I Am Legend {story collection}
by Richard Matheson
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Description
Winner of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award for best vampire novel of the century: the genre-defining classic of horror sci-fi that inspired three films. The population of the entire world has been obliterated by a pandemic of vampire bacteria. Yet somehow, Robert Neville survived. He must now struggle to make sense of what happened and learn to protect himself against the vampires who hunt him nightly. As months of scavenging and hiding turn to years marked by depression and show more alcoholism, Robert spends his days hunting his tormentors and researching the cause of their affliction. But the more he discovers about the vampires around him, the more he sees the unsettling truth of who is--and who is not--a monster. Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has been a major influence on horror literature. In 2012, it was named the best vampire novel of the century by the Horror Writers Association and the Bram Stoker Estate. The novel was adapted to film in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth, in 1971 as Omega Man, and in 2007 as I am Legend, starring Will Smith. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
sturlington Similar in many ways. Each stays in the head of a solitary hero, isolated by unnatural events beyond his control, struggling to hold onto his sanity and his sense of self.
Member Reviews
What a ride! I loved this book. The title novella was the main attraction, and took up more than half of it. It was very good, a solid 4 star effort.
But what brought it up to 5 was the inclusion of 10 other great Matheson stories. These weren't simple filler; each story was enjoyable (and mostly creepy) on its own.
Matheson has a talent for giving readers a snapshot of another world/reality/time/possibility. He doesn't use pages and pages to describe the settings where these stories take place, but just a few words. And they're so vivid. I've commented somewhere that any of these little realities could be so much more. They all have enough imagination and possibility wrapped up in them that they could fill long books or movies without show more losing anything.
Short story collections don't always do it for me. Usually there are a few good ones, but a lot of "meh" stuff in between. While I liked some better than others, I can honestly say that Matheson is very consistent. Most writers don't hold up through an entire volume of short work quite this well. The big exceptions to that are Stephen King, as well as his son Joe Hill. Coincidentally (?), both have listed Matheson near the top of the list of their influences.
Favorites:
"Witch War" - just a few pages, but wow. I would love to see this expanded to a huge epic. I love it.
"Person to Person" - Awesome way to cap off the book. Creep-fest that should have been a Twilight Zone episode.
"I am Legend" - Main attraction. It's more than a scary story (though it is). It's a tale of survival as well as a story about the psychological effects of isolation. Very layered, simple in its telling but deep in meaning. show less
But what brought it up to 5 was the inclusion of 10 other great Matheson stories. These weren't simple filler; each story was enjoyable (and mostly creepy) on its own.
Matheson has a talent for giving readers a snapshot of another world/reality/time/possibility. He doesn't use pages and pages to describe the settings where these stories take place, but just a few words. And they're so vivid. I've commented somewhere that any of these little realities could be so much more. They all have enough imagination and possibility wrapped up in them that they could fill long books or movies without show more losing anything.
Short story collections don't always do it for me. Usually there are a few good ones, but a lot of "meh" stuff in between. While I liked some better than others, I can honestly say that Matheson is very consistent. Most writers don't hold up through an entire volume of short work quite this well. The big exceptions to that are Stephen King, as well as his son Joe Hill. Coincidentally (?), both have listed Matheson near the top of the list of their influences.
Favorites:
"Witch War" - just a few pages, but wow. I would love to see this expanded to a huge epic. I love it.
"Person to Person" - Awesome way to cap off the book. Creep-fest that should have been a Twilight Zone episode.
"I am Legend" - Main attraction. It's more than a scary story (though it is). It's a tale of survival as well as a story about the psychological effects of isolation. Very layered, simple in its telling but deep in meaning. show less
Robert Neville is the last man on earth. But that does not mean that he is alone by any means – Neville is forced to bunker down in his house each night, to try and survive the onslaught of the dead who have since become vampires. “I Am Legend” charts the existence Robert Neville is forced to live – how he needs to build and maintain his shelter, his precarious hold on sanity, and his attempts to investigate what happened to the world in which he once lived.
Matheson manages to deal with all of the issues that have come to be expected of the “last man on earth” story – dealing with isolation, how people react without the guidance of society, how people manage to eke out an existence without a living, breathing society to show more provide for their needs. It’s all done quite well, enough time spent to make the ideas convincing, but not enough to bore those whom have read such things before.
One of the aspects of the novel that I greatly enjoyed about I Am Legend is how Richard Matheson manages to make vampires scientifically convincing. The various vampire mythologies, such as garlic, stakes, sunlight, pale skin, large fangs and so forth, are all explained in a scientific manner, is done convincingly, and this is done quite well. I would recommend this novel for that reason alone.
Another notable aspect of this novel is how “I am Legend” depicts a lone everyman alive in a world of undead creatures. It’s not really a story about one particular man (or woman, for that matter) trying to survive, it is actually the story of someone who survives such a catastrophe, who just happens to be a man named Robert Neville. He’s not special in any way whatsoever, doesn’t have particular qualifications or skills that could single him out anyone else, that are necessary for the story to progress. He’s not a scientist, combat veteran, a mechanic, or any other such role or position which would provide Neville with some aptitude that any other individual would not have. In fact, if such a situation were to occur, I would imagine many of my actions would be identical to those of Robert Neville, and that my struggles would well mirror his.
There are two minor points of criticism that I have with this novel. The first is that Neville’s reminiscences about his past life and family slow the pace of the book dramatically, and are not required to tell the story central to the novel. Although these flashbacks do expand upon Neville as a character, and help tell how the world fell, the main plot of the book does both of these things well enough already. The flashbacks make all of this blatantly obvious, are repetitive, and hence, unnecessary.
The other criticism that I have is of the character of Ruth, particularly Neville’s reaction to Ruth. She is a character that Neville meets, wandering around during the daytime, and whether Ruth is a vampire, or a human is something Neville is unsure of, but feels the need to investigate. I found Neville’s reaction to Ruth extremely implausible - a man who has believed himself to be the sole surviving human for years, who has had to fend off vampires each night, and kill them each day, should not trust Ruth as quickly as Neville did. While my critique of the flashbacks is more of a question of personal taste, the character of Ruth is a problem with the novel, and it is this that turns the book from a five-star novel into a four-and-a-half star novel.
I must recommend “I Am Legend”, whether you like horror, science fiction, or just reading in general. It’s an interesting idea for a story, and it is delivered quite well. Matheson’s attempts to scientifically rationalise vampires are quite convincing, and Neville, while starting as an individual without aptitudes or abilities, feels like a real character, with believeable mental and social problems, and his intellectual and mental progression is charted quite well. Highly recommended. show less
Matheson manages to deal with all of the issues that have come to be expected of the “last man on earth” story – dealing with isolation, how people react without the guidance of society, how people manage to eke out an existence without a living, breathing society to show more provide for their needs. It’s all done quite well, enough time spent to make the ideas convincing, but not enough to bore those whom have read such things before.
One of the aspects of the novel that I greatly enjoyed about I Am Legend is how Richard Matheson manages to make vampires scientifically convincing. The various vampire mythologies, such as garlic, stakes, sunlight, pale skin, large fangs and so forth, are all explained in a scientific manner, is done convincingly, and this is done quite well. I would recommend this novel for that reason alone.
Another notable aspect of this novel is how “I am Legend” depicts a lone everyman alive in a world of undead creatures. It’s not really a story about one particular man (or woman, for that matter) trying to survive, it is actually the story of someone who survives such a catastrophe, who just happens to be a man named Robert Neville. He’s not special in any way whatsoever, doesn’t have particular qualifications or skills that could single him out anyone else, that are necessary for the story to progress. He’s not a scientist, combat veteran, a mechanic, or any other such role or position which would provide Neville with some aptitude that any other individual would not have. In fact, if such a situation were to occur, I would imagine many of my actions would be identical to those of Robert Neville, and that my struggles would well mirror his.
There are two minor points of criticism that I have with this novel. The first is that Neville’s reminiscences about his past life and family slow the pace of the book dramatically, and are not required to tell the story central to the novel. Although these flashbacks do expand upon Neville as a character, and help tell how the world fell, the main plot of the book does both of these things well enough already. The flashbacks make all of this blatantly obvious, are repetitive, and hence, unnecessary.
The other criticism that I have is of the character of Ruth, particularly Neville’s reaction to Ruth. She is a character that Neville meets, wandering around during the daytime, and whether Ruth is a vampire, or a human is something Neville is unsure of, but feels the need to investigate. I found Neville’s reaction to Ruth extremely implausible - a man who has believed himself to be the sole surviving human for years, who has had to fend off vampires each night, and kill them each day, should not trust Ruth as quickly as Neville did. While my critique of the flashbacks is more of a question of personal taste, the character of Ruth is a problem with the novel, and it is this that turns the book from a five-star novel into a four-and-a-half star novel.
I must recommend “I Am Legend”, whether you like horror, science fiction, or just reading in general. It’s an interesting idea for a story, and it is delivered quite well. Matheson’s attempts to scientifically rationalise vampires are quite convincing, and Neville, while starting as an individual without aptitudes or abilities, feels like a real character, with believeable mental and social problems, and his intellectual and mental progression is charted quite well. Highly recommended. show less
I must warn you, this book has The Omega Man all wrong. Anybody would think the author hadn't even seen the film. As somebody who loved the film, may I say the book's still bloody brilliant. I started it at lunchtime today and had to finish it.
I have no way of judging it as a vampire book, never having read one. Are Jewish vampires scared of the Cross? For all I know this is the sort of theological nicety vampire-book-readers fill their days with. It was all new to me.
Still, I wouldn't have described it as a 'vampire' book. It's a book about research. It's a book about what happens when the last man in the world finds the last dog. It's about perspective. It's about not getting enough.
And it's unputdownably exciting to boot.
I'm writing show more this comment from the perspective of somebody who loved 'The Omega Man'. There was an English version of it maybe 10 years ago, which was great too. Irritating, but great. Irritating because the thing has two endings, one after the credits. Well, we didn't know. We went home while they were still telling us no dogs where harmed in the making of the movie - well, of course not, given they were all undead in the first place. I'm sorry if this spoils watching it, but it turns out NOT knowing spoils it too... show less
I have no way of judging it as a vampire book, never having read one. Are Jewish vampires scared of the Cross? For all I know this is the sort of theological nicety vampire-book-readers fill their days with. It was all new to me.
Still, I wouldn't have described it as a 'vampire' book. It's a book about research. It's a book about what happens when the last man in the world finds the last dog. It's about perspective. It's about not getting enough.
And it's unputdownably exciting to boot.
I'm writing show more this comment from the perspective of somebody who loved 'The Omega Man'. There was an English version of it maybe 10 years ago, which was great too. Irritating, but great. Irritating because the thing has two endings, one after the credits. Well, we didn't know. We went home while they were still telling us no dogs where harmed in the making of the movie - well, of course not, given they were all undead in the first place. I'm sorry if this spoils watching it, but it turns out NOT knowing spoils it too... show less
(58) Many years around Halloween, I pick a horror novel to read, preferably one with some literary merit. This had been sitting on my shelf for quite some time so I finally took the plunge. What I did not realize is that this was written in the 1950's, number 1, and number 2 - at least in my book there are several other unrelated short stories though nowhere does it mention that this is a collection.
The main story is about vampires and a plague - the main character was bitten by a vampire bat when he was in the service and seems to be immune to the pestilence. He is alone, trying to survive in a world of the infected dying and the undead who are out for his blood. Meanwhile, he sets out to destroy them. It is quite well-written and show more evocative, yet fairly spare prose.
Now that I have read I can see how so many other horror writers and screenwriters have got their inspiration from him. Stephen King's 'The Stand' now seems just a bloated (very bloated) version of 'I am Legend.' I seem to recall another horror movie about a evil doll that comes to life and kills its owners as well.
In the end though I would say the whole collection was just above average. I was not chilled or frightened or particularly moved. While I liked 'I am Legend' I really didn't enjoy the other short stories and had read several of them before I realized we were not going back to the main story and that they were entirely unrelated. Then I just wanted the book to be over and I almost skimmed through the remaining short stories.
I will go find the Will Smith movie though. While I stand by my accusation that Stephen King's work is derivative, I have to say though - 'Salem's Lot' is much more terrifying. Read that instead if you are looking to be totally frightened. show less
The main story is about vampires and a plague - the main character was bitten by a vampire bat when he was in the service and seems to be immune to the pestilence. He is alone, trying to survive in a world of the infected dying and the undead who are out for his blood. Meanwhile, he sets out to destroy them. It is quite well-written and show more evocative, yet fairly spare prose.
Now that I have read I can see how so many other horror writers and screenwriters have got their inspiration from him. Stephen King's 'The Stand' now seems just a bloated (very bloated) version of 'I am Legend.' I seem to recall another horror movie about a evil doll that comes to life and kills its owners as well.
In the end though I would say the whole collection was just above average. I was not chilled or frightened or particularly moved. While I liked 'I am Legend' I really didn't enjoy the other short stories and had read several of them before I realized we were not going back to the main story and that they were entirely unrelated. Then I just wanted the book to be over and I almost skimmed through the remaining short stories.
I will go find the Will Smith movie though. While I stand by my accusation that Stephen King's work is derivative, I have to say though - 'Salem's Lot' is much more terrifying. Read that instead if you are looking to be totally frightened. show less
I got this on audio to read "I Am Legend" but I enjoyed the short stories too. All of it felt kind of dated, reminded me of writing from Bradbury or Frederic Brown.
In "I Am Legend" the sex-deprived thing seemed like a strange thing to be brought up as many times as it was. I mean I like sex a lot more than the next guy, but I think I'd get over it if the only women available were killer zombie-vampires. Also this kind of normal joe, deciding that he's going to read a couple library books and figure out the vaccine for the vampire plague seemed pretty unrealistic.
My favorite of the short stories was "Witch War", definitely cool and creepy. It should have been a Twilight Zone episode. There's also one with the best line. In response to show more "When did she die?" - the answer, "As soon as I get home." show less
In "I Am Legend" the sex-deprived thing seemed like a strange thing to be brought up as many times as it was. I mean I like sex a lot more than the next guy, but I think I'd get over it if the only women available were killer zombie-vampires. Also this kind of normal joe, deciding that he's going to read a couple library books and figure out the vaccine for the vampire plague seemed pretty unrealistic.
My favorite of the short stories was "Witch War", definitely cool and creepy. It should have been a Twilight Zone episode. There's also one with the best line. In response to show more "When did she die?" - the answer, "As soon as I get home." show less
Robertson Dean has a creepy voice. It is a bit like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, waffling between anger and despair. When he yells or raves, it is exceedingly uncomfortable, but therein lies the point. Robert Neville is a man on the edge, walking a fine line between insanity, despair, and hope. Mr. Dean showcases Robert’s precarious balance, adding to the poignancy of the story as Robert struggles to mentally survive his isolation. A short audiobook, Mr. Dean brings a reader to that very same edge as Robert and keeps him there with his powerful performance.
I Am Legend is a classic. It may be science fiction, but the story it has to tell about one man’s fight for survival in the face of hopeless odds is timeless. The story is show more written in such a way that it could occur in any time period while the lessons to be learned apply to anyone anywhere. It is a surprisingly philosophical story which transcends the vampires and germ theory that comprise a majority of the novel and leaves a reader contemplative about the true monster in any given scenario. show less
I Am Legend is a classic. It may be science fiction, but the story it has to tell about one man’s fight for survival in the face of hopeless odds is timeless. The story is show more written in such a way that it could occur in any time period while the lessons to be learned apply to anyone anywhere. It is a surprisingly philosophical story which transcends the vampires and germ theory that comprise a majority of the novel and leaves a reader contemplative about the true monster in any given scenario. show less
This is probably my weirdest "comfort" book. None of the three movies made from this story are as good as the book. The insight into Robert's mind is the most important part of the story. I first read this book in college in a class called "Evil Lurks Among Us," and I fell in love with it. I have since read it many times and listened to the audiobook. Despite the fact that it is a rather scary story, I find the story to be very comfortable. I think Robert feels like a familiar person to me, and I enjoy my time with him. My favorite part of the story is the last few lines which include the title and I feel that the movies all miss the point being made in the last bit of the story. Robert has become the monster in this world. He is now show more the equivalent of the myth of the vampire that we have in our world. show less
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Author Information
Richard Matheson was born on February 20, 1926 in Allendale, New Jersey. He was eight when his stories appeared in a local newspaper, the Brooklyn Eagle. He served during World War II. He received a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1949. In 1950 he first was noticed as an upcoming writer-to-watch, starting with the short show more story Born of Man and Woman. He wrote numerous novels and short stories during his lifetime including I am Legend, The Shrinking Man, What Dreams May Come, and Hell House. He won the World Fantasy Convention's Life Achievement Award, the Bram Stoker Award for Life Achievement, the Hugo Award, the Golden Spur Award, and the Writer's Guild Award. He also was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. When Hollywood approached him for the rights to his novel The Shrinking Man, he negotiated the chance to write the screenplay. This began a long career in screenwriting and adapting. He wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielberg's Duel and 16 episodes of the television series The Twilight Zone. He won an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1973 for The Night Stalker. He died on June 23, 2013 at the age of 87. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- I Am Legend {story collection}
- Original publication date
- 1954
- People/Characters
- Robert Neville
- Important places
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Related movies
- I Am Legend (2007 | IMDb); The Omega Man (1971 | IMDb); The Last Man on Earth (1964 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- To HENRY KUTTNER with my grateful thanks for his help and encouragement on this book.
- First words
- On those cloudy days, Robert Neville was never sure when sunset came, and sometimes they were in the streets before he could get back.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)I am legend.
- Blurbers
- Koontz, Dean; King, Stephen
- Disambiguation notice
- This is the work for a short story collection, which includes the novella "I Am Legend" (1954). Please do NOT combine it with the main "I Am Legend" work which just contains the novel.
Stories contained in this ... (show all)work are:- I Am Legend
- Buried Talents
- The Near Departed
- Prey
- Witch War
- Dance of the Dead
- Dress of White Silk
- Mad House
- The Funeral
- From Shadowed Places
- Person to Person
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