10 books that whisk you deep into the world of time travel

Indian Express

23-06-2025

Written By Prachi Mishra
Time travel is more than just a sci-fi trope, it's an imaginative leap between different points of time and across the boundaries of logic and possibility. And, it serves as a perfect plot for writers to weave their dystopian world. A world that they can structure on the premise of what if? Whether it's time dilation, wormholes, butterfly effect or parallel worlds, time travel fiction feeds our obsession with the past we can't change and the future we're so desperate to change.
If you loved the narrative twists of Looper, the urgency of Run Lola Run, or the philosophical undertones of Source Code, here's a reading list that takes those themes deeper.
Published in the year 1895, The Time Machine is a dystopian science fiction novel, considered the OG of time travel fiction. It follows the story of a scientist, called Time Traveller, who invents a machine that can carry people into the future, and that's how the world got the name Time Machine, which is still used to refer to the machine. And, when the Time Traveller sets on his expedition, he discovers the eerie remnants of human civilization, a world populated by the gentle Eloi and the sinister Morlocks, reality being completely different as appearances can be deceptive. The novel, apart from being a sci-fi tale, also serves as a critique of class inequality and human evolution. There are several film adaptations to this novel, but the book tops it all.
Billed as the official sequel to The Time Machine and published in 1995, this epic expands the original's scope exponentially. Baxter dives deep into complex theories of quantum physics, parallel universes, and paradoxes which makes it a must-read for hard sci-fi lovers. Baxter in his novel hints to the infinite web of choices and realities created by time travel. And, building on the idea that time in itself is a space, Baxter writes, 'We all have our time machines, don't we. Those that take us back are memories…And those that carry us forward are dreams.' His statement points at the human experience of both memory and aspirations.
What if you were born over and over into the same life, that too with all memories intact? Harry August lives, dies, and returns again in a closed-loop of consciousness. But when a fellow time traveler warns him of the future's collapse, Harry needs to break the cycle. In North's 2014 novel, reincarnation meets time travel. Both are concepts that might or might not be possible. The novel blends metaphysics with espionage and presents a haunting yet reflective narrative about time, choice, and consequence and introduces the concept of ouroboros and chronus club. And, therefore the course of action that Harry takes becomes pivotal when he tries to save the past and change the future.
So, not all time travel stories are about saving the world. Some, like this one, are about saving moments. Henry has a genetic disorder that causes him to involuntarily leap through time, while Clare, the love of his life, is left to age normally. Niffenegger questions why love intensifies with absence and weaves a love story that's tragic, poignant, but deeply human simply proving that time doesn't need to be linear for love to be eternal.
In Stephen King's 2011 novel, English teacher Jake Epping discovers a portal to 1958, and he takes up the mission to prevent John F. Kennedy's assassination that took place on November 22, 1963 (therefore, the title) itched as an important date in American history. But the past doesn't give up its secrets easily, the road Epping takes is full of obstacles and he also faces moral obligations. Stephen King delivers a sprawling, thrilling, and surprisingly emotional novel that's part historical epic, part metaphysical puzzle reminding us that time travel comes with a price.
Oxford historian Kivrin travels to the 14th century for academic research and lands smack in the middle of the Black Death (a devastating period when bubonic plague swept across Europe and Asia). Willis crafts a dual-timeline narrative filled with emotion, dread, and quiet heroism and showcases the fragility of life, blending history with fiction. But, most importantly she draws the reader's attention to the human connections that defy centuries as he writes, 'I wanted to come, and if I hadn't, they would have been all alone, and nobody would have ever known how frightened and brave and irreplaceable they were'.
Drafted into an interstellar war against an alien race, William Mandella returns to Earth decades later only to find it utterly changed due to relativistic time dilation. Haldeman, a Vietnam vet, uses time travel to explore the alienation of soldiers, the futility of war, and the chasm between those who fight and the world they leave behind. Haldeman's book bagged the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1975 and the Hugo and Locus awards in 1976.
Daniel Eakins inherits a belt from his uncle Jim that allows him to travel through time. He explores every possible version of himself becoming his own mentor, friend, even lover. This mind-bending novel is more philosophical than action-packed, diving deep into identity, paradoxes, and the question of what makes 'you' you. Gerrold says, 'The past is the future. The future is the past. There's no difference between the two and either can be changed,' as we observe that Daniel also steps into the shoes of uncle Jim at a later stage and realizes that his life has come full circle and a young Daniel is soon going to inherit the belt from him.
Part espionage thriller and partly epistolary romance, this co-authored lyrical novella follows two rival time-traveling agents, Red and Blue, from warring futures. Both the agents start leaving letters for each other across centuries, one of which is titled, 'Burn before reading', and as the story progresses enemies become allies, and war becomes poetry. But, the challenge still lies as they are from enemy empires, and despite their undying love the society is forcing them to act otherwise. What follows is a gripping tale of love and rebellion.
Heinlein, a cat-lover, got the novel's idea when on a snowy day he was wanting his cat to go out and explore the snow but even after he presented multiple openings to go out, the cat just did not leave and kept crying and then his wife pointed out that it might be looking for a door into summer. And, that's how Heinlein's 1957 novel, which blends corporate betrayal, cryogenics, and a quirky cat named Pete, was written. After being double-crossed by business partners, Dan Davis puts himself into suspended animation, waking decades later to set things right. A lighter, optimistic tale of redemption, invention, and yes, a second chance at summer.