I Am Legend Review

The title hints at what this story is, a legend.
It would almost have to be for there to be 3 whole movies made from it.
But up til now, I had never read it.
Sure, I got it back when the Will Smith adaptation was nearing release, but something always stopped me from taking the plunge.
With Halloween upon us, I figured there was no better time than the present.

Can this story possibly live up to the great movies made in its shadow?
Will it be able to scratch that horror itch that always pops up this time of year?
Let’s dive into this world of bloodsuckers and see what trouble we can rustle up in my final Halloween themed review for this year!

As per the always, this is your official ***SPOILER ALERT***, almost 70 years after release.

Starting in January 1976 (though originally released in 1954), we see Robert Neville as he is still adjusting to the new life that has fallen down around him as vampires walk the earth.
We follow him for the next 3 years and watch as he investigates the deadly virus and slowly becomes more comfortable and in tune with the land of the dead than that of the living.

The first version of this story I remember coming into contact with was the Vincent Van Ghoul (Vincent Price to the normies) movie, which I haven’t seen in quite some time, though I do remember loving it.
I don’t recall seeing the Charlton Heston adaptation at all.
But I really dug the Will Smith take on it, up until they acted like a bunch of dicks and killed the dog.
My point in telling you all of this is to make it clear that going in this story had an uphill battle.
I am happy to report, it more than held its own in those battles and I ended up digging it more than I thought possible.
But holy shit, does it feel a bit too prescient.

But first, let’s talk about this whole dog situation.
In my years of talking to you good folks here on this interconnected web, I believe I have made it more than painfully clear that I am a lover of the puppy dogs, in fact I vastly prefer dogs to humans.
When I’m reading a book or comic, watching a show or movie, and I see a dog get hurt or die…I have…a reaction to it.
So much so that once Fitz gave me a batch of comics, for keeps.
Well, in one of those issues, some piece of shit asshole killed and ate a dog.
I gave that comic right back to ol Fitty man the next time I saw him and told him he could keep that.
Again, Dogs are my soft spot.

Now, I don’t recall if it happened in either of the previous movies, but killing that dog in the Will Smith version completely destroyed my enjoyment of that movie.
It felt unnecessary, cruel, and just plain cheap.
So going into this story, I was fuckin’ dreading the appearance of any and all pupparoos, fearing it would be a long drawn out plot thread where you grow to love this little baby only to have it die.
Further proving that Hollywood is full of heartless dick wads, I can say that the prose version of the tale deals with that subplot in roughly 20 pages.
I still don’t like it 1 bit, but I’m glad Matheson didn’t pull the taffy on that, make you grow to love the wittle baby, and make it sting as much as he could have by slow burning to that blow off.

Something I really loved about this story was how Matheson played with the various legends of the vampire.
Crosses, garlic, mirrors, stakes, sunlight, all of them get logical explanations for how or why they do or don’t work in this world.
And that’s great, but what is even cooler is that in explaining all of these things Matheson proves that, despite the narrow view some snarky shits hold about people today being too cynical to just enjoy things without picking them apart, even 67 years ago somebody was taking a fine tooth comb to the stories/characters from previous generations and asking “wait, that sounds dippy, how can I make this bullshit make some amount of logical sense?”

Above I hinted at the prescience, and I’ve found this a lot in the media I’ve been consuming this past almost 2 years.
What used to feel like a kinda silly trope is now feeling more and more like “oh shit, did they know?”
The cause of the downfall of humanity and uprise of the Vamps is an airborne virus.
Boy howdy, that sure hits close to home, dunnit?
It makes me wonder if I will ever be able to look at the recent Planet Of The Apes movies, 28 Days Later, or the multitude of other “global virus wipes out people” stories, that I used to dig, in the same way ever again.
They aren’t fun little stories anymore, now they’re the possible futures that Doctor Strange mentioned and I’m left wondering if we’re in the 1.

Look, gang, dog issues aside, this is an incredibly well written tale that uses one of the most classic monsters we have.
And it shockingly feels as fresh and vibrant as it would if it had been published last week.
The ending is a good twist and tonal shift, and the whole damn thing lays bare why Matheson was so highly regarded.
I spent 159 pages reading a master at work.
There is a lot of death, obviously, and I can understand that not really being your bag given the current predicament the world is still unfortunately struggling through.
But this Halloween, if you are in the mood for a survival horror adventure, I don’t think you can find a better one than this classic.

Let us know what you think of this review in the comments below or share this post on Twitter with the Hashtag #TNBBookReview.

Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her continued editorial assistance.

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And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.