Robert Neville is the last living man on earth ... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet 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 the dawn. How long can one man survive like this?
I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks)
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Amazon 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
62 of 68 people found the following review helpful
By David Caton
Format: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.
24 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By Lendrick
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It is hard to think or a darker book - Richard Neville is the last man alive the rest of the population turned into vampires by a mysterious bug. By day he scavanges the deserted city and seeks out sleeping vampires to kill, while at night he sits in his fortified house listening to the vampires howl for his blood.
But this isn't just a excuse for horror, it a novel about the nature of man which will make you think as well as scaring you.
Written in 1954 this is a timeless classic - I wonder if Matheson now regrets the then so futuristic 1970s setting - it is the only thing that dates the book. An influence on so many others, Steven King and George Romero for a start. This should be on any list of great novels of the 20th century.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By C. Oflaherty
Format:Paperback
I bought this because it was number two in the masterworks series, which has been a goldmine of excellent science fiction: Gateway, Forever War etc.
I was a little dubious about reading a vampire book. I went through a bit of a phase as a teenager, and it had all been a bit cheesy and romanticised, more about the costumes than horror. I also read Dracula many years ago and was decidedly underwhelmed. This, was however, unexpectedly excellent.
Reading this novel is a little like being locked inside the main characters small shuttered house, with occasional forays into the sunlit world outside. This is because at first the only knowledge of the world you have is through his fear, and his hatred of the vampires; but gradually this is added to by his recollections of the past, of his realisations about the world he is now living in. This mirroring between the reader's knowledge and the main character's world is an excellent method of creating empathy with a character with whom you are not always meant to agree, but are at least expected to comprehend his choices.
The vampires of this world are not a mythical, and mysterious creation, but a scientific fact and undeniable truth in John Neville's world. This makes them both more frightening and more sympathetic, because regardless of their present situation and their needs they were once people. The question the book ultimately poses is what is it that makes us human?
I was a little dubious about reading a vampire book. I went through a bit of a phase as a teenager, and it had all been a bit cheesy and romanticised, more about the costumes than horror. I also read Dracula many years ago and was decidedly underwhelmed. This, was however, unexpectedly excellent.
Reading this novel is a little like being locked inside the main characters small shuttered house, with occasional forays into the sunlit world outside. This is because at first the only knowledge of the world you have is through his fear, and his hatred of the vampires; but gradually this is added to by his recollections of the past, of his realisations about the world he is now living in. This mirroring between the reader's knowledge and the main character's world is an excellent method of creating empathy with a character with whom you are not always meant to agree, but are at least expected to comprehend his choices.
The vampires of this world are not a mythical, and mysterious creation, but a scientific fact and undeniable truth in John Neville's world. This makes them both more frightening and more sympathetic, because regardless of their present situation and their needs they were once people. The question the book ultimately poses is what is it that makes us human?
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Steven Moses
Format:Paperback
The Millenennium SF series is a bit of mixed bag of so called 'classic' and seminal sci-fi of the 20th century. 'I Am Legend' rightly deserves it's place in that list but not necessarily as a sci-fi novel. But it's a bit of a curate's egg. In fact it's not even a horror novel per se. There's a blend of sci-fi, post-apocalyptical musings ( more so in the movie based loosely on the book), some horror of course. But this novella is more a psychological examination of what it's like to be the last man alive. Matheson is an expert at leading us into the mind of a man without the companionship of his fellows. I won't spoil the plot as there are some brilliant and unexpected twists but the chapters concerned with Neville's discovery of a dog, company he has craved for for three years, is stunning and I defy anyone not to be moved to tears. I love the film, which is why I bought the book initially, but after reading it I'm afraid Heston et al missed out on a better adaptation. Near perfect.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book
Love this book! I am legend is my favorite film and the book lived up to expectations, even if the film did deviate from the plot. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Jacob Barker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless
I don't think you'd realise the era. Just as good now, stands out in the description of desperate isolation.
Miles better than the film
Miles better than the film
Published 17 days ago by Chris Brearton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book
I was expecting something similar to the film, and although the premise wasn't a million miles away, the book is so much better. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Clark
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting reversal...
It was certainly different to read a book where the human was the barbaric animal instead of the infected individual. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Jessica
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite amazing.
If you can can get hold of a copy like I was able to, it'll be well worth the money. Forgot Will Smith.....this is the real thing.
Published 1 month ago by S. Kirk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book!
Better than the film by a mile! Well written, gripping and most of all its a definite must read!!
Matt
Matt
Published 1 month ago by Matt Johnson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good book.
If you like the movie, you will like this book. It's not very long, one of those book that you can finish in a day.
Published 2 months ago by Lina
5.0 out of 5 stars
vampires
i loved the film but the book is so much better! you can't put it down. flattened the kindle battery! can't recommend high enough it's a classic!
Published 2 months ago by julie mcphail
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book but cover is not what is shown here
I really enjoyed this book but I hate the way Amazon reduces its UK taxes. There is wonderful writing here but we all need to shout loud until Amazon pays its fair share. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Buzbee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forget about sparkeling vampires!
This is one of the most heartbreaking and beautifully written stories that have ever been written. It is a post apocalyptic book about single man's struggle to stay alive in a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rita
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