Legendary

It happened again. I finished reading another book. Hopefully it'll start happening more often so I'll be able to write more reviews for all of you.

This week my friend FRED (yes, FRED, in all caps) had me borrow I am Legend by Richard Matheson. If you've seen the movie but haven't read the book (like me, up until a few days ago), you're going to want to get your hands on the nearest copy.

A few differences between the movie and the book:

• Robert Neville is a white man. No offense to Will Smith, but he's not white.

• Robert Neville is not a scientist. Sure, he learns a lot through some books from the library, but he certainly doesn't match the character in the movie.

• Sam, the dog, isn't technically in the book. There is a dog in the book, but it's not such a major character. (I'm guessing they made Sam a bigger character so Neville would have something to talk to)

• The movie depicts the infected as more zombie-esque than vampire. In the book, the infected are purely vampiric in nature.

• The ending of the book is radically different. I won't say more on that, don't worry. ;-)

We'll begin under the assumption that you haven't seen the movie.

The book is about a the last human on earth, and his struggle to survive in a world plagued by the infected (i.e. vampires).

That's the gist. It's horrifying in places, but I wouldn't characterize the book as being strictly horror. The writing is beautiful in it's own clunky unique way, a way that makes Neville more human than perfect flawless prose would've been able to do.

It's a story that's told a lot, these days. Last man standing, last human on earth: how will he survive? Or will he survive at all?

If you've seen the movie, you might know the answer to those questions. But if you've seen the movie and haven't read the book, you're missing out on a lot. Because Matheson did something brilliant with this book. He took it to a level that not many writers have the courage to do. He brought it to the brink of humanity, he showed the frailty of Neville and the true despair of being the last man on earth, and he did it with almost no dialogue to speak of.

I am Legend is a short read, so it won't take you long when you do decide to pick it up. As for myself, I borrowed the book Tuesday evening and had finished Friday night.

In short, I couldn't put the thing down. Five out of five stars, hands down.

[read it]

{RD}