I Am Legend Book Review

I recently watched the Will Smith movie "I Am Legend", and found the movie extraordinarily interesting and thought-provoking. The action in "I Am Legend" entertained me and the psychology of the film lured me into an empathic bond with the star of the movie. After searching for more information regarding "I Am Legend" on the internet, I found an alternate ending for "I Am Legend" that rounded out my experience. However, as is often the case, I enjoyed the book "I Am Legend" even more than the movie.

Since I liked the movie "I Am Legend" and knew that it was based on a 1954 novel by Richard Matheson, I decided to read the original. While I liked the movie, the book version of "I Am Legend" is very different and I found it even more enjoyable.

There are a large number of large differences between the book version of "I Am Legend" and the film version. For starters, Robert Neville is not an Army scientist; he's a blonde, regular guy living in Los Angeles who listens to classical music. In the book version of "I Am Legend" Neville does not have a pet companion and Robert Neville's adversaries are vampires, rather than zombies. Neville takes a scientific approach to many of the common superstitions regarding vampires (e.g. garlic, mirrors). Also, in the book, Neville's wife and daughter don't die in a helicopter crash. Finally, the character of Robert Neville in the book "I Am Legend" is much more complicated than Will Smith's character. Of course, a substantial level of detail is easier to accomplish in a book than it is in a movie.

Ultimately, the book "I Am Legend" is a different work of fiction than the film. You can read the book after the film and still be surprised at every twist. The book's message is much more meaningful to me, and is less cheery than the movie (believe it or not). I will not divulge in this section any of the book's details that are not readily apparent, so there are no spoilers until the end of the article. All I will say is that the book explores Neville's psychological pain in much more detail and the book has more twists than the movie. The vampires have much more personality than the zombies of the movie. The book "I Am Legend" is a journey through Neville's warped and changing reality.

In summary, if you liked the movie, read the book "I Am Legend". It's a short book (maybe even a little too short) and an easy read. But, it is also original and challenges our current paradigm.

A few of the interesting spoilers in the book "I Am Legend" can be found below:

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #1: Neville's wife, daughter, and friend were infected. Later when Neville's friend is being killed by the "live" vampires, Neville actually feels sympathy for the man.

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #2: Robert Neville killed his own wife after she was infected. This is something that none of us could ever imagine. In addition, after his daughter is infected and passes, the authorities take her body to a large burning pit where all of the infected dead are taken. This is done to kill the bacteria and attempt to stop the outbreak in its early stages.

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #3: As mentioned in Spoiler #1, there are live and dead vampires. The live vampires learn to live with the infection and kill off the dead vampires and the remaining humans while setting up a new society. Throughout "I Am Legend", Neville has killed both types of vampire without regard to the difference.

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #4: Yes, the book had a dog as well. Midway through the book, in Neville's intense loneliness, he discovers a dog that has not been infected. Over the course of weeks, he follows the dog and attempts to entice it with food and drink. Eventually, the dog returns and is infected. Neville works hard to earn its trust and cares for the animal until it dies shortly after.

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #5: Neville actually spends some time with one of the infected (whose husband he had killed). Neville was not sure she was infected, but gave her the benefit of the doubt until he could test her blood. After all, she had been out during the day when all vampires were confined indoors. However, as the live vampires evolved, they were able to learn to adapt.

Originally sent as a spy for the live vampires, she develops sympathy for Neville. She waits until Neville sees that her blood is infected and knocks him out to escape. She leaves a note and warns him to leave his home before the vampires capture him. He does not heed this advice and is captured and set for execution. She visits him in his cell and gives him pills to help ease his passing.

"I Am Legend" Interesting Spoiler #6: The ending of the book is so much more touching to me than the movie. The title "I Am Legend" doesn't really make sense until Neville is captured by the live vampires and is awaiting his execution in a jail cell. As he looks out the cell window, he sees a throng of live vampires waiting for his death. When they see him looking out of the window, they recoil in fear and horror. He had become to them, what they were to him... legend.