I am gobsmacked
 Apr 20th, 2001
Advantages:
Amazing premise, claustrophobic and creepy
Disadvantages:
The ending leaves something to be desired
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Would you read it again?
Story
Characters
Readability
How does it compare to other works by the same author?
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  MonkeyboyUK
About me:
I've just completed my BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Film & Television degree at Bournemouth Uni. I go...
Member since:26.07.2000
Reviews:96
Members who trust:5
Review rated by 14 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Read Comment
"The only way to survive in the world of the living dead is to destroy. In the empty streets of daylight, you hunt them down. At night, there's nowhere to go but your barricaded house. Outside, the inhabitants of the town gather. Once your family and neighbours, now they come at sunset, snarling and screaming...how long can a man survive alone against the vampires?" If the blurb hasn't hooked you, read on...
It's hard to describe both the excellence and influence of this book without dribbling and soiling your pants. The fact that it was written way back in 1954, yet is still such a compelling read even today, proves that it is a true sci-fi classic. It's also short and to the point: 151 pages. I read it in one sitting (11pm to 3am), unable to put it down. The central premise is enough to give you the creeps. The year is 1976. Robert Neville is, to his knowledge, the last living man on Earth. A virus has wiped out the majority of civilisation, leaving the survivors as mindless, bloodthirsty vampires, but he is immune.
At night, Neville sits in his pokey little house, fortified with whatever meagre defences he can erect, under siege from the hordes of pasty-faced bloodsuckers. One of the most chilling aspects of this situation is that one of the monsters is his former neighbour and colleague, Ben Cortman, now reduced to screaming for his friend to "Come out, Neville!". Wavering between a grim determination to survive and a helpless apathy, Neville kills the vampires where they sleep during the day, whilst teaching himself biology in an attempt to formulate an antidote to the virus.
The fact that there is very little human interaction in the novel, save for a few flashbacks revealing Neville's life before the plague, and that a lot of the action revolves around his innermost thoughts is not a problem. Indeed, it only increases the claustrophobia and tension. There are several action sequences, including the terrifying moment in which Neville, far from home, realises that his watch has stopped and it is getting dark... The book's only failing, to my mind, is the introduction of an intelligent vampire cult in the last few chapters smacks of desperaton, as if Matheson tired of writing and just wanted to get the book finished.
Other than that, it's flawless. The idea of having your own friends and family thirsting for your blood still freaks me out, days after I've read it.
The book has so spawned two film adaptations, "The Last Man on Earth" (1964), starring Vincent Price, which I've yet to see, and the rather disappointing "The Omega Man" (1971), starring Charlton Heston (which I will review in its own right). Matheson also wrote "The Incredible Shrinking Man", which, if this book is anything to go by, is sure to be a work of geniues.
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01.06.2001 09:35
Great op! I have to say, having read the book, that you really hit the nail on the head re: the ending. As there have been a couple of successful R.M. movies recently (What Dreams May Come & Stir of Echoes) that someone decides to give ths one another go!
20.04.2001 14:57
Excellent review - this sounds as though it has real potential for a modern movie adaptation.