Best Time Travel Stories Of The 20th Century whether a gripping thriller or a heartbreaking love story, these best time travel books take us to places both exciting and terrifying. The novels range in genre and style but share some universal themes:
Octavia Butler’s Kindred is a powerful tale of black identity. Dana is transported from 1976 California to a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation where she meets her ancestors.
1. The Accidental Time Machine by Matthew Fuller
If you’re looking for time travel books with a twist, then this is the one. This physics graduate student accidentally creates a device that can jump forward in time—but only forward, and faster each time. Minutes turn into hours, days, months, and years, and he has no control over his destination or how far forward he’ll go.
This novel is a mix of romance, history, and sci-fi. It’s also a compelling story of a girl and her best friend who fight for a future they can only dream about. The story also explores themes of sexism, racism, and social class inequality.
Despite being written in 1895, this classic H.G. Wells novel still resonates today. The time traveler is a nameless inventor who uses his machine to teleport to the year 802,701. Where he encounters the peaceful Eloi and the predatory Morlocks. This sci-fi classic is a cautionary tale on themes of evolution and capitalism.
After acquiring a time machine in Vietnam, Simon Vegas is on a mission to seek out injustice and deliver its victims to a utopian afterlife. But when his partner, Charlie, is killed, Simon begins to question everything he knows about himself and the nature of justice. A must-read for fans of Kurt Vonnegut, this is one of the most entertaining time travel books around.
2. Best Time Travel Stories 11/22/63 by Stephen King
One of the most popular time travel books, this bestselling sci-fi novel tells the story of Polly, who takes a one-way ticket to a distant future after her boyfriend gets sick. But when she arrives, things don’t go exactly as planned. This is a brilliant book, which makes good use of a major fascination with Best Time Travel Stories Of The 20th Century — the idea that the slightest change in history can have a huge impact on humanity. While it’s hard to avoid spoilers, there’s no doubt that King’s meddling has changed the course of history. This nagging concern, combined with a masterful blurring of genre lines, make 11/22/63 an unforgettable read.
Audrey Niffenegger’s debut novel is one of the most beloved time travel books out there. Art student Clare and librarian Henry struggle to find normalcy as Henry time shifts through their life, with each new move bringing them to important emotional moments in their past and future. The fascinating concept behind this mind-bending love story has made it a frontrunner in the world of time travel fiction.
This award-winning book is a must-read for lovers of historical science fiction. High school English teacher Jake Epping discovers a secret storeroom that doubles as a time portal, which transports him to 1958. There, he is enlisted to go back in time and try to avert J. F. Kennedy’s assassination. This fascinating and heart-pounding novel asks the question of whether we can trust our instincts, even when they are based in history.
3. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
When art student Clare Abshire met librarian Henry DeTamble, she knew he was something special. He told her that he had a gift: He could time travel. Months or even years would go by without Henry visiting her but he always returned, pulling her into important emotional moments in her life and her future. This mind-bending love story by Audrey Niffenegger is one of the best time travel books out there.
Another great time travel book is Octavia Butler’s Kindred, which follows the heartbreaking journey of Dana, a black woman who finds herself transported from 1976 California to 19th century Maryland where she encounters her ancestors as slaves. This novel is a powerful exploration of power and responsibility that also reads like a historical thriller.
In this science fiction thriller, Kivrin finds himself in the year 802,701, where he is separated from his family by the Eloi, peaceful people who live above ground, and the Morlocks, ape-like creatures that live below. When he discovers that the world will eventually be destroyed by war, he realizes he must find a way to save his family. This is an action-packed and thought-provoking sci-fi classic that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
4. The Time Traveler’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
If you love wry humor and a bit of sci-fi, check out this award-winning time travel book. Nix, a daughter of a time traveler, is on a mission to discover her father’s past while navigating toward an uncertain future.
One of the best-known best time travel stories of the 20th century, this Robert A. Heinlein novel tells the tale of a man who travels back to 1970 and gives his younger self advice on relationships, work. Life in general. Heinlein is known for his fast-paced writing style and imaginative characters, so this is a must-read for time travelers and non-travelers alike.
The first rule of time travel is not to interfere, as a character from Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder learned the hard way when he crushed a butterfly in the Cretaceous period and returned home to a world altered beyond recognition (the “butterfly effect”). But in Alfredo Vea’s wild Sea of Tranquility, a criminal from the 25th Century investigates parallel hallucinations and disregards this rule.
What if you could kill Hitler? That’s the question at the heart of Kate Atkinson’s critically acclaimed masterpiece. Her protagonist Ursula keeps getting whisked back in time, living her life over and over – like a literary Groundhog Day. This is a fascinating story that will leave you thinking about big and small issues long after finishing the last page.
5. The Time Traveler’s Guide to the Multiverse by Douglas Adams
If you haven’t yet read this page-turner by the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, now’s the time. This sci-fi classic combines humor, history, and science to tell the story of an accidental time traveler who accidentally enters a multiverse. The result is a hilarious, mind-bending read that’s sure to satisfy fans of the original trilogy.
This thriller about a man’s quest to prevent his own assassination is one of the most realistic and gripping books about time travel. It also explores the universal themes of love and loss.
A cult novel, this is one of the best time travel books that address racial issues. Edana (Dana) Franklin is a Black woman whose ability to time-travel runs in her family. One moment she’s in 1976 Los Angeles. The next, she’s on a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation with her slave ancestors. Her experiences in these different time periods are both heart-wrenching and eye-opening.
Released in 1981, this novel is a thriller about a man who accidentally gets transported from the present to the year 802,701. He finds himself surrounded by two societies—the Eloi. Peaceful people who live above ground, and the Morlocks, ape-like creatures who dwell underground. It’s a classic forerunner of the modern time travel genre and is considered a cautionary tale about social class division, Darwinism, and capitalism. This is a must-read for any science fiction fan.
6. The Time Traveler’s Guide to Best Time Travel Stories
When Henry, a librarian who travels through time, meets Clare, an artist whose life follows a more traditional path. They fall deeply in love and must learn to navigate the rules of time itself. This sweeping, unconventional romance is one of the most touching time travel stories to ever hit the page.
Released just a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, this story of a young woman’s struggle to save her father. Is not only a thrilling adventure in time but also a resonant exploration of humanity’s shared need for redemption and forgiveness. In this thought-provoking and deeply human book, we discover how the smallest acts can change our lives forever.
There are a lot of time best time travel stories of the 20th century out there, but this sci-fi gem from the author of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is arguably the best of them all. It may be the most sexy, the funniest and the most mind-bending, but it’s also the most emotionally satisfying.
The first rule of time travel is not to interfere with the past. As a character in Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder discovered. When he crushed a butterfly in the Cretaceous and ended up changing history forever (hence the “butterfly effect”). But in this thrilling novel by Charles Yu, the main character disregards this rule while investigating parallel hallucinations. What could possibly go wrong?
