What Dreams May Come [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Matheson (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: New York: Berkley Books # 4202 1st Printing 1979; . edition (1979)
• ISBN-10: 0425042022
• ISBN-13: 978-0425042021
• ASIN: B001NRB6N4
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (231 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,103,143 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

76 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much better than the film it's scary, May 7, 2007

By 

Kylopod (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: What Dreams May Come: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This novel is the most vivid, complex, and surprisingly convincing depiction of afterlife I have ever encountered in a work of fiction. Nothing else I have seen on the subject, in literature or in film, comes close--certainly not the 1998 film. Before I read the novel, I had no idea that a story about Heaven and Hell could have such a profound effect on me.

In the metaphysics of the film and the book, dying involves shedding your physical body and entering a mental environment shaped by thoughts. Your fate in such an environment is largely self-imposed. That much of the movie intrigued me, the first time I saw it. The problem was the schmaltz. I mean real schmaltz, piled on in large mounds, in place of strong narrative.

It's hard for me to convey just how very different the novel is. Of course there are major differences in the plot. One such difference is the ending. (Even Roger Ebert, who heaped high praise on the film, was disappointed by the ending.) Another is the beginning, where the film adds Chris's children to the list of characters who die and go to Heaven. In doing this, the movie (1) makes the early scenes so depressing they become surreal (2) needlessly clutters the story with extra characters (3) introduces a silly and confusing subplot about Chris's attempts to find his children, who are in disguise.

In the book, Chris's children are adults, not youngsters, and they're minor characters who never die in the course of the story. The details of Chris's life on Earth differ so greatly between the book and the film that it's like reading about a completely different person. Even though I saw the movie first, the image of Robin Williams completely vanished from my mind as I read, because he was so unlike the character described in the book.

The entire feel of the book is different, telling a touching love story that uses real characterization, not cheap manipulation, to move the audience. And Matheson's vision of the afterlife truly comes alive on the page. The Hell scenes are actually terrifying, reminding us, as the movie does not, why Matheson is primarily famous as a horror writer.

I won't overlook the movie's gorgeous visual effects, which earned the film a well-deserved Academy Award. They just aren't put to good purpose. The movie's vision of the afterlife as like being inside giant paintings fails to evoke a sense of reality. The book, in contrast, bases its afterlife imagery (vividly brought to life by Matheson's skillful prose) much more on Earth-like scenery. This approach ironically leads to far more exotic ideas, such as architects who build things using their minds, and a library containing history books more objective than those on Earth.

One of Matheson's unique qualities as a fantasy writer has always been his almost scientific approach to the supernatural. Here, Matheson makes Heaven and Hell seem like a scientific, natural process, and one of the joys of the book is discerning all the intricate "rules" of how everything works. (That's another area where the movie falls short.) What needs to be kept in mind, however, is that Matheson doesn't do this just for entertainment purposes. In the novel's introduction, he tells his readers that the characters are the only fictional component of the novel, and that almost everything else is based on research. The book even includes a lengthy bibliography. Thus, the afterlife that Matheson describes isn't some fantasy world he concocted from his own head, but something he believes to be an accurate description of reality.

Some people may wonder, at this point, about Matheson's religious background. He was raised a Christian Scientist, but gradually developed what he calls his own religion, taking elements from many sources. One of the book's main influences, I believe, is eighteenth-century Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.

From what I've seen, people react negatively to this book based on how far it departs from their personal beliefs. Christians complain about the absence of Jesus, while those who don't believe in any afterlife consider the story too nonsensical to accept. Most readers, it seems, are put off by the New Age terminology and concepts scattered throughout the book.

These reactions are puzzling, if you stop to think about it. Books about elves, fairies, dragons, and wizards remain popular even though nobody believes in any of those things. Why should people be bothered by a fiction book portraying a Heaven and Hell that conflicts with what they believe? The book is perfectly enjoyable whether or not you accept Matheson's metaphysics.

Of course, I personally do think Matheson provides insight into the subject--though I admit I'm a little wary of his acceptance of paranormal phenomena. But it amazes me how so many people refuse to even touch the book, thinking that any story with such a plot must automatically be hokey. In most cases, they'd be right. "What Dreams May Come" is a big exception. It suggests the endless possibilities in a subject that normally is dead weight for fiction. And it really makes you think.

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truely Astonishing masterpiece, August 14, 2004

By 

Michael Beveridge (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What Dreams May Come: A Novel (Paperback)

This book touched me. Over and over again. Having already seen the movie, I alredy knew what to expect, but I was wrong. The book is soo much better and DIFFERENT than the movie which is great. The story is basically the same outline, but there is just soo much more heartfilled moments in the book u just couldnt capture on film. So much sorrow and sadness and of course happiness. Not a long read, but the amount of feelings u get out of this book just might change the way you think and live your life. It made me reflect on my life and the people in it that I love and take for granted.
Just a powerfull thought and emotional prevoking story, and Im not ashamed to say that I loved it.
totally worth the read.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I would give this book more stars if I could, December 27, 1999

By 

Jennifer (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Dreams May Come: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I can't force you to read this book, but I can promise that it will be one of the best book investements you can make. Without forcing you to, Richard Matheson makes you evaluate your own life and existence and in my case- made me a little less scared to die. Beyond the afterlife content, its an awesome love story that literally made me sob. I now know each of us has a soulmate out there. Good luck in the search!