Third from the Sun by Richard Matheson

Home sweet home.

The "twist" ending really isn't much of a twist at all since the clue is in the title. Being only a few pages long, Matheson subscribes to the less-is-more technique of short-story writing. The highly condensed narrative consisting mostly of dialogue, makes for a very quick read. There are certainly some Ray Bradbury vibes going on here although it lacks a certain ingenuity and poetic flair in comparison. The simplicity and lapidary style often associated with the short-story form does not always provide enough depth. Hence, this makes for an enjoyable read in the moment but not worth revisiting.  

Richard Matheson's influence on the horror, fantasy and science fiction genre is undeniable, with authors like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman being huge proponents of his work. He is probably most famous for the horror classic "I am Legend" and also wrote many episodes of "The Twilight Zone", adapted from his short-stories. Several of them can be found in this excellent anthology released by Penguin Classics entitled "The Best of Richard Matheson" and much of this week will be devoted to reviewing his work.