I Am Legend

I bought this a few months ago, before the movie came out, although it had been on my wish list forever. I read Hell House years ago and it was one of my favorite horror novels, so Ive wanted to read I Am Legend for a long time. I read it before the movie came out, but the movie was so different that it really didnt matter. The book was written in the early 1950s and I think it was pretty innovative for that time. Apparently it was first marketed as sci-fi, and only later became known as a horror classic. Robert Neville is - he believes - the sole survivor of some kind of worldwide plague that has killed off most of humanity, and doomed a small portion of it to a vampiric, raging, bloodthirsty existence. For some reason Robert is immune to the disease for reasons he doesnt understand, and everyone he ever knew and loved is either dead or stalking him. The atmosphere is very tense right from the beginning, when were introduced to the horrible simplicity of Roberts everyday survival: wake up, re-fortify the protections on his house, go out and hunt for supplies, kill a few vampires to lessen their appalling numbers, get home before sundown, eat from his dwindling food supplies, and then wait, with dread and fear, until nightfall when the others come and torment him from outside, all night long. His alone-ness is stark and terrifying, and you feel the kind of deadened desperation he must live with as someone who has nothing to live for, yet cant allow himself to die. The book is very short - a novella, really - and ends much more ambiguously than the the movie. Even if youve seen the movie, I recommend the book. It has quite a different feel to it.

This is one of those rare cases where I saw a movie before I read the book it was based on. I enjoyed the film with Will Smith, but it was totally different than the book. To me, the film was more about the triumph of the human spirit; one man fighting for humanity. The book is more of a philosophical examination of what it means to be normal - part of the majority. Matheson chose vampirism to be his plague, but really, he could have chosen anything. The question becomes, is a person still normal when the rest of the world is different, is it right to keep fighting against change? Robert Neville is perhaps the last man on earth. He has barricaded himself in his house, and each night it is surrounded by vampires waiting for their prey to emerge. He wrestles with not only survival, but his very sanity. He needs a purpose to keep going, and finds it in a search for answers. Vampires were legends - but perhaps they were real all along. What causes vampirism? Is it just a bacteria? If so, how does he explain their fear of religious artifacts? The novel is written almost like a journal of Neville - only in third person. There is a lot of descriptions of what he does day to day, what he is thinking (or trying not to think about). Gradually, pieces of the past are put together for the reader to see how he came to be alone for 3 years. In the novel, there are 2 types of vampires - those infected but still alive, and the undead. The difference between them is crucial to the resolution of the story - though not necessarily in the way a reader may expect (or the way the movie ended). In the movie, the vampires are ravening, seemingly mindless creatures that the audience can easily side with Neville against. In the novel, they are intelligent and see Neville as a threat to their existence. Who has the right to survive? I think what made the novel most worth reading was finding out just what the title meant. The movie never explains it - the book makes it pivotal. Overall, the book is very slow (much like the movie) but makes a reader think more about what is happening than simply watching one man try to survive. And I highly recommend it - if only to know the ending that really needed to occur. Given that I Am Legend is a short novel, this edition is very nice for the inclusion of several other Matheson short stories. Even though Will Smith doesnt look like Neville as described in the book, Im still happy to see him on the cover!

Ive wanted to read this book for years because I loved The Last Man on Earth (1964) with Vincent Prlce. And surprisingly, the film adaptation was somewhat close (minus a few details of course). Robert Neville is a seemingly capable survivor of a sort of plague-driven apocalypse. The twist is, the plague turns the victims into zombie-esque vampires. Robert is immune but haunted by the loss of his beloved family. Whats truly chilling in both the book and aforementioned movie is Robert is not forgotten by the undead others. His neighbors and an old friend visit his house every night in an attempt to get him, throwing rocks and calling out his name. Yeah...creepy for sure. I loved the source material even though some parts dragged a smidge. Robert was a hard character to like, especially when he was drinking. But, his depression and rage are understandable...all the more frightening because that could happen to anyone in his shoes. Frustrated, sad but enraged, achingly lonely, and resentful of the world for leaving him like this - alone and scared. I recommend this book for fans of vampires, zombies, and post-apocalyptic tales. I also highly recommend Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth, as his performance channels that deep angst so compellingly. Richard Matheson was a legend himself as this haunting tale continues to prove.

So this is about the 10th last man on earth (its always a man isnt it, funny) novel that I have read, and I would have to say this is one of the best one so far. I went into this novel having seen the Will Smith movie, and not liking it so much. I think the deal is this: If you like the movie, you wont like the book, and vice versa. I wondered how I would like a novel where the human race has be destroyed by vampires, rather than zombies, nuclear war, or plague, but I would have to say, I think that for the context of this novel, it matters not at all how the human race was extinguished, it just was, and was replaced with vampire-like beings. The book reminded me a lot of The Road by Cormac McCarthy, in that the main focus of the novel is this how this last man deals with being alone on earth with little or no companionship. The book is a touch dated because it was written in the 60s, the vampires are a bit cliched and his views on women and sex are almost funny at times (for example, the female vampires try to lure him out of his house by being naked, and he sits inside and pounds his fist to the walls and drinks and cant look outside for fear of being lured out of the house for cheap sex). What I really liked about this novel, and why I gave it 5 instead of 4 stars, is it deals with so much, in so little space, its not a long novel, but it has a lot of depth, and its very accessible. The main character is your typical every day normal guy (I dont think it even said what he did before, other than he worked at a plant, I assume nuclear power plant? So he is Homer Simpson then?). Im sure you could sit down and pick this novel apart for its cliches and silly vampireisms, but in the end, you turn quickly from page to page, desperately wanting something to go right for this guy, and of course, you know it cant. He is the last human alive, surrounded by vampires, alone. Simply put. He is Legend.

Many reviewers have described the greatness of this story and its influence on modern writers. I wanted to offer my viewpoint as a reader who had seen the movie first. I initially avoided the book because I felt that the movie, while entertaining, was shallow with an uninteresting story. However, the positive reviews finally convinced me to give it a shot and I am glad that I did. The character portrayed by Will Smith is a brilliant man who is the cause of the epidemic and also the eventual savior of the human race. The character from the book is a much more interesting and relatable one. He is just an average man who struggles to survive. Not only with the vampires, but also to motivate himself to complete the menial tasks required for his daily survival. The vampires portrayed in the movie are superhuman killing machines completely devoid of any perceivable intelligence. In contrast, the books portrayal of the vampires is much more interesting. They retain many of their human qualities, including their intelligence, personalities, and physical capabilities. This allows for interactions far more interesting than those found in the movie. The conclusion found in the movie is very unsatisfying. It serves as a confirmation of the womans belief that God had directed her actions, portends the rebirth of human civilization, and illustrates the triumph of the human spirit against all odds. All very common themes that deliver a boring result. The books conclusion deviates drastically from the movies. I dont want to ruin the ending, but I will say I found the final realization the main character is forced to accept very interesting and thought provoking. I encourage anyone to read the book regardless of their feelings on the movie. The book provides a deeper story and a much different take on the vampire genre than the one presented in the movie.

Its a great read

Its beyond me to understand how horror fans can go on and on about their favorite horror novels as if they were masterpieces by Pynchon or Nabokov. The bottomline about I Am Legend is simple: its about loneliness and loss in a post-apocalypse world overrun by vampires. If that doesnt cause you to dissolve with laughter, then I Am Legend might be for you. Its well-written, holds the readers interest, and has been the basis for three movies. It will appeal to most teenage boys (or to grown up men who remember how the world feels to teenage boys). However, it doesnt deserve five stars because it doesnt have enough cool details about the end of humanity. I didnt see The Omega Man when it came out in the early 1970s. However, one of the kids at my junior high school got to see it, and he described every detail of the story to me. I was captivated. Now Im almost 50. Now Charleton Heston is dead. I am legend.

Just what I wanted and received BEFORE the stated delivery time frame. I knew I was ordering the hardcover version of the book, but I was surprised to see its size. Its a little larger than a paperback. Fits in my hands perfectly. I was kind of leery about the font sizes as I was sure shrinking it down would make it difficult to read (getting up in years, so my eyesight isnt so good). But again, I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasnt the case. Excellent readability. The stories contained within: I Am Legend Buried Talents The Near Departed Prey Witch War Dance of the Dead Dress of White Silk Mad House The Funeral From Shadowed Places Person to Person

Besides a rather misogynistic viewpoint, the protagonist was fascinating. You really empathize with his terror, loneliness, and heartbreak. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS I didnt feel I got to know the character of Ruth quite so well. She is introduced so late into the story. Its interesting that she justifies the new societys desire to kill Neville as a threat, when they made no effort to communicate with him about their cure etc. The horror is not that the last human dies, its that the society left has no real desire to be truly human nor humane. Not withstanding Ruths actions, theyve shown that they feel neither compassion nor any true empathy for each other or other beings. Its purely survival on an individual basis, since they feel no remorse in killing their own as a food supply.

This book came across my email when Kindle was having a sale and I thought, Why not? Written in 1954, it hits the vampire genre far before Twilight romanticized it. The books main character is Robert Neville, who very well may be the last man on earth -- other than the half-dead and full vampires who try to lure him out of his home every night. The book only lightly touches upon WHY there are vampires. Apparently, there was a plague or virus or something unknown that created a world of vampiric entities. Robert thinks hes been immune because he was bit by a vampire bat while he was in the war. Its interesting to see how Robert handles being alone. I personally would go stark raving mad, but Robert handles the madness and frustration by trying to figure out just what causes a person to become a vampire. He discovers a potential reason, but the irony is its just too late. The ending Ill leave to you to read. Its faster paced than the rest of the book (which in and of itself is a short book and a quick read) and the ending leaves you wondering about what if. People who are in love with the romance of vampires will hate this book. People who loved Van Helsing will likely enjoy this book. Either way, its a classic and worth the time.