Somewhere In Time by Richard Matheson (Audiobook Review)

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Title: Somewhere in Time
Author: Richard Matheson
Narrator: Scott Brick
Copyright: 2010 Blackstone Audio
Duration: 10 hours, 55 minutes
Genres: supernatural, time travel, romance
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: When a dying man falls in love with the photograph of a 19th century stage actress, the short remainder of his life suddenly takes on a new meaning. All he knows is that he must be with her, even if it means conquering time itself. It’s 1971, and Richard Collier’s life is about to begin.
Richard was just 36 years old when he found out he was dying. The headaches turned out to be a little more serious than he thought. In the few months that remain to him, he decides to do some traveling and see the country. Not really caring where he goes first, Richard flips a coin to determine his direction. Soon, he is on his way to San Diego, and the lights of Los Angeles are far behind him.
Upon reaching San Diego, Richard randomly chooses the Hotel del Coronado to spend the night. He is instantly charmed by the rich history of the old hotel, and enjoys spending time in the hotel’s museum, learning about its past. It is on one of these museum visits that Richard first glimpses a photo of Elise McKenna, a famous stage actress who stayed at the hotel in 1896. The photograph captivates Richard, and he finds that he can’t stop thinking about the beautiful woman captured in it. Over the next few days, he visits a book store, and the city library, trying to learn as much about Elise as he can, until he becomes completely obsessed with her. Thoughts of travel disappear as Richard comes to the realization that he cannot let his life end without meeting this woman. He is in the right place, the only thing separating them is 75 years of history.
Turning his research now to theories of time, Richard grasps for a way to bring the two of them together. Then he stumbles across a theoretical method of time travel involving self-hypnosis. After a few failed attempts, Richard is amazed and overjoyed when he actually succeeds in transporting himself back to 1896, if only briefly. Through practice, he finds that he is able to remain in the past for longer periods of time, until at last, he finally catches up with Elise walking along the beach near the hotel. Nothing could have surprised him more when she looks at him and says, “Is it you?”
Richard Matheson originally called this novel Bid Time Return, borrowing a line from Shakespeare’s Henry III. When the novel was adapted to film in 1980 bearing the title Somewhere in Time, future publications of the book carried that name. For Matheson’s fans, this book may seem far removed from his usual tales of horror, but Matheson himself considers Somewhere in Time, along with What Dreams May Come to be some of his finest work in the novel form.
I really enjoyed how Matheson pieced this story together, bridging the gulf of years almost seamlessly. While Collier was researching McKenna’s stay at the Hotel del Coronado, he finds references to her affair with a mysterious stranger, and wonders if that stranger might be him. When he uncovers an image of the hotel registry for that time period with his own signature on it as a guest, he becomes almost certain. In another scene, Richard suddenly recalls that he actually saw McKenna when he was just a boy. Elise was an old woman by then and he only saw her across a crowded room, but he can’t forget the strange way she kept looking at him. Matheson clearly demonstrates how the two were destined for each other, even separated by all those years.
Scott Brick’s narration of Somewhere in Time was adequate, although this probably wasn’t a very challenging audiobook in terms of the narration. There are only a handful of characters with speaking lines, and not a lot of dialogue since most of the story is told through the internal dialogue of Collier’s journal. For me personally, that works in the audiobook’s favor since Brick is not one of my favorite narrators.
This audiobook is for those who believe that love truly knows no bounds, not even time itself. It’s a story of destiny, and the indomitable power of the human will.

FILM ADAPTATION: Somewhere in Time was adapted to film in 1980 and starred Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer. I’ve never seen this one so I have no idea if it’s any good or not, but that cast looks pretty good to me.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Audiobook Review)
A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson (Audiobook Review)
>Bag of Bones by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)

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If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get "Somewhere in Time" by Richard Matheson (Unabridged Audiobook) from Amazon.com.

Interested in the movie?
Get "Somewhere in Time" (Collector's Edition DVD) starring Christopher Reeve, from Amazon.com.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
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