Hi to your all!
Love my books, love my movies and I look forward to writing more reviews on them!
Hi to your all!
Love my books, love my movies and I look forward to writing more reviews on them!
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:11
Beat this for a premise! It is the future. The human race as we know it no longer exists. Every man, woman and child has become a vampire, comatose and in hiding from the sun by day, out en masse and in search of blood by night. However, incredibly, one individual has survived - Robert Neville, the last man alive on earth. During the hours of daylight, Neville stalks what is left of his native Los Angeles, culling as many of the vampires as he can. As darkness arrives he hurries back home, locks himself inside his fortress of a house and prepares for another night of vampires gathering outside his abode, screaming at him to come out. Now that's what I call imagination!
Richard Matheson books are somewhat hard to get hold of in libraries and bookshops these days (thank heavens for online shopping!). I can only assume it is because his (novel) output isn't particularly prolific - eight novels in just under fifty
years. It is a pity because it may mean that Matheson may not get the vast (modern) audience that his writing deserves.
So what makes him so good? First of all, his style of writing is crisp and economical. This is particularly evident here. Paragraphs are short, the story moves quickly. At no stage does the reader feel that the story is becoming bogged down with unnecessary descriptive sidetracks. I would say that Stephen King, a writer by his own admission heavily influenced by Matheson, is my favourite author - he writes beautifully. However some of King's more recent works ('Bag of Bones' comes to mind) could have been equally effective if they were 50 to 100 pages shorter. At just over 150 pages, 'I am Legend' is actually a rather brief novel and it is no longer than it needs to be.
Secondly, no writer seems to be better at summarising the human condition. It should be impossible for the reader realistically to empathise with what Neville goes through and yet we genuinely seem to share his mental turmoil. His confusion as to why he strives so hard to survive when in reality he has little to survive for. His helplessness at having been forced into a life of celibacy. His frustration at reaching conclusions that should have been obvious to him long beforehand. Again, this is all done very economically and to maximum effect.
Thirdly - and this is what I particularly like - you often start a chapter thinking you know which way the narrative is heading and then Matheson will take the story off in a direction you never expected. The constant sudden shifts in plot really enhance the excitement.
I'd call this an 'intelligent' horror novel. It has often been classed as a science fiction book of course. Matheson treats the subject with plenty of humour but practically no irony. He has Neville scientifically approach all the elements of the vampire myth (fear of crosses, to garlic, craving for blood) to find the best way to fight his adversaries. While Neville is no super-hero we learn that he has an army background, which gives credence to his ability to defend himself effectively on the occasions he is forced into hand to hand combat with the vampires. We also have a plausible suggestion as to why he has survived being turned into a vampire himself.
It is not perfect. To the layman (such as me!), some of the biological discourse about blood cells and the immune system comes across as rather dry. Michael Crichton is the only author I know that can pull off the difficult trick of incorporating scientific details into a novel in an informative and entertaining way. But this is a minor complaint. Despite the horrific subject matter, I can't recall genuinely enjoying a book as much since I read Wilbur Smith's 'River God' a couple of years ago.
You will notice below that my response to the question 'Would you read this again' is 'No, never'. This is for one simple reason. I never re-read books! Once you've finished a novel and you know how the plot has unfolded, the book will never be as enjoyable as first time around. Since I shall not be re-reading 'I am Legend' I shall do the next best thing and recommend strongly that you do!
James, 2 words, Top Op. An amazing book complimented by an amazing review, good work. Personally I think the story has filmic potential, and I can’t believe that someone hasn’t already adapted it for the big screen. Maybe that’s a job for me in the future?
sandrabarber 25.03.2001 15:51
Not my kind of book but your op is excellent - well written and intelligent.
janehammill 25.03.2001 15:14
superb op james,sounds like a new author for me to try thanks,cheers jane
It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic ... more
reprints series. I Am Legend, though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it presen...
Postage & Packaging: refer to website Availability: Check Site.
It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic ... more
reprints series.I Am Legend, though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it present...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Classic vampire fiction, that opened our perspective to creatures outside Victorian melodrama. Disadvantages: There are none. If you read horror, read this.
Advantages: Will leave you knowing more about vampires than you truely desired Disadvantages: The novel is too short, i would have liked to see it drawn out more
Advantages: Great descriptions of 'cyberpunk' post-apocalyptic future, excellent ideas Disadvantages: Some concepts are hard to understand, and the science is often a little unbelievable
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