An unmissable horror classic: "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson

Background image by FWStudios on Pexels.

⚠️ This is a spoiler-free book teaser/review. You can safely continue. ⚠️

*

I've read several classic books in the past couple of years and I realised that they are not always for me. It's fine. But in this case, let me start with this: Everyone who is a fan of the horror genre needs to read this at one point.

"Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone."

The premise in a nutshell: Due to a virus, everyone on the planet has turned into violent, mindless monsters—vampires—except for Robert Neville. Now, he has to do everything he can to survive.

At one point everyone must have seen the movie adaptation with Will Smith, and I started the book with those images playing inside my mind. It turned out quickly that the only thing that the movie had borrowed from the book was the base setting of the apocalypse. Oh, and the name of the protagonist.

Published in 1954, this original story is a whole different beast. It's dark, existential, heartbreaking, thought-provoking, bleak, and hopeless. It's about survival, loss, grief, and persistence despite the grim circumstances. Also, this is the first time I've ever read about vampires—yes, in the book the "creatures" are vampires—that were actually creepy. Remember the name "Ben Cortman" when you read.

For me, the book was a very pleasant surprise. It wandered into territories I had not expected. It shone light—or rather, darkness—to many different aspects of the post-apocalyptic solitude I had never thought of.

Truly an unmissable modern classic of horror/sci-fi literature. Highly recommended.