Book Review for I Am Legend

"I am legend."

These were the last words of Robert Neville, after he had survived through a horrifying plague that turned everyone in the world into blood-sucking zombies. Because we had to pick a book that had to do with taking a stand, I thought this book would be good to read, because I liked the Will Smith movie of the same name, but I was very surprised. The movie used their creative license very well because the book is very different form the movie. I will say this though, Richard Matheson's I Am Legend creeped me out completely with its startling realism and story. Also, this is not the book to read at night after everyone has gone to bed. Not the brightest thing I've done in a while.

The main theme that we had to look for in our book was the main character taking a stand. There were several in this book. The most obvious stand was Neville trying to stay alive and destroy the vampires that attacked him. So much prep was put into Neville's home to make it safe from the vampires that crowded around his house every night. Then Neville took things into his own hands by hunting down the vampires by day. Another stand that Neville took was against himself. Because he had been alone for nearly ten years, Neville was losing his mind slightly and would argue with himself often. One part of his mind wanted to just give up and die, while the other wanted to stay alive and fight. This was one of the bigger struggles Neville went through and was a major theme of the book.

The chilling realism of I Am Legend was another aspect of the book that kept me reading. With everything, including disease and science discoveries, it is easy to see how this book could actually happen. A worldwide plague that destroys humanity may be a little out there, but it could still happen.

The plot also helped to keep pushing the story forward. Throughout the book, Neville gets more and more caught up in trying to discover what caused the plague and how he could possibly cure the infected. With each discovery he makes, the cause of the disease becomes more clear, but Neville nearly loses his mind completely when he is trying to find a cure. It makes for a good story, hardly anything like the movie, but the story is really depressing.

As I said before, I Am Legend is a good book, but don't come looking for the movie in book form. As long as everyone knows that much, this is a pretty good read. Depressing, but good.

174 pages