I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
List Price:
Our Price: $2.94
You Save: $12.01 (80%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.25 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Richard MathesonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-30
ISBN: 0765318741
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Tor Books
Book Reviews of I Am Legend
Book Review: The Title Says it All!
Summary: 5 Stars
I still haven't seen the movie, and from what I've heard about it's departure from the book that inspired it, I'm not in a particular rush, either. However, as a lifetime fan of horror as well as a writer and editor of dark fiction, I've felt like somewhat of an outsider when my colleagues mentioned this book. I was able to remedy this condition by picking up a copy of the book at a Dallas Target store while distracting myself from the financial pain of a mother-daughter shopping event.
I took as much joy in reading this 50's horror story as I do when reading classic sci-fi and fantasy; I've read bits and pieces of classic horror, but while I've had to strain to get through a few other famous notables, I ripped through I Am Legend as readily as the latest King or Koontz. I can see why it's so commonly listed a favorite and influential vampire novel. It's also refreshing to finally read this as a fan of Vincent Price's movie, Last Man on Earth, which was inspired by I Am Legend.
I feel fortunate to have stumbled across the edition I did; it contains a clutch of Matheson's short stories as well as the title story. As good as the novella itself was, I like the short stories even better. I won't discuss them at length, as I can't discuss them in a useful manner without spoiling them. But they're good. I'll definitely be reading more Matheson, and I'm sorry I didn't get into him before.
Summary of I Am Legend
Robert Neville may well be the last living man on Earth . . . but he is not alone.
?An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him.?By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization.?By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn....?Richard Matheson's classic novel has now been transformed by Warner Bros. into a major motion picture starring Academy Award nominee Will Smith.?Directed by Francis Lawrence ("Constantine"), the film opens nationwide in December 2007.
?
?An incurable plague has mutated every other man, woman, and child into bloodthirsty, nocturnal creatures who are determined to destroy him.?By day, he is a hunter, stalking the infected monstrosities through the abandoned ruins of civilization.?By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn....?Richard Matheson's classic novel has now been transformed by Warner Bros. into a major motion picture starring Academy Award nominee Will Smith.?Directed by Francis Lawrence ("Constantine"), the film opens nationwide in December 2007.
?
One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater
Matheson, Richard Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books I want to read
Beowulf (Signet Classics)by Anonymous
Signet Classics; Published: 2008-06-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.76
Price in other shops:
Stardustby Neil Gaiman
HarperTeen; Published: 2009-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.82
Price in other shops:
I Am Legendby Richard Matheson
Tor Books; Published: 2007-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.19
Price in other shops:
History Is Dead: A Zombie Anthologyby Scott A. Johnson
Permuted Press; Published: 2007-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.67
Price in other shops:
Wuthering Heights (Signet Classics)by Emily Bront?
Signet Classics; Published: 2004-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)by William Golding
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1999-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Fear of Flyingby Erica Jong
NAL Trade; Published: 2003-11-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.94
Price in other shops:
The Haunted Vagina (Avant Punk Book Club)by Carlton Mellick III
Eraserhead Press; Published: 2006-09-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.59
Price in other shops:
The History of Love: A Novelby Nicole Krauss
W.W. Norton & Co.; Published: 2006-05-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.49
Price in other shops:
Before I Dieby Jenny Downham
David Fickling Books; Published: 2007-09-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.09
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
The Mist (Previously Published as a Novella in 'Skeleton Crew')by Stephen King
Signet; Published: 2007-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
The Last Man on EarthTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-12-04; DVD
Best price: $6.13
Price in other shops:
Plague of the Dead (The Morningstar Strain)by Z. A. Recht
Permuted Press; Published: 2006-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.20
Price in other shops:
The Omega ManWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-05-15; DVD
Best price: $7.53
Price in other shops:
Day by Day Armageddon (A Zombie Novel)by J. L. Bourne
Permuted Press; Published: 2007-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.25
Price in other shops:
No Country for Old Men (Vintage International)by Cormac McCarthy
Vintage; Published: 2007-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.99
Price in other shops:
What Dreams May Come: A Novelby Richard Matheson
Tor Books; Published: 2004-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops:
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Deadby Max Brooks
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2003-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.19
Price in other shops:
Hell Houseby Richard Matheson
Tor Books; Published: 1999-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.97
Price in other shops:
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Warby Max Brooks
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2007-10-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.97
Price in other shops: