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Nov 06, 2011

Stephen rated it:

Like Lucy, this rating is gonna take some splainin. Unfortunately, I don't have a slide show or any multi-colored pie charts to provide visual assistance on this one, so I will try to splain it as clearly as I can, but I will be using quite a few "i.e." and "e.g." to provide supporting clarification for my commentary given I am performing this review without the safety net of visual aids. Please, do not try this at home.

Oh, I've also decided to throw More...

62 comments like (68 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2010

Keely rated it:

I know there is a lot going for this book, in terms of popular opinion, influence, and originality, so you'll have to forgive me for interposing my body with the flywheel; we'll see what's left at the end.

In a discussion between Douglas Adams and Lewis Wolpert, the argument was made that the individual is unimportant in science, but is paramount in art. Walpert proposed that scientific discovery is inevitable, as the confluence of ideas will tend to produce parallel developments, suc More...

40 comments like (22 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Pallavi rated it:

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

2 comments like (31 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Morgue rated it:

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0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Oct 31, 2011

Lou rated it:

When i read this i was not on goodreads so a review now would not do justice, so this is up for a re-read. Matheson is such a good writer and this tale of one man's struggle to preserve the human race and find a way to stop the spread of the hungry beings is short but legendary. There has been quite a few adaptations but most have played with the story and changed some important parts the book is much better.
I Am Legend has been adapted to a feature-length film three times (or four, More...

10 comments like (11 people liked it)

Nov 21, 2007

Noah rated it:

Let me start by stating I had only one real criticism. I found many of the passages where Neville the main character was ranting and raving in despair, anger, or anguish to be a hair over the top. It’s not that the pain Neville feels is unwarranted. His feelings just don’t ring quite true. Of course, none of us have ever been in his situation, so who’s to say that we might all act in such a way given the circumstances.

I really had no other problems with the story and found myself agr More...

2 comments like (14 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Jim rated it:

I just re-read this after watching some of the movies based on it. It's truly a chilling book. It's an apocalyptic novel. The vampire plague has destroyed our society. Much of the book focuses on our hero's loneliness. When he finds an uninfected dog, his attempts to befriend it are almost pathetic & truly heart-wrenching. It's well worth reading.

There are 3 movies that I know of that are based on this book.

The Last Man On Earth starring Vincent Price in the mid 6 More...

3 comments like (11 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Andy rated it:

Ho-hum.

That's about all I can say about this book. I was really excited to read I Am Legend and the first 70 pages were astounding, but then it just slowly got less and less enjoyable.

You can't blame Matheson, though. When this book was first published in the mid-50s it was the first of its kind. A novella that took a scientific approach to explaining a virus that turned all but Robert Neville into a vampire.

Reading the novel I kept thinking "I've hear More...

7 comments like (13 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Sath rated it:

It's 1976, and the world's population has been wiped out by an unknown affliction. Robert Neville is the last man alive. Immune to the plague by some trick of fate, he is left alone in the world, with nothing but an unescapable will to continue living.

After dark, the dead population come to stand outside Neville's boarded up home, to taunt and torment him. He keeps them away with garlic, crosses and mirrors, lest they come after his blood. During the day he goes through houses st More...

9 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

F.R. rated it:

Reading a modern classic for the first time, one which has been adapted into a number of movies and to a certain extent has entered the culture, is a fine way to set oneself up for disappointment. How can it possibly match its reputation? How can it live up to the reader’s preconceptions? How can it meet expectations?

I’m pleased to say that Richard Matheson’s ‘I am Legend’ is a fantastic read which more than deserves its good name.

Despite the various adaptations making th More...

8 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

Chris rated it:

What a ride! I loved this book. The title novella was the main attraction, and took up more than half of it. It was very good, a solid 4+ star effort.

But what brought it up to 5 was the inclusion of 10 other great Matheson stories. These weren't simple filler; each story was enjoyable (and mostly creepy) on its own.

Matheson has a talent for giving readers a snapshot of another world/reality/time/possibility. He doesn't use pages and pages to describe the settings where th More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Fiona rated it:

I'm between giving this 4 and 5 stars so truly, this is more of a 4.5 stars.

I am Legend is - I can't believe it! I can't remember even why I got it in the first place. I rarely browse the adult fantasy section any more, I usually whip past it I admit. If I do go there it is a planned purchase.

I bought it during pre-deadline depression at my final year of university. I was intrigued because it is a classic - written in the 1950's and I guess when I think of fantasy or sci More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Jonathan rated it:

This book piqued my interest after hearing a coworker mention how good it was. Having just finished reading Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy and wanting to stick with the trend of books that will be movies released in Dec 07, I picked up a copy of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. Reading the summary on the back assured me that it would do wonders in washing out that young-love talking animals fantasy flavor that His Dark Materials Left in my mouth.

The text didn't let me do More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2011

Kaethe rated it:

The reader suspects that Matheson has issues. Big ones. With women and anger, primarily. But, as the Spouse pointed out, the first two thirds of "Legend" are brilliant. Neville teaching himself science in order to figure out the world he now lives in, that's quality stuff. His own obtuseness, however, sheesh.

The other stories are intense and clever, but I don't recommend reading them all together. Matheson's world is a miserable place.

Library copy

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Two points I want to make: A) the movie was crap, especially when compared to the book, and B) this is so much more than just a vampire novel.

First, the whole movie thing. In both, Robert Neville is the last human alive on Earth--and that is where all similarities end. If you've seen the movie, it won't ruin the book for you as the two are nothing alike. The setting is different, the protagonist is different (except for a shared name), the creatures are different (vampires in More...

10 comments like (13 people liked it)

Apr 16, 2008

D_Davis rated it:

Finally getting around to reading a beloved book can be a task filled with apprehension. After years of hype and praise, there is a good chance that the book might be a disappointment, due to no faults of its own. Often times, I avoid these books. Not because they are popular, or for any silly reasons as such, but because I figure books like these are already well-loved and respected, and I would rather spend some time discovering and praising other books. So, with a little hesitation, I finally More...

6 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2007

Kelly rated it:

Eh. While I can appreciate the reasons this book is considered influential, in the end I wanted to like it much more than I did. I liked the whole last man standing angle and the scientific approach to the traditional vampire tale was pretty innovative but ultimately I was let down.

The erratic pacing of the story and the disjointed narrative grabbed my attention much more than Robert Neville's struggle to survive. For example, on page 55 of my edition, right after Neville re More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Lori rated it:

I picked this book up based on some reviews i had read online. I was a little scketchy due to the fact that it was a vampire-based novellete written in the 50's and i was afraid it would end up similar to dracula.

I was very impressed with the authors writing, very modern and engaging. Its a quick read, being in the 170pgs range, and follows the daily and nightly rituals of one man preparing himself and his home to fight and defend the nightly attacks by vampires and those infected w More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Nov 04, 2010

Paul rated it:

I so remember this one was the first thing I read all in one without a break because I couldn't do anything except read it, I was as hypnotised as a rabbit in the headlights of a big van being driven by fifty vampire-things with AC/DC blasting on the radio. Man, what a freakout. Those were the great days of reading when every page was like an explosion.

4 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 14, 2009

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it:

Review of I Am Legend

Several GR friends have read this and raved about it recently. I've been doing a lot of Halloween-related books this month, so I decided to give it a try.

It somehow wasn't exactly what I expected, and I mean that in a good way. I've seen bits of the Will Smith movie (and what I've seen has very little in common with the book), I've read my friends' reviews, but it's still something that I think you have to experience for yourself to understand.
More...

6 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Lou rated it:

When i read this i was not on goodreads so a review now would not do justice, so this is up for a re-read. Matheson is such a good writer and this tale of one man's struggle to preserve the human race and find a way to stop the spread of the hungry beings is short but legendary. There has been quite a few adaptations but most have played with the story and changed some important parts the book is much better.
I Am Legend has been adapted to a feature-length film three times (or four, More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Bel rated it:

Four fifths of the way through and the only thing on my mind was how incredibly boring and one-dimensional Robert Neville is. You would think that someone forced into solitude and surrounded by death and insanity would have a wonderfully colourful and twisted mind - if you're going to have a book revolving around a single character, make him a really good one. So, it wasn't until he began chasing, abusing and kidnapping a woman in the name of science (everything in this book was tunnel-viewed 'i More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Ricardo rated it:

Único sobrevivente de uma praga cujos efeitos se assemelham ao vampirismo, Robert Neville subsiste apesar das dificuldades, matando vampiros de dia e barricando-se em casa de noite, tentando não só proteger-se das insaciáveis criaturas, mas também manter a sua própria sanidade.

O livro diferencia-se pela sua abordagem científica em detrimento dos fundamentos mitológicos que normalmente suportam as histórias de vampiros, algo que, no entanto, levou a uma desactualização acentuada pelo av More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Sandi rated it:

I'm going to start by saying that I really enjoyed the most recent movie version of I Am Legend. I thought it was really well-done. I knew that it wasn't anything like the book, but it was a good movie as it was. It's one of those movies that I'm glad I saw without having the book in my head to contrast it to.

That said, I enjoyed the book immensely too. It is very different than the movie, and that's okay. They can be different and each can be judged on it's own merits. I was a More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 15, 2010

Miss Kim rated it:

Ok, So Kim didn't realize this is book of short stories. I am Legend was excellent. Imagine my surprise when I got to page 157, and turned the page and though ‘What?! Really? It can’t be over.’ But it was. I felt for Robert Neville, and I didn’t want it to be over so quickly.

Written in the 50’s, this takes place in the future of the late 70’s. Neville is the last human on earth. A plague has wiped out everyone, and those that did not die have become horrible monsters. They are More...

10 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

notgettingenough rated it:

I must warn you, this book has The Omega Man all wrong. Anybody would think the author hadn't even seen the film. As somebody who loved the film, may I say the book's still bloody brilliant. I started it at lunchtime today and had to finish it.

I have no way of judging it as a vampire book, never having read one. Are Jewish vampires scared of the Cross? For all I know this is the sort of theological nicety vampire-book-readers fill their days with. It was all new to me.

Sti More...

12 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

jzhunagev rated it:

I am Legend by Richard Matheson (A Book Review)

After reading this masterpiece by Richard Matheson, I was overtaken by a great feeling of regret; regret that I had to wait for so long just to sink my (fanged) teeth into this magnificent post-apocalyptic vampire story; regret that I saw the recent movie adaptation of the same title first before reading it. But then again the movie is a good one, in itself.

If you haven’t heard of nor made aware of this book’s existe More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2010

Annalisa rated it:

If a movie is adapted from a book, I refuse to watch it until I've read the book. Had I known this was a story beforehand, I would have read it first. As it is, my review leans heavily on a comparison between the story and the blockbuster film, a movie I liked until I read this book (ok technically it's a novella) and realized how much they messed with the essence of the story. I would love to see an old black and white Hitchcock-esque film as the story was intended. The writing's not great, but More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 06, 2011

Chris rated it:

The Boyfriend really wants to see this movie - which is a little surprising, because our tastes in film are rather divergent - so I thought I'd re-read the book just to have it fresh in my mind when we went to the theater.

Damn, I forgot how good this book is.

It's a swift read - I got it finished in a working day - but there is no wasted space. Matheson creates a tension that carries you through the book and never lets up. Brilliant work.

The story is pretty sim More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 19, 2008

Eric rated it:

The short story that became last year's film (and, in an earlier incarnation, "The Omega Man") is here along with some of Matheson's other sordid tales of the macabre. The story "I Am Legend" is markedly different from the film in that the creatures are actually vampires as opposed to the crazed zombies in the Will Smith pic (not to mention the story is set in LA versus the film's New York). What I most enjoyed about the story was how the author really gets into the head of More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)