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Jan 25, 2012

Stephen rated it:

4.0 to 4.5 stars. Okay, this rating is going to a take a little explaining. Unfortunately, I don't have a slide show or any multi-colored pie charts to assist me as a visual aid on this one so I will try to be as clear as I can. Warning: I will probably be required to use quite a few i.e. and e.g. to provide clarification to my statements as well as some targeted use of bold and italics given that I am reviewing here without the safety net of my usual visual aids. I have also decided to throw in More...

6 comments like (28 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Nichole (Dirty H) rated it:

There's not much to say about this story that hasn't been said about other reviews.
The premise of this story was great. It was well executed, stayed interesting, and I really liked the ending. I have only two criticisms; the first being about the story, and the second being about the edition that I read.
1. It was too short. This book would have been much better if he had taken the time to flesh out some of the ideas, stretch out the mystery (his search for the cause of vampirism), mo More...

5 comments like (18 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

K.D. rated it:

This 1954 science fiction/horror novel has already been made into 3 movies: The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971) and I am Legend starring Will Smith (2007). I saw the last two prior to reading this book so I had an easy time following the storyline. This book is said to have influenced the development of vampire and zombie genre particularly the hypothesis that vampirism is to a disease. Incidentally, this idea will not fly for Edward (Twilight). Girls will not like the idea that t More...

21 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Manu rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Adam rated it:

I really wanted to like this book. Honestly, I did. I can see why the story of "I am Legend" has some serious appeal. I, at least, loved the ending, but it just couldn't make up for the disdain I had for the earlier parts. Coupled with the fact that this book is 312 pages and the story of "I am Legend" ends on page 159 means that this entire book isn't "I am Legend". Considering I wasn't a huge fan of "I am Legend", this might sound like a good thing, but More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Christopher rated it:

I STILL haven't seen the newest movie with Will Smith yet, but this story was made into a movie before, and I did see that previous one. It was called Omega Man and starred Charlton Heston. Anyway, I was stranded at the ATL airport the day after Christmas and picked up a copy of this book to pass the time. Beyond the visceral thrill of a good vampire story, it also looks at the idea of normalcy as a purely relative term. The protagonist thinks that he is the last 'normal' person left, but b More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Aaron rated it:

This book was completely different than the movie, and like almost all book to movie this one was much better than the movie. I am glad I watched the movie first because this book rocked.

I was amazed at about 90% of this book, it was only the last little bit being so rushed that I was a little disappointed. The ending was poetic and I felt it fit perfect for the story.

I loved the fact that it went into detail about he prepared his home and life to live with the nightly More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Elmwoodblues rated it:

Glad I read/heard the story before/in lieu of watching the movie. The dated references to the future are somehow so jarringly off as to be more plausible than a more-correct guess might be (ala 'Brazil' with its tiny cathode tubes and manual-typewriter keyboards). The narrators voice is haunted, alone, desperate; no false bravado here, rather an easily-imagined descent into despair. An alternative to the current teen versions of vampire-dom, a welcome (pardon my license) ray of sunlight into More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Priscilla rated it:

Did you guys know this (specific book) was a collection of horror stories, with I Am Legend being one of them?! I didn't. Some good, some bad, but overall creepy!

Initial thoughts:
1. THIS IS A COLLECTION OF HORROR STORIES?!
2. Neville finding the dog was pretty exciting. Seriously.
3. I Am Legend wasn't too terrifying. It had it's thrills and chills. More conflict within Neville's character than the actual vampires.
4. Favourite stories: Prey, Mad House, From Shadowed P More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Travis rated it:

A classic bit of sci-fi that combines a clever twist on vampires with a well thought out take on the 'after the really bad thing happens to earth' sub-genre.
The only problem is it is so unrelentingly grim and depressing that after you are done reading you need to go out and watch a Marx Brothers movie or something very happy and goofy to keep from killing yourself.

The ending, while depressing, is pretty clever.

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Jason rated it:

Huge let down. Only read this book when you’re a kid. Oh, you’re an adult now, skip it.

At 160 pages, this makes for a better graphic novel. Or a blockbuster Hollywood movie--which I haven’t seen yet. The writing had the uncanny feel of a college freshman writing contest.

I award the second star only because I recognize it as an early--and thus unique--genre of Vampire stories.

12 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Kyle rated it:

All I have to say is that I wish they had made this movie instead of the Will Smith one. It really got me thinking about legends and monsters in a new way.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Maciek rated it:

Started on the 20.03 - 0.30 AM, finished 2.30. Couldn't put it down. Five stars.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Lyn rated it:

This is technically a collection of short stories, but I am Legend is the centerpiece, masterpiece, main event, etc. I am Legend truly is a great story, deserving of all the accolades and an inspired source of all the horror genre influence over the past 60 years, including Stephen King. It's about vampires the same way Castaway, the Tom Hanks film, is about the South Pacific. It's about a man dealing with stress, nightmarish circumstances and his will to not just live, but to survive. Mathe More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Risa rated it:

It's Halloween month so I decided to treat myself to a good old fashioned creepy story. I really, REALLY liked this book. I watched the Wil Smith movie prior to reading this book. It's fascinating the differences between the two. I don't feel they were alike at all, which I thought was brillant because that made me enjoy the book that much more.

Robert Neville is the sole survivor of the plague of vampires. That's right, no zombies...vampires. After he watched everyone he knew and love More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Cruton rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Christina rated it:

After watching the Will Smith blockbuster THEN reading the book, I was very surprised at how very different they were; feeling they’re almost two seperate stories. I was also surprised that the book was actually a collection of short stories by Matheson; all of which were good. However, this review focus’ on the title of the book and story, ‘I Am Legend’.

This story follows Robert Neville, the last man on Earth, as he struggles to survive in a world taken over by a vampiric plague, whic More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Larry rated it:

My opinion of this book changed quite a bit while I read through it. Unlike what the title suggests, this isn't just the "I Am Legend" novella (which is 159 pages long), but rather it is a short story collection, containing 11 stories of various lengths. Some were very good, but some were not.

The titular story was very good. We follow the main character, who believes he is the last human alive in a world populated by vampires. I was a little confused as to what the differ More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

John rated it:

As far as I'm concerned, "I Am Legend" would have been a fitting title for Richard Matheson's autobiography, should he ever have written one. It's no wonder why he's been such an influential force in the world of story-telling: the man's work is awe-inspiring. I Am Legend is easily one of the most powerful vampire stories I've ever read. In addition to being gritty and action-packed, it's also heart-felt and deeply insightful. Here, Matheson uses melancholy to create mood as effect More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Jennifer rated it:

I don't think I have much to say that hasn't already been said. But I would like to give fair warning to anyone reading the book. My friend lent me a copy of I Am Legend, and it was a copy that was promoting the movie staring Will Smith. I felt a little embarrassed about it because I thought the movie looked dumb, but the book was being lent to me, and I didn't spend a dime, so I figured "why not?"

The entire time reading it, people kept bothering me "Did you see the mo More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Ethan rated it:

Richard Matheson
I Am Legend
New York: Atom Doherty, 1995
159 pp. $5.89
978-0-7653-5715-1

The last surviving man on Earth is a common plot, but also a very interesting one. Richard Matheson author of the book I Am Legend had a great plot idea, but executed it poorly in my opinion. I think he could have added more action and made everything a little less repetitive.

The reason I believe there should be more action in Richard Matheson’s novel, is because More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Debbie rated it:

This book (which has been made into 3 movies) is short and brief. Unlike many modern novels, it doesn't spend too much time dwelling on the buildup of what happened or the past. We are immediately thrown into the current existence of Robert Neville, the last man on earth. In flashbacks we learn what has happened and feel for him when he has to bring his daughter to the body dump. We understand his reluctance to take his wife there too and can understand his rage at these creatures and what i More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Needleroozer rated it:

I saw the film version of I Am Legend a few months ago, and I've been meaning to read the short story on which it was based. Finally I borrowed the book from the library and read the titular story in the collection.

WOW! The movie is nothing like the short story, which doesn't surprise me, but the movie is SO MUCH BETTER than the short story, which did surprise me. Of course, I did like the movie version of A Stir of Echoes infinitely more than I liked Matheson's novel version, so may More...

1 comment like

Jan 25, 2012

Ja rated it:

My brother recommended that I read this book when the movie came out. "The book's better," he said and in many ways I agree. The movie made absolutely no sense (what was with the freakin butterflies?!!), the creatures were some sort of zombies instead of vampires, and there was no connection to the title at all. The book, however, made a heck of a lot more sense, went into great detail about the "vampirus" that had plagued the majority of the population, and at the end, gu More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Ross rated it:

This book contains both the short novel (~160 pages) I Am Legend and a collection of Matheson's short stories. Overall, I thought the premise / plots were gripping, but I kept getting a little bugged by the writing. At times I felt I was slogging through the book - not because of the subject matter, but because of the rough, disjointed and unpolished writing. Granted, the stories are from another era (written in the '50s), but they lacked some of the polish I've seen in other great authors fr More...

1 comment like

Jan 25, 2012

Hotavio rated it:

I was quite fond of the movie "I am Legend". Unfortunately, I am going to admit that this is one story in which I enjoyed the movie better. The 150 page story isn't bad, I just liked nearly every element of the movie counterpart better (and there were HUGE differences between the two). For instance,the movie's zombies were far more scary than the trite vampire of the novel. I found that the vampire's allergies to garlic and crucifixes to be a little campy. The theme of isolationism More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Sylver rated it:

I've been thinking about this story ever since I saw the movie several months ago. I was very hesitant to read the book because I was afraid it would be too graphic, or too scary. Well, it is a scary story, and not because of the vampires, but because it's about a vampirism plague that wipes humanity out of the face of the earth. The main character, Robert Neville, lost both his wife and daughter to the pandemic. I think the scary part for me was imagining I was in his place, knowing that I coul More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Rachel rated it:

21W.758!

DEAR GOD, his throat moved a lot. Honestly. The phrase "His throat moved" occurred EVEN MORE than "chagrin" in a Smeyer novel. It was ridiculous. Yes, people get nervous twitches, but just like actually writing down every time someone would say "Dude", it gets goddamn obnoxious in writing.

So...it was well-done and annoying BECAUSE it was well-done. Reading the thought process of a guy going gradually crazy, while interesting, got More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Helen rated it:

If I could have rated this book zero for "hated it," I would have. Unbelievably, this is the book our local public library has chosen for the teen reading program's movie and book discussion activity this summer. My daughter told me the synopsis of the movie, as related to her by a friend, and it didn't seem too terrible, so I told her I would read the book first and let her know if it was worth reading or not. In this particular edition of the book, the actual story "I Am Lege More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Jacobi rated it:

I guess the hype was well deserved. This was easily one of the most well thought out horror stories I've had the pleasure of reading. Not much actually happens in the story, and instead it acts more like a character study than a story. Watching Robert tumble into madness, then action, and finally acceptance was a glorious thing.

There were some incredibly effective scenes in the book. The one with the dog almost (almost) brought me to tears, and his first encounter with the vampire in More...

5 comments like