I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I read I Am Legend several months ago,… and it is a fast paced, relentless story about the end of mankind as we know it. I don’t know about you but there’s something about an “end of the world, we’re all screwed and it’s all thanks to our own arrogance” story which is kind of irresistible to me. Apparently there have been some movies based on the book… the only one I’ve seen is the recent I Am Legend with Will Smith, which I’ll discuss a smidgen below.

Summary: This book is right up there with some of my favourites, as it really asks some deep meaningful questions, while at the same time having some good Vampire butt kicking.

A guest post by Ian.

In the book life as we know it is over and the cause is not really well understood. However, the outcome is certain, everyone is pretty well dead or turned into vacuous shells. Most of humanity is living as pseudo-vampires, which can only come out at night, and can be killed with a stake to the heart. Well, as you might imagine the main character, Robert Neville, is a rather depressed fellow. His family is dead, and everyone he knows is effectively dead, or turned into these Vampire-like beings. At night he goes out searching for supplies, food, and to kill any vampire he comes into contact with. During the day he holes up in his house, which he’s converted into a fortress from the outside world, while being assailed by these creatures. His neighbour, who he knew in his previous life, is particulary noisome, calling out Neville’s name the whole day making sleep all but impossible. Without giving too much of the plot away, Neville meets other survivor’s, including a dog, which becomes his only companion for much of the book. The thing that was so interesting about this book, is the ending, which recategorizes what we think of as normal, and lends the real meaning to the title “I am legend”. This book is not long, but it is right up there with some of my favourites, as it really asks some deep meaningful questions, while at the same time having some good Vampire butt kicking. The book I would rate as a must read,… I really can’t imagine anyone not liking it.

The movie “I Am Legend” with Will Smith, was completely unfaithful to the book, to the point where I would say it was more loosely based on it more than anything. Will Smith as Robert Neville, is surrounded by Vampire like creatures which were created by a virus which was designed to erradicate cancer. Not so far fetched in fact, since most Gene Therapy experiments involve some viral delivery vehicle to insert DNA into target cells. The outcome is a tad far fetched, but hey, it’s hollywood. The creatures are a little too manic, think more like the super-zombies from 28 days later. Neville was involved in creating the virus so he spends a good deal of time trying to cure it. The end is completely different, and in fact the meaning behind “I am Legend” changes completely. But it works, mostly because of good acting and some great scenes showing the complete desolation of New York. The story is not bad, and because I read the book and was expecting a certain ending, having it be different, but at the same time work, was actually quite nice.