Published by: winnie (Karma: 83.75) on 10 October 2007 | Views: 4510
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Richard Matheson - I
Am Legend
"The most clever and riveting vampire novel since Dracula." --Dean Koontz
"I think the author who influence me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson. Books like I Am Legend were an inspiration to me." --Stephen King
"One of the Ten All-Time Best Novels of Vampirism." --Fangoria
Amazon.com
One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend
regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies
of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first
marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story
takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the
world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been
transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is,
for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but
the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary
monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone
else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was
one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a
local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His
influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen
King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well,
legendary. --Stanley Wiater
