I Am Legend (Sf Masterworks 02)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic reprints series. I Am Legend, though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it presents vampirism as a disease whose secrets can be unlocked by scientific tools. The hero Robert Neville, perhaps the last uninfected man on Earth, finds himself in a paranoid nightmare. By night, the bloodthirsty undead of small-town America besiege his barricaded house: their repeated cry "Come out, Neville!" is a famous SF catchphrase. By day, when they hide in shadow and become comatose, Neville gets out his wooden stakes for an orgy of slaughter. He also discovers pseudoscientific explanations, some rather strained, for vampires' fear of light, vulnerability to stakes though not bullets, loathing of garlic, and so on. What gives the story its uneasy power is the gradual perspective shift which shows that by fighting monsters Neville is himself becoming monstrous--not a vampire but something to terrify vampires and haunt their dreams as a dreadful legend from the bad old days. I Am Legend was altered out of recognition when filmed as The Omega Man (1971), starring Charlton Heston. Avoid the movie; read the book. --David Langford
Review
"I Am Legend is a better, tighter, sharper book than Dracula which makes it the best vampire novel ever written. It's a terrifying thriller, but also a canny moral lesson with an unforgettable finish." (Kim Newman EMPIRE )
"Parts are very scary and vivid, while there's also the tale of a man who lives alone and spends his days scavenging for food and desperately hoping to find another human, and his nights in fear. Don't just see the film, experience this story as it was first told." (John West COVENTRY TELEGRAPH ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
"Parts are very scary and vivid, while there's also the tale of a man who lives alone and spends his days scavenging for food and desperately hoping to find another human, and his nights in fear. Don't just see the film, experience this story as it was first told." (John West COVENTRY TELEGRAPH ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The original "Blade"?,
By
This review is from: I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)
I know it sounds like a bunch of cliches but this book gripped me so much I couldn't put it down and read it in just a few hours. A sometimes bleak study of the human condition it is also engrossing, thought-provoking and moving. It is also one of the few "horror" novels out of hundreds I have read that have genuinely scared me.Basically it is the story of Robert Neville, the lone survivor of a plague that sends its victims into a coma, followed eventually by death and vampirism. By day Neville hunts sleeping plague victims and vampires and disposes of them in the traditional manner. By night he locks himself away while hordes of vampires attack his well-defended house. Eventually he seeks scientific explanations for the causes of vampirism and tries to find a cure. In that respect I think the story must have been an influence on the Blade comics and movies (just don't expect hi-tech weapons, martial arts and cool shades!!). As Neville becomes more resigned to his situation, and gradually gets used to the nightly attacks of vampires on his well-defended house, so does the reader. The vampires become almost incidental and the writing focusses more on Neville's thoughts and preoccupations. Until, that is, Neville loses track of time and gets caught outside, miles from home at nightfall. It is a testament to Matheson's writing that at this point the thought of being in Neville's position and having to run the gauntlet of vampires waiting for him outside his only safe haven is truly terrifying! The pseudo-scientific explanations for the characteristics of vampirism seem a little silly, especially the "body glue", but these are really incidental to the story, as is the futuristic 1970's setting, and you shouldn't let these put you off. I would recommend this book to anyone.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warrior of the wasteland,
By
This review is from: I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks) (Paperback)
I hadn't heard of Richard Matheson's post-apocalyptic novella until the film adaptation came out. After seeing that somewhat messy movie, I was inspired to seek out the source novel. Now, I think it's always better to watch a film version of a novel first, as it's usually less frustrating; the book is dark, eerie and ultimately harrowing, and I was gripped by Matheson's prose and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it. I would definitely recommend this novella to Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans and to those who simply like to read quality fiction. This edition is a reasonable price on here too.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I am Legend,
By
This review is from: I Am Legend (Gollancz) (Paperback)
Excellent SF by Richard Matheson. In an alternative present or near future the human civilization has been destroyed by a virus that turns people into vampires. The story focuses on Robert Neville, maybe the only human who seems to be immune. On the days he drives around the empty city looking for resources and make his house/stronghold more resistant. In the night the vampires arrive and try to break in. The story is very well written and full of suspense. And very dark. Not exactly a feelgood book.Mathesons' novel was made into a movie in 1970: "Omega Man" with Charlton Heston in the role of Neville. The film is very well worth watching, if just to compare with the novel. There are many differences which is interesting. (Also "I am Legend" was recently made into a film by some Hollywood studio with Will Smith as Neville. I haven't seen it but I really don't think it is as dark as the novel, or half as interesting.)
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