Richard Matheson has come up with some truly cracking stories over the long length of his career and many of these have been turned into some excellent films. ‘Duel’, ‘Somewhere in Time’, ‘The Incredible Shrinking Man’, ‘Stir of Echoes’ and ‘The Legend of Hell House’ have all helped to put Matheson firmly on the map in terms of Sci-Fi, Horror and Thrillers.

However, his greatest achievement in writing is probably ‘I am Legend’. Written in 1958, it was the first vampire novel to give a whole new twist to the genre and it has proved to be an exceptionally popular tale. Over the years it has been adapted for the screen on three separate occasions; ‘The Last Man on Earth’ (1968), ‘The Omega Man’ (1971) and ‘I am Legend’ (2007). And how many novels can you think of which have had such a huge and reoccurring appeal for filmmakers?

The tale of Robert Neville and his search for another human being while surviving a world gone wrong and living in storage units is just as enjoyable today as it was fifty-two years ago. Matheson does a superb job of making you feel Neville’s isolation and there are some truly scary moments. But it is not all about one man’s fight against an endless amount of vampires; ‘I am Legend’ is also very much to do with our need for companionship and this is poignantly illustrated with the protagonist’s befriending of a frightened dog.

If you have never read any stories by Richard Matheson, then ‘I am Legend’ is a very good place to start. It is an exciting, moving, horrifying and thoroughly thought-provoking novel by a true master writer.