Book 39 - Richard Matheson "I Am Legend"

[jazzy_dave]

This was one I started yesterday on my trip to Hythe and completed just before lunch this morning.

Richard Matheson “I Am Legend” (Orion)






First published over 50 years ago this is a surprisingly fresh look at the last surviving human on earth. Robert Neville is a believable character as he deals with the aftermath of a plague that has left his family dead and his friends, neighbours and probably the whole world as the living dead. Vampire-like, thirsting for his blood, attacking his house at night and sleeping during the day.

How Neville reacts to this situation - his loneliness, his search for why this has happened and his varying moods and day to day life - works very well. Flashbacks to the early days of the plague do much to explain the world he lives in but as he carries on trying to understand the situation his frustrations and loneliness are understandable. It all builds up to a wonderful conclusion. This is a great story.