I Am Legend

The book and the movie share only a few details in common. The most obvious shared attribute is the title. The differences are almost staggering; Los Angeles/New York, Caucasian male/African-American male, blue collar/white collar, etc. The story is roughly 160 pages long, although there are ten short stories that follow: Buried Talents, The Near Departed, Prey, Witch War, Dance of the Dead, Dress of White Silk, Mad House, The Funeral, From Shadowed Places, and Person to Person. If you are purchasing the book because you like the movie you may feel cheated that the movie is merely based on the book, rather than a direct cinematic interpretation. The book is a great (and a quick) read, told by the perspective of Robert Neville, a man feared to be the sole survivor of the human race. The beginning, however, seems to be drawn out and the word choice is less than sophisticated. Thankfully, as the story progresses so does the word choice. If you love stories based on the appeal of the last man, or on the decline of society, then this book would be to your liking. Matheson also takes a new spin on vampire lore, which was one of the reasons this book appealed to me (the other being that it was a required text for a class). Although better vampires stories exist, this book is worth the read for any vampire enthusiast and highly recommended.

Richard Mathesons I Am Legend is an excellent story that differs widely from the typical zombie/vampire/apocalypse text. This story follows protagonist Robert Neville who is the survivor of a disease that has killed or mutated everyone else in the world. In addition to mourning his own family, Robert is tormented by the undead who call to him from outside his barricaded house every night. What makes this book so interesting is that it explores the human side to Robert, his isolation, his longing for companionship, and his fight to avoid becoming mad. It also depicts Roberts level of knowledge and intelligence in a realistic way. Robert is not a scientist, but is able to gain a strong base of knowledge about the disease by his own research from the public library. I enjoyed this book because of the excellent depiction of Robert as the protagonist. This book was easy to read and enjoyable, and I would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys disaster type stories, and also people who are interested in the psychology underlying isolation.

Let me start by being completely transparent: the main reason I bought I Am Legend was, essentially, to kill time until The Twelve by Justin Cronin is released. I wanted a fairly short, quick read for my Kindle, that was also inexpensive. Having heard and read many good things about Richard Mathesons work, I decided this would be the perfect appetizer to set me up for Cronins main course. Perhaps the aforementioned good reviews set my expectations too high, but I found this novella to be good, but not great. Im certain Matheson was ahead of his time when this was published in 1954, but the language and concepts just seem dated today. I realize its probably not fair to judge a book based on the work thats followed, and no doubt built upon, the concepts Matheson introduced here. But it is what it is, I just have a hard time putting more modern, sometimes fresher, work out of my head when reading an older novel. All of that being said, I Am Legend is definitely worth your time, and the paltry $1.99 the Kindle version costs. Its a quick read, and the idea of just dropping you into the infected world, with barely any backstory, gives the novella a heightened sense of suspense and realism. In short, if youre a fan of the vampire or post-apocalyptic genres, then you should read this, as its a seminal story in the evolution of both genres.

This isnt a bad book. I just couldnt finish it. As soon as I knew the set-up and what our hero expected to encounter every night, I went right to the movie. This a good book for the movie makers. They did a good job, and I was entertained.

The absolute coolest vampire concept ever! My friend recommend I read telling me how the ending left him speechless, and now having read it myself I can definately say it is the best ending of any book Ive ever read. The concept is that Nevelle is the last man alive due to a virus that changed everyone else into vampires. The book starts with him making repairs to the outside of his, which he does every day due the damage the vampires do trying to get in at night. His house has become his fort, the only thing that protects him each night from them. He cant stray too far away during the day cause he needs to have enough time to get home and seal himself up at night, which removes any hope of him finding any survivors beyond a certain radius. By day he wonders out for supplies when he needs them and reinforces his house, and by night he locks himself in and tries to ignore the vampires outside trying to get him to come out. The book is mostly about this one remaining man whos all alone, researching and trying to figure out what the virus is and how it works. At the end he is in a situation which explains the title of the book. The book is very short, I was disappointed when I Am Legend ended after only 100+ pages with the rest being short stories. But for such a short story it is still incredibly powerful and intresting, and the other short stories are worth a read too.... Dont let the movie ruin it for you, while it follows the same concept as the book it leaves out all the things that make the book so good. They should be punished for changing the ending to the way they did.... BOO Hollywood...... LATE

Cant believe it took me this many years--make that decades--to finally get around to absorbing Mathesons quick-read mid-century masterpiece. In the realm of post-apocalyptic fiction, if any work deserves to be described as seminal, this is it. Its influence is clearly evident to this day in everything from The Walking Dead (particularly in the early-going, where a certain characters late wife comes back to haunt him from beyond the grave) to much of dystopian fiction. Never mind that its been made into a movie no less than three times (1964s The Last Man on Earth starring the oddly cast Vincent Price--a messy cheapie thats worth a look as the most faithful adaptation of the book and for its own influence on Romeros Night of the Living Dead; 1971s memorable The Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston in his post Planet of the Apes dystopian sci-fi martyr phase [see also: Soylent Green], whos perfect for the main character in many ways, though the film is drastically reconceived from the source material and frequently has the aesthetics of a made-for-TV movie, and most recently the years-in-production 2007 Will Smith version that retained the title, if little of the f flavor, though there were at least hints that some involved in the production had read the book). This is a book that earns its classic status for multiple reasons. While the Heston and Smith movies have always leaned into the apocalyptic action and away from the primal horror, Matheson crafts a sci-fi nightmare that would be better served by a mid-budget indie drama vibe than a mega-budget thrill-ride. I Am Legend is a meditative character study of dire loneliness and intense isolation, the madness and resourcefulness that can stem from such, and is possibly the first book to attempt a smart (pseud0)scientific explanation of the why of vampirism, presenting it not as spooky mysticism but a parasitic disease. I wouldnt be surprised if Max Brooks had that in mind when he wrote The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, where he provided the first credible description of what keeps the undead walking around Id ever read. Most of main character Robert Nevilles vampire-killing sprees are kept off the page, and he is not presented as a square-jawed superman defiant in the face of imminent death. Hes desperate, frightened, very close to broken, much more relatably the way you or I might react if his misfortune were ours. Hes also quick-witted and capable of adapting, even turning himself into an armchair scientist as he struggles to understand whats befallen the world. But what makes Legend a classic, the masterstroke of storytelling that sets it apart from so many similar and derivative stories, and that not one of the movies has even remotely done right (though theres an alternate ending to the Smith version that could have at least come close), is where Matheson and his protagonist land at the end. I wont spoil this sixty-something-year-old book for those that havent experienced it, but suffice to say it is a wise and surprising little twist still capable of giving you a few existential shivers all these long years later.

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.

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.

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.

Reviewing a classic is rather strange for me. Its like reviewing Oliver Twist, when almost everyone knows what its about, due to movies, TV show references, and most recently in commercials urging kids to use manners. When people think of I Am Legend , they usually dont know its a book, and just know its a post apocalyptic movie where most of the population has been mutated into vampires, and Will Smith is the last man standing, blah, blah, blah. The movie was great, I admit it. But that was before I read the book. And like every other movie supposedly based on I Am Legend, like The Last Man On Earth and the very horrendous The Omega Man, the movies seem to exclude many of the main points that make the novel so great. I hope they actually make an accurate movie based on the book someday. Richard Matheson deserves a better movie adaption. Ok, now enough about the movie and on to the book. The book is set in the late 1970s. The world was decimated by a horrible virus, that turns men and animals into vampires. Robert Neville, the last man, as far as he knows, is fighting to survive. The book deals mainly with Roberts internal struggle with insanity, which Matheson handles beautifully. I dont want to spoil the main points, so I urge you to read the book. :) Overall, I give the book 5 out of 5 stars! Available in most eBook formats and in print.