I Am Legend (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Richard Matheson
- First Published: 1954
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—apocalypse
- Time of Work: January, 1976-January, 1979
- Setting: Los Angeles, California
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction, Apocalyptic and catastrophe fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Folkloric or magical people, California, Los Angeles, West, U.S., Nuclear warfare or weapons, Plague, Vampires, Apocalypse
- Locales: Los Angeles, CA
The Plot
As I Am Legend begins, in January, 1976, Earth has been ravaged, first by nuclear war, then by a mysterious plague that transforms its victims into vampires. One normal human being, Robert Neville, remains. Through him, Richard Matheson dramatizes humanitys desperate struggle to overcome a catastrophe that it perhaps brought upon itself.
In the first of the novel’s four parts, Neville has barricaded himself in his home against the nightly onslaughts of the vampires, among them his former friend and neighbor, Ben Corman. While Corman shouts for him to...
[The entire page is 1060 words long]
See Also:
See Also:
- - I Am Legend summary and study guide in the eNotes.
- Add I Am Legend to your favorites