Recurring cover art for the book (or in a similar style), which seems to originate from the Gollanz SF Masterworks edition

(7) RICHARD MATHESON –

I AM LEGEND (1954)

Richard Matheson was legend.

A legend of fantasy, science fiction and horror – writing novels, short stories and scripts or screenplays.

I’m tempted to give this entry to his most famous work to Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, arguably the most iconic Twilight Zone episode, but really in the end there can only be one – his 1954 novel I am Legend.

Forget the Will Smith film or any other cinematic adaptation, all of which vary in their faithfulness to the novel and its lone survivor protagonist Robert Neville – which were a major influence and precursor to the zombie apocalypse. Except of course in I am Legend, it was a vampire apocalypse. Robert Neville is apparently the lone survivor (at least in Los Angeles) of a pandemic, in which the victims resemble classical vampires. At night, swarms of them surround his house. During the day, he stakes them and forages supplies.

And the novel’s central twist is in his titular legendary status. Spoiler warning from 1954 – his cozy vampire-killing post-apocalyptic routine is disrupted when he finds an apparently uninfected woman, Ruth. He takes her in, but is surprised to learn that she is actually infected. What’s more, she is one of a population of infected that have slowly recovered, rebuilding human society and developing medication to overcome the worst symptoms of infection (such as those of the feral vampires that swarm his house). Indeed, she is an agent sent to apprehend him. And as that new society apprehends him (for execution), he learns the irony underlying the title – to the new society, he is the monster stalking and slaying them. They view him as he previously viewed the feral vampires, a remnant of old humanity now a monstrous legend to the new humanity.

Again – but really, do yourself a favor and help yourself to his other works, particularly his short stories – which offer cracking good reads that lodge themselves in your mind afterwards. Indeed, I could (and should) do a Richard Matheson Top 10

RATING: 4 STARS****
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