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What are the best Time Travel stories/books?

Time travel has always been a popular topic ever since H.G.Wells penned the short story/book "The Time Machine". We've seen time travel stories in Star Trek, in the Twilight Zone, and in Harry Potter.

Some are well done, others not so much.

So, what are the best? Is there a collection of the best stories?
Would you give this to a bright teen for their entertainment?
(Anything that also exists as a book on tape or CD is a plus, but not a necessity!)

O my captain asked in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report

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  • Botero100_small
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    Connie Willis is a scifi author who has written several books with time travel plots. I've only read her _Doomsday Book_ but I really liked it, so her others are on my list. I'm pretty sure a smart teen (especially one who likes plucky young heroines) would enjoy that one.

    marymc answered in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report
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  • Subcultureoftwo_small
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    I didn't much care for the Doomsday Book (it was light on plague details, which was what I was really interested in), but everyone else I've talked to liked it.

    I really enjoyed The Time Traveler's Wife. I thought the plot thread of popping in and out of your life and your loved ones' lives, even out of the dates of your own lifespan, was cool. It also avoided two major time travel issues that tend to drive me crazy when done wrong:

    1. No paradoxes. Any attempts to change the past simply don't work.

    2. You don't time travel with possessions. Or clothes. Or even dental fillings. Very interesting plot implications here.

    Also look into To Say Nothing of the Dog, and maybe some Arthur C. Clark. One of the Pern books (Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey) also has a time travel plotline.

    Sacrelicious answered in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report
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  • Qlandav2ex_small
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    Russ Campbell, NWEBS

    Be sure to check out a lesser known novella by a seemingly unlikely author, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder by George Gaylord Simpson.

    If the name pops out at you it is because he was one of the most important paleontologists of the twentieth century. The manuscript was discovered and published after his death. A time researcher is accidentally transported back to the Cretaceous Period. He must learn to survive and he finds a way to record his observations on the dinosaur inhabitants of the Earth so they will be found in the future (the basis of the book). Although the story utilizes the thinking of the scientific community about dinosaurs at the time, now different in many ways, the story is nonetheless well written and a good escape.

    An introduction written by Arthur C. Clarke discusses time travel works and an afterword by Stephen Jay Gould updates the descriptions of dinosaurs to more modern thinking.

    This hardback work is easy to find for minimal cost through sellers of remainder books through Amazon or the best search engine for books ever bookfinder.com.

    Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report
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    David Wright

    Second Connie Willis's "Doomsday Book" - terrific. The new Stephen King might well be of interest, and it seems to have been inspired somewhat by Jack Finney's classic "From Time to Time," (on audio) which is a totally charming time travel story drenched in period details and with a nice love story on the side. (The sequel, "Time and Again," is good - not quite as good as the first though). There is also a collection of Jack Finney's time-travel related short stories called "About Time," but if stories are an option I'd go for the anthology "The Best Time Travel Stories of the 20th Century," which runs the gamut from adventure to mind-bending metaphysics. From, say, Michael Crichton's rip-roaring adventure "Timeline," (on audio) to Octavia Butler's realization of race's indelible place in America, "Kindred." (on audio)

    One obscure mind-bending title that many readers will tell you is one of the best Time Travel books around is David Gerrold's "The Man Who Folded Himself."

    Felix Palma's recent "The Map of Time" would work well, esp in tandem w/ H.G. Wells' book: Wells is a character.

    Hard to miss w/ Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry series (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road).

    David Wright answered in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report
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  • Enso_circle_small
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    Connie Willis definitely.

    I always have had a soft spot for the Time Wars series by Stephen Hawke. Each is based loosely around a well known novel or historical incident. Short, but fun. But maybe hard to get these days.

    Jack Womack's "Terraplane" has time travel in it. His universe(s) are pretty bleak, but it is one of the best I can think of right now.

    ozchick answered in Book Recommendations 5 months ago | Report
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