Rating: Summary: One of the most memorable books I've read Review: I first saw the movie "Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price on TV in the 60's when I was 9 which was based on this book. A teacher in Junior High School recommended this book and I read it one sitting and it blew me away. Tightly written, it captures an atmosphere that one will never forget. The plausibility of being the only one (or one of the few) to survive a horrible plague is haunting and Matheson captures it here in this novella. It is one of the very few books that I reread and each time it is just as powerful. This book, I have noticed has been mentioned in several works of fiction. In one Mystery, where books is the main theme, a retired cop who is a book lover, has a conversation with the owner of an Used Book Store, and the owner describes "I am Legend" as the scariest book ever written. I have to agree.
Rating: Summary: Group of stories; 1st one is great but the rest aren`t Review: I won`t tell the story (the back cover and the other reviews will already do that) of the first one but its very MEMORABLE and really deserves to be read.The other stories are sometimes good but I would be better to borrow the book from a friend to read the story I AM Legend, return it, say thank you and then go on about your business. I get the feeling like the other stories are a bit older and that since then his stories have become more engaging. I like him as a writer and intend to keep reading his work because of the story I AM LEGEND. It`s easily the strongest story in the book and that`s why the book is entitled thus. BUT I WANT TO STRESS THAT I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE STORY I AM LEGEND BUT NOT THE OTHER ONES.
Rating: Summary: What a hell of a book! Review: I do have to say that I dont particularly like vampire novels because I tend to find them boring and repetitive of the legends we've all heard before. However, "I Am Legend" opened my eyes to just how good vampire novels can truly be. It kept my attention and kept me turning pages. Two thumbs up from someone who knows!
Rating: Summary: If You Only Read One Fantasy Book Review: If you only read one fantsy book, read I Am Legend. From start to finish you cannot close the book. And that is the strange part. A great portion of the book is spent with both the reader and the protagonist waiting . . . but it is a wait filled with suspense. The world Matheson creates is truly a dead world, even more so than the worlds created in books like King's The Stand or McCammon's Swan Song. It is a dead world in every sense of the word. On top of the sinister atmosphere created by Matheson you are presented with an interesting philosophical dilemma. In a world full of monsters, is normalcy the abnormality? If everyone has gone mad aren't those who are labeled insane actually sane? This is Matheson's most brilliant, and powerful work out of a body of work that is as impressive as any modern writer of fiction could ever hope to achieve(and when I say that I am including guys like Updike and Nabakov). Most people who don't read fantasy because it isn't "real" are missing out on a great classic of literature. So for those of you who think that books of fantasy are best left to children, I urge you, put down your copy of Gravity's Rainbow or Catch 22 and see why books that should have been put in the attic, along with your prom tux and teddy bear, still have a lot to offer as adults.
Rating: Summary: Out of the Twilight Zone` Review: I don't know how much more I can say that others haven't already said. "I Am Legend," and the short stories in this collection, all remind me of the classic "Twilight Zones," with their psychological insightfulness and incredible twists. This is a must-read for those who like their horror stories on the sophisticated side.
Rating: Summary: The dead book of the year! Review: I really liked this book because it was interesting. When I first read this book I didn't understand it really. Then when I read this book again I understood it better. This book is hard to understand, and the book is more for adults and young adults because it has bad language in it. The book has one big novel which is I am legend and the rest of the book has scary stories in it. My favorite story is "Prey", because it has a lot of mystery and suspense in it. I would recommend this book to older readers because of the language.
Rating: Summary: A Classic Review: According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary:legend: "1a. a story coming down from the past; esp: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. b: a body of such stories c: a popular myth of recent origin d: a person or thing that inspires legends" A classic story about vampires conquering the human race, and the last (maybe?) human battling it out against the monsters. The story is riveting for several reasons. The persistence and continuously hard-fought survival of the human compelled me to cheer and root for him throughout the novel. His emotional turmoil and reflections about society draw me into the book and make me feel sympathy and a great deal of fear for him. The story is written so well, with the ever-present question looming over the main character and always in the minds of the readers: is he the last one? If he is the last one, and he dies, does the human race essentially become a legend; that which exists only in popular myth...that humans existed once but that such truth is not verifiable? Does the protagonist essentially become a legend as the last of his kind, living out his days as an inspiration to others?
Rating: Summary: 5 Stars for the title Story - 4 stars over all Review: What a gripping, amazingly well written story! I am Legend, is by far the best vampire story of all time. Dracula might win in name recognition, Ann Rice's popularized vampires, they all have a color of fantasy to the story. Matheson's story not only twists the story even darker by focusing on the non-vampire Neville, but sets the story in a realistic, modern (even though it was written in the 1950s!) backdrop. The effect, is that the vampires become a reality to the reader. It reads much like a diary of a shipwrecked sailor on a remote island - a Robinson Crusoe - following Neville's experiences, triumphs, isolation, and humanity. Matheson addresses quesions like what does it mean to be "normal" or "human", and Neville keeps wondering why it is that he fights to live on all by himself, against all odds. The other short stories in this book are delightfully (and disturbingly) well written, but "I am Legend" is by far the greatest.
Rating: Summary: A vision of loneliness and terror from a master of suspense. Review: As a child (and young teen) I'd had the opportuntity to see many of Richard Matheson's works converted into movies (Incredible Shrinking Man, Hell House, Last Man on Earth & The Omega Man), but being an avid reader at heart I eagerly hunted his novels & stories down one by one over many years...until at last I found his terrifying novel..."I am Legend". Robert Neville, the hero of Matheson's brilliant work, is a tortured man living a life of loneliness, despair, frustration and paranoia. Driven into this existence by a genocidal plague that wiped out humanity, and the prowling vampires of the night that seek nothing more than to drain his flesh of every drop of his precious blood. Matheson so vividly conveys the terrible loneliness of Neville's plight and his monotonous existence trying to get through each solitary day...and each white knuckled, pulse pounding night. I found myself experiencing such a wide range of emotions reading this book...sadness, pity, anger, euphoria and symapthy....Matheson really outdid himself with this excellent piece of writing ! By far and away one of my favourite fantasy novels...If you don't already own a copy....do so now ! You won't be dissapointed !
Rating: Summary: A different way to meet a vampire! Review: What's particular interesting in this book is the way how vampires are represented. Richard Matheson found an interesting way to write a creative story involving classic figures, the vampires. If you think that this book will contain the same old way to write a vampire story, you are wrong!! The main character takes you into a desperate world, trying to survive at all costs.The book is completly involving and it's worth to give a look at it!
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