I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1997, Paperback)

This story will provide entertainment to science fiction and vampire fans alike, but at its core it is a treatise on loneliness. It looks into the idea of truly being alone, the last of your kind. This is not the Will Smith movie from Hollywood, which was entertaining in its own right, but rather a more base and less formulaic work that while not being the most popular in its genre is still unique enough nonetheless to have warranted 3 films based on it (1964's 'The Last Man on Earth', 1971's 'The Omega Man', and 2007's 'I Am Legend'). It is not terribly long at 170 pages and is worth the time and money.

This book was written a long time ago but seems completely timeless. I have really enjoyed reading it, so much so I have sent it to my daughter. We have heard that this book will be a movie. Thats why I wanted to read it now.

I saw a trailer for upcoming movie "I am legend" with Will Smith and the story has intrested me. So i decided to buy original book, which has a promising author and very good reviews. The book is really good, it has a sophisticated story, no boring parts at all and a bit shocking ending. Mine version of the book got a few short stories from R. Matheson at extra at the end (I am legend has something like 170 pages), which was a good reading too.

I AM LEGEND is an excellent story, with a great premise. Several other stories are included in the book, which I did not know originally. What a nice surprise. Matheson is a great writer and considering that some of these stories were written almost 50 years ago, he could certainly be considered one of the earliest great American horror writers. While the stories are all engrossing and well written, Matheson's endings all sort of leave a lot to be desired, either fizzling out or ending abruptly and somewhat confusingly(mysteriously?). Overall, however, I would definitely recommend the book for I AM LEGEND alone, and the other short stories are a nice bonus.

I like this book, because I like reading vampire books. This one is very good, ESPECIALLY for it's time. I like how there are vampires and the other weird vampires. I like how this is a one-man's survival of a plague that spread throughout the city he lives in. What I dislike about it is that it was made too long ago... so some stuff doesn't make sense...

I bought this for one of my relatives as a X-Mas Present.. he LOVES reading vampire books, and I thought that this would be great for him.

I always loved "The Omega Man" so I was psyched to read the story it is based on (I am Legend) and it is a very good story. It is worth a re-reading in the future.

I love the book! It isn't like the movie, which I already heard, and it was still awesome! I've already read it and passed it on to someone else.

My daughter loves this book, she's 16 and I she would recommend to all others.
She said the author Richard Matheson is one of best at writing.

Honestly I have not read it, but plan to, I bought if for my wife, when it came she could not put it down. Apparently the first part is the story of I Am Legend, and the rest of the book is short stories of the same author. She reccommends it is a good read. A little different from the movie however but that is what is great about the human mind - Imagination!

My son wanted this book, because he had seen the movie and had heard the book was good. It was a lot different than the movie, and we both enjoyed it.

This book was great. I guarantee Hollywood will find a way to completly ruin this. Just by watching the previews for the new movie starring Will Smith, I know the movie will not follow this great masterpiece.