Mass Market Paperback, 312 pages
English language
Published July 14, 2007 by Tor Books.
Neville is essentially the last man on earth, and the loneliness of his situation is the central part of the story. Matheson is able to communicate Neville's emotional feelings vividly, making him very real. We gradually acquire the story of the deaths of Neville's wife and daughter, essentially experiencing the pain he goes through when these memories overcome him. We watch him drink himself into a stupor as each night finds him besieged in his fortified house, surrounded by vampires, including his old friend and neighbor, calling for him to come out. We watch him slowly lose his grip on sanity and come very close to giving up.
Gripping story that incorporates a scientific explanation for vampires
Je viens de finir et franchement c’était trop court, mais quelle histoire ! Suite à une épidémie aussi insolite qu’inexpliquée (car on ne nous dit pas grand-chose des origines du fléau), l’Humanité se transforme en une multitude de vampires assoiffés. Robert Neville est désormais seul face à ces monstres, pas tout à fait morts mais pas très vivants non plus, enfin cela dépend, il faut lire le livre pour voir la différence. Bref, le quotidien de Neville est rythmé par des trucidations de vampires, la consolidation de sa maison, l’étude, et des beuveries occasionnelles. Le contexte est carrément angoissant, un homme seul face à ses anciens amis et voisins, plus tout à fait eux-mêmes, luttant pour sa survie. Classique mais efficace. La conclusion est une jolie réflexion sur l’Humanité, l’homme face à ses monstres, ses légendes. Car qui du vampire et du dernier Homme est vraiment une légende ?
First story I Am Legend totally lives up to it's billing as a FANTASTIC, original vampire tale. The vampire mythos that Matheson tore down with "scientific" explanations was incredibly thought out and detailed. My favorite part being where Neville showed the cross to Ben Cortman, who laughed in his face, then brought out the Torah and that set him off. Highly recommended story.
The next two--Buried Talents and The Near Departed were bad. Could have been better, but they were missed opportunities.
After that came Prey. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to realize that it was original story behind "The Doll"! The third short of 1975's Trilogy of Terror. Another winner.
Witch War was creepy and fun. I would love to see the story of the seven girls expanded upon.
Dance of the Dead sucked. They can't all be winners.
Dress of White Silk was another …
First story I Am Legend totally lives up to it's billing as a FANTASTIC, original vampire tale. The vampire mythos that Matheson tore down with "scientific" explanations was incredibly thought out and detailed. My favorite part being where Neville showed the cross to Ben Cortman, who laughed in his face, then brought out the Torah and that set him off. Highly recommended story.
The next two--Buried Talents and The Near Departed were bad. Could have been better, but they were missed opportunities.
After that came Prey. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised to realize that it was original story behind "The Doll"! The third short of 1975's Trilogy of Terror. Another winner.
Witch War was creepy and fun. I would love to see the story of the seven girls expanded upon.
Dance of the Dead sucked. They can't all be winners.
Dress of White Silk was another one the was eerie and vague. But a regular spine chiller!
Mad House kinda sucked. Where Buried Talents was a good idea that wasn't fleshed out enough, Mad House was a good idea that dragged on WAY to long. Ugh.
The Funeral was okay. Nothing too exciting.
From Shadowed Places not too bad, but again, nothing too exciting.
Person to Person was one of the better stories.
All told, I Am Legend remains the best of the lot and a good enough reason to pick up the book, even if it's the only one that you read.
The book I Am Legend is a short story collection, of which the story "I Am Legend" is the longest and best. I borrowed the book from a family member on Thanksgiving 2007, a couple weeks before the movie premiered. I did not read all of the other stories, but the ones I did read were pretty good.
I actually liked the movie, but think that the book was much better. The most prominent difference is the ending, which is one of the best I have ever read: The two runners up that come to mind are Amory Blaine's statement of "I know myself, but that is all" at the end of [b:This Side of Paradise|46165|This Side Of Paradise|F. Scott Fitzgerald|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170314430s/46165.jpg|2520849] and the haunting description of the shark at the end of [b:A Canticle for Leibowitz|164154|A Canticle for Leibowitz|Walter M. Miller Jr.|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172331601s/164154.jpg|250975].
I won't go into the details of …
The book I Am Legend is a short story collection, of which the story "I Am Legend" is the longest and best. I borrowed the book from a family member on Thanksgiving 2007, a couple weeks before the movie premiered. I did not read all of the other stories, but the ones I did read were pretty good.
I actually liked the movie, but think that the book was much better. The most prominent difference is the ending, which is one of the best I have ever read: The two runners up that come to mind are Amory Blaine's statement of "I know myself, but that is all" at the end of [b:This Side of Paradise|46165|This Side Of Paradise|F. Scott Fitzgerald|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170314430s/46165.jpg|2520849] and the haunting description of the shark at the end of [b:A Canticle for Leibowitz|164154|A Canticle for Leibowitz|Walter M. Miller Jr.|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172331601s/164154.jpg|250975].
I won't go into the details of the story, but as the predecessor to many of the other vampire and zombie stories and films I have come to enjoy, I have to say I was greatly impressed and pleasantly surprised by this story.
