I Am Legend

I love my vampire and zombie fiction, but this really isnt either of those. Its a lot more than just bloody gore and jumpy scares. Its also about survival, and the struggles of man with his inner demons and loneliness. Themes that go a bit deeper than your average zombie apocalypse movie. For that I actually really liked it, though it did start out pretty slow but once I got past the first few chapters it quickly became a page turner for me. Like many others I first heard about this book through the movies, for me it was I Am Legend with Will Smith. In my opinion if you havent seen the movies yet, or already have, then you should read the book as well. None of the movie adaptions have the same weight as the book does. Robert Neville the main protagonist, once an everyday average Joe he survives a deadly pathogen that goes on to destroy most of humanity. Now the world is populated with the living dead whos only living objective is to haunt the ruins of man looking for blood to gorge themselves on. With the world destroyed Neville is forced to become a survivalist. He turns his house into a fortress, sharpens stakes, and goes out hunting the vampires. Eventually he hones his skills to where he becomes an expert vampire killer second to none. Vampire survival isnt all of it however, Neville struggles with loneliness as well as his personal demons as he just tries to get by day by day. He seeks peace in music, books, or the bottom of a bottle. To give his continued existence meaning Neville occupies himself with almost pointless tasks such as trying to understand the very disease that took everything he knew. Hes very human, hes not going to fly through a church window on a motorcycle with duel wield guns and a katana. Instead hes a bored, half crazed, booze addled mess just as any other person who has lived as long as he had in that kind of world would be. If I had any reservations about the book it was its ending. I understand the theme but for a man who spent so much time killing vampires that he almost sees it as an art form, to just suddenly hand himself over like as a feasts main course seemed pitiful. I guess I just found it very bleak (and Ive read The Road). Still it didnt really take away because afterword it stuck with me and I dwelled on it for it awhile, a sign of a pretty good book ending. Its a good story, Robert is a very relatable character that is believable and to some degrees likable. The world he lives in is fleshed out by Matheson and the moments of sheer terror are well done, this is horror not just cheap jumpy scares. Its a very good horror novel about survival and vampires that no movie has matched, and probably never will.

I enjoy end time(s) stories and this is a particularly good one written in 1954 by Richard Matheson. I have seen the movie I Am Legend (2007) and an earlier movie version of Mathesons story, The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston (1971). I think I prefer the written word, in this case, to either of the Hollywood renditions. I think Will Smith and Charlton Heston deliver outstanding performances in their respective movies and some of the cinematography in I Am Legend is striking with views of a deserted Manhattan replete with empty cars and stores, vegetation growing in the once bustling streets and wildlife roaming free in what was once one of our worlds greatest cities. Regardless, the world that Matheson conjured for me with words on paper is hard to best even with all the skills of modern film making. In this case, I dont know if my preference for the written word would be shared of others. Perhaps the problem for me is that the scope of these kinds of stories and their implications for the human species is so broad that even good writers, directors, and actors and modern cinematography have difficulty delivering the story with the same impact that words on a page, coupled with ones imagination, can produce. A counter example, for me, is Peter Jacksons Lord of the Rings films based on J.R. Tolkiens marvelous three-volume triology of the same name. In that case, I was delighted to find that the actors and Mr. Jackson were up to the task - and what a task it was. Endings to stories or movies can always be discussed and debated, of course, so my personal opinion is that the ending of Richard Mathesons story and the ending of The Omega Man are better than the ending of I Am Legend. I would recommend this story (and both movies) to anyone who likes stories of survival set in end times or post-end times.

This is SO different from the movie but I loved them both, because of their differences and despite them the same. Do yourself a favor and read this short masterpiece, then do the author one and review!!

There are some books that, while good in and of themselves, later generations may have a hard time fully appreciating because they lack context. I am Legend feels like one of those books. While modern readers should appreciate it as good zombie apocalypse novel with a clever twist, connoisseurs of the genre will recognize it for the landmark novel it is. That may have sounded more pretentious than was meant, so let me clarify: This book is about a man named Robert Neville, the last survivor of a plague that wiped out humanity. He fortifies his house daily to fend off monsters who attack him. Does this sound like fairly standard zombie fiction? Yes. But what normal probably wont realize is this was the first book to do this. This novel spawned a thousand imitators, and its uniqueness may get lossed in the crowd if you dont know the history. The writing itself is fantastic, locking the reader in to the frustration and grind of life after the end. I can not recommend this book enough to horror and sci-fi fans.

So the biggest thing to know before you buy is that only the first half of the book is I Am Legend. The other half is a collection of short stories. Just keep that in mind because it’s not really promoted correctly. That being said, I Am Legend is a harrowing tale of survival and the fragility of the human psyche when met with absolute isolation. I highly recommend for fans of horror and sci-fi alike. The writing also felt surprisingly modern for having been written in the 50’s.

Maybe too late for most reading this review, but I would recommend reading the book before seeing the movie. The ending in the book is far more rewarding in my opinion. The movie could have been better if it held to more of the essence of the book I think. You should also know that I Am Legend is a novella and only constitutes about half of this book, the rest being other short stories. (Witch War one of the more twisted of these, with the Voodoo doll story from the 70s camp classic Trilogy of Terror being another) In any case, I read alot of apocalyptic/end of world stuff, and this is a must read for anyone into that kind of thing if for nothing else than a historical perspective on the evolution of the genre. I thought it was well written and ahead of its time. Its a little dated as you would expect, such as Roberts seeming devotion to keeping himself healthy by flossing and brushing... while chain smoking the whole time. :-) This book is worth the money I think, as long as the reader goes in expecting a vampire/zombie novel written in the contextual background of the 50s. It makes a statement about society and what constitutes normal, and once again should be considered a classic of the end-of-world/plague genre.

Including by me. I did not think the genre has a right to exist. I thought Stoker said all that needs to be said. Then came this book, some 50 years ago, and combined the vampire theme with the end of the world genre and created a strong story in its own right. In its simplicity and clarity it has a chance to be a long-term survivor. Well, typical vampire. I had watched the recent movie and liked it, and this way I learned about the book, which an AF recommended to me. I picked it up for a long distance flight and started reading early in the flight. Then I noticed it was on offer in the video system (one of Lufthansa Business Class strong features), both in the new version with Smith, which I knew already, and in the older one with Charlton Heston. Since the man just died, I was tempted to try the movie, but found it not worth the effort. It is a wooden pointless aged product without merits. (While the Will Smith version is likeable.) So back to the book. Its hero Neville is a soulmate of mine, a hermit. He also calls himself a Robinson (this for my critic who blamed me for that comparison im my film review.) Neville is not a scientist, but tries to understand what happened, why mankind has been seemingly eradicated by a plague and why the dead have become vampires unless burned. His fight against despair, lonelyness, alcohol, suicide, vampires, cluelessness makes it a very strong piece of storytelling.

“I Am Legend” is actually one of those extremely rare examples where the movie was a vast improvement from the book. In the movie, the protagonist is someone who is courageous, resilient, possessing great integrity, and generally someone you want to root for; in contrast, the book’s main hero is a hysterical drunkard who seems to be more concerned with his lack of sex life and not the fact that the world has come to a virtual end. Weird priorities if you ask me, concerning yourself with your urges and not your own survival. Quite a few times he actually ponders sticking it into a female vampire, technically a living corpse. Yes, it gets that gross. When he finally encounters a living female, his first response is not an empathic “poor thing, she has just lost her husband and children, I shall help her as much as I can,” but “she’s skinnier than I prefer them but I’d still do her… hopefully she’s not infected… I wonder why she’s so afraid of me though?” Yeah, I wonder too, you absolute brainless caveman. You have literally just chased her through the field when she clearly didn’t want to be anywhere near you; you slapped her and physically dragged her into your house and locked her in your bedroom. The insolence, not acknowledging you as her knight in shining armor indeed *heavy sarcasm here*. At this point, I was actually glad at how the book ended because the literary Robert Neville indeed would better off being dead than the movie one. The movie one I mourned; this one’s death I actually cheered. So yeah, if you watched the movie, don’t bother with the book. You’ll most likely end up being disappointed.

There is something must say before I say anything else about this book. Unfortunately I have been jaded by the fact that I bought and watched the DVD long before picking up this book. The story I am legend in and of itself is neither spectacular nor a failure. Regrettably, the story is unexceptional. Having seen the movie first, I was surprised to find that the story line from the book is nearly entirely different from the movie viewing experiences. This cant be blamed on Mr. Matheson though. The production company and writers had their share in that scandal. Had I read the book first, and seen the movie later, Perhaps Id have enjoyed the book considerably more. As noted by others. The story I am legend is particularly short (Being only about sixty percent of the book), the rest being a compilation of short stories. These range from brilliant to downright foolish to just plain strange. All in all, I dont particularly feel that the short stories added any reading value to the book for no reason more than the fact that so many of them fail to deliver any sort of sensible plot. Overall, as Ive stated earlier. I must rate the book no better than average. One piece of advice to those of you who may be reading this, if you are interested in this book, and have not seen the movie. I highly recommend reading this BEFORE seeing the movie.

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