Novels About Time Travel
Submitted by bertie on Mon, 08/30/2004 - 07:22
Tags:
- THE CORRIDORS OF TIME Poul Anderson [1965]
- THE END OF ETERNITY Isaac Asimov [1955]
- IN THE GARDEN OF IDEN Kage Baker [1997]
- FUTURE TIMES THREE Rene Barjavel [1944]
- THE TIME SHIPS Stephen Baxter [1995]
- LOOKING BACKWARD 2000 - 1887 Edward Bellamy [1887]
- TIMESCAPE Greg Benford [1980]
- NO ENEMY BUT TIME Michael Bishop [1982]
- TIMELINE Michael Crichton [1999]
- LEST DARKNESS FALL L.Sprague De Camp [1949]
- THE SHIP THAT SAILED THE TIME STREAM G.C.Edmondson [1965]
- TIME'S LAST GIFT Philip Jose Farmer [1972]
- TIME AND AGAIN Jack Finney [1970]
- OUTLANDER Diana Gabaldon [1991]
- THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF David Gerrold [1973]
- REPLAY Ken Grimwood [1986]
- THE DOOR INTO SUMMER Robert A.Heinlein [1957]
- LIGHNING Dean Koontz [1988]
- DINOSAUR BEACH Keith Laumer [1971]
- THE BIG TIME Fritz Leiber [1961]
- BID TIME RETURN Richard Matheson [1977, filmed as Somewhere in Time]
- UP THE LINE Robert Silverberg [1969]
- THE YEAR OF THE QUIET SUN Wilson Tucker [1970]
- A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT Mark Twain [1889]
- THE TIME MACHINE H.G.Wells [1895]
- THE LEGION OF TIME Jack Williamson [1938]
- DOOMSDAY BOOK Connie Willis [1992]
There's also Time and Again by Jack Finney.
There is indeed, and it made an interesting movie.
There is also Lightning by Dean Koontz. I like this one because while most books in this genre are about present people going back or forward, or future people coming back to present or past, its about past people coming to present time.
Another good time travel novel is written by Diana Gabaldon entitled "Outlander"- very well written.
I wasn't familiar with this title (or author) and when I looked it up the basic plot idea sounded vaguely familiar. Then it came to me: there was a BBCTV series called "Goodnight Sweetheart" that began transmission in 1993. It was about a present-day Londoner who stumbled across a time-portal back to WW2 London and he ended up with a wife in one time period and a girlfriend in the other. But Gabaldon's novel was published in 1991, so I guess she can claim priority. Her book seems worthy of inculsion here. Thanks for the suggestion.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
The Garden of Iden by Kage Baker
Confession: I started to read Doomsday Book but it didn't hold me. Too long.
Haven't read the Baker book, but I read this review , which if you loved the novel you'll probably hate.
I liked the novel, but suppose I can see where it wasn't for everyone.
Doomsday Book I loved, but then again I read it in one sitting on an airplane so didn't really have to work to get into it :)
Wow! You are a fast reader, or that was a long flight.
Oh, btw, cmonster has a question for you at my Great Opening Lines, Vol.2 list.
both
Just thought of another.... Timeline by Michael Crichton
Have you seen the movie? Nothing special, imho. I liked the trebuchet! scenes.
Nope, just read the book. I think I've got it in my netflix queue though.
Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein. A huge sprawling, tangled mess about Lazarus Long. Not the most subtle title or name.
TEFL is a sequel to Heinlein's Methuselah's Children . Those novels are about very long-lived people, but are they about time travel?
Well, I thought I was mistaken but I could've sworn there was some plot device where the protagonist went back (or forward I guess) in time to conceive one of his parents or marry one of his grandchildren. An SF "I'm My Own Grandpa". So I skipped about and found a definition that said, "there is a bit of time travel at the end." Certainly not the central role that I remember. It is a sign of how much I used to enjoy Heinlein in my voracious reading years; I can't believe that I made it to the end of such a mess of a book. That's probably why I don't think I've read Methuselah's Children and then I found this list.
I can see a hillbilly, one tooth in his head and one string in his makeshift double-base, a-strumin' and a-thumpin' his foot on the boards and a-singin' "Ahm mah own granpaw..." I can hear him...
Heinlein got quite eccentric in his later works. It was his way of raging against the dying of the light.
It's often not hard to find on the net somewhere a list that makes one's own cherished effort look miserable. I usually prefer not to know about them - unless they are really exceptional.
Pardon. I meant it only as SF/geek source material (I like R&D) and I suppose I have some unresolved issues with Heinlein over that book. I like how your list made me think and I cannot believe that I didn't think of Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court . I feel weak and slow.
Somewhere in Time, book and movie (starring Christopher Reeve, 1980).
I'm happy to say I have seen Somewhere in Time . Time travel by sheer love-driven will power. Chick-flick sci-fi, but none the worse for that. How's the book?
The book is better. I read it first, in fact. Intensely romantic and philosophical, because it explores the idea that you make your own reality. His love for her was based purely on fantasy. I was actually disappointed that it wasn't "real" in the end, because I so much wanted to believe it was possible :).
I think our imaginations are so much more powerful and effective at creating new worlds, when we read, than when we watch a movie. Movies are rarely successful in stimulating the imagination.
Great list! Time travel is my favorite theme of movies and novels, and I have a good deal of what Jack Finney wrote. Granted, his style is a bit dated (and he had an odd obsession in describing people's clothing, especially in terms I don't understand- what are "wash pants"?-), but overall they're good reads.
For a number of years I carried around with me a list of books to buy if I ever saw them outside a library. On that list was anything/everything by Jack Finney. On a trip to Seattle in 1990 I found a treasure trove of his work for sale at a university bookstore.
One book that is not on your list, but deserves a look is another which was on my list and which I found on that same trip... in the back bedroom of my mother-in-law's house, which I had never before visited! The book is "Looking Backward 2000-1887" by Edward Bellamy. It is written from the perspective of a man from the year 1887 who is somehow accidentally put in a state of suspended animation and wakes up in the year 2000. It was written in the late 1880s and is a fascinating look at what Bellamy imagined the future would look like. Some of his predictions are... "close, but no cigar". Others are completely out to lunch (that's a pun; read the book).
I'll have to print your list and hit the library for the titles I haven't yet read.
I'm happy you like the list. I've posted lists about other sub-genres of sf but this one has hogged the responses. So time travel is clearly a popular theme. I also like stories that take place over long periods of time, and I may well post a list of them eventually.
As it happens I have read the Bellamy novel. I would put it in the category of utopian sf rather than time travel. It's been years since I read it, and correct me if I'm wrong, but my recollection is that the time travel aspect is merely a device to get the protagonist into that utopian future. Hmmm, on the other hand, I suppose it can be said that time travel is merely a plot device in the Mark Twain novel, so either I remove the Twain or add the Bellamy. Decisions decisions!
Btw, this might enlighten you about wash pants :-D
You're correct, of course; silly me. It is rather more a utopian dream than straight time-travel sci-fi. However, I don't think it should be excluded from the list on a simple semantic note.
The term "wash pants" must be an American thing. The link is to what we Canadians would call either "sweat pants" (if you're from the eastern part of Canada, as I am) or "track pants" (in other parts.) I'm sure somebody will correct me, even though... I'm already correct. ;)
Bobo
Bertie's Australian, dude. I'm American and I've never heard of "wash pants" before either.
My favourite is Replay by Ken Grimwood.
This is a great story, well told. It is about a chap who dies in 1988 in middle age and re-awakens in 1963 to find that he is reliving (replaying) his life, with full consciousness and memory of his previous experience, and able to change the course of his new 'replay'. He relives his life a few times, attempting to correct mistakes he previously made, gambling on sporting events and the stockmarket, attempting to prevent his own death and the assassination of Kennedy, falling in love again at 18 with his wife but correcting events that previously turned his marraige sour, discovering by accident another 'replayer', making a few new mistakes along the journey, and with an interesting ending (no spoilers here, I think). It is one of the few books that gave me an immediate urge to read again and again.
I have also read:
TIME AND AGAIN by Jack Finney
THE MAN WHO FOLDED HIMSELF David Gerrold
THE DOOR INTO SUMMER Robert A.Heinlein
UP THE LINE Robert Silverberg
I am currently three-quarters the way through reading: LEST DARKNESS FALL L.Sprague De Camp [1949]
Reading your account of Replay put me in mind of the movie Groundhog Day - could there have been a bit of 'inspiration' going on here between book and movie, or vice versa?
Not to my knowledge - there was nothing in the book that suggested this to me, other than the simialr theme. The book pre-dates the movie - written in 1986 whilst the movie is from 1993 and the movie is a favourite of mine so I was quite familiar it before I read the book. It is of course possible, but it wasn't obvious to me.
Just read this quickly, on your recommendation. Enjoyed it, will read it again.
Two I enjoyed:
News from Nowhere, by William Morris. The protagonist wakes up in Medieval England.
Kindred, by Octavia Butler. Fascinating because it is by an African American author, and her story concerns a contemporary African American woman from California who periodically gets warped back to the pre-Slavery South. A great and thought-provoking book.
Johnny Waco
Uh, is there such a thing as "pre-Slavery South"? I meant Pre-Civil War South...
Johnny Waco
I wonder if you can help me.
Around the early '80s (I think),I read a book about a chap who was sent back in time, from a late 20th/early 21st century London, to Saxon England at the time of Alfred The Great. His "time-machine" was disguised as/hidden within his sword. I don't remember the character's name, although I think it may have been "Crewkerne". There was a fairly important character named "Sigewulf". There was also a love interest female, who was deaf and dumb, to whom the main character taught sign language.
I would like to read this book again, but obviously, none of the scant details I remember help me in a search for the author and title.
Only someone who has also read it would be able to help. Thanks TPL
Sorry, this rings none of my bells - but somebody somewhere might recognise it.
One alternative you could try is to Ask An Expert
Thanks anyway. As you say, perhaps someone else will recognise it.
good site
I don't know if you will ever pick this up, but the book you are looking for is 'The Wall of Years', by Andrew M Stephenson.
The plot is as follows: experiments in time travel in 22nd century Britain led to a nightmarish collapse in the fabric of civilization, which in turn caused a select band of survivalists, engineers and scientists to establish a refuge - the "City" - in the far future. From this bolt hole, elite time engineers attempt to probe the past to find out "where things went wrong" and try to fix them. The critical point turns out to be Alfred the Great's battles with Guthrum, Danish overlord and conqueror and the period around his victory at Ashdown in 878AD. The plot grows more and more complex, as various forces try schemes and conspiracies to rewrite history the way they conceive it should run. The reader is transported back totally into Alfred's world, with beautiful descriptions of the countryside, people, family life, politics and warfare of the period. A totally engrossing, wonderfully written time travel novel, gripping and moving.
It is out of print but you can still find copies on Amazon, and E-Bay.
Good Luck.
Hello Cliff,
It's been a long time since I checked this list for an answer. So long that my username didn't work anymore.
Anyway, I've registered again so that I can thank you. The moment I read the title, I recognised it.
So. Thanks very much indeed, I'll get on to tracking down a copy.
Best wishes,
TPL1
I just finihed reading a new book called "STR8 BOLT" by J. T. Whitman. I was curious to know if anyone else has read it. I really liked the concept of the story and it held my interest. Anyone have any other new fresh time travel stories to read. I'm kind of tired of the same old story, different characters.
A friend of mine read str8 bolt and recommended I read it. I bought a copy and was extremely surprised. Other than a few editing problems I thought the story was unique and captivating. I can see this becoming a movie.
Time Patrol and Shield of Time are two excellent books by Poul Anderson. I'm kind surprised neither of them are mentioned here.
Hi there. This is a great list. Time travel is my favourite genre too. I haven't read many of these so I will be working my way through the list. I was wondering if someone could help me with something. Some years ago a colleague leant me a couple of books and i'd like to re-read them. I don't remember the title or the author but they were quite distinctive, so someone here may recognise them. The series of books was about a team of time travellers who corrected mistakes or changed past events to change the future. One book was set in France, involved the french aristocracy and a madame something in a sort of Three Musketeers style plot. Anyone got any ideas?
Yep sounds like the Simon Hawke Time Wars series. I
Just a few more good Time Travel books to add to the list. I have read others but these are the highlights of the ones I own.
Thrice upon a time - James Hogan
The Cross-Time Engineer (+ sequels) - Leo Frankowski
The Great Time Machine Hoax - Keith Laumer
Time on My Hands - Peter Delacorte
Island in the Sea of time (+ sequels) - S.M.Stirling
The Men Who Mastered Time - David Butler
A Sound Of Thunder-Ray Bradbury.
Shame on you.
I'm ashamed to admit that I think "A Sound of Thunder" is a short story.
"Wash pants" refers to trousers that can be laundered (as opposed to dry cleaned). They were considered to be casual, informal, not dressy, and may have been inappropriate to wear for particular occasions and circumstances. This may be incomprehensible today, when sweat pants and jeans are de riguer and acceptable attire almost everywhere.
I'm rereading Doomsday and loving it. It triggers a memory of a novel where people in the future realized that Columbus's discovery of America when he did led to future disaster, and they tried to go back to South America before he arrived and change things. Does this description ring any bells? I'd love to reread that one if I can find out a title and/or author.
Kind of an absurd fantasy-time-travel book, but: The Third Policeman - by Flann O'Brian written in 1939-40, published for the first time in 1967.
Anyone read it? And does anyone have similar books to recommend?
I have been trying to find a book I read about 15 years ago that was a time travel novel and Mark Twain was a character in the book. I remember as being very witty (just like him). Trying to find it is next to impossible; when I search for it I just get all the stuff about A Connecticut Yankee...