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Loading... I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks)by Richard Matheson
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.  crazybatcow | Nov 7, 2009 |  Very disappointing. For me, reading this book was a similar to listening to someone like Buddy Holly. Interesting mostly as a precursor to the later works that it influenced. (  ) gabebaker | Oct 28, 2009 | This was one of the sf books I was weaned on, and one of the best. I have never seen the many mediocre film adaptions, and don't want to spoil those wonderful emotions of nobility and loss and a new age dawning that I get from this book. Given the popularity of all things vampiral, this was the first book (for me) which positioned vampires as a part of humanity. (  ) danborden | Sep 17, 2009 | Brilliant, spare, clean writing with great sense of tension and atmosphere, yet you still deeply empathise with and care about the narrator - far better than the movies this is based on. angela04 | Sep 17, 2009 | I read this book because I thought the previews for the movie starring Will Smith looked interesting. The writing is a bit stark, but I didn't mind that so much. I think the novella is much more cleverly done than the movie. This book also included several of Matheson's short stories; some of them were excellent, while others were dull. (  ) rosesyesterday | Sep 15, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 031286504X, Paperback)One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:22 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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The book is much darker, much more dated (obvious that it was written in the 50s), and much more "internal". About half the book is a discovery of the main character's mental breakdown. i.e. He spends so much time alone that his own humanity is questionable.
There is a lot of Robert Neville talking to himself or reading books out loud (so the reader will be able to follow the "science")... I guess since he's the last human left, it's not like the story could be told through dialogue so this is the only other way.
There is not nearly enough action to keep the story interesting; and it's so hard to relate to Neville that it's not really a very interesting "character study" either... not sure if this is because he's very "set in his ways" or because it is dated and/or sexist or something... I can't put my finger on why, but the story is just too dry. (