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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
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  • 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

Excellent

If you saw the movie based (loosely) on this story, cool. Now forget that, because the story is way better. And way more sobering.

Robert Neville's journey is a long, lonely one, and also not a very hopeful one. The ending is unexpected, at least for me, but not unpleasant. It suits the feel of the story. I felt reminded of Stephen King as I listened.

The narration is excellent as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Robertson Dean's performance. There isn't a lot of conversational dialogue, so it stands out when there is, and is performed superbly.

Highly recommended for a quicker listen, and I will look for other titles by this narrator as well!

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12 people found this helpful

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

Not as good as the movie

Admittedly it's not the same story as the movie. Other reviews had argued its better than the movie, so I gave it a shot. The story just wasn't that great. It's based when it was written, around the 50s, so there's some obvious differences but the ending just wasn't that interesting. Decent way to burn 5 hours, but still nothing to write home about.

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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

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
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

ALERT Half the book is missing

I have the hard copy of the book in my hand as I write this. The audiobook only goes to chapter 21 (page 159 in mass market paperback). The actual book ends at page 312. So basically I paid to listen to half the book smh. I don't see anywhere in the title description that it's only a partial book.

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

Outstanding

Perfectly written perfectly preformed. I loved it. It’s short and intense and full of despair and emotion.

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

Very well done.

Better story than the modern movie.
Well read, consistent with excellent pacing & tempo.
Shorter than I thought (time flies).

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

s'alright.

I'll be the 1000th person to say it has almost nothing to do with the movie. if you enjoyed the movie, just keep that. This is a more old-school style fiction. it's not without merit, but it certainly offers no enrichment to the experience you've had, and provides a fair bit of cringe.

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

Awful. Don’t even think about it

This is a terrible book. I personally loved the movie and usually they say “the book is always better”… well this is the exception. This book is nothing like the movie, it’s vulgar and the main character has no scientific background. Rather he stares at the female dead and thinks about doing in inappropriate things to their bodies. It’s sickening. There isn’t even a solid story line and the themes of vampires/garlic/mirrors/etc is just brutally presented. 10/10 the WORST audiobook I have ever listened to. The only savor was the narrator who had a good voice

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