Just finished Richard Matheson’s I am Legend, the 1954 science-fiction novella about apocalypse, vampires, zombies, dust, life, death, loneliness, classical music,canned food, and a brief interlude with a dog. Hollywood has based three movies on the book, including The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1973), and most recently I Am Legend (2007).

It’s a must read in the science fiction genre, creative, well-written, and entertaining, telling a different story from the movies that it spawned.

Is it Shakespeare? No. More literate but less creative than Philip K. Dick.