After seeing the movie, I decided to read the book. While I often find reading the book on which a movie is based ruins the movie for me, I did not find this to be the case with "I Am Legend." The movie and the book share little beyond the title, the name of the main character, and the basic premise. The plot, the deeper story, the actuals of the main character are all completely different.
The novel (novella really) is much darker than the movie. Robert Neville is not a super scientist soldier, he is just a regular guy, He is not searching for a cure; he is just trying to survive. In the end he doesn't find a cure, nor does he find an enclave of "survivors." Neville doesn't find god in the tattoo of a young woman. He finds a complicated comfort from a vampire. Humanity (at least as we define it) does not rule the day. In fact, humanity is ultimately redefined. Neville becomes the monster.
Matheson's writing is solid. Neville's character is well drawn. The plot rolls out smoothly using occasional flashbacks to fill in the gaps. The story is not a page turner the way Dan Brown novel is, but at 157 pages it does not need to be. The story and Neville's character are gripping enough to make it an easy read.
The book answers the questions about the vampire's humanity that movie does not. In fact, the movie cannot answer it because the answer complicates the clean ending. The book's answer is more realistic and in line with the "Living Dead" movies' progression.
If you like happy endings, see the movie and skip the book. If you are OK with endings that make you uncomfortable, read the book (and see the movie).
