Bid Time Return - Richard Matheson Book Review

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"Bid Time Return"
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Review Summaries

"Richard Matheson has been called "one of the most important writers of the 20th century" by Ray Bradbury, and his work has inspired many other notable authors. Stephen King cites Matheson as "the author who influenced me most as a writer," Unlike the movie "Somewhere in Time," The book, "Bid Time Return" deals with a man who has a brain tumor, who becomes obsessed with a portrait of an actress, and then he believes he can will himself back in time to her. The diaries of the man, once he is dead are found by his brother, who is left (along with the reader, and therefore has been the topic of many discussion groups) to deal with the question, did his brother really go back in time and have a romance with the woman he was cent to be with, or did his brain tumor cause him to imagine the whole thing."
Kathleen, Resident Richard Matheson Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 70%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%

Tone of book - depressing/sad
Time Travel: - largely backwards/past
Romance Yes
Romance plotlets: - destined love (dream or prediction)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Time Travel story? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - 20's-30's
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - physically sick

Main Adversary
Identity: - An "It".
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Terrain - Water
Earth setting: - 20th century - 18th century - general past
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
scientific jargon? (SF only) - some scientific explanation
Sex in book? Yes
How much dialogue? - little dialog

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For All Time by Caroline B. Cooney
Outlaw Sword by J. Adrian Lee

Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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