We hope you will find at least a book or two to read from these selections.

I Am Legend. Richard Matheson. Tor Books. 2007.

Book review by Joel
This is a collection of eleven short stories, "I Am Legend" being the first and longest. I watched the movie first and thought that it was a strange tale, especially since it was written so long ago (1954). Of course I always forget that screenplays often take the root of a story and modernize it or even go into offshoots of the original to the point of being almost a different story altogether.

The movie, "I Am Legend [Blu-ray]", is quite different from the book. The main character is driven to alcoholism and violence. Although he is a smart man, he doesn't have any scientific training so he has to go to the library and read up on whatever science he needs to train on to try and fix his situation, which is that all of humanity has been turned into blood thirsty vampires through some unknown organism. He is the only one immune to the disease.

I really like the book, and although the movie was good, I didn't understand the ending. After reading this book, I see that Hollywood stuck a positive ending to a tale that had none. In order to do that, they had to go and change the whole plot of the story. The book makes a lot more sense although the ending leaves open an even more interesting question, I think.

I would recommend this one too. It is graphic and there is adult subject matter. Plus you get ten other stories for your money! Whohooooo. One of the stories, "Prey", you might recognize from a TV movie, "Trilogy of Terror" from the 1970s. That one scared the bejeezus out of me.

Joel.

Visit Book Reader's Traverse Home Page for more selections.

©2004-2010 by Book Reader's Traverse. All rights reserved .

Do you like this book review? Joel has written for Book Reader's Traverse since its conception in 2004. He often finds his books in unusual places, including hometown shops where he visits, and even dumpsters at times. See his comical bio and picks--Joel's Picks.

Sign up for "Book Reader's Traverse Unabashed": our free newsletter where we provide you with our latest selections and commentary on the reading world. We will not share your e-mail address.