Customer Reviews
A Genuine Legend.. - By: Karel Bata, 21 Nov 2008 
Steven King's introduction identifies Matheson as a major influence & virtuallly credits him with re-inventing the modern horror genre. And rightly so.
I've only just read this (shame on me) & am amazed! It reallly is the granddaddy of the modern zombie genre. And of much vampire fiction too. Added to that it has several twists in the tail that are completely unexpected which put its imitators firmly in the shade (including the film).
An extraordinary achievement. A must read. It will surprise you.
Superb. - By: J. D. Aspinall, 17 Sep 2008 Justifying killing - or trying to - is a more pointed argument when taken in the individual; governments cloud the simplicity with rhetoric, propoganda & patriotism; but, keep the numbers down & the subject is raw & demanding attention.
Matheson strips the numbers down to one in this book, & one has no problem in coming down on the side of Robert Neville - the book's lead, & almost only, character.
One feels his panic when he discovers his watch has stopped & cannot get back to his safe-house before sun-down; & when he smacks his car into a crowd of Vampires like a macarbre game of skittles, one feels his elation.
Matheson recruits the reader from the outset & the reader becomes an observer, living one dimension down from the physical earthbound, able to see & hear alll he does - even hear his thoughts - yet is unable to intervene or advise, & that gives the work more power. It frustrates the reader; but Matheson, after sucking the reader in, turns the tables on Neville & strips him of alll the moral altitude he has taken for himself, & plunges him into the role of bad guy, of the hated terrorist, & makes him an outsider, a pariah.
Matheson has no mercy for his protaganist.
I have read short stories of greater length than this novel, & the prose is thin, which is not to say it is bad, but it deals only with the here & now of the story; back-story & poetic flourishes in the prose are kept to a minimum as far as the former go, & are non-existent for the latter. It makes for a story where 99 per cent is action in the present tense, & the book could be read in one sitting, I think.
This is considered a classic of genre fiction, & rightly so.
A VERY QUICK READ! - By: H. Greenan, 16 Sep 2008 I just couldn't put this down & it isn't typical of my preferred reading. I was completely drawn in as soon as I started it & my life went on hold until I finished it.
A very enthrallling book
Classic. - By: Sybok, 13 Sep 2008 A highly readable classic. There is little I can add to what has been said previously. The most faithful adaption is Vincent Price's 'The Last Man on Earth'. Do yourself a favour & read this book, even if you have seen the recent film. Recommended!
5/5 Not my typical read - By: Jay, 18 Aug 2008 I read this short book after seeing alll the reviews (thank you) & thought I must give it a go. I have tried lots of 'horror' novels over the years & they have never reallly engaged me. I read this over two evenings & found it totallly absorbed me. The text races along wonderfully.
This is not my typical read - favourite books include: Papillon, Hamlet, Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath & The Old Man & the Sea. I assume it is because having read them they stay with you & insist on being read again. Though my wife prefers to suggest I am simply a bit weird.
As for the new 'Mr Smith' film, which I enjoyed, they follow the same theme but to compare them would be like comparing a Mars Bar & a Snickers (I still prefer to calll them Marathon).
Not sure how helpful my waffling will be but having been persuaded to read this after alll the positive feedback I felt I should add something myself. I am sure this book will in time insist on being read again.
