Now this was quite a book. And one which, although sharing its name, is not much like the film.Those who has seen the film of the same name starring Will Smith will know that the story features a post-apocalyptic plague which has turned all humans into creatures allergic to sunlight and thirsty for blood.
These two vampiric concepts are pretty much the only ones which follow the book other than the protagonist called Robert Neville who is locked up in his own house and is immune to the virus.
So what does the book tell us?
A strange germ has formed which, once it is inside the human bloodstream, turns said human into a blood sucking vampire (the genuine term used in the book) which is also allergic to sunlight, lives in the dark/comes out at night and will do anything to kill that human. In the book, however, the vampires are able to speak.
Robert Neville is immune to the germ (we find out how later on in the book) and after losing his family, has little choice but to survive and research this germ.
We travel through three years of his life which includes flashbacks, alcoholism, experiments and a stray dog. Robert Neville is one of those characters who is just determined to find out what is happening, find other humans and live happily ever after. However, as with all thrillers, this doesn't exactly go to plan and Neville is pretty much "screwed" without already knowing it.
Although it took me 5 days to read the story, it was only really a short one of 96 pages. With this in mind, it should be said that the book needn't be any longer as it tells all we need to know.
Despite being loosely the same story, the book and film could hardly be compared and are generally two different vampire stories with the same name. That's not to say it should go a miss, especially if you like an easy read with "death, vampires and whiskey" (Copyright quote, 2011).
So, if you happen to come across I Am Legend anywhere, give it a read.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
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