I Am Legend
Author: Richard Matheson
Genre: Science Fiction
Year: 1954
Rating: 9 of 10
Many of you have probably seen at least one of the three movies adapted from this short novel. All three of the films pale in comparison with the book and leave out its most compelling aspects. I Am Legend is a story about vampires but takes a fresh science fiction interpretation of the classic monster. What struck me as the most important element of this book was the way that emotion was handled and this is where the films truly lacked. The situation that the protagonist is in is vividly and accurately expressed, a perfect portrayal of what one might go through under the circumstance of being alone and being surrounded by perceived monsters. I particularly enjoyed the analysis of why vampires are afraid of crosses, Matheson develops a perfectly plausible explanation for all of the classic vampire tropes and does so in such a way that pushes the book from the territory of horror into science fiction. I won’t give away the ending but it really brings the horror and existential crisis home in a gruesome way.
Purchase: Buy!