Much less interesting was extensive discussion of the protagonist's efforts to discover the cause(s) of the vampire like humans, and the unnecessarily long section devoted to the protagonist's interaction with the dog. I also thought the interaction between the protagonist and the woman towards the end of the book was also interesting, as was the final conclusion. For example, I appreciated the beginning of the work where the author described the protagonist's efforts to survive alone in his home in a desolate world where he is the only normal inhabitant. The general plot is very interesting - essentially, the last remaining man on Earth must survive a world that is now inhabited by various types of vampire like humans that are out to destroy him.Ĭertain parts of the book were outstanding. ( )įor good reason this book has formed the basis of several movies over the decades. I didn't expect to be reviewing the film here, as well, but there you go.

The book takes you there, too, but reading it makes Smith's performance all the more impressive. What the movie does surprisingly well (and this is a testament to Will Smith as an actor) is capture the arc of emotions Neville experiences in his horrific situation. (The movie ended the way you think the book is going to end but doesn't.) So, OK, maybe they're not similar beyond the basic premise.Īnyway, the book was more satisfying with its take on the 'science' of vampirism, and the ending was more honest and creative. The nature of the vampires is different: classic conception of the vampire v. hyper-intelligent black guy in the movie. The two versions are similar in many ways, but the characters are different: regular white guy in the book v.

I made sure to give myself some time between seeing the film version and reading the book (I always prefer to see the movie first novels always add to the story and usually improve upon it).

I am legend richard