woodwardiocom

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Of the three movies based on this book, I've only seen the Will Smith version. The basic premise is the same, but in the book there are both living and dead vampires, and the living ones are still intelligent, and still capable of fearing the Last Man on Earth, as he hunts them during the day. It's a good, creepy book (though the hero drinks a lot to my eyes), and well worth reading. As it's a bit brief in itself, the book also contains some short stories by Matheson, including the Twilight Zone-y "Prey", the sardonic, dystopian "Dance of the Dead", the funny "The Funeral", and more. Recommended.

(By the way, Matheson was also the writer of The Incredible Shrinking Man, What Dreams May Come, Duel, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (the TZ episode featuring William Shatner), "The Enemy Within" (also featuing William Shatner, and William Shatner), and Stir of Echoes. "I am legend", indeed.)

I, Strahd by P.N. Elrod

One of the settings for D&D is the Gothic horror world of Ravenloft. The Dracula-like figure of this world is the vampire Strahd. Based on

doctor_toc's recommendation, I picked up his "memoirs", the story of how a grim but essentially honorable soldier became one world's epitome of Evil. Overall, it's pretty good, though the direct cause of his fall seems a bit unfair — fate stacks the odds against him. Still, darn good for game fiction, and recommended.