I Am Legend

Rating:
Summary: Very Weird
Review: Quite slow, with pretty much just one man left, all the book talks about is him. There is only so much to TELL.

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of horror
Review: Ah yes, I Am Legend. Written by Richard Matheson and published in 1954, it has become one of most influential horror tales of all time. Robert Neville has a rough life: he just happens to be the only survivor of a plauge that has wiped out the rest of humanity and populated the world with vampires. So he spends his time killing them -- one vampire at a time. The lengths he goes to excel at this bloody task is truly impressive and ingenious. In many ways, I Am Legend is a perfect reflection of its time: it's a commentary of the lurching spectre of Communism during the 1950's. However, it must said that I Am Legend continues to resonate an undeniable legitimacy in a world marching towards a Globalization that will demand vampiric conformity and cultural homogenization: the minority struggles to retain its identity and freedom in the face of a flood of parasites. It also helps that Matheson's edgy and paranoid style is timeless. It's a nightmarish vision of the future, told with such graphic detail that it seems all too possible. Matheson's command of narrative delivers a riveting, exciting story every time. That power is never more evident than between the covers of I Am Legend.

Rating:
Summary: Think of the movie "Blade" starring Wesley Snipes.
Review: One of the best screenplays and potential movie classic, it still hasn't been made yet!!! What's the delay? budget.

that's how i came to reading this book. it's WICKED awesome. the visuals and the action just keeps on pumping, i never really thought that books could really be so action packed as an action flick but here it is. Just the title alone is action packed. "I AM LEGEND!!!!".

if you play computer games this is like Duke Nukem crossed with Doom and Nocturne.

and if you saw Blade and you liked it, take that and multiply by 100 and you'll have I AM LEGEND!

Rating:
Summary: Portrait of Despair
Review: Drag your soul through the mud. One of the most compeling and disturbing books I've ever read. Not for the suicidal or depressed. Matheson creates a castaway without hope of rescue, a protaganist whose suicide would seem a victory. This is not your father's horror novel.

Rating:
Summary: If you like good vampire stories...
Review: you'll love this book

Rating:
Summary: I Am Legend is truly an avant-garde and riveting tale
Review: ....I...loved the book because it didn't portray its main protagonist as a super hero but as a normal man, with normal man's emotions and feelings. I could easily identify myself with I Am Legend's Robert Neville, especially that I read the book in a period where I was enduring excessive amounts of emotional stress. I felt so close to Robert neville. Almost half a decade after it was 1st published, the novel's depiction of modern society and Man's every day struggle is still quite vivid and quite alive today more than ever. The only difference between the novel and the real life is that in real life, the vampires are disguised as normal people and they feed by sucking on your soul and not on your blood. This novel belongs to the horror genre indeed, but you will be gladly treated to a social/psychiatric study of the human nature, tinted with hints of theology, mysticism and occasional humor. I also loved the author's scientific approach in unmasking the unknown and demystifying the vampire myth. I Am Legend is truly an avant-garde and a riveting tale of a man overcoming adversity by fighting against his inner demons and coming face to face with himself. I Am Legend is above all a wonderful modern-day fable and an inspiring metaphor of courage and humanity.

Rating:
Summary: I Am Legend is the good part of the book...
Review: I was really enjoying I Am Legend when it suddenly ended just partway through the book. What I didn't realize, was that this classic vampire yarn is only a novella, and that the rest of this paperback is filled with other short horror stories by the author. Whereas I Am Legend is still a good read, generally standing the test of time, the other stories are almost comically outdated. In an era of greatly sophisticated horror films and novels, these short stories of yesterday seem almost like a caricature of themselves, though they must have been scary enough when they were first published. If you're interested in an absorbing vampire tale, definitely pick up a copy of I Am Legend. Just don't expect it to last for an entire flight across the Atlantic.

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST books EVER!
Review: This book is wonderful! Matheson has inspired me to write my own novel. I absolutely loved this book. It was by far the creepiest story I have ever read. The beginning of the book just screams to be made into a movie (there have already been 2 made: The Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price, and The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston). I heard that there would be another movie made starring Arnold Schwarzenegger but I hope to God that the film never comes out.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best written books you will ever read
Review: I normally do not like to read books from the horror genre. Occasionally I will read a Stephen King book or something along those lines. I had read some reviews of I Am Legend on Amazon, and when I saw it at the library, it was a very thin book, so I thought why not.

What I found was an Orwellian book about human nature, about the desire to continue on, to assimilate. I would compare this book to Animal Farm on several levels.

Furthermore, the writing is superb. I understand that this was only Matheson's third book, but his brilliance with the written word, and his understanding of the human condition, was already evident.

Horror fans should not miss reading this book. I am not an expert on horror writing, but I believe this book would have to be considered on of the best ever written in that genre. However, if you are not a horror or vampire fan, you should still try this book.

I think it would be nearly impossible for anyone who is a fan of great writing to dismiss this book. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Legendary
Review: This isn't just the best vampire story ever written, it is a great book in any genre. I have read this book so many times that I've nearly memorized it and yet I enjoy it intensely every time I pick it up. The book has many themes within it---loneliness, isolation, alienation are just a few---and you cannot help but put yourself in Robert Neville's situation. What would I do if I were in his shoes?

It would make a tremendous movie if it stayed true to the original story (instead of Tom Hanks being marooned on an island, how about him marooned in a city of vampires?). Charlton Heston's "The Omega Man" was based on "I Am Legend" but makes major changes in the story to have a more upbeat ending. Don't watch the movie, read the book.

I will confess that I haven't read the other Matheson short stories in this collection but he is a magnificent writer. "Somewhere In Time" is probably his most famous work after "I Am Legend." He wrote the screenplay for the memorable "Star Trek" episode where the Enterprise crew and the Klingons are trapped on the ship by an alien being who feeds off of the emotions of anger and hatred. He also wrote the screenplay for the sensational TV movie, "Duel" which was Steven Spielberg's first film. It is easy to see the parallels between the isolated Robert Neville doing battle with a world of vampires and Dennis Weaver's "everyman" commuter who is having to battle it out with a faceless, psychotic truck driver on an empty highway.