Rating: 
Summary: Life begins at the finish, and ends at the beginning.
Review: A book I think everyone should read if they have any sort of belief in having a soul mate, and even for those who don't. For me it was a powerful story of love and emotion. Granted it focuses on the life after death, but it was still fantastic imagery of love transcending life. Don't read this book expecting it to be like the movie, b/c no book ever written is the same as a movie. It just doesn't work that way. I think Matheson sums up what this book feels like in the dedication, at least for me it does. "with grateful love, to my wife for adding the sweet measure of her soul to my existence"
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Love Story Of All-Time
Review: Before I review the book, I just want to briefly say, don't diss the movie! It's a marvelous adaptation of this marvelous book. I guess the subject matter was simply too heavy for some moviegoers & critics, but not me! And the film's Oscar win for Best Visual Effects was WELL-deserved, indeed. Having said that....I love Richard Matheson's original novel as well. I couldn't put it down! As far as I'm concerned, the story of Chris & Annie beats by a zillion miles the love stories of Romeo & Juliet, Jack & Rose from "Titanic," and all other love stories for that matter. It's a love story that touches my heart & soul, and expands my beliefs about what possibly awaits us when our time here is through. Of course, "Dreams" doesn't *prove* anything about the afterlife, but it sure leaves me hopeful about what it may be like. Matheson definitely did his research when he wrote this story, and I thank him for that. A gorgeous novel AND a gorgeous film, "What Dreams May Come" is a true classic story of romantic love, the love of family, and love that conquers life AND death. I can't recommend it enough! Thanks, Richard. :-)
Rating: 
Summary: Not like the movie, thank god.
Review: Being that I'm interested in alternative thought, religion and philosophies, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It was compelling learning of the protagonist's journey through the afterlife, starting immediately after his death and ending with his impending reincarnation. The ideas discussed, though not new, were nonetheless intriguing (and quite accurate), the depth of love displayed, touching. At times I thought Matheson went on a bit too much about the relationship between the protagonist and his wife, whereas I'd much rather he described in more detail the goings on in Summerland (and beyond). But perhaps that's more a stylistic critique than a substantive one; there was a lot of Summerland to go around. Overall, a very good book. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect vision of the afterlife
Review: I read this novel a few years ago, when the movie had just come out and was so taken in by its beautiful description of heaven that I stayed up late a few nights in a row to read as much as I could before going to sleep. As I read this novel, I felt a euphoric bliss, because its descriptions of the ultimate meaning of our lives feels so true and accurate. This book has become my guidebook on what to expect in the afterlife. I agree with many of the ideas, since this novel answered a lot of questions for me that religion has failed to answer, one of which is "upon death, do we learn 'the truth' if we are so dogmatic in our views being right." The answer makes sense, that we retain our belief system when we die, that death isn't an automatic enlightenment, especially for those who believe that only righteous born again Christians go to heaven, with its pearly gates and St. Peter standing out front with a large book of names. I never bought into that view of heaven, because why would heaven need a gate to begin with? I love the idea that one's soul goes to the level of his/her spiritual development, and the more open minded you are, the more diverse your heaven is (rather than some slice of heaven that only members of the same religion gravitate towards).
My only complaint about this novel, and the reason why I subtract a star, is what I consider the sappy love story angle. The main character is in heaven, on an adventure, yet all he does is wonder about his wife. Of course, that's understandable, but as a reader, I wanted a protagonist who shared my curiousity about heaven. I would have been all over the place, in the library looking up the real history of human events, looking at my past life charts, and meeting old friends. But I can't complain because this novel really is the first of its kind that I've read that is well detailed about heaven. The writer is brilliant for writing a novel like this and I love the "disclaimer" in the beginning that "only the story is made up"...that he based heaven on the consistency he saw in all the religions. That is why I believe this novel is probably more true in its depiction of heaven than any other book and I often refer to it for spiritual insight.
Unfortunately, the movie is not loyal to the novel and hardly resembles anything in this novel. I felt sick after I saw the movie, because I was expecting a beautiful movie that was somewhat loyal to the book, instead of what seemed like a parody. I hope someday that someone will make a film more faithful to this novel (George Lucas, perhaps? His creation of the city on Naboo in the Star Wars prequels look more like a city in heaven than what this film version showed). Until then, I'll just have to reread this novel and envision it within my own mind. This novel will take you to heaven. If you have any unanswered questions about spirituality or the ultimate meaning in your life, then please read this book, ponder its precepts and remember that because of free will, we create our own heaven and/or hell and God will not intervene in our self-deceptions until we recognize the illusions and ask to be led to the truth.
Rating:
Summary: If I could give it 10 stars I would
Review: I would like to say it was the cover of the re-release of this book that drew me to it, but the beautiful story inside is what kept me riveted for a whole day. I stayed up until 4 am to finish this book, I couldnt put it down. A good friends daughter passed away last year (she was only 7) and every since then I have been desperate to read anything I can that will offer me and my friend comfort in knowing that she is ok, that she will be waiting for us when its our time. I have also had a friend that had a near death expereience, and combined with all of this, I am not and never will be afraid of death. I dont want to die, for my life here is still far from finished, but when it is my time I will not fear what awaits me. I am not a particularily religious person, I believe in God and Jesus, but yet I dont think that a loving father would condemn even the most hardened soul to an eternity of hell. Such a person will deal with what awaits them , but yet, even for them they are given another chance. I will not debate the moral or religious applications of this story, for that is each persons right to do after reading this. But for a truly wonderful heart lifting story, please, read this and pass it on to as many as you can. The love story in itself is truly amazing, and will cause even the iciest of hearts to melt, especially when he gets to the part where he thanks his wife for all shes done. NOTHING has touched my heart so deeply..... This book is a treasure!!!
Rating:
Summary: beautifully written love story describing life after death
Review: Once again, as in "Bid Time Return" aka "Somewhere in Time" , Matheson has given us a main character whose purest motive is love and the sacrifices he makes in love's name. My husband and I were deeply moved by this brilliant novel. Both of us have lost parents and found this novel to be extremely comforting. We have decided to believe that what Matheson describes to be possible. We have recommended this book to many friends who have suffered the loss of someone close. Each person who has read it has been comforted. You will want 2 copies of this book: one to keep and one to share.
Rating:
Summary: The Love Story that Transcends Heaven and Hell.
Review: Richard Matheson was a very enlightened writer to come up with such imagination writing this book. The book is so much better than watching the film adaptation believe me. Reading this book was so much more entertaining and less confusing than viewing the film version. It's a good thing I read this book first. The author talks about the possibilities of life after death and tackles such issues as reincarnation, astral travel and mysticism as he doesn't have any religious biases, such New Age thinking, huh. A most unusual love story of two soul mates destined to be united forever across the ages. Do Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Is there life after death?
Review: Richard Matheson, the great author who wrote 'I Am Legend' and many other short horror stories and science fiction stories, explores his knowledge of life after death by pouring it into a story. A story about Chris Nielsen, a man who has died and has left everything behind. He wants to stay, to be with his wife and his family, but he can't. He must move on, he must learn about life after death. What is death? What is life? What is love?
Rating:
Summary: A good but complicated book
Review: The idea of the story was great. It described death in a way i never thought of it before. I found it very creative. Although the book was great, it did get me lost and confused most of the places. Overall though it was a very detailed book of romance and the life after death. Mixing colors and variety of scenary to create this very interesting book took a lot of creativity and thinking. And i think Matheson did a great job in doing so. After reading the book I also went and saw the movie. It was excellent. Like i was saying before i got a little lost in the book. But the movie made the story very clear for the audience. Overall the book was great and look forward to reading more books from Richard Matheson.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking
Review: The idea of what happens in the afterlife is intriguing. I more readily believe that heaven and hell are the products of our thoughts than punishments or rewards imposed by an outside source, so I thought the premise of this book very easy to envision. It was, on the whole, well written, thought necessarily depressing for the last half. The movie was actually a very good adaptation, although it made the two main characters seem selfish. I would recommend this if you are not offended by having traditional Christian dogma questioned.
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