I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of I Am Legend
Book Review: Beautifully crafted sci fi/horror with psychological depth
Summary: 5 Stars
I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in three nights. I came to it via the early 70s film 'The Omega Man', which I also enjoyed but the book is far more cohesive and less dated than the film (ironic considering it was written twenty years earlier). I particularly like Matheson's psychological exploration of narrator Robert Neville, whose emotional struggles with profound loneliness give this novel a human depth which is sometimes lacking in the genre. The prose is economical and briskly paced and chapters tend to end on cliffhangers making the novel difficult to put down. Neville's attempts to provide scientific explanations for the vampire plague drag the old bloodsucker myth into a convincing 20th Century context. I was so impressed by this novel that I quickly acquired other novels by Matheson, but so far this one is my favourite.Book Review: Brilliant, purely brilliant.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read many great vampire books, but there are a few that truly stand out as landmarks to the genre: obviously Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', Brain Lumley's 'Necroscope' and Anne Rice's 'Interview With The Vampire'. Well, now I've got one more book to add to that list. 'I Am Legend' is as much a study of human nature as it is vampire nature. It is the tale of the last survivor of a society destroyed by monsters, who eventually becomes a monster to the new society that emerges.Read this book ASAP. And if you don't feel an emotional 'pang' in regards to the dog, then you're not human.
Book Review: Beyond horror...
Summary: 5 Stars
Matheson peaked with I Am Legend ... not only a piece of genre classic, but a work of modern literary excellence that will survive centuries. Superbly written, it tells of the last remaining (?) human after a viral apocalypse in which it's casualties fall victim to Matheson's version of the vampire myth. Although I have read genre "greats" of the likes of Lumley and Rice ... I think Matheson eclipses them all. I shan't fill this review with meaningless analysis or plot summaries. I merely wish to express my admiriation for an author who incites more inspiration on the first page of this novel than King has in his entire repetoire. Read it.Book Review: Timeless
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems pretty hard to believe that this book was written nearly 50 years ago. I cannot remember the last time that I have read a book that kept me so entertained from start to finish. It cannot simply be categorised into one genre, but encompasses many and is the obvious father of the modern day horror fiction.Book Review: Ageless
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this out of interest more than anything... And was pleasantly surprised by the style and imagary. It doesn't go into deep and descriptive charactersation (like Campbell, King, or Straub or Barker). It doesn't give you full on horror (like Barker, or Laymon, or Hutson). It does give you just enough for visualisation. Because of this it has managed to stay incredibly fresh. Set in the mid 70s (20 years away from when it was written and twenty five years ago) it doesn't hint at technological advances, whizzy electronics or electric cars.
As a story it holds up and benefits from this. Some nice little set pieces, (Many of which are recognisable in more modern literature, by design or accident is moot, this was first) including the dog... the girl and of course the finale (echoed later in The Monster Club?)
Give it a go... makes a change to read something that gets under your skin without the pretentiousness of some more contempory writers. It was before many and influenced many. You will be suprised (although if you're into Sci Fi... Forget it unless you want a bit of a change!).