Book Review: I Am Legend

Title: I Am Legend
Author: Richard Matheson
Publisher: Tor Books (October 2007, copyright 1995)
Category: Fiction, Short Story, Horror

My rating: ***
I’m a sucker for books that become movies. Even though I heard that I Am Legend the movie wasn’t that great, I had heard that the book was pretty good. Well, this was another one I found for free at work, so I though why not?

The story is actually pretty good. I watched the movie afterwards, and it’s a good thing I was prepared because the two are almost completely different. The similarity is that a disease has wiped out all of mankind except for a man named Robert Neville. Everything else about the character and how he deals with being the last man on earth (Southern CA in the book, NYC in the movie) is different. I liked the character development in the book and the twist to the end. The movie wasn’t bad though, and I can’t say it would have made an interesting film if they had stuck more to the original because so much goes on beneath the surface, in Neville’s mind, that just doesn’t translate well to the big screen.

Also, the book is more of a lengthy short story than a full novel. If you’re interested, go for it. If not, don’t bother.