-Richard Matheson, I Am Legend
"I Am Legend", at it's core, is a tale of human loneliness. It masterfully explores what it means to truly be alone, and the effect that that can have on a man, and just how desperate they can become for any form of companionship.
The main character, Robert Neville, exceeds in being believable, and really sells the idea of what the last man on earth would be like. The character's actual arc through out the story felt natural, and also very believable. At the start of the book, Robert comes off as very bitter, very reckless and somewhat suicidal. However, by the end of the book, he just feels like a genuinely better person, he's far more likable and it's really great to see the journey he goes on emotionally from when the beginning of the book, which is set only a few months after he became the last person on earth, and the end of the book, after roughly two years have passed since the beginning.
Another aspect of Robert's character that I think made the book a lot more relatable to the average reader is the fact that, unlike the film adaptations, he isn't a scientist, or anything special really. He's just your average Joe who happens to be immune to the virus. And while yes this makes it easier for the reader to relate to the character, it also makes seeing him survive for so long all the more interesting. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Robert would go to the library and take books home and actively try to research, and try to understand what exactly it was that turned everyone into "vampires", their weaknesses, if their was any possibilities of finding a cure. Watching Robert spending most of the middle of the book try to wrap his head around all these concepts, and theories in science, and watching him unable to fit the pieces together then getting extremely frustrated with himself only to finally come to understand these concepts and understanding why the "vampires" are the way they are was strangely fascinating.
Oh and I also loved how Robert would question why the people who were infected with the virus took on the characteristics and traits of vampires, a man made legend. A gripe I have with a lot of zombie stories, a perfect example is the walking dead, is that the characters never really show any signs that they are already familiar with what a zombie is, they always act as if it's their first time ever seeing a zombie. Sometimes they don't even call them zombies. It just always seemed strange to me, so it was a pleasant surprise when Robert would actually ponder on whether or not these superstitions about vampires became a reality, or it was mere coincidence.
So, to conclude, I highly recommend "I Am Legend". It was fast paced and engaging, but still managed to be thought provoking, and is a wonderful blend of horror and science fiction.
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