I am Legend.....The science behind vampirism?
Written: Jul 30 '01 (Updated Nov 24 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Complete twist on the vampire. Approached from science, not mysticism
Cons: Should be longer. Could be seen as too depressing.
The Bottom Line: Fine original angle on the vampire legend, very well-crafted main character. Read this dark book for a scientific take on the causes of vampirism!
|
|
|
| snpmurray's Full Review: Richard Matheson - I Am Legend |
Can the last man find a scientific cause of vampirism?
That is the the question raised in I Am Legend. This excellent story deals with the unpleasant circumstances of Robert Neville, who, couped up in his fortified home outside L.A., is, as far as he knows, the last human alive. "Alive" being the operative word here, there are plenty of other humans around, but over the last few years Robert has witnessed the end of his civilisation, as all became nosferatu, undead vampires.
By day, Robert scours the city, destroying the comatose creatures, drinking and chain-smoking as he goes about his grizzly task. By night, he stays behind locked doors, pursuing his scientific investigations into the causes of the vampiric plague which has taken from him the life he knew, whilst about his house crawl the living dead, just waiting for him to emerge.
Armed with microscopes, medical texts, and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of garlic, he lives for years under these circumstances, always hoping that tomorrow will bring the breakthrough he needs to kill or cure the earth of its pestilent infection.
"I Am Legend" approaches the vampire story from a refreshing angle. The reason I prefer science fiction to fantasy, I think, is because I enjoy hearing plausible arguments for things based on our current understanding of the physical universe. In this book, the character Neville never gives up on his belief that even the most mythic of all legends could in fact have a basis in scientific understanding, without invoking mystical, intangible causes. Mathesons' vampires have a dyscrasia of the blood, caused by a pathogenic bacterium. Cleverly, he presents reasonable arguments to explain the most common features of the vampire as the story unfolds.
Robert Neville is a well-drawn character, and essentially the only one in the book. He is full of grief, fear, and cynical wit. By turns he is logical and calm, staring down his microscope and listening to heavyweight classical pieces, and then blind drunk, enraged and embittered, a terrified prisoner, slowly becoming an anachronism in a world which no longer seems his own. We deal here with the issues of loss, alienation, and a good deal of the form of adventure which makes Robinson Crusoe a good read.
There is, as one might imagine, a good deal of gore in this book. Some sexual references also. I probably wouldn't want an early teen to read this book, or anyone who has a problem with a work which is disturbing in its imagery. The main character has to do things which he acknowledges are dehumanising him slowly but surely.
As for the rest of us, I think you'll have a good read. There is certainly a lot of depressing things about this read, but I still recommend it highly, since it is well crafted, lively, thoughtful, and original. I don't personally mind a bit of darkness in my library from time to time!
Some of my other science fiction book reviews:
Rama Revealed
Prelude to Space
Stand on Zanzibar
The Demolished Man
The Stars my Destination
Cat's Cradle
The Gods Themselves
Watchmen
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Hammer of God
The Left Hand of Darkness
Flowers for Algernon
Lord of Light
Rendevous with Rama
The Tombs of Atuan
The Dispossessed
I am Legend
The Einstein Intersection
Earth Abides
Peace on Earth
The Farthest Shore
Methuselah's Children
A Call to Arms
To your Scattered Bodies Go
The Lion of Comarre / Against the Fall of Night
To Say Nothing of the Dog
The Doomsday Book
Frankenstein Unbound
Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Imperial Earth
A Case of Conscience
Solaris
The Sands of Mars
The Land of Laughs
Eden
His Masters Voice
Citizen of the Galaxy
King David's Spaceship
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Double Star
The Fabulous Riverboat
Songs of Distant Earth
Way Station
The Fountains of Paradise
The Long Tomorrow
Lincolns Dreams
Alas Babylon
More Than Human
1984
The Forever War
All the Myriad Ways
I Sing the Body Electric
Gateway
Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said
This Immortal
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
snpmurray
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Location: Sedona, Arizona
Reviews written: 286
Trusted by: 178 members
About Me:
Compost
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.