Vampire or Human - who is the monster? (I am Legend - Richard Matheson)

Member Name: Leolover

Product:	I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Date:	24/10/02 (371 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well written, engaging

Disadvantages: none that I can think of

'I am Legend' is a horror/sci fi novel about vampires. There are hundreds of novels about vampires, some good, some bad, some terrifying, some merely comical. This one manages to be both scary and exhilarating, and, despite the fact that it was written in the 1950's and is, therefore, over forty years old, it is still a fresh and thought provoking read.

Robert Neville, the protagonist of our story, is probably the only human being left on the planet. The rest of the population have fallen foul of the 'disease' of vampirism. By day, they sleep soundly wherever they can find shelter from the suns rays, by night, they stagger through the streets, taunting Robert and urging him to give up his one man war and join them.

The vampires dread Neville. He is a legend of terror and death, stalking the vampires when they are most vulnerable, despatching them ruthlessly using all the old tried and tested methods; the stake through the heart, throwing them into the deadly sunshine, cutting off their heads. Garlic keeps them away from his house at night, and he spends the nights making stakes and drinking, heavily, both to block out both the leers and taunts of the vampires, many of them his former friends, and to find escape from his own torment. He has plenty to be tormented about - he has lost all those he loves to the vampires, and is truly alone amongst enemies.

Destroying as many vampires as possible is an engaging enough activity for a while, but soon Robert yearns to uncover the secret of the vampire plague, and spends all his waking time obsessing about what may be the cause of the 'disease' and how he might 'cure' it. This is where the novel differs from many other vampire classics; the supernatural is not an element of the story at all. At no point is vampirism endowed with any kind of mystique, it is always a disease, a biological problem, and a solution is always just around the corner.

Matheso
n's use of language is simple and engaging. He doesn't over elaborate with fancy, flowery descriptions of the vampires; they are not romanticised in any way, rather we are encouraged to regard them as we might a swarm of cockroaches, or a group of lepers - diseased and contagious. Robert Neville is not romanticised either - he is in fact a thoroughly unlikeable character. His behaviour and appearance deteriorate in a way that we might expect from someone who has no contact with other human beings for many months, and the story is all the more real for it. The novel ends powerfully leaving us with an intriguing question - the vampires are the majority, so at the end of the day, who is the monster - the vampire or the 'terrorist' who stalks them at their most vulnerable?

In the years since this novel was written, vampires have become a rather tired and overused theme, but 'I am Legend' is a powerful, gripping tale, and despite its age, it does not appear to have dated in any way. Considered Matheson's best novel, it is a good introduction to his work, and few can fail to enjoy this classic horror tale with a twist.

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