#2. I AM LEGEND By Richard Matheson

Published : 1954
Pages : 160
Overall Mark : 9/10

An SF novel about vampires...
Robert Neville is the last living man on Earth... but he is not alone. Every other man, woman and child on the planet has become a vampire, and they are hungry for Neville's blood. By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn. How long can one man survive like this?

RICHARD MATHESON (1926-)
I Am Legend, first published in 1954, is Richard Matheson's first SF novel and established his reputation. His other novels include The Incredible Shrinking Man and Hell House, and he has written many film and TV scripts.

VERDICT
I was surprised at how modern this book felt. Richard Matheson manages to make this book feel contemporary even by today’s standards and, as this is supposed to be set in the late 70s, that’s not an easy task! This novel has been imitated by many, most recently in Stephen King’s Cell, but will always remain one of the original and the best of the modern vampire novels, up there with the likes of Dracula!