Reviewed by Rinn on
I have to admit, I decided to read this because I enjoyed the film - but of course I didn't go into it expecting any real similarities. I can see why the film is so different; a large majority of the book involves Neville going around his day-to-day life just to stay alive - fixing up his house, collecting food. But there were several moments where the pace really picked up, and it wasn't until these moments that you really realised how threatening the vampires were.
Matheson's inclusion of Neville's lusting towards the vampires proved to show how similar Neville and the vampires really are - where Neville is lusting for their bodies, they are lusting for his blood. But that, along with his tendency to fall back on the drink, made Neville a much more rounded character, with some flaws.
I was quite surprised by the pacing of the book, as it's fairly slow, but I have the film to blame for those expectations I guess.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 18 March, 2012: Finished reading
- 18 March, 2012: Reviewed