Read a bunch of books, but was too lazy to write up about them! Will start off with a few:
Martin the Warrior by Brian Jacques: A reread. When I was about 11, I read all the Redwall books available at the time (12, I think). I have occasionally reread Redwall, but haven't read any of the others again, and my last Redwall reading had to have been at least 3 years ago, I think. I remember liking this one particularly though (enough to even remember an important plot point!- which is a rare occurance for me).
It's very interesting in the path-of-the-warrior way, which I hadn't seen in my first reading of the Redwall series. In that, being born to Luke "the Warrior", Martin is born into the role of the warrior. Born into a world of primarily chaos (warlords and pirates) and many creatures of borderline-selfish/anarachic tendences, only reluctantly checked by guidance/law (squirrels, lizards, shrews). He's always referred as a warrior- even as a slave- he cannot escape from his role, even when the promise of freedom and peace is right before him, in the form of Rose and Noonvale. He's mirrored in that regard by Felldoh, who shows himself the price of not being able to let go of hate and violence through his death.
They win. But it is at a heavy price, somewhat glossed over in the end, but is a theme that carries over into Mossflower, Redwall, and The Legend of Luke. Martin will learn to become the peacemaker, a founder of the peaceful place to come- and learning of his father's fate definitely helps the healing process, I'm guessing. But Redwall is the true follow-up, in that Matthias has the life not afforded Martin. Matthias can pick up the mantle of warrior, pick up the sword of legend, but he can also put it down- settle down, have kids- because a haven has been created. (Which, if I'm remembering correctly, sort of thematically leads right into Mattimeo, a story of leaving the haven and seeing the world outside.)
Overall, I'm not sure I understand the story completely, reading it out of sequence like that, but it is notably *simpler* than most of the other Redwall novels- containing relatively few (2 and a half?) simultaneous plots, rather simple subplots at that! Also few battles and strategies. Makes it kind of simplistic, if you don't consider its prequel status. 8/10?
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson: I've seen the movie, but the two are not incredibly similar, so it didn't factor in much. Interesting ideas and some cool examination into the survival of man alone. Even the character himself finds it interesting that he keeps surviving. What makes him special that he can just keep living? Not merely in the physical standpoint (of some sort of immunity, mayhaps, to the bacterial infection which brings on the vampirism), but in the psychological standpoint, as well- even when he's reached deep levels of despair and dug himself out? Is it mere survival instinct, or a convergence of circumstance that make him uniquely adapted to ... keep trying to live?
Unfortunately, his lack of curiosity into the vampiric condition is somewhat tedious. Well, he is curious, but not as curious as I think most people would be under the same conditions, and his "reveal" of the bacterial infection that explains both the psychological and physical aspects of the vampiric condition is sketchy science, and not all that amazing to boot. (We can accept "vampireS!" without any long sustained explanation, thank you very much.) It's like its straining to be a plot twist, but fails to twist at all. Also more contemplation about the nature of replacing other species, such as humans displaced previous species before the main character's current situation would be nice, in order to bring more closure to that point. Also, I wouldn't have minded more explanation/exploration of some of the more hard-to-explain aspects: how the world reacted to the plague and the government broke down and how the new society formed/was being run.
And I kinda thought it would be scarier. It was going for debauched at parts, but eh, too much navel-gazing. Maybe I'm desensitized to that sort of stuff from watching stuff like Hellsing and modern films. Or there wasn't levity to constrast the horror aspects. So disappointing in that aspect. 6/10