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)

classic book, like the scientific approach

liked how it wasnt too long. it didnt drag out. narrator acted some, not used to that, worked ok. phrased cleverly,made me want to quote it a lot.

Classic and Every Best Way Possible

Where does I Am Legend rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I can't believe Audible offered this novel free of charge! I'd read it years ago and remember liking it very much but hearing it recently really brought home how good this book is. Richard Matheson was a great writer but perhaps under appreciated because of the poor film adaptions to his work.

Have you listened to any of Robertson Dean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time I've listened to a novel performed by Mr. Dean. He did a wonderful job and I will be looking for other work by him.

Any additional comments?

Beyond an interest in science fiction, I'd recommend this novel to anyone interested in being fascinated and entertained in their reading. I was fortunate to get this free but would gladly have paid for it.

Descriptive and intense.

I really enjoyed this very short novel. I wasn't sure how the author was going to resolve the conflict between the many zombies and the few (or only) unafflicted human (Robert Neville). I was pleasantly surprised at the third group that appeared. However, I'm not sure why the new group couldn't accept Neville as one of them since they had the same goal of getting rid of all the brain dead zombies, except that he was different from them, which I suppose is reason enough.

Spectacular

Everything about it is really in depth and i just loved it overall. Great story

loved it

classic sci-fi tale, exploring humanity and the irony that comes with it. truly amazing work.

Surprised me

What made the experience of listening to I Am Legend the most enjoyable?

The fact the story felt like it was written on our time

What other book might you compare I Am Legend to and why?

None

What about Robertson Dean’s performance did you like?

Narration was great. I could feel the character

If you could rename I Am Legend, what would you call it?

The beginning

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable book. One that surprised me when I found out when it was written

Fantastic

This book is clever and filed with surprises. Outstanding prose. I only wish the movies would adhere to the "ending".

Wow!

It’s been years since I stayed up until 3:30AM, but I hit play and spiraled into Matteson’s incredible world. I woke up and couldn’t stop thinking and talking about it. What incredible writing! What a twist! What layers of deeper meaning!!! Fabulously narrated and so glad I got this book.

Perfect!

Would you consider the audio edition of I Am Legend to be better than the print version?

Picking up a book and actually reading the printed characters is wonderful, but listening to the audio edition of a story has a charm of its own; it resurrects the ancient art of storytelling that our ancestors enjoyed for thousands of years. So yes, on that particular aspect, an audio edition is better.

What did you like best about this story?

The subtext on this story is very rich, and if you keep reading it/listening to it every few years, you will find more and more under the surface.

Have you listened to any of Robertson Dean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Robertson Dean is my very favorite narrator. I have several books read by him and from time to time, I check the updated list of books he has narrated, and purchase those that I already have on print, or those that match my interests. This particular work stands out with its emotional depth and repressed sexuality.

If you could rename I Am Legend, what would you call it?

I would not change a single word.

Any additional comments?

I downloaded it last night and it's been pretty hard to press pause and actually have some work done. But hey, gotta make money to buy more of these jewels.

Obvious why

"I Am Legend" is a gripper. Powerful and intense. It's obvious why this one is classic.