It’s time for another Friday Fives post, in celebration of #scifimonth2025! Today’s theme is Interesting Ways To Travel, and I’ve decided that time travel is super interesting, so I’ve found five recent books I’ve read that have time travel as a theme.
The Future is Yours by Dan Frey. Two college friends invent a computer that can “see” one year into the future, and of course things do not go smoothly. Although this technically isn’t a time travel story, it deals with seeing into the future, so it’s close enough for me. I had a lot of fun with this one!
The Third Rule of Time Travel by Philip Fracassi. A physicist and her husband invent a machine that can send your consciousness into the past to relive an emotional memory, but you can only stay for ninety seconds. I loved this intriguing take on time travel, and the author sets up several problems with this idea that gave the story lots of tension.
The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart. Although the set-up to this story revolves around a business that caters to wealthy folks who want to take trips to the past (experience the dinosaurs, for example), the story isn’t really about the time travel. Still, I included it because it was a lot of fun, and I liked the idea of time travel as a business or a sort of theme park.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. This is one of my favorite books of all time, and Mandel is simply a brilliant writer (you should go read all her books!). Sea of Tranquility is technically the third book in a loosely connected series and deals with a group of characters who are related through different time periods and events. It’s nearly impossible to describe, you must experience it for yourself.
The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed. Of all of these books, this one is the most traditional time travel story. The story deals with a future where most of Earth’s population has become sterile, and a group of scientists are trying to figure out how to save humanity. Their solution is to send a (rare) fertile man and woman 10,000 years into the future, when the Earth has presumably recovered from global warming, to repopulate the planet. It surprised me in every possible way, and this is another brilliant book that needs more attention.
It probably comes from my love of Doctor Who but I really love time travel books and definitely don’t read enough of them. So I need to add all of these to my list for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely! a few on my TBR.
Here is my social media post for this https://www.instagram.com/p/DRUjz45Do1B/
And my review here https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/02/16/sunday-post-132-more-snow-more-cold/
I’m glad Rob Hart made your list – he’s become a favorite.
I’ve read three of these five! I’m always interested in new takes on time travel. I’d kind of forgotten about The Future is Yours — it was terrific!
I really liked The Future is Yours. And I just finished reading a romance where the characters travel back to Jane Austen’s time period which was cute and fun.
My mind is completely blank when trying to think of a time travel story that I’ve read, though I’m sure I must have read something. Sea of Tranquility is one I’ve been hoping to read one of these days. I have 3 of her books in ebook form and I’m hoping they make up that loose trilogy you spoke of.
Great list! My most recent time travel book is more of a time loop book, but I enjoyed it a lot anyway: A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen.
Glad to see you love SEA OF TRANQUILITY. I’ve almost picked it up a couple times this year. Maybe 2026 will be the year I finally read it!
This is an interesting choice! Time travel is an interesting way to travel for sure!! I think I will love to, but at the same time I don’t like to read about it, so I don’t think I have a favourite, maybe The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle? I don’t know if it will qualify here, but I loved it!
You already know I enjoyed Third Rule, and I loved Hotel. The Future Is Yours is tempting (I followed the link to your review – I didn’t know you back in 2021), but I’m afraid the not very likeable protagonist (a cheater, gah) might turn me off, and the corporate angle as well…
These sound good, especially Sea of Tranquility! I don’t think I’ve ever read a time travel book.
Always happy to see Emily St John Mandel on a list and she really is a brilliant author.
Lynn 😀
Sea of Tranquility was such a hyped book! I never got to read it but it seems it’s a favorite of yours as well Tammy!
Aaah, I really enjoyed Sea of Tranquillity too, and must get round to reading more of Mandel’s books.
Fab list, Tammy!