Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Gollancz (1999), Edition: New Ed, 160 pages
Description
Winner of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award for best vampire novel of the century: the genre-defining classic of horror sci-fi that inspired three films. The population of the entire world has been obliterated by a pandemic of vampire bacteria. Yet somehow, Robert Neville survived. He must now struggle to make sense of what happened and learn to protect himself against the vampires who hunt him nightly. As months of scavenging and hiding turn to years marked by depression and alcoholism, Robert spends his days hunting his tormentors and researching the cause of their affliction. But the more he discovers about the vampires around him, the more he sees the unsettling truth of who is--and who is not--a monster. Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has been a major influence on horror literature. In 2012, it was named the best vampire novel of the century by the Horror Writers Association and the Bram Stoker Estate. The novel was adapted to film in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth, in 1971 as Omega Man, and in 2007 as I am Legend, starring Will Smith.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member stephmo
If you're going to read this short story collection, you might well do yourself the favor of simply reading I am Legend and stopping. Had I done this, it would be a glowing review of an amazing story that flips the post-apocalyptic tale on its head. I would go on and on about how if you've seen
But I can't. Because I read the whole collection. And the other stories...
Did you ever take a short story writing class? The kind that tells you to write down those "what if?" ideas in a notebook or on scraps of paper? The ones that end up being 5 pages of something that never really goes anywhere? Unfortunately, this makes up for quite a few of the short stories in the collection. (Buried Talents, The Near Departed, and Witch War in particular.)
The rest just can't hope to live up to I am Legend. Person to Person is perhaps one of the stronger entries, but I say that knowing full-well that's the last story in the book and I may just have been relieved at this point to be done with the thing.
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both major film adaptations that you've never seen the story. I really would.But I can't. Because I read the whole collection. And the other stories...
Did you ever take a short story writing class? The kind that tells you to write down those "what if?" ideas in a notebook or on scraps of paper? The ones that end up being 5 pages of something that never really goes anywhere? Unfortunately, this makes up for quite a few of the short stories in the collection. (Buried Talents, The Near Departed, and Witch War in particular.)
The rest just can't hope to live up to I am Legend. Person to Person is perhaps one of the stronger entries, but I say that knowing full-well that's the last story in the book and I may just have been relieved at this point to be done with the thing.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Terpsichoreus
In a discussion between Douglas Adams and Lewis Walpert, the argument was made that the individual is unimportant in science, but is paramount in art. Walpert proposed that scientific discovery is inevitable, as the confluence of ideas often produces linear developments of the same theories, such
However, I would venture that this is equally applicable to the arts, where movements develop out of shared influences and social concerns. The process of an artistic movement developing is often geographically precise, and more an indication of shared influences than of proselytism.
The vast cited influence of this book, then, is not difficult to comprehend when one begins to look at the nature of movements and ideas surrounding it. The themes of horror always follow scientific discovery, as the Industrial Revolution brought forth Frankenstein, or the Communist scare and 'alien threats'. This book draws upon those very sources and brings in the idea of apocalypse--newly popularized by the nuclear age--to create something which is not altogether as insightful as it is inevitable.
The apocalyptic nature of the book is even reflected in earlier works, such as Shelley's 'Last Man' and in religious eschatology; the nuclear age created a new series of questions about the apocalyptic, bringing it again to the forefront (in a way more pervading than the religious sensationalism of every other year).
The vampires themselves may also be linked to 'The Last Man'. Matheson also took influence from the 'Communist scare aliens' and bodysnatchers of the pulps to create a force which is mindless, anti-individualistic, and inhuman. This characterization comes up over and over as a representation of any military enemy, not only the communists. One can look at this as an early recognition of the danger (and power) of viral memetics.
These same ideas will contine to be carried on after this work, not only though the oft-mentioned zombie stories, but also through speculative fiction as represented by the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits (which Matheson wrote for). Beyond this, you may see 'I Am Legend' as prototypical of the trope of the story hinging on a shift of point-of-view where the protagonist's view of the world is shown to be the opposite of his reality. The Twilight Zone often delivered this realization as a twist ending.
All these movements and ideas are rife with opportunity for writers looking for a paradigm shift, but I would argue that 'I Am Legend' fails to take advantage of these plentiful ideas. One might point out that it is an early example, but this alone does not save it, as we may point out earlier writings which tackle similar issues with a greater depth and sense of conceptual exploration.
There is Shelley's 'The Last Man', Bierce's 'Can Such Things Be', or the works of Mann, Hesse, and Conrad, who explored similar themes of inhumanity, hopelessness, sex, death, loneliness, and who did so much more fully and with a sense of joy and artistry.
There are many cases where pulp authors are later found to have overcome the simplicity of their genre, whether by sense of psychology, or character, or tone, or theme. Indeed, Shakespeare was considered a populist, and in all his fart-jokes, cliches, and story borrowing, we might compare him to 'Family Guy' or 'The Simpsons'; the chief difference being that they draw their allusions from 1980's culture and he drew his from Greek Myth.
But I digress; Matheson as an author does not bear these strengths, and misses many opportunities to take advantage of the themes he explores, which may be new in their particular combination, but in no way without literary precedent.
Matheson often explores his characters' psychological motivations. His every statement of action (or interaction) is followed by an explanation of the thoughts and events which have just occurred. However, his explanations do not expand our understanding of the characters. Instead, the accompanying narration is so simple that one begins to feel that Matheson is simply telling you the same thing twice; or even three times.
If our protagonist asks a question, Matheson inevitably follows with 'he asked, incredulously'. It seems the fact that the character was both clearly incredulous and asking a question did not seem self-evident enough. Then again, nothing in the book is too self-evident to prevent Matheson from painstakingly explaining it several times.
He tells us what his characters are thinking almost constantly, despite the fact that it rarely offers any further insight. One might achieve a similar effect by taking a Hemmingway story and having a high-schooler add in how the character would be expected to feel after every piece of dialogue.
Matheson doesn't have a flair for psychology, and so his characters' reactions are often either unjustified or oversimplified. Instead of writing characters who fit the story, Matheson seems to constantly change the characters or the story to try to maintain unity. Then again, the characters aren't really deep enough to build the story around in the first place.
The main character often becomes a surrogate for the author, which Matheson tries to deflect by suddenly changing the character's personality or emotions, before slowly creeping back.
Comparisons to Stephen King are apt: another author whose sense of storytelling is rather jumbled and rough despite some interesting concepts driving it.
It is not difficult to understand why this book was so influential: in the process of reading it, I was constantly thinking of things I wished the author would do with the story. Every time he overstated a point or underexplored a theme, I began to imagine how I might do it differently. It's not hard to imagine Romero finished this book having already built an entire movie in his head by simply extending where this author faltered or ceased.
Indeed, the book often reads like a screenplay, and if the plodding character descriptions were meant to keep the actors in line, I could not have been surprised.
In the end, Matheson does that which seemed unpredictable in that no one had yet done it, but seems equally inevitable in light of the social and literary movements surrounding. He also breaks the rule of authorship, in that we should always strive to show instead of to tell.
I will not deny that this work exists in a certain nexus along the development of some very important and interesting genres and works, but it works more like a rough draft than a groundbreaking original.
It is less an inspiring work than the one which revealed that there was a lot of space for other authors to re-introduce old ideas by new means and methods. If only Matheson had been able to take up this challenge himself, instead of making the void conspicuous by inhabiting it, we might remember this book not from where it happened to squat, but from what it managed to do there.
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as with Newton and Leibniz, or Darwin and Wallace.However, I would venture that this is equally applicable to the arts, where movements develop out of shared influences and social concerns. The process of an artistic movement developing is often geographically precise, and more an indication of shared influences than of proselytism.
The vast cited influence of this book, then, is not difficult to comprehend when one begins to look at the nature of movements and ideas surrounding it. The themes of horror always follow scientific discovery, as the Industrial Revolution brought forth Frankenstein, or the Communist scare and 'alien threats'. This book draws upon those very sources and brings in the idea of apocalypse--newly popularized by the nuclear age--to create something which is not altogether as insightful as it is inevitable.
The apocalyptic nature of the book is even reflected in earlier works, such as Shelley's 'Last Man' and in religious eschatology; the nuclear age created a new series of questions about the apocalyptic, bringing it again to the forefront (in a way more pervading than the religious sensationalism of every other year).
The vampires themselves may also be linked to 'The Last Man'. Matheson also took influence from the 'Communist scare aliens' and bodysnatchers of the pulps to create a force which is mindless, anti-individualistic, and inhuman. This characterization comes up over and over as a representation of any military enemy, not only the communists. One can look at this as an early recognition of the danger (and power) of viral memetics.
These same ideas will contine to be carried on after this work, not only though the oft-mentioned zombie stories, but also through speculative fiction as represented by the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits (which Matheson wrote for). Beyond this, you may see 'I Am Legend' as prototypical of the trope of the story hinging on a shift of point-of-view where the protagonist's view of the world is shown to be the opposite of his reality. The Twilight Zone often delivered this realization as a twist ending.
All these movements and ideas are rife with opportunity for writers looking for a paradigm shift, but I would argue that 'I Am Legend' fails to take advantage of these plentiful ideas. One might point out that it is an early example, but this alone does not save it, as we may point out earlier writings which tackle similar issues with a greater depth and sense of conceptual exploration.
There is Shelley's 'The Last Man', Bierce's 'Can Such Things Be', or the works of Mann, Hesse, and Conrad, who explored similar themes of inhumanity, hopelessness, sex, death, loneliness, and who did so much more fully and with a sense of joy and artistry.
There are many cases where pulp authors are later found to have overcome the simplicity of their genre, whether by sense of psychology, or character, or tone, or theme. Indeed, Shakespeare was considered a populist, and in all his fart-jokes, cliches, and story borrowing, we might compare him to 'Family Guy' or 'The Simpsons'; the chief difference being that they draw their allusions from 1980's culture and he drew his from Greek Myth.
But I digress; Matheson as an author does not bear these strengths, and misses many opportunities to take advantage of the themes he explores, which may be new in their particular combination, but in no way without literary precedent.
Matheson often explores his characters' psychological motivations. His every statement of action (or interaction) is followed by an explanation of the thoughts and events which have just occurred. However, his explanations do not expand our understanding of the characters. Instead, the accompanying narration is so simple that one begins to feel that Matheson is simply telling you the same thing twice; or even three times.
If our protagonist asks a question, Matheson inevitably follows with 'he asked, incredulously'. It seems the fact that the character was both clearly incredulous and asking a question did not seem self-evident enough. Then again, nothing in the book is too self-evident to prevent Matheson from painstakingly explaining it several times.
He tells us what his characters are thinking almost constantly, despite the fact that it rarely offers any further insight. One might achieve a similar effect by taking a Hemmingway story and having a high-schooler add in how the character would be expected to feel after every piece of dialogue.
Matheson doesn't have a flair for psychology, and so his characters' reactions are often either unjustified or oversimplified. Instead of writing characters who fit the story, Matheson seems to constantly change the characters or the story to try to maintain unity. Then again, the characters aren't really deep enough to build the story around in the first place.
The main character often becomes a surrogate for the author, which Matheson tries to deflect by suddenly changing the character's personality or emotions, before slowly creeping back.
Comparisons to Stephen King are apt: another author whose sense of storytelling is rather jumbled and rough despite some interesting concepts driving it.
It is not difficult to understand why this book was so influential: in the process of reading it, I was constantly thinking of things I wished the author would do with the story. Every time he overstated a point or underexplored a theme, I began to imagine how I might do it differently. It's not hard to imagine Romero finished this book having already built an entire movie in his head by simply extending where this author faltered or ceased.
Indeed, the book often reads like a screenplay, and if the plodding character descriptions were meant to keep the actors in line, I could not have been surprised.
In the end, Matheson does that which seemed unpredictable in that no one had yet done it, but seems equally inevitable in light of the social and literary movements surrounding. He also breaks the rule of authorship, in that we should always strive to show instead of to tell.
I will not deny that this work exists in a certain nexus along the development of some very important and interesting genres and works, but it works more like a rough draft than a groundbreaking original.
It is less an inspiring work than the one which revealed that there was a lot of space for other authors to re-introduce old ideas by new means and methods. If only Matheson had been able to take up this challenge himself, instead of making the void conspicuous by inhabiting it, we might remember this book not from where it happened to squat, but from what it managed to do there.
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LibraryThing member Crazymamie
This book was just so very different from what I was expecting. Not scary or thrilling, it is instead a depiction of what it would feel like to be the last person standing in a world that is no longer familiar. Robert Neville has only his house and his wits to help him survive, and when we meet him
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he has already been through so much that he is practically numb, just going through the paces in a kind of remote detached way. This fact makes the first part of the book drag a bit, and I wonder it it would have been better to have met him just a bit earlier. The action and the internal monologues are plodding and the book begins to feel like too much work as you reach the middle sections. However, don't despair because the second half of the book picks up pace and the ending, for me, really delivers. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cecrow
I saved the title story for last, reading all of the others first, which is probably not the best approach in hindsight. Matheson's earliest written stories are generally his best, but even these didn't make much impression on me. While he deserves appreciation in the context of horror genre's
Asterisk indicates stories I would revisit.
I Am Legend - I thought this last man on Earth tale was about zombies, but they're more like vampires. The ending was miraculously never spoiled for me, but I had plenty of time to imagine what it might be. Didn't think of this particular one, and it works.
Buried Talents and The Near Departed - a couple of short mood pieces from 1987, later work. I found them pretty light.
Prey* - good story; not sure the final logic holds together, but it's a solid precursor of Chucky and his ilk. It offers a good model for turning disbelief against the reader.
Witch War - indirect participants' obliviousness to the horrors of war, where their indifference is a big part of the horror. I'm feeling a metaphor coming on: a young man's perception of attractive girls who don't give him a chance.
Dance of the Dead - commercialization of mutants. There's notable precursors of Stephen King's style with the music and whatnot.
Dress of White Silk* - it's a bit vague to me what happened here, but it has an effective ending.
Mad House - a man unleashes his frustrations on inanimate objects - or are they? The premise works about as well as in King's 'Maximum Overdrive'.
The Funeral - reminiscent of the Hotel Transylvania cartoons, and that's all.
From Shadowed Places - Only mildly horror, mildly soft porn, and showing its age in other respects.
Person to Person - fun premise with some humour, about a man hearing a telephone ringing in his head.
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history, based on this collection I don't find his work has much to offer intrinsically to a modern reader, and even less to a jaded one.Asterisk indicates stories I would revisit.
I Am Legend - I thought this last man on Earth tale was about zombies, but they're more like vampires. The ending was miraculously never spoiled for me, but I had plenty of time to imagine what it might be. Didn't think of this particular one, and it works.
Buried Talents and The Near Departed - a couple of short mood pieces from 1987, later work. I found them pretty light.
Prey* - good story; not sure the final logic holds together, but it's a solid precursor of Chucky and his ilk. It offers a good model for turning disbelief against the reader.
Witch War - indirect participants' obliviousness to the horrors of war, where their indifference is a big part of the horror. I'm feeling a metaphor coming on: a young man's perception of attractive girls who don't give him a chance.
Dance of the Dead - commercialization of mutants. There's notable precursors of Stephen King's style with the music and whatnot.
Dress of White Silk* - it's a bit vague to me what happened here, but it has an effective ending.
Mad House - a man unleashes his frustrations on inanimate objects - or are they? The premise works about as well as in King's 'Maximum Overdrive'.
The Funeral - reminiscent of the Hotel Transylvania cartoons, and that's all.
From Shadowed Places - Only mildly horror, mildly soft porn, and showing its age in other respects.
Person to Person - fun premise with some humour, about a man hearing a telephone ringing in his head.
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LibraryThing member gkchandler
Richard Matheson has a wonderful imagination. His story quickly draws us into a horror world of death rising and walking, the end of human-kind as we know it.
If you are expecting a story that reads like the "Omega Man" or the movie "I am Legend" then, other than the basic story line, you may be
If you are expecting a story that reads like the "Omega Man" or the movie "I am Legend" then, other than the basic story line, you may be
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disappointed. However, if you are familiar with Matheson's writing style and enjoy where is stories take you then you won't be disappointed. The similarities to the movies were welcome, but the differences made it all the more interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChromiumDomium
Far superior to either of the films I've seen based upon this novel. Whilst I enjoyed the Will Smith film version, the film story is quite disimilar to the book, which is somewhat darker in the telling and most definitely the ending. This is the first Richard Matheson story I have read and after
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this I'm determined to read more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jenners26
More melancholy than scary, I felt this was more of a dystopia than a horror book. For that reason, it only gets a 3/5ths of a scream rating. Still, it does have vampires in it so it isn’t a walk in the park or anything. (Yet the vampires are more dumb than scary for the most part.)
THE BASIC
Robert Neville might be the last man on Earth. Everyone else is either dead or turned into a vampire by a virus. Neville seems to be immune to the virus, but he hasn’t given up hope that he might find another like himself out there. Despite his intense loneliness, Neville dedicates himself to fighting the vampires (who come to his house nightly) and trying to figure out why this happened and whether it can be undone.
MY THOUGHTS
The “last man left on Earth” story is a good one, and this was one of the better ones I’ve come across. I felt a real sympathy for Robert Neville, and my heart broke for him over and over. His practical nature and approach to the vampire problem felt realistic … like something that might legitimately happen. He struggles and gives up and then gets reenergized and then falls apart again. I think I would react to this situation in a similar way—losing my faith and then finding it again only to wonder why I was continuing on against all odds.
Matheson does a good job of providing the back story while keeping us firmly rooted in Neville’s present. I got just enough glimpses of how he ended up in this situation to sympathize with him and understand the reality that he must endure. I loved how he took a scientific approach to the problem and experimented with all the various vampire lore that we’ve all heard about. More than anything, I think Matheson captures the difficulty of being completely alone in a world that has fallen apart around you. It would be so psychologically challenging. You completely understand why Neville woos a stray dog so diligently and carefully—humans aren’t meant to live alone!
The ending was very satisfying and true to the nature of the book. (And I love how the title gets incorporated into it.) It is definitely one of the more melancholy horror books I’ve ever read, and it left me feeling sad. If you’re looking for an atypical vampire book or are a fan of dystopia, this would be an excellent choice. It is much more about Robert Neville’s struggles and emotional life than anything else, and this elevates it from being “just a horror book.”
THE BASIC
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STORYRobert Neville might be the last man on Earth. Everyone else is either dead or turned into a vampire by a virus. Neville seems to be immune to the virus, but he hasn’t given up hope that he might find another like himself out there. Despite his intense loneliness, Neville dedicates himself to fighting the vampires (who come to his house nightly) and trying to figure out why this happened and whether it can be undone.
MY THOUGHTS
The “last man left on Earth” story is a good one, and this was one of the better ones I’ve come across. I felt a real sympathy for Robert Neville, and my heart broke for him over and over. His practical nature and approach to the vampire problem felt realistic … like something that might legitimately happen. He struggles and gives up and then gets reenergized and then falls apart again. I think I would react to this situation in a similar way—losing my faith and then finding it again only to wonder why I was continuing on against all odds.
Matheson does a good job of providing the back story while keeping us firmly rooted in Neville’s present. I got just enough glimpses of how he ended up in this situation to sympathize with him and understand the reality that he must endure. I loved how he took a scientific approach to the problem and experimented with all the various vampire lore that we’ve all heard about. More than anything, I think Matheson captures the difficulty of being completely alone in a world that has fallen apart around you. It would be so psychologically challenging. You completely understand why Neville woos a stray dog so diligently and carefully—humans aren’t meant to live alone!
The ending was very satisfying and true to the nature of the book. (And I love how the title gets incorporated into it.) It is definitely one of the more melancholy horror books I’ve ever read, and it left me feeling sad. If you’re looking for an atypical vampire book or are a fan of dystopia, this would be an excellent choice. It is much more about Robert Neville’s struggles and emotional life than anything else, and this elevates it from being “just a horror book.”
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LibraryThing member john257hopper
An excellent post-apocalypse vampire story. The ending is quite shocking and the sense of isolation felt by the central character well put across. A well-deserved classic.
This edition also contains a collection of macabre short stories written over a period of nearly 4 decades in the author's
This edition also contains a collection of macabre short stories written over a period of nearly 4 decades in the author's
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career. Some of them have very similar themes (haunting, personal possession, funeral parlours) and a couple of them fell flat for me. The best of these was probably Prey, where the spirit of a killer African doll attacks and then takes over a woman. Show Less
LibraryThing member BruderBane
“I Am Legend” by Richard Masterson brings back many great memories. Recollections of those days when I was 8 years old and my sister forced me to watch Thriller Theater on TV. Running from the room scared or unable to sleep at night because I can’t get Vincent Price’s creepy voice out of my
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head…good times. Anyway, Mr. Matheson created a classic when he wrote “I Am Legend” and all these years later it still gives me the creeps (although now I’m reading it as opposed to watching the original movie.) The short stories by Mr. Matheson included in this collection were not as great but if you remember the old Karen Black stories the one with the creepy killer doll is here. I definitely want to pick up another one of his longer novels like Stir of Echoes” and see how Mr. Matheson develops as a writer. Show Less
LibraryThing member LithiumRadio
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
The version of I Am Legend I have is actually a compilation of short stories by Richard Matheson.
I Am Legend
A fantastic story about the end of civilization as we know it, from cover to cover it had me hooked. The best Vampire story I’ve ever read, I’ve never seen
The story is not that long so it’s a little fast paced (which is what I like), even when Neville is just going through his daily routine or chasing down a stray dog it moves right along. And even though it was a vampire novel, it was rooted in reality, if I were the last man alive I would do the things that Neville did, right down to trying to befriend a mangy old dog.
Buried Talents
If God were at a carnival, which game do you think he would play? I’ll tell you, the one where you throw the ping pong ball in the fish bowl, and he’d be good at it to.
The Near Departed
What kind of man plans his wife’s funeral before she’s even dead?
Prey
I think I’ve seen this on television when I was a kid, the anthology movie Trilogy of Terror, on television this story scared the shit out of me, and I still have flashes of memory where that little thing is trying to get under the door to get Amelia. The story isn’t scary, (and I suspect neither would the movie version be either if I were to watch it today) but it was good, not as good as I am Legend but still good.
Witch War
A group of seven young witches fend off a horde of undead (I think) soldiers, the wasn’t too bad, but at only 5 pages you don’t take much from it other than wanting to know more about what exactly was going on.
Dance of the Dead
Another Matheson short story brought to the small screen, they both have the same premise but there were some changes between the story and the episode of Masters of Horror. One thing is where the end of the movie you have a definite ending, but the story leaves you wondering, because something definitely happened between the time Peggy passes out and when she wakes up.
Dress of White Silk
Just….strange.
Mad House
Okay this would make a good Twilight Zone episode, in fact any one the stories so far would make a good Twilight Zone episode.
This story is about how anger can just totally mess up your whole day….to say the least.
The Funeral
This was kind of humorous, not really a laugh out loud kind of thing, but it made me smiles a couple of times.
From Shadowed Places
With the exception of I Am Legend, this is the best story in the book; the social commentary about race in the 1960’s is obvious but not laid on too thick, someone need to make a short film based on this and have Gabrielle Union play Dr. Howell…I think the only reason I liked this one is because it had literary nudity.
Person To Person
This was the last story in the book and honestly at this point I was glad to be finished, and I hate saying that because the idea behind each story was fantastic, but who am I to judge?
Anyway, compared to some of the other stories this is one of the better ones, and interesting story about when your subconscious mind gets tired of you being who you are and decides to take over via the telephone in your mind, that’s right the telephone in your mind. We all have one, it’s just most of us have them turned off.
The version of I Am Legend I have is actually a compilation of short stories by Richard Matheson.
I Am Legend
A fantastic story about the end of civilization as we know it, from cover to cover it had me hooked. The best Vampire story I’ve ever read, I’ve never seen
Show More
any of the movies based on the book (but I am going to see the one with Will Smith very soon now).The story is not that long so it’s a little fast paced (which is what I like), even when Neville is just going through his daily routine or chasing down a stray dog it moves right along. And even though it was a vampire novel, it was rooted in reality, if I were the last man alive I would do the things that Neville did, right down to trying to befriend a mangy old dog.
Buried Talents
If God were at a carnival, which game do you think he would play? I’ll tell you, the one where you throw the ping pong ball in the fish bowl, and he’d be good at it to.
The Near Departed
What kind of man plans his wife’s funeral before she’s even dead?
Prey
I think I’ve seen this on television when I was a kid, the anthology movie Trilogy of Terror, on television this story scared the shit out of me, and I still have flashes of memory where that little thing is trying to get under the door to get Amelia. The story isn’t scary, (and I suspect neither would the movie version be either if I were to watch it today) but it was good, not as good as I am Legend but still good.
Witch War
A group of seven young witches fend off a horde of undead (I think) soldiers, the wasn’t too bad, but at only 5 pages you don’t take much from it other than wanting to know more about what exactly was going on.
Dance of the Dead
Another Matheson short story brought to the small screen, they both have the same premise but there were some changes between the story and the episode of Masters of Horror. One thing is where the end of the movie you have a definite ending, but the story leaves you wondering, because something definitely happened between the time Peggy passes out and when she wakes up.
Dress of White Silk
Just….strange.
Mad House
Okay this would make a good Twilight Zone episode, in fact any one the stories so far would make a good Twilight Zone episode.
This story is about how anger can just totally mess up your whole day….to say the least.
The Funeral
This was kind of humorous, not really a laugh out loud kind of thing, but it made me smiles a couple of times.
From Shadowed Places
With the exception of I Am Legend, this is the best story in the book; the social commentary about race in the 1960’s is obvious but not laid on too thick, someone need to make a short film based on this and have Gabrielle Union play Dr. Howell…I think the only reason I liked this one is because it had literary nudity.
Person To Person
This was the last story in the book and honestly at this point I was glad to be finished, and I hate saying that because the idea behind each story was fantastic, but who am I to judge?
Anyway, compared to some of the other stories this is one of the better ones, and interesting story about when your subconscious mind gets tired of you being who you are and decides to take over via the telephone in your mind, that’s right the telephone in your mind. We all have one, it’s just most of us have them turned off.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is a post-apocalyptic tale that was originally published in 1954. The story is told by Robert Neville, who appears to be the last surviving human of a pandemic whose symptoms resemble vampirism. The disease came about after an atomic war from which dust storms arose
The story details Neville’s daily life in this bleak and scary Los Angeles as he outwardly goes about trying to keep himself supplied and safe while inwardly he attempts to understand and come to terms with the way the world has become. Every night he barricades himself into his house while the vampires gather outside and try to lure him out. After a period of depression and heavy drinking he turns to learning more about the disease and investigating the possibility of finding a cure.
I Am Legend is a masterpiece of scientific horror fiction and I can’t believe that I somehow managed to miss reading this book before now. As with many science fiction books from the 1950’s the author explores the nature of humanity and the pressure that loneliness can put on one’s sanity. Written in a clean, crisp style, I was immediately drawn into this story and pleased that the author’s vision remains fresh and current. For me, with my love of survival and apocalyptic stories, this was a brilliant read.
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that rapidly spread the germs. This book has seem many film adaptations and has strongly influenced both the vampire/zombie genre and the concept of a worldwide disease apocalypse. The story details Neville’s daily life in this bleak and scary Los Angeles as he outwardly goes about trying to keep himself supplied and safe while inwardly he attempts to understand and come to terms with the way the world has become. Every night he barricades himself into his house while the vampires gather outside and try to lure him out. After a period of depression and heavy drinking he turns to learning more about the disease and investigating the possibility of finding a cure.
I Am Legend is a masterpiece of scientific horror fiction and I can’t believe that I somehow managed to miss reading this book before now. As with many science fiction books from the 1950’s the author explores the nature of humanity and the pressure that loneliness can put on one’s sanity. Written in a clean, crisp style, I was immediately drawn into this story and pleased that the author’s vision remains fresh and current. For me, with my love of survival and apocalyptic stories, this was a brilliant read.
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LibraryThing member nesum
I really do wish I could rate this book higher, mainly because I loved "I Am Legend" so much. I thought the story was really wonderful, with a more interesting story than the film (though the film has some great action and suspense scenes that the book does not have).
But "I Am Legend" is only about
So I would rate "I Am Legend" four or five stars, but the rest of the book only one, so we averaged out at three.
But "I Am Legend" is only about
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half the book, and the rest is filled with other short stories. Unfortunately, these other stories are almost all really bad. Only about two of them are even worth reading.So I would rate "I Am Legend" four or five stars, but the rest of the book only one, so we averaged out at three.
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LibraryThing member thekoolaidmom
Stephen King said "I Am Legend" was one of the books that inspired him, and you can see that when you read this book. I happened to be reading "Skeleton Crew" at the same time as this book, which gave me a unique opportunity to compare. I thought this book was much better than S.C., though, because
I loved this book. I did not know it was a collection of short stories, though. I had seen the movie and loved it, then found out that it had been inspired by the Richard Matheson book.
The two stories, book and movie, are as different as grass and concrete. The only similarities are: They have the same title, Robert Neville is the name of the main character, both stories are set in a post-global disaster America, and both end with the sentence, "I am legend." The movie was about Neville the scientist, staying behind because of duty and trying to find a cure of the genetic mutation causing people to be "darkstalkers." In the book, Neville is the lone survivor because of freak luck, and studies the bacteria he names vampiris mostly to learn how better to kill the vampiric survivors. Occasionally he tosses around the idea of "finding a cure," but he doesn't really care.
Of the remaining short stories, The Near Departed, a short funny, Prey, a fetish doll with a trapped spirit of a hunter tries to kill the owner, Dress of White Silk, supernatural tale of a little girl obsessively loves her dead mother and defends her honor, The Funeral, shocking, supernatural, and funny story of literary monsters (i.e. Ygor, Count Dracula, a werewolf, a witch) visit a local funeral home for a "proper" send-off, and From Shadowed Places, a man dying from a curse of an african witch doctor he offended and the woman who cures him, are all great.
A second story from this book was also made into a movie. Much lesser known than Legend, and starring Robert Englund, aka Freddy Kruger, the story Dance of the Dead is a post-apocolyptic world with "survivors" from germ warfare, called loopies which is slang for L.U.P.s, Lifeless Undead Phenomenon... zombies, in effect. The story is of four friends going to a club where a loopy is presented as "dancing" to music. It's creepy, and it's unclear what happens at the end.
Only one story wasn't worth reading, Buried Talents, I never got the point to the story.
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most of the stories in "Legend" can stand alone.I loved this book. I did not know it was a collection of short stories, though. I had seen the movie and loved it, then found out that it had been inspired by the Richard Matheson book.
The two stories, book and movie, are as different as grass and concrete. The only similarities are: They have the same title, Robert Neville is the name of the main character, both stories are set in a post-global disaster America, and both end with the sentence, "I am legend." The movie was about Neville the scientist, staying behind because of duty and trying to find a cure of the genetic mutation causing people to be "darkstalkers." In the book, Neville is the lone survivor because of freak luck, and studies the bacteria he names vampiris mostly to learn how better to kill the vampiric survivors. Occasionally he tosses around the idea of "finding a cure," but he doesn't really care.
Of the remaining short stories, The Near Departed, a short funny, Prey, a fetish doll with a trapped spirit of a hunter tries to kill the owner, Dress of White Silk, supernatural tale of a little girl obsessively loves her dead mother and defends her honor, The Funeral, shocking, supernatural, and funny story of literary monsters (i.e. Ygor, Count Dracula, a werewolf, a witch) visit a local funeral home for a "proper" send-off, and From Shadowed Places, a man dying from a curse of an african witch doctor he offended and the woman who cures him, are all great.
A second story from this book was also made into a movie. Much lesser known than Legend, and starring Robert Englund, aka Freddy Kruger, the story Dance of the Dead is a post-apocolyptic world with "survivors" from germ warfare, called loopies which is slang for L.U.P.s, Lifeless Undead Phenomenon... zombies, in effect. The story is of four friends going to a club where a loopy is presented as "dancing" to music. It's creepy, and it's unclear what happens at the end.
Only one story wasn't worth reading, Buried Talents, I never got the point to the story.
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LibraryThing member delirium
The book really has little to do with the movie. While the movie has the same thought-provoking premise, the book adds depth. On one level a haunting memoir of the last human in existence, the story follows Robert Neville through three years of crippling loneliness, boredom, and impotent fury. On
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another, it's a story about legends, their roots, and their impact on history. While Neville spends the beginning of the book trying to understand why real vampires--it's vampires in the book, not zombies--conform to legend for no scientific reason, he later watches the development of a new, post-human society and finds himself fading into legend. Hence the title. This book has earned its place in the science fiction cannon. Show Less
LibraryThing member jessilouwho22
Matheson is a master! I can't believe how much I enjoyed this short story collection.
Usually with short stories and especially with horror short stories, I never feel like I want to re-read them. I mean, once the thing that goes bump in the night jumps out and scares the protagonist, I already know
Unlike my beloved Stephen King, there wasn't really the blood and the gore that I was expecting. Each story actually made me think, instead of just creeping me out. Pages flew by as I immersed myself completely into his stories. He has such an excellent handle on language, it's unreal. He writes simply without much flowery excess, but at the same time, I found myself re-reading sentences and passages time and time again because of the way he knew how to word things perfectly. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the title story, "I Am Legend":
His body dropped down heavily on the chair. Here we are, kiddies, sitting like a bug in a rug, snugly, surrounded by a battalion of bloodsuckers who wish no more than to sip freely of my bonded, 100-proof hemoglobin. Have a drink, men, this one’s really on me.
And another:
He jerked his body up from the couch and stare with sleep-clouded eyes across the room, his chest pulsing with heartbeats like maniac fists on a dungeon wall.
I just love it.
I don't want to do a rundown of every story, but at the same time, it's difficult for me to choose favorites to mention. I can honestly say that I loved every story in this collection, from the short but to the point "The Near Departed" to the excellent, haunting title story "I Am Legend." This generally doesn't happen for me.
What also amazes me is the fact that most of these stories were originally copyrighted in the 1950s. With praise from the likes of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, it's easy to see how much of a master of the horror genre Richard Matheson is.
All in all, I can't praise this highly enough, and now I'm itching for my own copy of this. I recommend this for not only those who enjoy the genre, but also for those who are interested in trying it out. As I said before, Matheson isn't quite as graphic as some current horror authors, so he would be an excellent way to dip your toes into the genre.
Usually with short stories and especially with horror short stories, I never feel like I want to re-read them. I mean, once the thing that goes bump in the night jumps out and scares the protagonist, I already know
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what's going to happen and how it's going to end, so I might as well not waste time re-reading it. However. I just finished this book and I already want to jump into the stories again. Unlike my beloved Stephen King, there wasn't really the blood and the gore that I was expecting. Each story actually made me think, instead of just creeping me out. Pages flew by as I immersed myself completely into his stories. He has such an excellent handle on language, it's unreal. He writes simply without much flowery excess, but at the same time, I found myself re-reading sentences and passages time and time again because of the way he knew how to word things perfectly. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the title story, "I Am Legend":
His body dropped down heavily on the chair. Here we are, kiddies, sitting like a bug in a rug, snugly, surrounded by a battalion of bloodsuckers who wish no more than to sip freely of my bonded, 100-proof hemoglobin. Have a drink, men, this one’s really on me.
And another:
He jerked his body up from the couch and stare with sleep-clouded eyes across the room, his chest pulsing with heartbeats like maniac fists on a dungeon wall.
I just love it.
I don't want to do a rundown of every story, but at the same time, it's difficult for me to choose favorites to mention. I can honestly say that I loved every story in this collection, from the short but to the point "The Near Departed" to the excellent, haunting title story "I Am Legend." This generally doesn't happen for me.
What also amazes me is the fact that most of these stories were originally copyrighted in the 1950s. With praise from the likes of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury, it's easy to see how much of a master of the horror genre Richard Matheson is.
All in all, I can't praise this highly enough, and now I'm itching for my own copy of this. I recommend this for not only those who enjoy the genre, but also for those who are interested in trying it out. As I said before, Matheson isn't quite as graphic as some current horror authors, so he would be an excellent way to dip your toes into the genre.
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LibraryThing member Katie_H
It could be because I saw the movie first (always a no-no), but I didn't love this novella, and I had absolutely no idea that it would be a vampire story. Apparently it was quite groundbreaking in the horror genre, influencing authors such as Stephen King, but I was not overly impressed with it.
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The story tells of Richard Neville, essentially the "last man on earth" after a plague has turned the rest of humanity into vampires. He spends his days doing extensive research and experimentation, hoping to cure the afflicted monsters, and he spends his nights protecting himself from the demons. He has a difficult time dealing with his loneliness, and ultimately it is his greatest obstacle. The title, which was clearly alluded to in the movie adaptation, was not explained enough in the book. Another complaint is with the presentation of the edition that I had. It was an anthology of short stories, a fact that was not illustrated on the book cover itself. Without realizing it, I finished "I Am Legend" and continued to the next "chapter," only to discover that it was not another chapter, but an entirely different story. I was disappointed to say the least, and I felt like I was left hanging with the original story. Show Less
LibraryThing member RachelPenso
I didn't realize that only the first half of this book is the story "I am Legend." The second half of the book is short stories, Ray Bradbury style. I really enjoyed "I am Legend," although I do have to say, I thought the movie was better. Some of the other stories seemed to drag a little, but I
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really enjoyed the story "Prey." Show Less
LibraryThing member jimmaclachlan
Another free download from the library. Read by Robertson Dean & Yuri Rasovsky.
"I Am Legend" is a classic, of course. If you've only heard about this story & never actually read it, you're missing a lot. Vincent Price's rendition (1963?) in "The Last Man On Earth" wasn't bad, but neither of the
I skipped through this a bit since I've read it several times, the last not long ago, & the reader had a habit of whispering which doesn't work well in the car. I loved hearing the end again, though. Wow! Only 4 stars because the readers messed it up.
"Buried Talents" - I don't get it. Am I just dense? I think the guy tossing the balls is a robot. No sweat, perfect aim, same bowl, etc.. But what's the point? If anyone knows, please tell me, otherwise this was a waste of time.
"The Near Departed" - OK, kind of cute, but I saw it coming. Everybody loves her, eh? LOL!
"Prey" - I think this was a Twilight Zone. Excellent, as are most of those stories.
"Witch War" is nasty on several levels both gross & subtle. I've read it before & was impressed. Too much performance by the readers, though.
"Dance of the Dead" didn't seem to come across well in this medium. I think I got the point, but it was quite weak, if I did.
"Dress of White Silk" had way too much performance by the reader. A good, horrible story with an interesting, subtle build.
"Mad House" was far, far, far too long & the end was obvious from the first. Worse, the reader performed too much again. Skip it.
"The Funeral" is a funny story & not bad. It's a shame the reader put in unintelligible accents. I couldn't understand one character at all & two others were iffy.
"From Shadowed Places" was OK. Interesting with some elements that could easily have gotten out of hand, but didn't. Nothing terribly new, but good for all that.
"Person to Person" was pretty good. I can't say much without a spoiler, but it had me wondering & I loved the end.
Overall, I can't recommend this audiobook. "I Am Legend" is totally worth it, but was probably done by a better reader. The rest of the stories were hit & miss. It didn't help that the readers mangled the stories. I generally don't want a lot of performance art from a reader - Jim Dale reading Harry Potter is a rare exception - or I might as well watch a movie. Reading is about my imagination running rampant guided by the author's words. When the reader uses an accent or incorrect tone, it knocks my imagination for a loop. These two were awful, IMO.
Also, Blackstone just ripped this off the CD to file which meant that some stories had a repetitious sentence or two as we went from one file to the other. They couldn't be bothered to reformat it to a file per section for "I Am Legend" and one for each story. Jerks. It wouldn't have taken much time or effort to clean & break up these files properly. That's shoddy.
"I Am Legend" is a classic, of course. If you've only heard about this story & never actually read it, you're missing a lot. Vincent Price's rendition (1963?) in "The Last Man On Earth" wasn't bad, but neither of the
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other two movies did any justice to the story. They completely missed the horribly real, poignant point. Charleton Heston's "The Omega Man" (1970?) was fun & campy, but Will Smith's movie that was named for the book should be burned. Awful CGI, stupid endings, & monsters. Blech.I skipped through this a bit since I've read it several times, the last not long ago, & the reader had a habit of whispering which doesn't work well in the car. I loved hearing the end again, though. Wow! Only 4 stars because the readers messed it up.
"Buried Talents" - I don't get it. Am I just dense? I think the guy tossing the balls is
"The Near Departed" - OK, kind of cute, but I saw it coming. Everybody loves her, eh? LOL!
"Prey" - I think this was a Twilight Zone. Excellent, as are most of those stories.
"Witch War" is nasty on several levels both gross & subtle. I've read it before & was impressed. Too much performance by the readers, though.
"Dance of the Dead" didn't seem to come across well in this medium. I think I got the point, but it was quite weak, if I did.
"Dress of White Silk" had way too much performance by the reader. A good, horrible story with an interesting, subtle build.
"Mad House" was far, far, far too long & the end was obvious from the first. Worse, the reader performed too much again. Skip it.
"The Funeral" is a funny story & not bad. It's a shame the reader put in unintelligible accents. I couldn't understand one character at all & two others were iffy.
"From Shadowed Places" was OK. Interesting with some elements that could easily have gotten out of hand, but didn't. Nothing terribly new, but good for all that.
"Person to Person" was pretty good. I can't say much without a spoiler, but it had me wondering & I loved the end.
Overall, I can't recommend this audiobook. "I Am Legend" is totally worth it, but was probably done by a better reader. The rest of the stories were hit & miss. It didn't help that the readers mangled the stories. I generally don't want a lot of performance art from a reader - Jim Dale reading Harry Potter is a rare exception - or I might as well watch a movie. Reading is about my imagination running rampant guided by the author's words. When the reader uses an accent or incorrect tone, it knocks my imagination for a loop. These two were awful, IMO.
Also, Blackstone just ripped this off the CD to file which meant that some stories had a repetitious sentence or two as we went from one file to the other. They couldn't be bothered to reformat it to a file per section for "I Am Legend" and one for each story. Jerks. It wouldn't have taken much time or effort to clean & break up these files properly. That's shoddy.
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LibraryThing member cammykitty
I am Legend has earned his place as a horror classic. Even after forty years or more, it still reads as fresh. However, the short stories that accompany this novella haven't fared so well. Some probably weren't great to start with. Some have been copied and become standard genre fare. Some, though,
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are still fresh and worth reading. They can either chill the reader, or make the reader laugh. Matheson was an author who could, and deliberately, did both. Show Less
LibraryThing member joelshults
This is an extremely compelling page-turner. It is not much like the movie at all, loosely related but an entirely different story. One of my favorite genres of books/movies/comics is the lone guy/small group against the incessant zombie/undead/infected hordes, and this one is a fantastic example
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of that style. Show Less
LibraryThing member andyray
First: the written story is much better than the movie. Having said that, if it encompassed the whole book, it would probably be a five star, but the other stories (stories?) included in this tome brought it down.. The movie changed much that the book is about.. If you have time in life for one
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experience, read the book.As an introduction to Matthienson's work, these stories were universally brilliant, even if written within the negative world. Show Less
LibraryThing member LBrary
The title novella was very good, and very little like the most recent film version of the same name (I've seen the Vincent Price adaptation, but too long ago to remember its fidelity to the novella). For much of the first part of the novella, we get a very intimate picture of a man dealing with
The short stories included in this volume are disturbingly memorable and well written. I think my favorites were "Prey", "Witch War", and "Mad House". The only one I didn't like was "The Funeral". It was sort of funny, but comic relief in this book was very jarring. I'm fairly certain I've seen a TV adaptation of "Prey", though I can't remember when or where. But I'm pretty sure the TV ending was less unsettling.
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constant horrors and the extreme loneliness of being the only survivor (as far as he knows, not being able to travel far). This Robert Neville is more human than heroic. It's interesting to note the differences in the cause of the disaster. The novella, written in the 50s, mentions an earlier war and bombings (presumably nuclear). The recent film points to genetic engineering. The threat of unintended consequences of science and technology is still a compelling theme, but the specific threats change over time.The short stories included in this volume are disturbingly memorable and well written. I think my favorites were "Prey", "Witch War", and "Mad House". The only one I didn't like was "The Funeral". It was sort of funny, but comic relief in this book was very jarring. I'm fairly certain I've seen a TV adaptation of "Prey", though I can't remember when or where. But I'm pretty sure the TV ending was less unsettling.
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LibraryThing member stubbyfingers
This is actually a book of short stories, the first and longest of which is "I am Legend." This was the story I enjoyed most in the book, at least right up until Neville met Ruth, at which point the story took a sharp turn for the worse. The ending was unsatisfying. By the way, if you're hoping for
Most of the rest of the stories were decent, but none were spectacular. My favorites are "Prey" and "Person to Person" because these at least had interesting endings. My biggest complaint about the writing in this book was the vocabulary--it felt as if I was reading something from a writer who was trying to show off a vocabulary he hadn't quite mastered--the "big words" just didn't flow smoothly. Over all, ho hum.
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this story to be anything like the movie, you'll be disappointed. Most of the rest of the stories were decent, but none were spectacular. My favorites are "Prey" and "Person to Person" because these at least had interesting endings. My biggest complaint about the writing in this book was the vocabulary--it felt as if I was reading something from a writer who was trying to show off a vocabulary he hadn't quite mastered--the "big words" just didn't flow smoothly. Over all, ho hum.
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LibraryThing member soulbyte
I really enjoyed the film, but tonnes of people banged on about how it wasn't like the book blah blah, so obviously had to read it. Great book, totally different to the film, the end was more in line with the title, and it was pretty creepy. Robert Neville is more the anti-hero in the book, and
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there are times when you want to shout at him to stop being so pathetic - which is of course just the time he does stop. The 'vampires' in the book are much more human, they have character and are not as one dimensional as those in the film - especially Ben Cortman! I felt like the end was a little sudden, and much more could have been done - it made sense, but didn't ring true. If anyone else has views on the very end, please let me know. Show Less
LibraryThing member erinclark
Now I know where the title came from. Enjoyable read but I felt sometimes the science biology stuff bogged down the pace of the story. Still, it kept my interest and a has a credible ending.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1954
Physical description
160 p.; 5.16 inches
ISBN
1857988094 / 9781857988093