Book Review of I Am Legend

As far as he knows, Robert Neville is the last man on earth. The human race has been devastated by an epidemic that cause its victims to rise from their graves as vampires. Holed up in a boarded house protected by garlic wreaths and crosses hanging everywhere, Neville must find some answers.

Although the premise of the last human or last few humans on earth is not an original one, the way Matheson explains vampirism- as a disease rather than a supernatural manifestation- is. Neville even discovers scientific explanations as to why a stake through the heart kills vampires, why sunlight destroys them, why they shrink from crosses and religious symbols, and why they can't stand garlic. The book is so convincing in this respect that the premise is almost plausible.

We delve into Neville's psyche as he struggles to remain sane in a world gone mad. We feel his desperation, his fear, and even his hope. When he seems to make progress, then he seems to slide back. He is almost manic-depressive in his approach, alternately spending long hours researching the plague which has descended upon humanity, then plunging headfirst into a three day drinking binge.

At times, Neville wants to give up. He wonders if it would really be so bad if he just threw himself to the mercy of the creatures of the night who linger outside his fortified house every evening, taunting him. The story flashes back between past and present, as Neville remembers what his life was like not so long ago, and wonders if he can ever return to any semblance of normalcy. Somehow through his hopelessness he finds hope, and every little victory, every small discovery, takes him one step closer to the truth.

A good story is made even better by a great writer, which Matheson is. He is a master at creating moods, at luring the reader into turning page after page. He fills the reader with hopes, only to dash them to dust at his feet and sweep them up to be re-formed into something new. Matheson creates a wonderful sense of empathy with Neville.