the 1950s but hold up well today. Good writer. ( )

Great short stories -- each one with a different tone and style. Some authors have a set tone of voice that all their stories take. Some authors are more flexible with their craft. Matheson appears to be one of the flexible ones, willing to treat each story as an experiment. ( )

As break from another book I am reading I read the short story collection De laatste dag (with stories from The Shores of Space and Shock!) by Richard Matheson. The stories are science fiction and horror stories. Most of them seem pretty normal, taking place in the nineteen-fifties on earth, and then take a turn for the weird, horrific or futuristic.
The stories range from weird aliens on earth, strange space-travel, a 2003-way of dealing with over-population, stories dealing with identity and straight-up horror stories. The book doesn’t really show it’s age (if you ignore the smoking going on in the future). Most stories seem familiar because they have been done many times, but those were original back then.
It is a great read, a classic collection. Four out of five stars. ( )