I Am Legend

I read this in 2000. I remember enjoying the story... great concept. Then I saw the movie and that sucked (and not in a good way.) – Hang on... I dug up my review from my archives:

Stephen King credits Matheson as being the writer who most influenced his own writings and Arnold Schwarzenegger is (or was) interested in making a movie out of this story (starring himself). So, I wanted to check out what they were so jazzed about. Matheson is perhaps better known as the author of What Dreams May Come, which was turned into a mediocre movie starring Robin Williams as a man who journeys to the afterlife in search of his wife. I Am Legend is about Robert Neville, who, though he's the last man on Earth, isn't necessarily alone. Every other man, woman, and child on the planet has either succumbed to a mysterious plague or has been turned into a vampire. By day Neville travels around the area driving stakes into the hearts of the sleeping vampires. By night he barricades himself in his protected house, surrounded by garlands of garlic. Bummer, huh? This brief novel was written in 1954 and takes place in the future of 1976. It's entertaining enough and has a couple of good plot twists, nothing great though. But I think the story would translate well — in an updated fashion — to a modern horror movie.