Rating: 
Summary: The finest vampire novel ever written.
Review: In the same way Philip K. Dick is the unparalleled giant of
science fiction ideas, Richard Matheson is the unparalleled
giant of terrifying storytelling. Everything from his
short stories to his novels is well-written, tightly plotted,
and a humbling goldmine of great ideas brought to full fruition.I saw "Omega Man" when I was about ten and the premise really
scared me silly. Later in life, I stumbled upon the incredible
"I Am Legend" adaptation by Steve Niles (Elman Brown illustrator). Stunned at the story and thoroughly haunted by the artwork, I sought the original novel by Matheson and found it at my college library. I'm a Stephen King fan and thought "Salem's Lot" was the best vampire novel ever written. After reading "I Am Legend", there was no longer any doubt as to Matheson's supremacy. The heartbreaking loneliness, the terrifying nights of survival, the gruesome daytime routines the protagonist has adopted, all contribute to a multilayered novel that has become a standard by which other writers must be measured. The fact that really makes me shake my head in amazement is that Matheson's writing is *always* this effective. A really smart, no-risk purchase or acquisition for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!!
Review: I don't normally like short stories but this book is full of great short stories! Each one has a wonderfully horrible twist'ed' ending. I found myself unable to put the book down. The novel "I am Legend" was outstanding. You really got into Robert Neville's world and I found myself wondering what I would do in his position. This is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: one of the best books i have ever read...
Review: This is just a great example of a pacy, exciting and thoughtful novel. The book begins by introducing us to Robert Neville, the last man alive on earth after the rest of the population have been killed or turned into vampires by a strange disease. By night he barricades himself in his house and plays opera and gets drunk, by day he makes stakes and goes about hunting the vampires who were once his friends and neighbours...
The book is so good at giving you that feel of deserted cities and landscapes and as a result, a strong sense of loneliness that Robert Neville feels. He drives through once busy streets that now stand deserted and quiet. His vampire neighbours taunt him and scream all night keeping him awake in his boarded-up house and making him go slowly crazy. No-one makes products anymore or works in a store, money is meaningless, no fashion, no weather forecasts, no telephones and the only power from a petrol run generator.
How long can he survive in this world on his own and will he want to? How can he stay untouched by the acts of killing his friends and neighbours during the day? How long will the petrol and food last for? and what if they break into his house one night or he gets tired and careless?
You find yourself constantly questioning how he lives, right up until the final page and the upside down revelation that makes you go, 'huh?'
Oh and you get to see where Stephen King got all his best ideas from, too.
Rating: 
Summary: Too short!!!!! Great story!!!!
Review: WOW - I really wish Mr. Matheson had written a longer version of I Am Legend, because this was one of the best 160 pages I've ever read. An extremely compelling story that I wanted to continue for another 100 pages (at least!!). I loved the little twist he threw in concerning one of the characters, as well as how the novel ended. Mr. Matheson had the guts to end the story in a way that many novelists would never dream of. And as a nice bonus, I loved his shorter stories - violent, grotesque, engaging with Twilight Zone type endings.
I look forward to reading Hell House and other Matheson stories, and I hope and pray that Hollywood does I Am Legend justice when it comes again to the big screen. Thanks for a great read!!
Rating:
Summary: Good story, great for horror fans.
Review: The book has a good, unique story. Robert Neville is the last human on earth and everyone else has turned into a vampire. During the day if its sunny out, he can go about to get supplies and kill the sleeping vampires. At night he has to lock himself into his house and hope the vampires don't break in and get him.
This book it different from other books, the writing style is simple yet very visual, you get a picture in your head every page of the book. The story is unique and good if your a horror.
I enjoyed the book though, I'm just not a big fan of horror so the book didn't grab me. But I could see how anyone interrested in this type of fiction would like this book a lot. There is suspense and action and drama all mixed together with a good story. So if you are a fan of "living dead" horror, you can't go wrong with this one.
"Sound; a murmured rustle in the air. Robert Neville coughed weakly, then grimaced as the pain filled his chest." from page 152. That is a good example of the description, it not only gives a good image of how he looks but also of how he feels.
But if your not a fan or horror then this book will probably not get your attention. There is lots of small action which does not pull you in eather. But fans of horror will probably eat up all the horror and suspence. Give it a try though, you never know.
Rating:
Summary: The Origin of the Vampire Species
Review: This is one of the few books that I can honestly say that I could not put down. I finished it in a week and a half of visits to my local bookstore, simply perusing it over midafternoon tea. I am Legend tells the story of the last man on Earth, actually the last truly human man on Earth. Apparently, there was a nuclear war as well as biological warfare(?). Anyway, the combination of the two weapons generated a bacteria that's transmitted by mosquito bites and windstorms (a result of the nukes),infecting humans and causing them to turn into vampires. Much of the book deals with this man Neville's search for a way to end his lonliness (at times he considers suicide, at other times he considers locating other humans). You can truly empathize with his struggle to justify his existence. The other major prime mover of the plot is the protagonist's investigation into the vampire phenomenon. He plays the amateur scientist trying to discover the origin of the vampires, their biological processes, and their weaknesses. There is a kind of macabre fascination that he has with regard to his vampiric enemies. On the one hand, he hates them for their persecution of him. On the other hand, he feels some degree of pity for these unfortunate mutants, some of whom were his friends and neighbors. There are some really suspenseful scenes in which you can feel how he is constantly pursued by these vampires at night - the feeling of perpetual besiegement is palpable. The one scene in which he loses track of the time and is racing in his car to get back to his house/fortress before the vamps come out really had my heart pounding for a while. The ending is somewhat ironic - a play on the book's title - and reminiscent of the Salem witch trials.
Rating: 
Summary: yuck!
Review: this book did not intrest me at all!
Yeah it was scary but not the good kind
of scare if you know what I mean.
I do not recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A horror classic + great short stories
Review: If vampires are for you, then you must read this book. The short stories contained within are also quite good. 'I Am Legend' will haunt your thoughts long after you have finished it.
Rating:
Summary: Very Original and Refreshing Vampire Novel
Review: In the world of fiction where vampires has always been an easy and popular target, most books bring little in addition to the legend of Vampirism. This books defies that pattern. Richard Matheson combines several plot lines (vampires, apocalypse, alienation), and looks at these from several different angles (horror, science fiction, fantasy). Instead of just accepting the scenerio Matheson has created, he provides logical reasoning behind the chain of events, and manages to make it very creepy at the same time. Any vampire fan should love this one.
Rating:
Summary: The best short Science Fiction novel ever written..
Review: A novel about vampires taking over the Earth at first sounds incredibly hokey and stupid. Trust me folks, I Am Legend is anything but that. It is not your typical vampire story. Forget all the others. This is a master writer of science fiction and horror at work, and this is easily his best. I have read I Am Legend so many times, I've lost track. It is absolutely spellbinding, mezmerizing, and riveting. The book has been turned into motion pictures twice.. once about 40 years ago with Vincent Price in the lead. That one is far superior to the 1970s remake "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston. The plot of the remake is so terribly twisted, that anyone seeing it, if they can withhold laughing at its stupidity, would certainly never pick up this book to read if they thought it was the same as that film. Just forget "The Omega Man." Pretend you never heard of it. Matheson is one of the legendary kings of science fiction, right up there alongside Ray Bradbury. He wrote the screenplays for about a quarter of the original Twilight Zone series shows. His writing style is fluid, literate, and very easy to read. "I Am Legend" is about Robert Neville, a regular but smart kinda guy in the 1970s who watches the population of Earth die around him, infected by a world-wide plague which cannot be stopped. Somehow, he's not sure, he is immune. His friends and family die. Bodies are burned in huge pits until even those doing the burning die. Society shuts down. Some of the dead return as living zombies, who hide and sleep during the day and come out at night to raise Hell.. He spends his days combing the empty streets of Los Angeles for clues, for supplies, food, gasoline, to take back to his suburban home which he's turned into a sealed fortress, and looking for the undead into whose hearts he drives wooden stakes that he tediously grinds himself on a lathe. He rummages libraries to read medical texts for clues as to what it all means. At night when the undead come out to taunt him, he hides in his home, cranking up his hifi to shut out the noise of their howling. He's the last man on Earth, as far as he knows. How long can he last? How long can he keep his sanity in this totally insane world? Are there any other normal people out there or is he totally alone? Read this short novel and you will never forget it. Perhaps it'll become your favorite, as it became mine the first time I picked it up in the 1960s.
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