Best Time Travel Books
Exciting and Unpredictable
Reading about time travel stories is always a guaranteed way of knowing that an exciting and very unpredictable plot will be waiting for you in whatever book you choose to read. Nowadays there are tons of science fiction books about this term and many of the prove exciting and leave the readers wanting more sequels.
The ones that you get to read about in this article are definitely considered to be some of the best time travel books, some of them belong in series, others don’t, one thing is for sure and that is that if you like science fiction and time travel, you are going to love these books.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Billy
BillyThis novel is written by Kurt Vonnegut and it came out in the year 1999, a time when books about time travel were getting more and more popular. It speaks about the life of a unique and interesting fellow who goes by the name of Billy. He lives in a time of the devastating World War II and he has quite the extraordinary experience during and after the war ends.
No Part in Violence
You get to meet him personally and understand what kind of character he is when you read that he doesn’t wish to fight a war that has no true meaning and that he refuses to be a part of any violence.
After deciding this, he puts up no resistance when Germans find him and capture him. They move him around a bit and finally take him to an underground base called Slaughterhouse-Five. This base proves as the perfect place to be at when they witness a 2-day bombardment on top of the base that puts an end to a huge battle. The survivors are later liberated and the enemies captured.
PTSD
Billy’s story doesn’t end here as he is later taken to a hospital after he starts acting weird and starts showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, that’s one of the many side-effects that war can do to a person.
Anyway, his story continues with some pretty amazing twists after he gets taken by aliens who place him in a space zoo and the story only gets weirder and more exciting from there. You can find out about it as you check out the book for yourself and see the action first-hand.
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Clare and Henry
The reason that this book is in our best time travel books list is because of the amazing narrative of the story and the very well thought out plot inside. You meet Clare and Henry, a couple that has the most unusual relationship because of Henry’s huge and life-changing disorder.
Chrono-Displacement Disorder
He has what is called Chrono-Displacement Disorder and is the first and only person to ever have developed something like this. Starting from a very young age, he unpredictably travels through time and history as he can’t control when he goes, how long he stays, and which year he travels back to.
Clare still manages to fall in love with this man as she sees something special in him that is definitely worth the trouble that she is about to walk into as she watches the very uncertain lifestyle of her husband, Henry.
Out of the Ordinary
The story about how they meet and how long they have known each other is definitely too much to cover in some review about the novel, but it is for the better if you find out everything about these interesting and unique characters for yourself.
The story will make sure that you are never bored as you keep reading about the exciting adventures that Henry often ends up in and their totally out of the ordinary relationship and lifestyle.
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Jake Epping
Jake EppingJake Epping is the star of this thrilling story that is written by the legendary and best-selling author Stephen King. It’s definitely not like his usual horror writing style but if you like science fiction and the term “time travel”, then you are in for a real treat.
As we said, Jake Epping is the main character of the story and his normal lifestyle involves teaching at his job as an English teacher and also offering classes for people to get their GED. You read about an important event that later proves very crucial to the story about how one of his adult students writes the most heartbreaking and tragic story that he has ever read.
Forever Changed
Two years after he reads the story by his student Harry and becomes friend with the man after he gets his GED, Jake finds himself in a nearby and totally random diner, one that will forever change his life and perception of reality.
In the diner, he meets a strange man who turns out to be the proprietor of the establishment, named Al. Al talks to Jake and manages to see what kind of person he is, after their talk he concludes that he could actually be the right man for a job that he has been trying to do for so long. If you are a fan of Stephen King, you must read or reviews of ‘Salem’s Lot book or The Stand book.
Secret Portal
He asks Jake to come back at the diner tomorrow, so Jake does the same only to find out that the next day, Al looks like he has been gone for a few years. Al reveals a secret to him, one that involves a portal through time and a mission that involves saving President John F. Kennedy for reasons that you will find out for yourself as you start reading the book.
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
Time Traveler
Time TravelerThis book focuses mainly on one character who actually remains unnamed throughout the whole novel and he is only referred to as the Time Traveler. The reason for this name is because he has a device called a Time Machine which allows him to be instantly transported into any time and year that he chooses, no matter if it’s past or present.
Distant Future
When he first tests his new invention, he sets the destination to be only a few hours in the future. He witnesses a groundbreaking moment in his life, the machine works and he is excited to test its limits. He soon goes way beyond what he can handle and travels a whopping 800.000 years into the future. The world that he ends up in is nothing like the one he comes from as the people, buildings, land, and almost everything is totally different.
This future is populated by child-like adults who look relatively similar and they all live in huge buildings that appear to be slowly falling apart. These future versions of humans are actually terrified of the dark which you can find out why as you check out the book for yourself.
Gone Missing
An important twist now comes into play when the Time Traveler finds out that his time machine has gone missing, but not without leaving a trail of what looks like to be marks of the machine being dragged. He follows the trail and it eventually leads him to a huge building with an enormous locked door.
The story from there on is up to you to find out how it continues and how it finally ends in this novel that is among the best time travel books that you can read these days.
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Jeff Winston
Jeff WinstonIn Replay, you get to read a story that might leave a huge impact on your imagination and will make you want to be in the shoes of the main character for a while. The character that the story focuses on is a middle-aged guy named Jeff Winston.
He is 43 and leads a pretty dull and unhappy life with a boring dead-end job and a wife that makes him want to kill himself. The only time he truly believes that he will be happy again is when he actually dies.
18 Again
All of that is about to change for good old Jeff in this what is considered to be one of the best time travel books out there as he witnesses an event that will prove life-changing. One morning, Jeff wakes up and realizes that most wonderful of miracles, he is in his 18-year-old body again, but with the knowledge and experience of his 43 years of life.
You can imagine the joy and excitement this would bring to anyone as they find out that they get to be younger and relive their entire life and knowing what bad choices to avoid from now on. Jeff tries to lead a very different life than the one he had and when he reaches 43 years again, he dies from a heart attack only to find out that he wakes up being 18 again.
Always the Same Time
This time it’s a bit different as he wakes up a few hours later than the previous time, but it hardly seems like it matters. The tricky part of the story is that no matter what things Jeff changes in his life, he always dies at 43, and every time he wakes up, more time has passed than the first time he woke up being 18.
Time Quintet Series by Madeleine L’Engle
Perfect for Younger Audience
Time Quintet is actually a book series that contains five interesting science fiction novels that all have a similar plot that involves the phenomenon of time travel. Learn more about the series in our Time Quintet book review.
The books inside the series are definitely some of the best time travel books ever written and they also prove to be perfect for the younger audience because the main characters in all of the books are young children. To make the story even more exciting as they go on their crazy, dangerous, and exciting adventures through time.
Characters
Three of the main characters who pop up in all of the stories are Meg and her little brother Charles Wallace. They often find new friends to accompany them on their missions that often involve saving the entire world from horrible and evil villains.
The adventures and journeys that they take part in are always exciting and will make sure that you never feel bored when reading any book of the series.
Unique and Exciting
All of these books mentioned in this article present a totally unique and exciting story and it is definitely safe to say that they have been reviewed by many as a few of the best time travel books that you can read if you enjoy stories that follow that description. If you want to pass the time and have fun at the same time, then these books will make sure to fulfill that need.
Robert Hazley
Robert is a science fiction and fantasy geek. (He is also the best looking Ereads writer!) Besides reading and writing, he enjoys sports, cosplay, and good food (don't we all?). Currently works as an accountant (would you believe that?)
