I am Legend by Richard Matheson

 

176 Pages

You can buy I am Legend...Here

You can find out more about Richard Matheson...Here

This review is by...Owen Powell 

• The Blurb...

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth ... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood.

By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

How long can one man survive like this?

• Our Review

The world has fallen. Lost long ago to a supernatural, nightmarish scourge that has all but devastated humanity, leaving in its wake one sole survivor. Robert Neville is the last human on Earth, fighting to live in the midst of a harrowing vampiric apocalypse. Every single night outside his house, blood-sucking creatures prowl in the darkness, clawing at his door, begging, screaming for Neville to come out. Neville, however, is a very cautious individual, a trait that has no doubt aided in his prolonged survival. The doors and windows are boarded, garlic cloves hang upon his walls, a mirror displays on the front door, and an assortment of wooden stakes lie at his disposal should he need them. Having survived liked this for so long now, Neville has grown accustomed to the vampires. He knows their tricks, their needs, what affects them and what doesn’t affect them. He knows, for example, that in the day, they retreat into abandoned buildings to seek shelter from the blistering sunlight. This is when the roles switch, and Neville becomes the hunter instead. 

Having never seen the movies, but also being very intrigued by the concept, I was very eager to read this book. It starts off strongly by showing rather than telling. We see how well Neville has adjusted to his role as the sole survivor by witnessing the practices that have kept him alive for so long. We experience the internal conflicts of a man devoid of all human interaction, subjected to hiding from and slaying vampires for the rest of his life. In fact, it seems that Neville’s greatest enemy is not the vampires themselves, but his own mind instead. He argues with and berates himself constantly, almost doubting every single thought he has. He drinks often to drown out the intrusive, internal-criticisms, as well as to forget the tragedies of his past. The writing is very eloquent, at times the narrative blends fluently into Neville’s own thoughts, giving the reader a better understanding of who he is and how he thinks. The exciting scenes are nail-bitingly enticing, I found myself fully immersed in the danger more than once. Unfortunately, I found these excellent scenes of tension to be few and far between.

For a book about the last man in a vampire apocalypse, it is somewhat uneventful. In fact, in this story, I can comfortably say that Robert Neville spends considerably more time THINKING about vampires rather than killing them or running from them. There is a large section in the middle of the book where he tries to learn more about how the vampires came to be, and for me this was kind of a slog to get through. It was kind of interesting but also not really. I felt such lost potential for some exciting vampire-filled escapades during these sections, but for a lot of this book, nothing REALLY happens. This isn’t to say that nothing happens at all, like I mentioned before there are some exciting scenes and a few plot twists, but most of this book I unfortunately found somewhat droning. 

Despite all this, I believe that I Am Legend is still worth a read. If not for the terrifying aspect of a vampire apocalypse, then to experience how the last man on earth tries desperately to hold his mind together. 

• Selected Quotes...

‘A man could get used to anything if he had to.’

‘Then he stood in the dark kitchen, eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, hands clamped over his ears. Leave me alone, leave me alone, leave me alone!’

‘Why not? His mind plodded on. Why go through all this complexity when a flung-open door and a few steps would end it all?’

• If You Liked This Then You May Like...

World War Z An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Cell by Stephen King

The Strain by Guillermo del Torro

• About The Author...

Richard Matheson was born on February 20, 1926, in Allendale, New Jersey. After his parents, Norwegian immigrants, Bertolf and Fanny divorced, his mother took him to Brooklyn, New York, where he attended school. After graduating high school at Brooklyn Technical High School, he spent time in the United States Army during World War II. When he returned home, Richard earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, in 1949. After finishing his degree, Richard settled in California. There he became a screenwriter, specializing in fantasy, horror, and science fiction.

One of the television shows he wrote for was "Twilight Zone". The iconic episode, "Nightmare at 2000 ft." was written by Richard. The opening and closing statements recited by Rod Sterling were his work, too. He also wrote Duel, which was the first movie made by Steven Spielberg.

After Richard became a novelist, many of his books were turned into movies, including "I Am Legend", which was made into a movie three times. "The Shrinking Man", "Hell House", "What Dreams May Come", and "A Stir of Echoes" were all books written by Richard that later became movies. Another of his books, "Bid Time Return", was made into the movie, "Somewhere in Turn".

In the 1950's and 1960's Richard was a member of a society of writers called the Southern California Sorcerers. Other members included Ray Bradbury, Charles Beaumont, George Clayton Johnson, William F. Nolan and Jerry Sohl. In 1973 Richard won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for a teleplay he wrote for the "Night Stalker". In 1984 was given the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, also the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writer's Association. In 2010 Richard was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

In 1952 Richard married Ruth Ann Woodson. Three of their four children, Richard Christian, and Chris and Ali followed in their father's footsteps and became writers. In 2013, Richard Matheson died quietly in his home, surrounded by friends and family. At his death, he was eighty-seven years old.

Stephen King dedicated his book, "Cell", to Richard Matheson. Listing him as his creative influence. George A. Romero said that his iconic movie, "Night of the Living Dead", was influenced by Richard's book, "I Am Legend". After reading "A Dress of White Silk" written by Richard, Anne Rice was influenced in writing her vampire and fantasy novels.

"Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay for Duel. His Twilight Zones were among my favorites, and he recently worked with us on "Real Steel". For me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov" Steven Spielberg.

Richard Matheson was a well loved and well respected writer. A genius of science fiction and fantasy, his work has become some of the most influential of all the writers in his genres in history.

(from bookreports.info)