In Richard Matheson’s dystopian novel I Am Legend, what is the name of the protagonist?

In Richard Matheson’s dystopian novel I Am Legend, the protagonist is Robert Neville.

Neville is the last apparently unaffected human in a world transformed by a pandemic. The infected population has become vampiric, and Neville spends his days studying the disease while defending his home at night. His research gradually leads him toward a scientific explanation for the creatures he once understood only as monsters.

The novel uses Neville’s isolation to reverse the traditional vampire perspective. As a new society begins to form among the infected, Neville becomes a frightening remnant of the old human order. The title suggests that he may become a legendary monster to the transformed majority.

The 1954 novel is different from its film adaptations, which change important plot details, characters, and the ending.