I Am Legend (Signed First Edition)

Matheson, Richard

ISBN 10: 0802755240 / ISBN 13: 9780802755247

Published by Walker & Co, 1970

First Hardcover Edition; A Near Fine book in a Fine dust jacket. SIGNED by the author directly to the title page. An exceptionally well preserved copy of this diminutive novel, some say the greatest Vampire novel ever written, basis for the fine film starring Will Smith; this book getting quite scarce in collectible condition, rare indeed signed. This copy is in near fine condition with a square, tight binding (likely unread), sharp spine lettering over white boards, and clean white pages free from any markings; the book shows only some mild sunning to the board edges and faint off-setting to the pastedowns and first free papers, else fine. Housed in a clean and brilliant white fine dust jacket that shows only slight rubbing to the top of the back flap and very light age-toning to the flap edges. Overall, a highly presentable and collectible copy with an extraordinary jacket, greatly enhanced by Matheson's signature; a welcome addition to any Matheson or 20th Century Horror collection. Provenance assured from one of our great auction houses. Not remaindered, not price clipped ($4.95 intact), not ex-library; in a fresh Mylar sleeve and will ship carefully wrapped in a sturdy box. Seller Inventory # 4110

Synopsis:

It seems strange to find a 1954 vampire novel in Millennium's "SF Masterworks" classic reprints series. I Am Legend , though, was a trailblazing and later much imitated story that reinvented the vampire myth as SF. Without losing the horror, it presents vampirism as a disease whose secrets can be unlocked by scientific tools. The hero Robert Neville, perhaps the last uninfected man on Earth, finds himself in a paranoid nightmare. By night, the bloodthirsty undead of small-town America besiege his barricaded their repeated cry "Come out, Neville!" is a famous SF catchphrase. By day, when they hide in shadow and become comatose, Neville gets out his wooden stakes for an orgy of slaughter. He also discovers pseudoscientific explanations, some rather strained, for vampires' fear of light, vulnerability to stakes though not bullets, loathing of garlic, and so on. What gives the story its uneasy power is the gradual perspective shift which shows that by fighting monsters Neville is himself becoming monstrous--not a vampire but something to terrify vampires and haunt their dreams as a dreadful legend from the bad old days. I Am Legend was altered out of recognition when filmed as The Omega Man (1971), starring Charlton Heston. Avoid the movie; read the book. -- David Langford

Review: One of the most influential vampire novels of the 20th century, I Am Legend regularly appears on the "10 Best" lists of numerous critical studies of the horror genre. As Richard Matheson's third novel, it was first marketed as science fiction (for although written in 1954, the story takes place in a future 1976). A terrible plague has decimated the world, and those who were unfortunate enough to survive have been transformed into blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Except, that is, for Robert Neville. He alone appears to be immune to this disease, but the grim irony is that now he is the outsider. He is the legendary monster who must be destroyed because he is different from everyone else. Employing a stark, almost documentary style, Richard Matheson was one of the first writers to convince us that the undead can lurk in a local supermarket freezer as well as a remote Gothic castle. His influence on a generation of bestselling authors--including Stephen King and Dean Koontz--who first read him in their youth is, well, legendary. --Stanley Wiater

Bibliographic Details

Title: I Am Legend (Signed First Edition)
Publisher: Walker & Co
Publication Date: 1970
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Near Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
Signed: Signed by Author(s)
Edition: 1st Edition