I am Legend by Richard Matheson

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

"Normalcy was a majority concept, the standard of many and not the standard of just one man"

If a disease turned the majority of people into vampires- would being a vampire become the normal? If you were the only human being left- would you be abnormal compared to all the vampires?

Normally I'm not into vampire books (too much Twilight when I was younger) but this book is different. It's my favourite genre of book- dystopia so I suppose it's better than a love story. After my philosophy teacher told me to read it during one of his tangents- I couldn't find a reason not to. I'm not sure why he wanted us to read it but I loved the film so there was no real reason why I wouldn't like this. And it's only 160 pages long. However the shortest books always somehow take me longer to read. It took me a while to get into it, whilst also reading it alongside Volpone and King Lear- impossible. Despite this, once I got into it I finished the second half in one evening.

This vampire book is different because it's not cheesy although it does coincide with the main ideas about vampires- developing on from Bram Stoker's Dracula. The stake. The garlic. The crosses. Only coming out at night. They're all in there.

When you read the title you may think of the movie with Will Smith in. Yes it has the same title and they're both about vampires- they are the only two similarities between the two. I hate it when films do that. However it is a great film just in its own right. I knew the book and the film were very different before I started the book so I wasn't wrongly led but I was shocked how different they both are. In the film, Will Smith's dog plays quite a big part in it but in the book there's a dog for about 10 pages. I know that annoyed me too. Sorry I love any animal in a book so this really annoyed me but it did get me hooked into the book. 🐶

The main character Robert Neville thinks he is the last man on earth and lives to survive on his own. During the day, he hunts for food and he hunts the vampires trying to find a cure. Robert Neville is a clever man and has protected his house and himself in any way possible from the vampires. In his house, he lives a usual lifestyle as he tries to carry on as usual but as a reader you wonder what he's waiting for. However at night he is trapped inside his house as they come to hunt him.

Robert Neville lost his wife to the disease that turns people into vampires and since he has not come into contact with anyone. Will he? He has lost all social skills but can he overcome this?


Thank you for reading. I hope it didn't take you as long as it took me to read this book. I hope you enjoyed it.