I am Legend (Richard Matheson)

You know how they say the book is better than the movie? Not this time.

I was excited to read this book, but after a few chapters, it started to wear on me. It was a lot of Neville wanting sex. Then drinking. Playing music. Wanting sex again. Over and over. Maybe Matheson was trying to make you feel the monotony of Neville's situation by being monotonous with the writing, but that didn't work for me. Had this not been a mandatory read, I'd have put it down pretty quickly.

The vampires in the first half of the book--meh. I'm not a fan of zombies that are called vampires, and that is what they felt like to me. Kudos to Matheson for putting in the standard vampire weaknesses of garlic, crosses, running water, and stakes. I even liked that he tried to explain them, even if it ended up a bit like Star Wars midichlorians (I loved the Force in the first three Star Wars movies... yeah, Luke can stand on his head and move rocks, Yoda can lift an X-Wing out of a bog... the Force surrounds and is created by life. Cool. Dig it. I can buy it. But then in Episode 1, when Obi Wan and Qui Gon measure little Anakin's midicholrines and they attempt to explain the Force in technical terms? And little Anakin has more than Yoda? Sorry, but I don't need to know exactly how the force works. But I digress...). Neville's vampire understanding, and rationalization on their weaknesses started to border on telling me too much. I want to be afraid of the vampires. If I completely know how and why they are what they are, then you really have to work harder as a writer to find a way to scare me. And that didn't happen.

The one shining member of the early vampires was Ben Cortman. Why? Because he was personal. He called to him, every night. I had flashbacks to watching Salem's Lot when the two vampire boys were floating up in front of the second floor bedroom window beckoning the occupant to come out. Ben and Neville knew each other. And Ben remembered him after turning into a vampire. That brought some level of scariness to the book. But it NEVER PROGRESSED! I was so let down by that. Then somewhere later in the book, the narrator tells us that Neville actually captured Cortman and did some tests on him. WHAT?! You couldn't write that part in the book? I was thinking Cortman was going to be the main villain. Then Neville gets the best of him, tests him with the cross, then lets him go, and you tell me as a flashback?

The whole thing with the dog was poorly done. Its mangy. Its limping. Its skittish. Okay, fine. Matheson takes a very long time to go from first seeing the dog to Neville finally getting it in the house. A very... long... time. (In SpongeBob talk, it would sound something like "Two... weeks... later.")  Then, after he finally gets the dog somewhat under control, and you think the guy might finally have a companion, we get this awesome sentence. "A week later, the dog died." What? Why did we spend all that time just to get that? I guess it was Matheson's way of setting things up with Ruth's appearance, because that went a little similar at the beginning. But to spend all that time recruiting the dog, and then to have it dismissed so quickly... it was just very disappointing. Again, I wonder if Matheson is trying to make the reader feel the disappointment of Neville's situation by actually disappointing the reader. Not sure, but the problem with that tactic is... YOU DISAPPOINT THE READER!

Ruth seemed off at first, but then that was pretty much explained once she said she was a spy. Honestly, that whole thing came out of left field to me. I thought she might be a vampire, but then that would just lead to Neville having to make a decision. But the revelation that she was a spy first felt weird. Then I was like, oh... there is a society of these things? Finally, this could get very interesting. And then a few chapters later, Neville takes suicide pills. Story's over.

I liked the movie I am Legend. I thought the stuff with the dog in that movie was very good. I hated seeing the dog die, but it was a powerful moment I will never forget. I am looking forward to forgetting the dog scene in the book.

I think it was Asimov who said writers should start their stories as close to the end as possible. This novel is a clear case of needing to apply that adage. Start with a chapter of vampires in the lawn, keep it personal with Ben, and then get to Ruth as soon as you can. Then finish the book with all that extra page space with good scheming vampire writing. Keep them limited to night time so Neville can still do his defensive preparations and vampire learning during the day. Having that "ticking time bomb" every single day could be effective if you use it to keep things tense.

I'm also not sure we needed to cover three years. Especially if we are going to skip most of it and just fast forward in time. Seemed kind of arbitrary to me.

Looking forward to the next book!

So it is written... so it shall be done...

Welcome to my lair.

Here you will find my reviews for books containing monsters. Together, we will investigate them, inspect them, compare them... simply get to know them. But do not trust these creatures, or let them leave the confines of my lair with you when you depart, lest you be haunted by your nightmares for all eternity.

You have been warned.