I Am Legend: Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing the classic novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Find out what we thought of the post-apocalyptic horror novel that has influenced many zombie and vampire novels as we review I Am Legend below!

I Am Legend Summary

The setting is on Cimarron Street in 1976 Los Angeles in a post-apocalyptic war where dust storms are common. We meet Robert Neville, who has barricaded himself inside his home against vampires that appear outside his home at night. An outbreak has turned humanity into vampires and Neville seems to be the last human alive.

Neville hunts vampires during the day and tries to search for another living person while trying to stave off insanity and loneliness. That leads to Neville researching the outbreak as he tries to understand what it actually is. But an unexpected turn of events throws his life into chaos as everything he has done to survive catches up to him.

I Am Legend Commentary

Imagine reading this novel when it was first released in 1954. The zombie/vampire genre wasn’t thriving as it is today. But the impact of this novel has been felt ever since as it has influenced the zombie and vampire genres.

And while the creatures in the novel are vampires, they act like zombies so much that the novel is considered a zombie novel. This novel helped popularize the zombie apocalypse idea that has become common over the decades. And it also popularized the idea of a bacteria causing an outbreak, giving it a scientific explanation.

Like most people, you have seen or heard of the I Am Legend movie starring Will Smith released in 2007. The novel changes the setting from Los Angeles to New York and changes the ending as well as borrowing elements from the 1971 movie Omega man, which was influenced by I Am Legend.

I enjoyed the novel and it felt like going backwards as you realize how different the original “zombies” were. The fact that they were vampires but not in the true sense of what a vampire is makes this fall under the zombie category.

But the novel wasn’t a zombie novel as we know it. The plot is about Neville’s descension into hopelessness and loneliness as well as depression. You can feel his heart breaking in the novel and feel for him.

A Must Read Zombie Novel

If you are a fan of zombie novels, then this is worth reading. Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend has come to shape the zombie genre and while he couldn’t have predicted the impact of this novel, his influence can be seen in hundreds of books. Happy reading!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook