I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
Rating: 9/10
"Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone.
An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him.
By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn.... " ~Amazon.com Description
This book is the real deal. If your only encounter with this zombie story is the movie starring Will Smith, let me ask you a question: Why is it called "I Am Legend"?
The movie changed the story quite a bit. So much so that I would consider them to be separate stories entirely where the only thing in common is a man living in a zombie-ridden world. I really enjoyed the movie, but if you're into zombies, you need to check out this book. (They're called "vampires" in the book, but they seem to be somewhere between modern representations of zombies and vampires.)
"I Am Legend" is a short read. It's gritty and psychological. It has a wonderfully chilling ending and I highly recommend it! I'm surprised it didn't become more popular when the movie came out.
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Seriously, if you have any intention of reading this book. Close this page and go purchase it on amazon. I Am Legend on amazon.com
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Ok, you're asking for it. I'm going to tell you the ending of the book and spoil the whole thing!
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Robert Neville spends his days tracking down and killing as many zombie/vampires as he can find while they are in their daytime comatose state. At night they taunt him and attack his house. Finally at the end of the book, his meager existence comes to an end when a group of men (similar to a SWAT team) break down his door and take him prisoner. It turns out that the zombie/vampires had formed a new society and the few that were taunting him at night were actually mentally insane. Most of these zombie/vampires are actually logical, intelligent beings. They are the new race of the Earth and Robert Neville was the last human being. They feared him as some horrifying mythical monster that comes while they are sleeping and murders whole families. He will go down in their new history books as an ancient beast of lore. He makes this realization at the end of the book.
"A coughing chuckle filled his throat. He turned and leaned against the wall while he swallowed the pills [to commit suicide]. Full circle, he thought while the final lethargy crept into his limbs. Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend." ~Last paragraph of the book.