Book Review: Earthbound by Richard Matheson

My continuing journey through the works of Richard Matheson led me to the 1982 novel Earthbound this week (which he wrote under the pseudonym Logan Swanson), and it was pretty darn cool.

Having recently read his What Dreams May Come, which could basically be described as a romance set in the afterlife, this book is a lot darker, a little spookier and definitely more adult in nature.

The novel follows a married couple, David and Ellen Cooper, who have travelled back to the site of their honeymoon to try and rekindle the romance of their marriage as well as get over an affair David has recently had.

Unfortunately, the little cottage they stay in has another resident, a beautiful and mysterious woman named Marianna, who takes an immediate and intense interest in David.

The novel was a lot of fun, I enjoyed the fact that both the leads were in their forties (they are soon-to-be-grandparents) and found the atmosphere pretty interesting. The novel is described an erotic ghost story, so be warned, some of the book gets pretty graphic.

Overall a lot of fun, and leaves me looking forward to his next novel, a western called Journal of the Gun Years.

Genre Character of the Week: Chris Nielsen

I’m currently on my 10^th book by Richard Matheson, author of I Am Legend, and The Shrinking Man, and this one is called What Dreams May Come, which most people may recall was adapted into a Major Motion Picture starring Robin Williams back in 1998 that was well received and even nominated for a number of awards. Also the main character happens to be this week’s genre character, Chris Nielsen.

Chris begins the book by dying in a pretty terrible car accident, and thereafter spends the rest of the book in the afterlife. Oh yeah, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie, the story is also a romance. Here’s what I like about Chris.

The guy loves his wife.

That’s not everything, he’s also a good father, a writer (so he’s quite good at explaining the afterlife – which he does through a medium to his brother Robert) and incredibly brave, but at the most basic level, Chris loves his wife Ann, and it is that love that is the guiding theme behind the entire story.

If you haven’t seen the movie yet (or in a while) definitely check it out; Robin Williams is great and the art direction and visual effects are simply stunning. The story is a wonderful read as well, and although it doesn’t feature ghosts, vampires, or time travel (like some of my other favourite Matheson novels) it is currently sitting in my top three Matheson novels I’ve read so far.