Paperback, 160 pages
English language
Published Jan. 6, 1954 by Fawcett Publications.
I Am Legend is a 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel by American writer Richard Matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), and I Am Legend (2007). It was also an inspiration behind Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Je rappelle à toutes fins utiles qu'il n'existe qu'une seule adaptation de ce livre en film, dont le titre est The Last Man on Earth, avec Vincent Price. Bonne séance à vous.
Good story ending. The writing really shows its age and the era it was written in, but still wasn't too bad and I'm glad I read it.
loved this, million times better than the movie. One of those rare books where you just have to keep coming back to it and you are always looking for a time you can read a bit more.
Robert Neville is the main character in this book, he lives in his house on his own and has to deal with attacks from vampires every night. the story deals with his loneliness and bouts of madness. Very moving at times and I also found myself laughing along with the character now and then. Vampires are discussed in medical terms and as Robert is still learning from books, things are kept at a level to allow idiots (like me) to understand what's going on.
Top book that will get a re-read one day.
Did you see the movie? If yes, forget what you watched and read this book. If no, don't watch the movie and instead read this book.
Different, and infinitely better, this book will take you on an emotional ride. Imagine you are the last uninfected human on earth. Vampires are everywhere. You spend your days scavenging around, taking what you can find from the remains the dead left behind. You spend your nights holed up in your house, listening to the infected attempting to get in. Imagine you find a friend, a companion. A sliver of hope. But life is unpredictable, and so is this book.
Read it, but have something happy to read immediately afterwards to cleanse your soul. I chose "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler, but you can choose whatever you would like, as long as it makes you happy.
Don't watch the movie. Read the book instead.
liked it so much I read it in 3 sittings.
Le mythe du vampire est revisité de façon magistrale dans ce roman à mi-chemin entre la science-fiction et l'horreur. Je découvre ce roman bien tard mais c'est un chef d'oeuvre de la science-fiction que j'aurais dû lire il y a bien longtemps.
I loved it. I had so many different emotions while reading it. Anger, fear, disgust... I will recommend it to anyone.
I got frustrated when reaching the middle of the book, not knowing this was a series of novels, more than one single story. But although uneven, some stories really are beautifully written. I found "From Shadowed Places" particularly intense.
I loved it. I had so many different emotions while reading it. Anger, fear, disgust... I will recommend it to anyone.
I got frustrated when reaching the middle of the book, not knowing this was a series of novels, more than one single story. But although uneven, some stories really are beautifully written. I found "From Shadowed Places" particularly intense.
I loved it. I had so many different emotions while reading it. Anger, fear, disgust... I will recommend it to anyone.
I got frustrated when reaching the middle of the book, not knowing this was a series of novels, more than one single story. But although uneven, some stories really are beautifully written. I found "From Shadowed Places" particularly intense.
I loved it. I had so many different emotions while reading it. Anger, fear, disgust... I will recommend it to anyone.
I got frustrated when reaching the middle of the book, not knowing this was a series of novels, more than one single story. But although uneven, some stories really are beautifully written. I found "From Shadowed Places" particularly intense.
Wow, this was different to the movies claiming to be based on this book; what happened? No zombie apocalypse like I was expecting instead we have vampires. I went in expecting one thing and ended up enjoying something completely different.
Much, much better than the movie of the same name, although considering how awful the movie is, that doesn't really give a good idea of the quality of Matheson's novella. The movie is about goofy looking CGI monsters that roar at the Fresh Prince. The novella is about vampires and the efforts of the last man on Earth (thankfully not the Fresh Prince) to stop them. While the movie focuses on the conflict between the Fresh Prince and scary things that jump out of nowhere and roar, the novella focuses more with the internal conflicts that plague the last man on Earth. The main character has to deal with feelings of boredom, depression, hopelessness, and a passionate zeal for "solving" the vampire problem. The movie wants you to be scared of what's outside the house trying to get in, whereas the novella makes it clear that the real terror is …
Much, much better than the movie of the same name, although considering how awful the movie is, that doesn't really give a good idea of the quality of Matheson's novella. The movie is about goofy looking CGI monsters that roar at the Fresh Prince. The novella is about vampires and the efforts of the last man on Earth (thankfully not the Fresh Prince) to stop them. While the movie focuses on the conflict between the Fresh Prince and scary things that jump out of nowhere and roar, the novella focuses more with the internal conflicts that plague the last man on Earth. The main character has to deal with feelings of boredom, depression, hopelessness, and a passionate zeal for "solving" the vampire problem. The movie wants you to be scared of what's outside the house trying to get in, whereas the novella makes it clear that the real terror is the isolation of being the last man on Earth, which makes the novella infinitely more interesting and enjoyable than the movie.
I'm not really a great fiction reader but this story sounded interesting. I enjoyed the story a lot and think it is well worth a read if you like horror, vampires or last man alive in the world scenarios.
The ending of the book is darker than the movie.
So if you enjoyed the movie, I think you'll enjoy the book too. Actually, if you thought you would enjoy the movie but found it a bit silly in places don't write of the book. The vampires are more vampire-like and are clawing at his door in a tamer way from day one.
I think there is still scope for a more true to the novel film adaptation.
I also didn't realize that "I Am Legend" is just one story of many in a collection of short stories.
[re-post from my old blog]
I got this one at the same time as I got [b:The Golden Compass|119322|The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)|Philip Pullman|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510AEGjZ9yL.SL75.jpg|1536771] from the library, so I went on a bit of a movie magic binge. I bought this one at the local drug store, so it featured Will Smith on the cover. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but it turns out that I Am Legend is actually a novella, and so the rest of the book is filled with about a dozen more short stories of his (some of them are only a couple of pages!)
I enjoyed the beginning of the story, as man against monsters, but gradually the main character became annoying. He did a lot of whining. It would occasionally pick up steam when he'd go face to face again, but then peter out in some long …
[re-post from my old blog]
I got this one at the same time as I got [b:The Golden Compass|119322|The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)|Philip Pullman|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510AEGjZ9yL.SL75.jpg|1536771] from the library, so I went on a bit of a movie magic binge. I bought this one at the local drug store, so it featured Will Smith on the cover. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but it turns out that I Am Legend is actually a novella, and so the rest of the book is filled with about a dozen more short stories of his (some of them are only a couple of pages!)
I enjoyed the beginning of the story, as man against monsters, but gradually the main character became annoying. He did a lot of whining. It would occasionally pick up steam when he'd go face to face again, but then peter out in some long diatribe against life - not very heroic. Then things change radically on him and it all ends rather abruptly and, I have to be honest here, confusingly. I'm not really sure what the heck was going on at the end, but I doubt the movie ends the same way! I also found the quaint anachronisms (like a push button starter on the car) strangely irritating. Oh well, it was a short ride anyway.
