I Am Legend by Richard Matheson Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of I Am Legend
Book Review: Cult Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
It took me less than 24 hours to finish this book and I even popped out and read it in the car during my lunch break at work, so at to not be disturbed. It really is a marvel. Written in 1954, Matheson has succeeded in creating an absolutely timeless cult classic, the elements of horror and science fiction so well melded with the characterisation and personal struggle of the hero, that the real horror doesn't come from the fact the earth's decimated by the blood sucking vampires roaming the streets, killing all, looking for fresh blood. No. The real horror is how we, as individuals, deal with those primitive fears that haunt all out darkest moments: depression, loneliness and our will to maintain equilibrium.
The thing that really got me about this book was the way the story was structured to gradually shift Neville, the hero, from being the persecuted victim, fearing the horror that once only haunted dreams and folk tales, to effectively becoming the legend in himself, afflicting the same terrors on the new dominant species: the vampire.
Book Review: Pure Brilliance!
Summary: 5 Stars
Having been a great fan of the Heston film, Omega Man, I finally caught up with the original book that the film was, very loosely, based on. And boy the book blows the film out of the water! Wicked book that I could not put down, gone in one day!Not typical vampire bloodfest or down and out end of world scenario but probing book on animal instinct and humankind. Characters excellent and scene setting spot on.
Buy this book and I promise you will not be dissapointed!
Book Review: Lock The Windows And Doors; And That Might Not Help
Summary: 5 Stars
If you haven't read this vampire novel, you need too. Richard Matheson wrote one of the most original, gritty horror tales ever with I Am Legend. I picked it up back in 1985, while working on a ranch in Wyoming for the summer. I read this dark, bump-in-the-night tale while sleeping in the bunkhouse, and at times found myself looking at the opened hay-loft doors and windows to see if a white, bloodless face was peering in at me.This is a gothic vampire tale placed in modern America and crouched in science. Robert Neville is the last human survivor after a plague has either killed everyone else (including his family) or transformed them into blood-lusting vampires. He now lives a barely sane life in a constant fight for survival, battling vampires, depression, and alchoholism. What he goes through is both heartbreaking and terrifying. And yet he portrayes mankind with all his weakness, and strengths, as he pulls himself up by the straps and begins teaching himself blood chemistry and medicine, in a heartfelt attempt to cure the vampires, and save his sanity.
The novel is tightly written, filled with scenes that will raise the hackles and send your skin crawling. Try reading this one at night.
Book Review: A Study of Loneliness in a hostile world
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a fascinating study of a man alone as he fights to survive in a world inhabited by hostile creatures. We watch as he endures the loss of a family and a world he knows. Richard Neville alternates between hunter and prey in a dark and lonely world. This is not the classic vampire book, it crosses the genres of horror, SF and psychological thriller. If you love any of these, you will enjoy, "I Am Legend".Book Review: In the footsteps of the master
Summary: 4 Stars
Bram Stoker took a similar 'scientific' approach to his vampire horror story. And he made a pretty good job of it, using the science and psychology theories that were fashionable at the time. Richard Matheson follows the master, setting his hero to hunt, not just for vampires, but for scientific answers to the problem of vampirism and, if possible, a cure. If you happen to know anything about biology, medicine, bacteriophages etc, there are parts of the book you will need to skip swiftly past in order to maintain your suspension of disbelief. But the science is not the main point of the story, so it's quite safe not to pay overly close attention to the more dodgy elements of Robert Neville's scientific discoveries about the vampires. Robert Neville is utterly alone in a world where creatures that look like humans torment him by night and he has to hunt them down by day. He dare not go far from his fortress home because he cannot be caught outside at night. As he finds and eliminates sleeping blood-suckers in his immediate neighbourhood, more pour in from surrounding areas. They skulk around his house. One of his old friends is out there too, calling for him to come out, reminding him of his old life. He stays indoors from dusk until dawn, drinking whiskey, growing his rage, dwelling on his losses, trying to understand what happened and why? He turns to scientific investigation as much to occupying his mind and avoid insanity as to find any real hope of solving the problem of vampirism. His anger, impotence and loneliness are pushed out of his mind by the pursuit of knowledge - answers to the how and the why. Fear and isolation can be forgotten while he's absorbed in his studies. But will he also forget how to be human and how to be humane?Excellent story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror stories and also to those fans of sci-fi who aren't too critical and demanding about the sci in their fi.