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A review by remjunior
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
3.0
I wanted to like this more because it is really compelling and probably pretty accurate about what it feel like to be the last person on earth (presumably). That being said, I just can't get past this 1950s sexist BS that is present in almost every piece of older science fiction I've ever read. I get it, he's lonely...but saying that if he had run into this woman earlier, he might have violated her? Or the constant remarks to himself that she's just a woman and is essentially seducing him? Give me a break. I think there is a line between having a despicable character and being a sexist author...this felt more like that latter, although Robert Neville was kind of insane to be fair.
OK. Now that I've said that, I truly liked the premise and the isolation of the main character. The drinking, the trying to befriend a dog, the flashbacks to his family....it all worked really well. The ending is horrifying in a lot of ways, but I think the even scarier idea is that Matheson wrote this novel during the Cold War and it probably truly was a reflection of the fear that the people of the U.S. were feeling at that time. Germ warfare? Vampires that are out to kill you but turn out to be sentient and kind of the same as people? Etc. It's frightening stuff.
Overall, I liked it. It was a quick read. I hated the sexism and feel like it was pretty obvious that it wasn't just the character being sexist, but the author. Hey, I might be wrong. It just really rubs me the wrong way.
OK. Now that I've said that, I truly liked the premise and the isolation of the main character. The drinking, the trying to befriend a dog, the flashbacks to his family....it all worked really well. The ending is horrifying in a lot of ways, but I think the even scarier idea is that Matheson wrote this novel during the Cold War and it probably truly was a reflection of the fear that the people of the U.S. were feeling at that time. Germ warfare? Vampires that are out to kill you but turn out to be sentient and kind of the same as people? Etc. It's frightening stuff.
Overall, I liked it. It was a quick read. I hated the sexism and feel like it was pretty obvious that it wasn't just the character being sexist, but the author. Hey, I might be wrong. It just really rubs me the wrong way.