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Summary: Wot's that a-noshin on mah neck?
Review: What a great book. Dark, sinister and infinitely creepy. One of the best vampire novels I have ever read, actually. Matheson creates a terrifying world of loneliness and uncertainty, where a man lives day to day as if it were his last. Vampires, and a makeshift warrior all in a post-apocalyptic warzone. Read this book.
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Summary: Some of the best writing ever...
Review: I was hesitant to get this book even though the reviews were so flattering because I do not like vampire horror at all. I am a hardcore King fan and prefer horror in that vein. After reading I am Legend I am just blown away at the can't put down quality of this story! And the fact it was written in 1954 nearly knocks me unconscious. Any horror lover needs to check out this amazing story. It is thrilling and written by a true master. Now I am going to get to work on reading everything Matheson EVER wrote. Always a thrill to find a new author to love!
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Summary: What would you do if you were the last human on earth?
Review: Richard Neville is the last human on earth, or so he thinks. A strange plague has swept the world and has left in its wake an army of bloodthirsty creatures of the night. Vampires are now the dominent lifeform on the planet and one man must fight for his life and his sanity in this new world. At first he spends his time proofing his house from the vampires, and gathering supplies. He then sets out to destroy every beast, they must all die! Soon he realizes they are to many and begins to study them, there must be a logical explanation for this horror. But are they the monsters or is he?I never thought a 170 page book could enthrall me so. I read this book in about 3 hrs, but it has been with me for much longer. Richard becomes so realistic you start to forget he is not real. The realism with which Matheson weaves his tale is uncanny. I have read many vampire books and i think "I Am Legend" is by far the best i have read to date. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of this book, I can't recommend it more.
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Summary: One of the top contemporary vampire tales.
Review: "I Am Legend", by Richard Matheson, is the eerie tale of Robert Neville, a simple man who is faced with the complicated dilemma of being the last living man in a world infested with undead vampires. Set in a post-war scenario, Neville is the sole survivor of a horrific biological war that has turned every person but him into blood-hungry vampires. Forced into an uncomfortable and numbing isolation, Neville is forced to live out his life in a day-to-day race to find the answers to why every person on Earth has turned into a vampire, and to stop them before they destroy him. Throughout the story, Neville battles alcoholism and the immense pain of losing his wife and daughter, all while struggling to understand the plague that has transformed his family, friends, and neighbors into monsters. While Neville is no saint, Matheson offers an honest depiction of what might become of anyone who is faced with such a great burden. While following Neville in his daily routine, we appreciate the magnitude of the milestone discoveries that he gradually makes. These seemingly small, but vastly important findings lead Neville to the ultimate discovery of what causes the vampirism and why he was spared the atrocity of becoming one. Although Neville's education, organization, and enlightenment are extraordinary, they are countered by his realization that the vampires have been through a similar metamorphosis. This parallel adaptation between Neville and the monsters lead to a thought-provoking and surprising conclusion. Captivating and full of rich detail, "I Am Legend" was a true pleasure to read. Matheson's masterful portrayal of this grim tale makes "I Am Legend" a welcome addition to the horror genre.
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Summary: More than a vampire story.
Review: If you think that this is just an adventure story with vampires, then you are missing the point. Sure, it works on that level, but intentionally or unintentionally, something much more sinister is going on.
This book was written in 1954, a time when there was general paranoia about communists hiding under every rock. More importantly, there was also a growing fear of the youth subculture and "juvenile delinquents." When the vampires in this story are described as "pallid, glassy-eyed travesties of humanity" the author is obviously talking about drugged-up kids- either then or now.
Combine this with the fact that the hero (the last true man on earth) is described as being middle aged, of English-German stock, college educated, and cultured. In short, he is an upper-class wasp surrounded by a society of vampires (i.e. blood sucking freaks who contribute nothing to society.)
Having said this, as detestable as it is, I now have to say that this is exactly why people still identify with the main character. If you are an intelligent, cultured individual that has ever been forced to live in a state college dorm or a low end apartment complex, then you can also readily understand Robert Neville's siege mentality....
Oh yes, this book was the basis of the film "The Omega Man", but a much better version was made in Italy in 1964 called "The Last Man on Earth"- it stared Vincent Price in one of his greatest roles.
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Summary: "I Am Legend" is great, but skip the other short stories
Review: As the title of this review indicates, this book is not just "I Am Legend". In fact, it only makes up about half of the book, the remainder being made up of what I found to be rather pedestrian short stories. I found this to be rather irksome as there is absolutely no mention anywhere on the book that it contains work other than the title piece. Other than "I Am Legend" I thought the stories were rather weak Bradbury rip-offs and not worth any particular note. That said, the title piece is writing of the highest caliber. "I Am Legend" is the story of the only man who has survived a plague that has turned the remaining population into vampires. Admittedly, that sounds rather uninspired, but what gives the plot its heft is that Matheson approaches vampires from a scientific viewpoint. As the main character struggles to survive, he cuts through the legend surrounding vampires and comes up with a scientific explanation for them.
At the same time, he is forced to struggle with his own loneliness and the encroaching madness that it inspires. He is not altogether sympathetic, but through him Matheson explores the crushing hopelessness that those who are alone feel. Rather than trying to make a sympathetic vampire, he turns his main character, a normal human, into the freak, the outcast, and explores how reacts. In addition to the interesting psychological elements, there are some intriguing Cold War overtones within the novel. Matheson's vampires seem to have elements from Soviet Russia: they are brutal and coarse, but not necessarily evil, just different. Matheson seems to be arguing that the root of the Cold War (the brutality of the Soviet system acknowledged and aside) doesn't stem from competing ambitions but from inherently conflicted world views. That's not entirely true, but when one considers that "I Am Legend" was written in the 1950's that view seems oddly dead on. "I Am Legend" is a superb, albeit unconventional, vampire novel. It is also an intriguing work of apocalyptic fiction. Above all though, it is an examination of the nature of being different, and the fragility of the human psyche.
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Summary: Maddening Sweet
Review: Written in '54 this book is still the best vampire novel around. A cataclysmic plague left the world inhabitted with vampires and this robert neville is the last man alive. Salem's Lot and Anne Rice pale beneath this story.
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Summary: Definately not his best work...
Review: This is a story about the sole survivor of a plague that has turned the world's population into varying forms of vampires. While the idea behind the story itself is intriguing, it feels more like reading an anthropological study than a horror novel. The whole novel is filled with the protagonist repeating the same actions and his reactions to those actions over and over again. There is little in the way of plot, rather the story plods along aimlessly. Matheson may have done this intentionally to convey the protagonist's uncertainty about the past, present, and future. Nonetheless, it makes for a less than gripping read. Matheson's writing style is, at best, mediocre in this novel. I had to force myself to finish reading it. On the plus side though, it did have a good ending. If you're new to Matheson and must read something of his, pick up Hell House, a far superior novel.
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Summary: Haunting!
Review: I rarely read fiction, and this is one of the few "horror" books that I have ever read. I found myself drawn, however, to this tale of a lone man literally fighting for survival in a world of vampires. No pun intended, but I found myself "haunted" by Robert Neville [the main character] for days after reading the book.
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Summary: Fast, intelligent, and entertaining
Review: I have always been a huge vampire fan, and I think this is my favorite vampire story of all time. The pace is quick, and you are thrust into the story from page one. There is a lot of intelligent speculation on the part of the character as far as his situation of being the last human left in a world of vampires. This is appropiate though, as he is the only character in the story, and the book still has a very fast pase that can leave you wanting more at the end. This story has some elements of "Aliens" and "The Stand," and if you liked those and like vampires you will enjoy this story.
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