I Am Legend

Not at all what I expected, being familiar with so many adaptations of it. Im glad I finally read the original.

The premise of this story is very simple. A man named Robert Neville is the last man alive on Earth. Everyone else have become vampires and this story is about Roberts life being alone in a world full of hideous beings. It is a very simple and basic premise and yet Richard Matheson has taken it and spun a really deep and complex tale out of it. All throughout the book, there are instances where we truly feel for Robert, the pain and frustration he goes through on a daily basis. He struggles with the isolation of being alone, the defeat of not able to find a cure for vampirism, the mysteries surrounding vampirism, and ultimately the seeming betrayal of a woman named Ruth, the only living being he knows after the plaque. Mr. Matheson describes all of this in beautiful, beautiful prose. Not only that, he also has a knack for creating believable characters; all of these characters, even his animal ones, behave the way they should, and it is a delight to read about them. There were some highly technical parts of the book which I felt dragged the pace down, but not too badly as to make the book feel too long-winded. For the most part, the story chugs along nicely. One more thing Ive noticed about I AM LEGEND was that it felt very allegorical of the problems we have in our world today. Man is a very territorial and violent species and we see that even in a post-apocalytic context, wars and conflicts of interest can still happen, and will happen. I am Legend is truly a triumph of story telling, Mr. Matheson was clearly at the top of his game when he wrote it.

I was apprehensive about getting this book because of all the good reviews surrounding it. I am somewhat skeptical of what everyone else thinks is good because I like to form my own opinions. Its not that I go out looking for things with bad reviews, (because most of the time, theyre right *grin*) just that I dont like to be overly influenced by other people. However in this case I can assure you, the hype is all that. All the stories in this collection are worth your while. Some are funny, some gross, all intriguing. I am Legend is the stand alone best though. It reminded me of The Omega Man, a movie with Charleton Heston, or perhaps it should be other way around. . .I am not sure about the dates. The one true man against a world of monsters. It is fantastic, people at work kept giving me strange looks because of how obivously into the book I was. I read it very fast, then again, it goes fast once you get past I am Legend, which takes up most of the book. The book is set up with I am Legend which is like 126 pages or so, and the others are kind of tag alongs, they dont deal with the first story at all, in fact none of the stories are related in any way, but as I said before, each have their own flavor and I loved each one and began to respect Mr. Matheson more and more as I went on. Check it out, if youre into horror, you dont know what youre missing. Five worthy stars!

Not a book that was hard to put down, after the first few chapters I simply read it because I bought it. This is a story that could have been so well done, yet its a hodge-podge of events all scrambled together, and not in a clever way. How many times did I have to read that the man was upset, throwing drinking glasses and digging his nails into his palms? Two thirds of the book deal with the mans emotions, which I simply dont care to read about, and the ending sucks.

Very different from the movie although it did have some similarities. There were a lot of words I didn’t recognize. I think because the book was written in the fifties. It got a little too technical for me but it was definitely an interesting read. Made you think.

If, like me, you became interested in the book based on the popularization of the movie, prepare yourself for something altogether different. While the title and character name remains the same, the similarities stop there. That said, the book is an enthralling and suspenseful work lending as much to the psychology of isolation as to myth and mayhem. I enjoyed the work immensely and only regret it’s brief nature and lack of expansion.

this book is good but nowhere but the table of contents (which i didnt see until after) lists that this book is an anthology. i thought i was only half way done I am Legend when it suddenly ended. kind of a disappointment, although the other stories are pretty good as well

Having seen The Omega Man with Charlton Heston and heard a lot about the Will Smith version of the novel, I was hesitant to read the novel. I did so only because a book group was reading it this month. I am not a fan of dystopian fiction so the first 10 percent or so was good but not great. Man alone hiding from infected former humans during the night foraging during the day. But the conflict soon develops not just between the narrator, Robert Neville, and the vampire infected around him, but Roberts internal struggle. First Robert is struggling within himself to remain sane, to accept the fact that he is alone. Roberts desire for human companionship and memories of his wife and daughter are eating at him almost driving him insane. Then it becomes a battle against the disease of the infected. He reads and studies about viruses and bacteria. He studies the blood under a microscope trying to find the cause and the cure of the infection. Along the way he finds almost companions but the emphasis is not so much on the companionship but on looking for a cure for the infected. Robert Neville is a fascinating character as he struggles with his environment, society, and himself.

I was surprised and enjoyed that the book was so different from the movie. It was an interesting story, this masculine post apocalyptic story, filled with great scares and really compelling main character. I liked the vibe of the main character, very no nonsense drinks and smokes, a very kind of badass guy.

Ive had I Am Legend on my list of books to read ever since I read an interview with Stephen King a couple of decades ago where he cited it as one of his favorite books ever. When I saw that the trailer for the soon to be released movie I knew that if I saw the movie first then Id never read the book. I ordered the copy from Amazon that had the coolest cover and read it when it arrived on Wednesday. First off, Ill be surprised if the newest movielization of this is any closer to the written story than The Last Man on Earth or Omega Man. The story is very well-played...but I was completely bamboozled by Amazon when I Am Legend came to an end halfway through the book, and I realized that the other half of the book was a collection of short-stories. I thought I had quite a bit of story left until I realized that the next chapter I had just begun was a completely different story. I looked the book over, and the only indication that the whole book wasnt I Am Legend was a small phrase on the back just above the bar-code...The complete novel, plus several more unforgettable tales. I cant really complain...more stories!...but I thought that it could have been a bit more apparent say...on the cover...or the spine...that Id bought half a book of filler.