This short novel will often show up on the list of top books, and for good reason. I Am Legend is a true classic of both Science Fiction and Horror. This was filmed in 1971 as The Omega Man (starring the late Charlton Heston) and has been recently remade as I Am Legend starring Will Smith (in 2007). It is a very simple tale, but in no way superficial.
The story focuses on Robert Neville, apparently the last human being left on Earth, following a plague that turned everyone into a vampire. Neville is immune. He dedicates his days to hunting down the vampires in their lairs and killing them with wooden stakes while they sleep. In between he scours the radio waves for other survivors and fortifies his house. As well, he looks for the reason why he was spared and looks for a cure. Unfortunately for him and his mental well being, these vampires were his friends, family and neighbours. Ultimately he, and we as the reader, come to a startling realisation about reality and perception.
In these days where a novel is 500-600 pages long, it is easy to forget that it’s possible to create a story - a world - in a shorter book. Short stories and novelettes appear to be dying out somewhat and I find that a real shame. I believe that shorter novels can pack a greater punch simply because we don’t have enough time to become comfortable within the story. We are pulled along at the same pace as the protagonist and come to the same conclusions. Could this have been a better book if it were longer? No, I don’t think so. A longer book would have filled out the state of the planet, Neville’s mental state and sundry other things far better; but a longer book would have taken the immediacy away from the story and pulled in other characters necessitating a bunch of unnecessary subplots.
This is a book you can read in one sitting at just 160 pages long (depending on your edition, of course) it needn’t take you away from your real life for too long. The realisation of the situation will hit you just as hard.
