1954
rating: very good
plot: The entire human race has turned into vampires (literal garlic-fearing, blood sucking, sun-sensitive vampires), except for one man who does his best to survive among them.
Dracula is not in I am Legend. But his friends are. Bwaaaa ha ha ha ha!This is a survivalist story. Some sort of virus has turned the entire human race into vampires. And many are the reasoning, intelligent predators that are so familiar to us from the movies. Their main occupation seems to be stalking the last human on earth, Robert Neville. A common complaint on those pea-brained amazon.com reviews is that the real reason behind the extinction of the human race is never explained. Well, first of all, it is explained very briefly. But second of all, it doesn't matter. Does the man on the dessert island as why his ship sunk? Well, maybe he does. But you get my point. The story is about Neville coping and surviving as the last man on earth, surrounded by wild beasts.
Neville hunts vampires during the day, slowly learns what makes them tick and goes half insane with loneliness and bereavement. I would compare Neville's condition to that of the held-hostage Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula. He only slowly realizes what he's really dealing with, and then he is barely able to save himself from his situation.
This book is NOT like the Will Smith movie. The only similarity is that Smith's character is also the last man on earth surrounded by animals. But the themes, plots and endings are different. I felt the movie had a hopeful, theological message. Not so the book. This is one of those books many people would find depressing (although I feel the sadness is in the plot, not the engaging narrative). Also, the movie was a thriller; this book a horror, like a Steven King novel.
The dimwits on amazon.com were also put-out because I am Legend is actually a novella and the last half of the book is completely unrelated short stories. The stories were terrifyingly good horror. If you like Steven King short stories, you'll like these (King obviously being influenced by Matheson).
Neville hunts vampires during the day, slowly learns what makes them tick and goes half insane with loneliness and bereavement. I would compare Neville's condition to that of the held-hostage Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula. He only slowly realizes what he's really dealing with, and then he is barely able to save himself from his situation.
This book is NOT like the Will Smith movie. The only similarity is that Smith's character is also the last man on earth surrounded by animals. But the themes, plots and endings are different. I felt the movie had a hopeful, theological message. Not so the book. This is one of those books many people would find depressing (although I feel the sadness is in the plot, not the engaging narrative). Also, the movie was a thriller; this book a horror, like a Steven King novel.
The dimwits on amazon.com were also put-out because I am Legend is actually a novella and the last half of the book is completely unrelated short stories. The stories were terrifyingly good horror. If you like Steven King short stories, you'll like these (King obviously being influenced by Matheson).
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