I Am Legend

That person wouldnt be me but happens to be my husband. He has a thing for vampire novels and vampire films. So Ive heard and seen and read quite a lot about vampires, if only by default, not being nearly as obsessed as he is..at first. Then he got me hooked on Buffy The Vampire Slayer (tv show) and thats when I knew I was getting interested in the vampire thing, the pain of remembering what it was like to be human after crossing into the world of immortality, with its own set of pains. So I moved on from Buffy (and an interlude reading Interview with the Vampire) and went on to read this book. Couldnt put it down. It floored me. Yep, it IS that good. It isnt a long book so those of you who dont have the time to tackle a large work will be glad of that...but every word counts, every detail, every nuance. It is also highly original, from the scientific explanation of how vampires came to be to digressions about religion,etc. In the end, however, it is a good story that generally holds readers attention and it was the plot that kept me intrigued. I also liked the apocalyptic elements (Im a sucker for books about the apocalypse, end of the world,etc). The story? It focuses on a man who is the last guy on earth (but not the last being) and his alienation and feelings as he (slowly) traces the history of his life and the deaths of those around him. I had to keep pausing at points in this book, lost in thought as the writer forced me to confront what it means to be human and the meaning of life (yep, I know that is pretty deep, but thats the type of book this is, thats where it takes you) and what Id do in the face of all the obstacles that Neville faced, all the losses and his world gone awry, far off its axis. Make no mistake - this one has all the elements of good horror writing so if you want to stick to nonfiction or even fiction based on real life, fine... but if youre wishing to push your boundaries, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised (I did). It is one fine book an an excellent introduction to the vampire genre, even if it isnt predictable or the norm.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the Kindle edition is missing some of the text from the book. This was obvious in the middle of Chapter 8 and it might explain some of the other issues I had with the story. One of these was that Richard Matheson stated there was more than one type of vampire early on in the story but I found it hard to understand from Nevilles point of view what the differences between them were. The story also jumps around a little and, while Ive seen this in other stories, I found it harder than usual to recognize when this was happening. This might have been the result of missing text. Having said all this, I recommend the novel which clarifies the title in a way that the Will Smith movie did not. The story could also be taken as a metaphor for the process that various groups, comfortable with having the majority, have faced when societal change leaves them in the minority. The book is not a difficult read although in a couple places, Matheson gets a little heavy-handed with his scientific knowledge or research. I read it in about a day.

Ill say this; Im glad I saw the movie before I read the book. If Id read the book before Id seen the film I would have been so peed-off at the hack job the movie was. At least I have the ability to say it was a mildly entertaining, if not regurgitated zombie movie. This book is fantastic. The way that Matheson builds Robert Neville, from the angry drunk to the somber yet thoughtful man, resigned to his fate. Its an emotional ride as we visit, through his memories, the brutal way in which his daughter was taken and burned with the other infected. The way his wife slowly succumbed to the plague and the way he had to deal with her, the dog, and finally Ruth and his breakdown. The way Matheson treats the vampires is so clever and refreshing and something I didnt expect. I chose this book because Im making my way through the Sci-Fi Masterworks list and thought, well its about vampires, why is it on this list? Well now I know and Im glad it deserves to be. Finally, unlike the movie, when you read the very last sentence to fully understand why its titled, I Am Legend.

I have a passion for punishing myself by reading the books that inspired movies. The movies sometimes augment the books, assuming that the details you need youve already read from the print versions. Harry Potter was very much this experience. In some cases, Ive enjoyed the books much more than the movie adaptations...Jurassic Park was one such movie. As beautiful as the film was, the book was leaps and bounds better. With this book, its been a few years since Ive watched the movie. I remember feeling bad about the dog... the loss of Nevilles family, the search for a cure... the mindless zombie like creatures. In many ways, the movie adaptation and this source material are two fine stories that share common threads but diverge enough that they really shouldnt be compared. And thats how I had to approach this book. It took me about three chapters of saying, Wow, thats really different from the movie, before I had to have a mental come to Jesus with myself and say DONT COMPARE THE TWO VERSIONS. Once I did that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was able to delve into the dark places and moral/ethical questions that came along with creatures overrunning the human race. Neville is flawed. Hes tortured. Hes a survivor. In essence, hes HUMAN. Its easy to empathize with his confusion, melancholy, anger and despair - even when some of those acts are unspeakable. Nevilles journey is really that of watching the Kübler-Ross model, or the five stages of grief, play out its course (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). And I never understood the significance of the title of the movie, the book brought the point home with alacrity and wonder. Totally unexpected, but a really great read.

I over the movie and wanted to read a different perspective. I wanted to know the authors original concept. This book was interesting, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys sci-fi

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.

I bought the book because of the movie. I thought it might have extra detail into the depth of the character Robert Neville, a character I really I liked. However, while the book is quite good as literature, it is quite different from the movie; a fact I knew but I just did not know how different. In the book, our Robert is not a scientist or in the Army and the true origin of the vampire-creating disease is not given. He does however try to figure out as best he can what has happened. He also grapples with his loneliness and the human side of being alone, more so than in the movie. In the book he is not accompanied by a his trusting dog Sam. Robert Neville is essentially not the same as in the movie; which is fine because that was the way the movie makers wanted it. So even though the movie is based on the book, you have to look at each work different, and dont judge one by the other. With the version of the book I received there were also some short stories by the author which I did not expect. I liked the book and it was/is good but I preferred the movie. After you read and see you might think different.

This is a fantastic novella from a brilliant writer. It was way ahead of its time and Matheson inspired so many giants in the horror field, including Stephen King. This book in particular is one of the main contributing forces that gave rise to the zombie genre. I wouldnt say this is a literary masterpiece so much as an amazing story that is solidly written. The premise is dazzling and it kept me turning the pages. I will refrain from giving it the fifth star because some of Nevilles thinking got a touch repetitive for me and I was actually a little confused about what constituted a (WARNING, mild spoiler) vampire or another kind of undead type of vampire being that isnt quite a vampire. I honestly cant spoil it too bad because I dont clearly understand that part. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was that I have seen two film versions of I Am Legend and this still felt original. I think its because the main character is a truly human character. We get a front row seat to those flaws in the book and we get to do it as he battles vampires from a last man on earth perspective. It was a fun read. I will try more of Mathesons written work. (He also wrote many screenplays.)

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!

It is a quick read at only 100 pages, and reminded me a lot of Michael Crichtons The Andromeda Strain. However if you like any form of neatly tied up answers and conclusion you will be somewhat disappointed with the ending. It left me dissatisfied in the way the vague ambiguous endings of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits do.