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I Am Legend cover art

I Am Legend

Written by: Richard Matheson
Narrated by: Robertson Dean
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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.

What the critics say

"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)

What listeners say about I Am Legend

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story

I never tire of reading or listening to this story. One of my favorite authors.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Wanted to like it more!

I was disappointed with this story. The performance was great and I am a fan of the genre. Yes I made the mistake of watching the movie years ago but only vaguely remembered how it ended. I enjoyed the journey of the story and the performance but when I reached the end it was so unsatisfying. It is a dark and lonely story, You have to take a lot for granted; his ability to fix the cars, maintain a generator to run a freezer etc. Anyone who has run a generator during a long power outage would recognize that as a monumental feat., Why had stuff not expired?, How was he able to consistently find and access stabilized gas. I did not understand his limited stockpile and use of available firearms. His choice to stay where he was for so long. Despite all that, I was drawn into Neville's world and felt for his loss. He should have been dead many times over but he was a survivor deliberately or not. The ending was (for me anyway) not consistent with the story. Perhaps it was inevitable but so unsatisfying. That said I want to go through it again to see what I may have missed and perhaps that will change how I feel about the story. Great performance.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

😵

This book is definitely not like the movie and yet it was just as good. Great read for any post-apocalyptic reader! Why haven't I read this sooner?

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not at all what I expected!

Neither in a good or bad way. I was expecting more "action", and so I was surprised the direction the story took. Some parts dragged on a bit.

I have never seen the movie with Will Smith but as I understand, the movie was very loosely based on the book. So I am interested to see where the movie takes this story line and will have to make the effort to try and watch it.

The narration was brilliant! He really brought the story to life! I will check out his other books he has narrated.

The biggest surprise for me was the ending!! I was like "That's the end!?!?!? It was such a short book, I thought the book was just getting into the guts of the story when it ended. I didn't realize it was under 6 hours. I liked it wasn't a typical happy happy joy joy ending. Some comments the author makes really made me think and allowed me to see a different point of view. I particularly liked the comment on normalcy! (About 3 minutes remaining on chapter 21, the final chapter)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great listen

A perfect blend of old and new, it's a mash up of the horrors of myths and the struggles of science. well done

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great narrator, surprisingly good story

The narrator was amazing. the story was surprisingly good, sometimes boring but usually gripping. fascinating concept

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Much better than the film!

I absolutely loved it. Neville's character chills you to the bone, having your heart begin to race as if you were there with him in the story.
Such a shame the movie producers went with such a poor version of this story.

10/10

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Intriguing Premise. Disappointing Execution.

This is a neat twist on the Zombie Apocalypse genre. The undead are vampires, rather than shambling corpses. The movie wasn't fantastic, neither is this novel. Lots of promise...*sigh*
I bought this book as a Daily Deal.. and it's a good thing. It's not worth a Credit. Richard Matheson writes melodramatically. Most of the book is Neville peevishly arguing with himself while trying to discover a rational explanation for vampirism.
Hey, Mr Matheson.. I've got some news for you: VAMPIRES AREN'T REAL!! Just enjoy it! You're really going to write some factory worker becoming an epidemiologist and hypothesizing sporulation? Some Schmo is making antibiotics in his bedroom?

The flawed (TOO flawed) protagonist is perpetually frustrated and embittered. For some reason Neville has 'blue-balls' all the time - angrily resisting the urge to have sex with the vampires.

Huh? A borderline necrophiliac, Matheson? Really!?!

Robertson Dean has a great reading voice. But he makes the overly-dramatic dialogue even worse with his over-the-top performance. He's the William Shatner of narrators. (And I had to speed the playing rate to 1.25X to make the deep intakes of breath between sentences tolerable). The narration is brutal.

This book is worth 2.5 stars. A courageous ending saves it from 1 star. I've read worse, I guess.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Really good - way different than the movie

It was great and I enjoyed how different it was from the movie. Honestly I wouldn’t k ow the two were related if it wasn’t for the name.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Finished in a day. Loved it from beginning to end. Great short story. The movie could have done way better.

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