Somewhere in Time

By: Richard Matheson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1980 Richard Matheson (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“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)

Timeless and Amazing

This has to be the most beautiful story I have ever read. I enjoyed every moment of it.

Will not disappoint.

If you are looking for a book about time travel you must listen to this book. It is in my opinion one of the best along with Time And Again by Jack Finney. This book has it all, and the narration was outstanding. Scott Brick is one of the best.

not as bad as some of the comments suggest

the story in itself is quite good, and the narrator wasn't as bad as some of the comments seem to suggest. maybe there are better versions out there, and also haven't heard any other books by this narrator. he reads it with kind of monotone, desperate like quality, with i think suits the story very well.

A Treasure and a Gift

If you’ve seen it, turn off all recollection of the movie that was based on this novel. The movie remains a hidden gem, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the book. The narrator treats us to a superb performance unlike any I’ve heard in thousands of hours of listening to Audible books. He acts the book, instead of merely reading it. It is as though he is on a stage, performing his heart out in a one-man play. He deserves a standing ovation. This title is currently included with a membership, without spending a credit. It is a gift. Treat yourself and settle in for a transporting experience.

Ok...liked the movie better

I'll be honest...I never knew the movie was based on a book. So I was really excited to give this a listen. I didn't mind the differences between the 2 and they are very similar, but I definitely prefer the movie in every way. Something about the Richard character in the book just made me not really like him very much.

The Very Best

Wow, loved the story, loved the Movie more. Excellent author work. Story to keep the soul inspired

Possibly Worst Narrator EVER, Bar None

What is this guy going for?

It's terrible.

I keep listening to his overly wrought narrative and can't imagine ANY woman ever being attracted to him, so it makes it hard to believe the female lead character would be. There's no charm, just overwrought histrionics in reading the simplest of sentences.

How does he get work in this field? This book was ruined. I had to stop and get a refund, even thought i was interested in the story.

This is one I will READ rather than listen to, and absolutely no more Scott Brick-narrated books for me.

Not a good listen. Shame for a Matheson novel.

Where does Somewhere in Time rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Writing was good. Narration bad. Probably falls in the middle to low. Strange because I've only gotten a couple bad reads.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I looked forward to listening to this novel for quite some time. Somewhere In Time was one of my favorite movies. I even pestered Audible for about a year to get it (under the novel's name of Bid Time Return). Why not, since they already had I am Legend, The Shrinking Man, Hell House, What Dreams May Come, and quite a few others. I had finally given up when I ran the author's name and saw the book listed as Somewhere in Time. I've listened to the whole book. Over all, I'd say I liked it. The only part I objected to was the way it was read. He was good at male and female voices, but the constant tremulous voice of the protagonist was really irritating. It came across as a small, fearful person. And maybe my recollection of Christopher Reeve in the roll made me think that this was not the way it should be. But I also don't think that a person portrayed in that manner could attract a strong, female character like Elise McKenna. I don't think you can talk like that for so many hours in real life. I understand that the protagonist was worried; but not to that degree.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I think they already did that. :)

Any additional comments?

Beyond the problem listed above, the writing was good so it was still a pleasurable listen.

One of the few times I've liked the movie better

The first half was unusually slow for Matheson. The pacing throughout was unrealistic and hard to absorb. Actually the part I found most moving was the epilogue, by the protagonist's brother.

Remember the movie with Jane Seymour...

and Christopher Reeves that was based on this book. The book of course was more detailed and had more characters and explanation of how and why he time traveled. Worth the listen.

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narration artists! He has a soothing voice, memory and range that allows him to read multiple characters and narrate in such a way, that it is like listening to a play. As ha reads the “Richard said...and William replied” is not even necessary! Very fun to listen to his books! Started listening to him narrating the Clive Cussler, Dirk Pitt series.

So all the way around I would recommend this read.