I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of I Am Legend
Book Review: Outstanding - Get this book now! - Inspirational
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book because it was considered by some as a 'Classic', well that it is. Although written in the 50's it sounds like a modern day tale. You can completley relate to most of the problems faced by Robert Neville our Hero, and sympathise with his situation. After reading the last page, I sat there for about 5mins, contemplating all he had been through, the way he saw the world, just to have it turned around. A wry grin spread across my face, and it stayed there for some time. Stunning. Gets your head going, makes you question certain aspects of your life.... wonderful.Book Review: A VAMPIRE TALE FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE
Summary: 4 Stars
It would be difficult to pigeon-hole this novel as sci-fi. Dealing with many aspects of human condition and fears. Rather than traditional vampire 'values' this novel deals with the why and how from the perspective of one individual. The chapters rip along at a fair old pace covering a period of time when the narraters fears , hopes and desperation are addressed and dealt with in an efficient and sometimes depressing manner. The vampires are zombie-like creatures with a rather animal attitude to humans and the claustrophobic nature of the book sends a few chills down the spine. The conclusion is chilling and original. I recommend this book highly as one of the most unusual pieces of Vampiric Sci-Fi I have ever read.Book Review: The monster must die!
Summary: 5 Stars
Question is, who is the monster? My uncle Bill gave me a copy of this when I was a teenager, many years ago, and it's one of those books that stays with you for decades. No kidding, the storyline and climax were so unnerving I can still recall the feeling of having read something wholly original and having my ideas of the world challenged profoundly. All this from a short novel on vampires! Great stuff.Book Review: One of my favourite books!
Summary: 5 Stars
Beat this for a premise! It is the future. The human race as we know it no longer exists. Every man, woman and child has become a vampire, comatose and in hiding from the sun by day, out en masse and in search of blood by night. However, incredibly, one individual has survived - Robert Neville, the last man alive on earth. During the hours of daylight, Neville stalks what is left of his native Los Angeles, culling as many of the vampires as he can. As darkness arrives he hurries back home, locks himself inside his fortress of a house and prepares for another night of vampires gathering outside his abode, screaming at him to come out. Now that's what I call imagination!Richard Matheson books are somewhat hard to get hold of in libraries and bookshops these days (thank heavens for online shopping!). I can only assume it is because his (novel) output isn't particularly prolific - eight novels in just under fifty years. It is a pity because it may mean that Matheson may not get the vast (modern) audience that his writing deserves.
So what makes him so good? First of all, his style of writing is crisp and economical. This is particularly evident here. Paragraphs are short, the story moves quickly. At no stage does the reader feel that the story is becoming bogged down with unnecessary descriptive sidetracks.
Secondly, no writer seems to be better at summarising the human condition. It should be impossible for the reader realistically to empathise with what Neville goes through and yet we genuinely seem to share his mental turmoil.
Thirdly - and this is what I particularly like - you often start a chapter thinking you know which way the narrative is heading and then Matheson will take the story off in a direction you never expected. The constant sudden shifts in plot really enhance the excitement.
I'd call this an 'intelligent' horror novel. It has often been classed as a science fiction book of course. Matheson treats the subject with plenty of humour but practically no irony. He has Neville scientifically approach all the elements of the vampire myth (fear of crosses, aversion to garlic, craving for blood) to find the best way to fight his adversaries.
It is not perfect. To the layman (such as me!), some of the biological discourse about blood cells and the immune system comes across as rather dry. But, despite the horrific subject matter, I can't recall genuinely enjoying a book as much since I read Wilbur Smith's 'River God' a couple of years ago. I can't recommend this highly enough!
Book Review: Welcome reprint of fifties SF masterwork
Summary: 5 Stars
Genuinely terrifying, poignant, ironic and haunting tale of isolation and estrangement; Matheson turns fifties paranoia of communism and the Bomb into a complex exploration of an alienated psyche. Neville seems to be Macarthy made heroic, although I doubt Macarthy's last thoughts were as knowing or resigned. The book is an obvious companion piece to Don Seigel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, except it's far more sophisticated and intelligent, and to Romero's The Night of the Living Dead (which Matheson obviously inspired). It also happens to be the best book about vampires ever written, and I include Stoker, Rice and King in that assessment.