We Read Stuff discussion

Discussion thread for I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Spoilers are allowed

Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on the planet has succumbed to the vampire plague, and they are hungry for Neville's blood.

By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

How long can one man survive like this?

Well! How different from the book can a movie get? (I've only seen the Will Smith one, apparently there are two more).
I liked this book. I enjoyed Robert's character & I felt that his loneliness & mad outbursts really highlighted his humanness against the vampiric world he inhabited.
This book felt very modern considering it's 1954 publication date & you can clearly see its influence on modern day movies & books especially with reference to viruses causing the end of humanity. I'd say it's a good read for those who enjoy their vampire fiction.

I am still like 2 weeks out on my library hold, but I am looking forward to this book! I have never seen the movie either, so I am going in without preconceived ideas on the story.

Katrisa wrote: "I am still like 2 weeks out on my library hold, but I am looking forward to this book! I have never seen the movie either, so I am going in without preconceived ideas on the story."

Oh nice, it's been a while since I've seen the movie so I don't know how much it will effect me. My hold just came in so I'm going to try to get to it before the end of the month. If not I'll just be adding my thoughts late lol

I forgot to comment after I finished! It’s been a few weeks now. I liked the scientific way he goes about testing the vampires so he can find better ways to survive.
I really wanted to dog to hang around! That bummed me out quite a bit. I thought it was interesting the weird relationship he had with his ex-coworker. How he would hunt him in the day and the co-worker would come taunt him in the night and how sad it was when the new vamp society show up at the end.

The version I read had other stories as well, and I did not like them as much. There were some racist overtones that made me cringe. I am legend was definitely the best story in the book.