I Am Legend

By: Richard Matheson

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The basis for the film starring Academy Award nominee Will Smith, I Am Legend is a classic of horror and suspense.

In I Am Legend, a terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive are transformed into bloodthirsty creatures of the night. Robert Neville is the last living man on earth. Every other man, woman, and child has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville’s blood. By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn. How long can one man survive in a world of vampires?

Richard Matheson’s chilling tale is a white-knuckle ride into a world of darkness and terror.

©1954, 1982 by Richard Matheson (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"One of the ten all-time best novels of vampirism." ( Fangoria)
"The most clever and riveting vampire novel since Dracula." (Dean Koontz)
"I think the author who influenced me most as a writer was Richard Matheson. Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me." (Stephen King)

The psyche of survival

Like someone telling you their thoughts as their last day approaches. It's empowering yet grounding.

Better than the movie

Different plot almost completely from the movie and most importantly....BETTER THAN THE MOVIE! Highly Recommend!

Different than the movie but still pretty good

Vampires or physically and mentally altered human beings that want to ravage your insides? Your choice but this book is about VAMPS!

Different from the movie in some major ways. Book Neville is white. Movie Neville is black...and also The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. There is a dog in the book but its companionship is definitely acquired and held very different than the book. Also the mental capacity of the creatures is kind of explored in both the movie and book but in the movie its just hinted at. In the book it goes into major detail.

The whole idea is the same Robert Neville is by himself, fending off the vampire hordes with garlic and boarded up windows. The whole book I believe can be centered around one major recurring theme...Isolation. It definitely takes its toll on you and can leave you to do some crazy things, and those avenues of mental and physical loneliness are portrayed well in this book.

If you enjoyed the movie; as I did. Then get this book. Its a great novel and is good for one of those short days.

Awesome sci-fi/thriller

This was an excellent book. Well developed main character and story. An interesting twist on the 'zombie/vampire' creatures and great thought provoking ending

Wow!

Wow, wow, wow. I loved the book and I loved the narrarator. I've read some reviews that complain about the narrarator and so I was hesitant to purchase the book for that reason alone. I think the narrarator can make or break or story for me. However, I thought Robertson Dean did the job perfectly. I was completed mesmerized by the story. Although I truly enjoyed the movie, the back was far more haunting and I think the author did an excellent job portraying the loneliness this man suffered as well as all the psychological problems that come from being entirely alone and fighting for your life for 3 years.

Great listen

The plot and narration of this book are excellent - classic Richard Matheson.

An extraordinary story; exceptional reading

Note #1: I am not a science fiction or fantasy reader. And, while this story is placed into that category, it could just as well fit into general fiction.
It's a riveting story made more so by Robertson Dean's dramatic and spot-on reading. Note #2: I am not an audiobook 'reader.'
Great stories, such as this one, and exceptional readings, such as this one, encourage me to 'read' more audiobooks.
The story having been well-explained by this time will not be stated once again here. I will say that for me the heart of the story is the fully rounded bedeviled, strong and honest character Robert Neville. He's what's the story is about, and Richard Matheson does an extraordinary and much appreciated act of rendering him in his fullness and humanness.

Great

Would you listen to I Am Legend again? Why?

Yes. It's a classic story, well performed, and very engrossing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Am Legend?

When one realizes how much in our popular culture is derived from this one book. Pretty much all modern zombies (......even including the more recent fast-running zombies!) and several whole sub genres of fiction.

Which scene was your favorite?

When everyone dies at the end. (Just kidding). All scenes are pretty darn good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Might be a bit long for that, but it's hard to stop listening.

Any additional comments?

This narrator has to be the best audio book narrator I've heard up to this point. Every voice and inflection is just about perfect, including the character's inner thoughts.

Better than the movie

This book was "O.K.". It's funny that the movie was a completely different story. Not a waste of time, but not great.

love this book

story is amazing the reader is really into the plot but gets a little over zealous sometimes making it hard to catch everything clearly