Will I love I Am Legend?

This book combines two of my favorite genres—horror and science fiction.

It was written in the early 1950s when science ruled, and the Atomic bomb threatened. The end of the world was a favorite science fiction topic back then, but Matheson (who wrote in both horror and sci-fi genres) did the unthinkable by combining classic vampire tropes with an apocalyptic thriller. 

The fun for me is that there is not just one vampire, but a whole world of them! And the vampire hunter (always part of a team in most horror stories) is all alone in his fight for survival.… show more.

I‘ve always been fascinated by the dividing line between human and monster. Because, what is a monster?

I know, this kind of question will usually get a quick answer, but I have been thinking about this particular question for quite some time now. I am Legend revolves around this question, and I love it for that. I also love it for the somewhat unexpected twist in the end, and that one can be interpreted as an answer.

Anyway, for me, this book got me thinking about morale and ethics and other stuff. I just like it when a book gets… show more.

Legends are made of powerful stuff, and nothing has greater power than a total flip in perspective. I still recall the gut-punch end to this book, though it’s been decades since I read it. 

Robert Neville is a vampire hunter by day and a tormented man by night. As seemingly the only living human in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, Robert faces depression, isolation, alcoholism, and his undead neighbor, Ben Cortman, who appears outside Robert’s front door each night chanting, "Come out, Neville."

But when Robert is finally captured, and the truth of his situation is revealed, he gets a good look… show more.

Like many novels from the 1950s, the early sci-fi writers had a profound influence on post-golden age sci-fi works.

Matheson, along with Shelley’s concept of zombies has set the stage for countless scary stories. This book alone has been adapted into three movies, and with actors Vincent Price, Charlton Heston, and Will Smith show the interest in the zombie phenomenon.

I love this book for its deep human factors of isolation, loneliness, and even in the most depressing situations survival is a fundamental need, until it’s grinder down to nothingness. I have always been drawn to Matheson for his work… show more.

This book is a classic example of exceptional world building and detail. The lone human survivor among a word now ruled by vampires, Robert Neville’s daily existence is expertly documented by Matheson. Each meal and drink he prepares to get through his daily horror feels so real. His isolation feels so real. The descriptions of what it would actually be like to fall asleep at night when an army of vampires is patiently waiting outside your house is beyond gripping. Despite solid efforts from those involved, the film adaptation that was later made doesn’t scratch the surface of the power… show more.

A horror classic that crisscrosses the vampire and the zombie genres with a post-apocalyptic world. This book had a huge impact on me when I first read it. [spoilers] to have the narrator battle so hard against the world and then at the end accept that it was no longer worth fighting changed my idea of what novels could do. Endings were not always about winning.

Arguably the most influential vampire novel since Dracula, I Am Legend is one of my all-time favorites. Upon publication, vampire tales were almost universally set in far-off lands or gothic metropolitan areas, usually period pieces, and strictly supernatural in nature. But Matheson set I Am Legend in a suburban neighborhood, in the then-near-future, and explored vampires created and driven by a germ. Called an “inspiration” by Stephen King (who also named Matheson as “the author who influenced me the most as a writer”), I Am Legend left me wondering how I would manage to survive as… show more.

Contrary to its famous film adaptation, I Am Legend is a dark social commentary about isolation and depression. After losing his family to a vampire virus, the main character is desperate to belong, but his pessimism is palpable throughout the novel. It's this dichotomy between loneliness and callousness that's makes the novels so relatable, even with its tragic ending.

You may have heard of this because of the movie starring Will Smith. It’s a 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. This book is very powerful in many ways. The loneliness and isolation the main character feels surrounded by monstrous creatures that used to be human is something that sticks with you. It’s a brilliant book that influenced my own story of being alone and fighting for survival.

I Am Legend is the best Science Fiction novel ever written about vampires and the whole notion of surviving the end of the world. I read it once a year because it is short, and the novel never ceases to blow my mind. Several movies have been made from the book, with the best being The Omega Man with Charlton Heston as Robert Neville, the last living man on Earth in a world populated by (in the novel, vampires; in the movie version with Heston, zombies). The novel also inspired Night of the Living Dead. Matheson’s writing places you… show more.