Review by Alison
I Am Legend is a horror fiction novel from 1954 and is not to be confused with the Hollywood blockbuster I Am Legend from 2007. Sure the 2007 movie is loosely based off of it but, we all know books are able to go where most movies daren’t.
This novel was written in a time when Lassie took over the T.V and Frank Sinatra could be heard crooning on the airwaves which is why it’s a surprise to learn it was a hit and adapted into a film (The Last Man On Earth 1964) 10 years later. The people were calling out for some vampire/zombie/apocalyptic action to take them away!
Matheson heard the cry, and delivered.
The novel follows Robert Neville who believes he is the last man ALIVE on Earth. Sure there are other people around but they are generally the type of people that just try to take and take until nothing is left….not surprisingly, Robert decides to stay away from others and gets stuck into a daily routine for many years of research and killing.
Robert believes a bite from a vampire bat is the reason he is immune to the virus that has changed everyone. He got a little sick from it but pulled through and now spends a lot of his days using his experience to try and find a cure, using “the infected” as lab rats.
Just as you get accustomed to Neville’s flashbacks and inner dialogue, he thinks he has seen a non infected woman. The story continues as he obsesses over her and the chance at a “normal” life. Everything changes in Neville’s world.
A thoroughly convincing story, I Am Legend has all the explanations and a fantastic non Hollywood ending. I am impressed and cannot wait to read Matheson’s other literature.
Still, not a bad film.
Being crazy isn't enough. 
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