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I am Legend

I am Legend

DystopianFantasy
Pages
160
Published
1954
Language
English

Synopsis

Robert Neville is the last man alive, or so he believes. Every night, the infected emerge from the shadows, driven by an insatiable thirst. By day, Neville fights for survival, a solitary battle against a world overrun by a plague that has turned humanity into monstrous creatures. He must find a way to endure and perhaps discover a cure before he becomes another victim of the night.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkTenseMelancholicThought-Provoking
SurvivalReluctant Hero

Genres

Dystopian Fantasy Horror Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Vampire Classics Paranormal Zombie

About the author

R
Richard Matheson

Richard Matheson was born in Allendale, New Jersey, the son of Norwegian immigrant parents. He was raised in Brooklyn and started writing at age eight. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1943. He served as an infantry soldier in World War II. He earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1949. His first short story, "Born of Man and Woman," appeared in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950. Between 1950 and 1971, he wrote d...

Characters

Robert NevilleProtagonist
Ben CortmanAntagonist

Neville's former neighbor and co-worker, now infected; he calls Neville out of his house every night and becomes the vampire Neville most fixates on hunting.

Virginia NevilleSupporting

Robert's wife, who dies of the plague early on; her death and return haunt him throughout the novel.

Kathy NevilleSupporting

Robert and Virginia's young daughter, who dies of the plague before the novel's present-day events.

Ruth (I Am Legend)Supporting

A woman Neville encounters who turns out to be an infected agent of the emerging new society; she grows close to him but ultimately reports on him.

All characters in I am Legend

Frequently asked questions

  • Is I Am Legend about vampires or zombies?

    Vampires. Robert Neville's enemies are the victims of a plague caused by a bacterium, and Matheson gives the vampire legend a scientific rather than supernatural explanation. The novel is widely credited as a major influence on the modern zombie genre, including George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, but its own creatures are explicitly vampires.

  • Where is I Am Legend set?

    The novel is set on Cimarron Street in a depopulated Los Angeles, roughly two decades after the outbreak that leaves Robert Neville apparently the last human being alive.

  • Has I Am Legend won any awards?

    In 2012, the Horror Writers Association, together with the Bram Stoker estate, named I Am Legend the Vampire Novel of the Century, beating other finalists including Salem's Lot and Interview with the Vampire.

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