Horror

Hearing the final words, "Audible hopes you enjoyed.." it's hard to resist vigorously clapping your hands together and jumping to your feet to whoop out a "Bravo!" While it looks like some reviewers are more familiar with the particulars of each narrator, I must be less fussy; I thought it was a perfect cast that produced a dark gothic atmosphere that Stoker would call worthy of this masterpiece.

The story is longer than I thought it would be, the flowery speech style of the Victorian era no doubt adding to the length of the journals/diaries of each articulate character, that comprise the tale -- a style that, if you are unprepared for, may be too verbose to your liking (but authentic to the time--think Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats). Where one during that period might say:
"Dear Madam, by God, your neck! May perhaps I suggest more wreaths of the garlic flowers to be festooned around your lovely neck to prohibit a further attack from this most vile blood-sucking fiendish creature of the night which has befallen upon you most unfairly, dear sweet lady?"
We today, 100 years later, might say:
"Huh, vampire bite. Want some garlic (was he sparkly)?"
You can see how this could take up some pages. But the profuse Victorian vernacular combined with the fine reading puts you in the necessary frame of mind -- where a dark red-eyed character in a cape could creep around a deteriorating castle, summon wolves from the fog, and morph into a bat flapping against a pane of glass. (It was a little amusing listening to the breathy and fragile Lucy and Mina...considering the time frame in which this was written. While Stoker had them helplessly swooning away, across the pond, Susan B. Anthony was gathering her own minions.)
Bram Stoker truly affected history with this book -- Audible's production was a great homage to a literary icon as well as a fun engaging production, well worth the purchase.

A GOOD dystopian read, including some of those inhabited by *reconstituted beings*,the zompirepocalypse reads (i.e. I Am Legend, World War Z, The Strain,only book one--) is one of the hardest books to find, in my opinion, and one of the most fun. I loved The Road; Dog Stars will always be my favorite, there's Alas Babylon, Brave New World, Hunger Games, The Handmaid's Tale,...take me away dystopia. But I draw the line pretty sharply between GOOD and HOKEY ( a few hokey limbo-ing under the pole/line occasionally).

This book was suggested to me, I took one look at the cover and muttered to myself, "yeah, sure." But then I scrolled through my library and saw the jacket for Patient Zero, which I liked something awful. We never judge books by their covers....Reapers was a great surprise -- not so much about the *reconstituted* (aka *zombies*) at all, but more of a philosophical survival story western style, with a heart. Young Temple is anything but polished, born into a time that has always known the *meatskins*, danger, survival, and almost self-raised, or feral. Her survivalist nomadic life is interrupted when she saves a lumbering gentle giant that is mentally challenged and unable to speak. The narrator handles these one-sided discussions aimed at the wall of a man with warmth and heart--Temple talks about her own moral judgements, memories, and losses during her brief but difficult life, as the two of them embark on a quest Temple feels honor bound to see to the end. One of the bigger surprises was the quality of writing--really nicely done with some touching insights. Personally, I enjoyed this more than Cronin's Passage books (and it's only 7 hrs. long - and $9 on sale!) *but will refrain from final judgement on that until the series wraps. Whether you are looking for a little diversion before diving into Moby Dick (couldn't pass it up at $9.66), or tired of looking up pictures of cute puppies while you anxiously await the re-release of the expanded World War Z, you just might find this a pleasantly unpleasant book to spend time with. (BTW check out the Tibetan Mastiff puppy!)

I enjoyed every aspect of this brief, well produced audible version of I Am Legend, (and especially recommend if you can pick it up when Audible has one of its special offers). Dean's narration made the listen as animated as a Columbia Broadcasting System radio presentation ala Orson Wells doing H.G. Well's War of the Worlds.

Bless Matheson for bringing us the concept of a vampire apocalypse! Because of his imagination and talent, so many of Matheson's books and stories were translated to movies and TV. Loved, loved, reading the reviews and opinions about the book vs. the multiple movie versions of I Am Legend. Either I am not so opinionated, or just easily entertained, because I thought all the book to movie interpretations were great fun ... from the Vincent Price version (which embarrassed author/screenwriter Matheson resulting in him using a pseudo-name in the end credits aka *Logan Swanson*); especially the very campy Omega Man, the vampires replaced with the *Family* of albino mutants [so bad it was good]; and finally to Will Smith's intellectualized NY version with the *Darkseekers*. As fun or as creepy, none of those versions equal the book and it's emphasis on the psychological impact of being alone.

Why read this book when we know the story almost ad nauseam - in hundreds of incarnations? Because 'MATHESON is legend'. Give a quick look at his Wiki profile.... The Legend of Hell House, What Dreams May Come, Somewhere in Time, A Stir of Echoes, I Am Legend, Steel, Duel (yes directed by Spielberg), The Night Stalker, Twilight Zone episodes (including intro and closing every show), Star Trek episodes. If you are still unconvinced of his genius - remember the Zuni fetish doll that chased Karen Black around her NY apartment with a carving knife?....Matheson's creation! And the piece de resistance....Nightmare at 20,000 Feet -- William Shatner looking out the window from his airline seat at a gremlin tearing the steel and wire cables from a rear jet engine. I think I'd rather see vampires at my door.

It's not so much an issue of *holding up to time* as to how many times it has been done; but read with the knowledge that this was the first...wow. What a legacy--what a legend!