I am Legend

by: Richard Matheson

After catching the Will Smith film version a week ago I was immediately inspired by a fellow reader friend to pick this novel up, and within 24 hours I set the book down feeling depressed, fulfilled, and thoughtful. I love a great story that not only entertains but also affects your thoughts of life in general, and after reading the story I did exactly that.

The book sets itself sometime in the mid seventies with Robert Neville, who believes he is the last man alive after a plague took the worlds population. It’s apparent immediately that Nevilles need to exist is pure instinct alone. After five months he starts his day off with a glass of whiskey and loathing the fact that his has managed to exist. He makes procautions around his home, but the reader is left in the dark as to why.

That evening we found out the existence of vampires is manifestation of something that happened with the plague, and though Neville is very safe in his home, they come every night to taunt him with the hopes he will end his life by prolonging theirs. At this point the solitude and monotony of his existence is tearing Neville apart. He has seen unimaginable horrors and has no answers as to how or why they happened in the first place. Anytime he asks questions, he only winds up with more questions after those are answered.

A few months pass and Neville attempts his own research, and it goes nowhere quickly. He begins to lament about his former life and is sure he’s ready to end himself when something shocking happens. He finds a dog that has managed to exist. Some very important things happen in the chapters with the dog and thereafter sets the finale of the book into play. The twist, the answer, the explanantion, the ending of the book is not what myself or I think anyone else would imagine. Without giving it away I will simply say it couldn’t have been more simple or more complete. After it happens you simply have an abvious understanding to something bigger than the induvidual experience. Suddenly life is much larger and evolution and nature exploit this.

As Neville said, suddenly things came full circle. An abosulutely amazing book. One of the most profound and frightening stories I’ve read since The Shining.