I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

10/10

In "I Am Legend," Richard Matheson stripped the vampire of its gothic finery and draped it in the cold, clinical garb of biological catastrophe. Published in 1954, the novel serves as a bridge between the superstitions of the past and the scientific anxieties of the Cold War era. The story follows Robert Neville, seemingly the last human survivor in a world populated by bloodthirsty creatures that were once his neighbours.

Matheson's greatest triumph is his commitment to rationalism. Neville does not fight monsters with crucifixes or holy water out of blind faith; instead, he spends his days as a self-taught scientist, using a microscope and logic to understand the "vampiris" bacterium. This shift from the supernatural to the pathological changed the trajectory of horror fiction forever, laying the groundwork for the modern zombie genre.

The narrative is a searing exploration of solitude. Matheson captures the grinding monotony of survival - the daily repairs to the house, the scavenging for supplies, and the psychological siege of listening to the creatures scream his name in the dark. The prose is spare and muscular, reflecting Neville's own hardened exterior and the desolate Los Angeles landscape.

However, the novel's true power lies in its subversive conclusion. Matheson forces a profound shift in perspective, questioning the very definition of "normalcy." As Neville realises his place in the new world order, the title "I Am Legend" takes on a haunting, ironic significance. It suggests that morality and monstrosity are purely matters of majority rule.

"I Am Legend" remains a masterpiece of speculative fiction because it refuses to offer easy comfort. It is a slim, devastating volume that examines what remains of a man when the rest of humanity has vanished, and how the "hero" of one age inevitably becomes the "bogeyman" of the next.