I Am Legend

I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson

I Am Legend
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Book Summary Information

Author: Richard Matheson
Edition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2007-10-30
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Tor Books

Book Reviews of I Am Legend

Book Review: Horror Extraodinaire
Summary: 5 Stars

Robert Neville is, or at least he believes he is, the last man alive, the only person on the planet not killed by a plague. However, sadly for Robert, those who died didn't stay dead, they've been resurrected as vampires who hunger for Robert's blood. During the day Robert works on making his home a fortress, but he also uses mirrors and garlic to ward of the dead who won't stay dead. He's stocked up his house with food and classical music (records, not CDs - the book was written in 1954 after all).

Neville is immune to what happened to the vampires and wonders why, so he starts going to the Los Angeles Public Library, where he researches viruses and bacteria and as he thinks he begins to understand what's going on he finds out he may not be the last person alive. There may be more.

It's been years since I've read this book and I've written the above from memory, but I think I've gotten it pretty straight as the book made quite an impression on me. Matheson put me right in Neville's head, made me afraid. I felt Neville's loneliness, felt him all too well. Then there were the vampires, pretty bloody scary. It's a short book, but it's horror extraodinaire.

Summary of I Am Legend

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

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

How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?

One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater

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