Living Digitally

Review of "I Am Legend" (the novel, not the movie)

Ever since I reviewed the movie I Am Legend last year, I've been meaning to read the book. After finishing Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, I wanted something a little lighter (figuratively and literally), so I decided it was finally time to give I Am Legend a read. Not only is the book far more interesting than the movie, but it's also far more meaningful.

I Am Legend goes much deeper than just fantasy and horror. It's a very well written novel which explores the psychological challenges of solitude, and concepts of human (and inhuman) perspective and compassion. I'm not surprised that I Am Legend refuses to translate into a movie (it was first adapted in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth, then in 1971 as The Omega Man, and in 2007 as I Am Legend). Since the most recent attempt replaces pages and pages of Robert Neville's ruminations and discoveries with special effects, suspense, and heroism, a great deal of the interest of the novel is lost.

Without giving too much away, there are three important differences between the novel and its most recent adaptation:

1. In the book, Neville isn't a scientist. He's a blue-collar worker at some sort of plant (the book never discloses what kind), and he is forced to become an amateur scientist in order to understand what's happening around him. Neville is often frustrated by his inability to understand what he reads and to operate the equipment he finds until he eventually overcomes his own self-doubt.
2. The creatures in the book are vampires rather than zombie-like. This may seem like a minor distinction, but in fact, it changes the story significantly. Initially, the vampires in the novel seem like run-of-the-mill, blood-sucking clichés, but in fact, Neville is able to scientifically explain their behavior which has been misinterpreted and canonized into legend over the years. It turns out that there's nothing mythical or fantastic about vampires when examined under the scrutiny of objective, modern science.
3. The title of the work actually makes sense in the book whereas I don't think it ever comes through in the movie. The alternate ending of the movie does a credible job of at least acknowledging the theme of the story, but it can't possibly capture the gravity of the final three words of the novel: "I am legend."

I don't want to sound overly critical of the movie, especially after giving it a good review last year. They are both, in fact, good stories, and both very much worth your time. Just don't think that just because you've seen the movie, you know the story. The book will still surprise you both in terms of plot and depth.

Introducing TipBin (again)

I spent the weekend updating TipBin, and today it goes live again. TipBin is a site about sharing small and relatively simple tips for reducing our carbon footprints which, together, can add up to huge change. From the homepage:

The World is changing... And not always for the better. Climate change and global warming are no longer considered theories. The top 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990, and global emissions of CO₂ are predicted to increase at least 74% by 2030. China alone is adding two new coal fired power plants to its power grid per week.

And just so you don't think I believe everything I read:

One final note... I'm the first to admit that nobody fully understands climate change, and that no single person or group has all the facts or answers. But regardless of how much or how little peril our planet is in, I believe very strongly that conservation and waste reduction are always positive. When it comes to climate change and pollution, we have absolutely nothing to lose by assuming the worst, and everything to gain.

I first launched TipBin about a year ago, and learned a lot from the process. The most important lesson I learned was that spammers are the scum of the earth, and will stop at nothing to pollute every form of user-generated content on the web. I deleted all the illegitimate posts, stepped up my spam protection, and made a few other small code tweaks, and now it's ready for prime time once again. Have a look, and let me know what you think.