Read by Robertson DeanI was behaving like a sheep here just a little bit. I was working at Barnes & Noble when I read this, and one thing you know if you work in a book store is that when a movie comes out that is based on a book, and the movie is a hit, that the publisher of the book is sure to have a movie tie-in version of the book for people to rush in and buy and read. Then they'll be able to tell other people about how the book is so much better.
As it happens, the book is so much better in this case, and I was lamely one of the people who went to get the book after seeing the movie (which was actually the third movie to be based on the book, the other two being "The Last Man On Earth" and "Omega Man," neither of which, however, starred Will Smith), which I enjoyed until the BULLSHIT ending, which was a complete departure from the novel and which probably caused Richard Matheson a great deal of distress. This was, to date, the last time I behaved in such an automatonistic manner.
So I enjoyed the premise of the movie. Really it is a no-brainer, I am a sucker for apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction as you will see if you read later reviews, and this was an interesting vision of apocalypse/post apocalypse. Basically there is a plague, which in the film turns everyone into zombies, but there are a few survivors who struggle to live on and cure the disease. In the book, on the other hand, everyone is becoming vampires, and the survival situation is a little different. The setting is changed, the character is changed, you get the picture.
The book was fascinating, one of my first horror reads (though also highly sci-fi-istic in it's post-apocalyptic way) and excellent for that. My only complaint is that I wished it had more background and more length. As it was it is hard to go over 7 for something that always felt more like a short story in the housing of a novella. Robertson Dean was a 2nd tier reader, by which I mean he was proficient and solid and not bad but not that special fit. Ya follow?
Anyways, this is totally worth reading, isn't too long, and has a splendid ending. Recommended.
Now, did you read the rest of the short stories in the compilation this came with, or did the movie tie-in version only contain I Am Legend? I agree that it was brilliant and fascinating, which is why, in the collection I have, I was so disappointed that the rest of the stories didn't measure up. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteI actually didn't read them. The audio book version just had the novella, and that is mainly what I remember.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased you are reading this and talking to me about books! I am trying to get caught up so that I can actually be commenting on something right when I finish rather than two years later. Getting there.
Me too!! I haven't been reading nearly as much as I would like, so it's wonderful to hear about what you've been reading (and maybe get some ideas for myself).
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