Somewhere in Time [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Matheson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 12, 1985

The award-winning novel that inspired the beloved movie starring Christopher Reeve, Somewhere in Time is a powerful story of a love that transcends time and space, written by one of the grand masters of modern fantasy.

Somewhere in Time is the moving, romantic story of a modern man whose powerful love for a woman he has never met allows him to literally transcend time.

A dying young playwright staying in a turn-of-the-century hotel becomes captivated by a painting of a beautiful stage actress from the previous century. Obsessed, he begins to study everything he can about the woman and her time and becomes convinced he belongs with her. Through self-hypnosis, he transports himself to 1896, where he finds the soul mate he was fated to meet. But will he be able to stay?

Somewhere in Time won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and was the basis for the 1980 cult classic movie starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

--This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''The author who influenced me the most as a writer was Richard Matheson.'' --Stephen King

''Stylish and gripping, [Richard Matheson's] stories not only entertain but touch the mind and heart.'' --Dean Koontz

''Richard Matheson is one of the most respected living American fantasy/science fiction/horror writers. . . Matheson could not write a bad book if he tried.'' --Hartford Courant --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

From the Publisher

7 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345331117
• ISBN-13: 978-0345331113
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,762,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard Matheson was born in 1926. He began publishing SF with his short story 'Born of Man and Woman' in 1950. I Am Legend was published in 1954 and subsequently filmed as The Omega Man (in 1971), starring Charlton Heston, and I Am Legend (in 2007), starring Will Smith. Matheson wrote the script for the film The Incredible Shrinking Man, an adaptation of his second SF novel The Shrinking Man. The film won a Hugo award in 1958. He wrote many screenplays as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone. He continued to write short stories and novels, some of which formed the basis for film scripts, including Duel, directed by Steven Spielberg in 1971. A film of his novel What Dreams May Come was released in 1998, starring Robin Williams. Stephen King has cited Richard Matheson as a creative influence on his work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tragic, True Romance, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Somewhere In Time (Paperback)

This book was one of the most romantic love stories ever told. When the movie came out in 1980 I was immediately enthralled by the subject matter, as well as the fact that Christopher Reeve was more than just Superman (I was only 8 years old at the time). But the time travel has captivated my interest ever since. I own the movie and watch it at least once a year. It took me another 20 years to actually seek out the book and read what I knew would be a more detailed, beautifully written story. I was right. I must write the ever-popular cliche, "The book was better than the movie." The setting was more vivid and I felt we were let into the heart and mind of Richard Collier, as well as Elise McKenna. The book makes me want to run to the Hotel del Coronado again and see it through the eyes of the author. I will give a very high recommendation for this book and encourage anyone interested in time travel or romance to run and read this treasure.

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ROMANTIC AND POIGNANT...THE LONGING IS PALPABLE, September 15, 2000

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Somewhere In Time (Paperback)

A terminally ill man falls in love with a famous turn of the century actress. The only trouble is that they are separated by a span of about seventy five years. What is a man to do? Why travel back in time, of course.

That is just what Richard Collier does in order to be with the beautiful Elise McKenna, the woman of his dreams. Or does he? Does he really travel back in time, or is it merely the delusion of a desperately ill man who seeks to find meaning for his existence? Does his tenuous hold on life in the present mirror his equally tenuous hold on life at the turn of the century? Is his death ultimately the only way for these unrequited lovers to be united, at last?

This is a beautifully poignant love story in which the longing the protaganists have for each other is palpable. A bittersweet sadness permeates the pages of this book, as Robert and Elise pass through life, each a shadow on the consciousness of the other. One only hopes that they find in the hereafter, what they were denied in this life.

This wonderfully imaginative and inventive book draws the reader into its fantastical web. A veritable page turner, it is a classic story of a love which will not be denied. Read the book, and then see the movie with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. You will not be disappointed.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful romantic tragedy., March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Somewhere In Time (Paperback)

It's 1971, and on the flip of a coin, 36 year-old Richard Collier, dying of a brain tumor, travels toward San Diego, and happens upon an old hotel. There he finds the captivating photograph of a young actress, Elise McKenna, who performed at the hotel in 1896. He decides to research everything he can about her. The more he learns, the more deeply he falls in love with her, and the more he's convinced that he has been to her time, and that they were in love. The 1980 movie, Somewhere In Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer, was based upon this 1975 novel by Richard Matheson. The novel's pull on the heartstrings, however, is even more intense, and the ending to the novel is much more tragic. The proposed sequel, MEMOIRS OF ELISE (different author), though not nearly as exhaustive as Somewhere in Time, does a good job of suggesting what happened to Elise after Richard disappeared from her life, and the events that helped her discover that Richard had come to her from the future.