The 10 Best Time Travel Book Series for Today
January 1, 2020
what if?questions. What if you knew what would happen next in your timeline? What if you could change history? What if you did change history? If you’ve already listened (and re-listened) to the Outlander series, or are in the market for some new time travel books of a different speed, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve compiled an exciting list of the best time travel book series that are out now, all varying in tone and subgenre. We hope you’re ready to get lost in time!
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Doomsday Book
- By: Connie Willis
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall6,897
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Performance5,751
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Story5,771
For Oxford student Kivrin, traveling back to the 14th century is more than the culmination of her studies - it's the chance for a wonderful adventure....
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Timely, beautiful, terrible and haunting
- By mudcelt on 11-02-09
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Doomsday Book
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Series: Oxford Time Travel, Book 1
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Release date: 03-28-08
- Language: English
- The first book in this series follows an Oxford scholar and her mentor as they travel back in time to the 14th century for a chance to perform valuable research on the time period. However, they quickly find that their research has ill prepared them for the reality of living in the time of the bubonic plague, while over in the present, things are going pretty sideways as well. The length of these audiobooks rivals Outlander, so they’re the perfect picks if you’re looking to get lost in time for a long while.
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The Girl from Everywhere
- By: Heidi Heilig
- Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall250
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Performance223
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Story219
The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility. Its sparkling wit, breathless adventure, multicultural cast, and enchanting romance will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir and Leigh Bardugo. As the daughter of a time traveler, Nix has spent sixteen...
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Great Story, Dismal Hawaiian Pronunciation
- By UpNorthWahine on 03-03-16
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The Girl from Everywhere
- Narrated by: Kim Mai Guest
- Series: The Girl from Everywhere, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Release date: 02-16-16
- Language: English
- Kim Lai Guest narrates this excellent duology about a young woman named Nix who makes her home on a ship that can slip through time, providing that they have a historical map to their destination. Nix’s father, the ship’s captain, has spent Nix’s entire life searching for a map of Honolulu from 1868, which is when her mother died in childbirth. Nix has been dreading this moment—what if his intervention has an effect on her very existence? Heilig’s books are a clever take on the vehicles of time travel and travel paradoxes.
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Alexander X
- Battle for Forever, Book 1
- By: Edward Savio
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall6,377
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Performance5,835
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Story5,822
Alexander Grant is a little too good at a few too many things. Two dozen martial arts. Twice that many languages. Chess, the piano, sports, forging excused absences, you name it. He graduated high school top of his class 17 times....
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More for Young Readers
- By Kerr on 09-23-19
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Alexander X
- Battle for Forever, Book 1
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Series: Battle for Forever, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Release date: 06-05-19
- Language: English
- While not strictly a time-travel series, these audiobooks follow a man named Alexander who has traveled through time as an immortal being. In recent years, Alexander has focused on making his life as innocuous and small as possible, but when he and his friends are kidnapped by some very bad people, Alexander finds himself stepping out of the shadows and into a vast conspiracy across time. This Audible-exclusive series is narrated by Wil Wheaton, making it a definite must-listen.
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Timekeeper
- The Timekeeper Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Tara Sim
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall1,560
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Performance1,410
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Story1,408
In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time - and a destroyed one can stop it completely....
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Interesting premise; dull main character
- By WILLARD FRAUMANN on 03-22-18
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Timekeeper
- The Timekeeper Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Series: Timekeeper, Book 1
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Release date: 02-14-17
- Language: English
- In this trilogy, narrated by Gary Furlong, an alternate 18th-century England is completely controlled by clock towers. When the clock towers break, time runs funny. When they stop altogether, so does time. Danny’s father is trapped in a stopped town, and he wants to rescue him by repairing his clock, but he’s instead sent to a town with a broken clock and an enigmatic clock spirit. This is a great trilogy with magic, time travel, and a fully realized historical setting.
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Alice Payne Arrives
- By: Kate Heartfield
- Narrated by: Jennywren Walker
- Length: 3 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall14
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Performance14
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Story14
Kate Heartfield's Alice Payne Arrives is the story of a time traveling thief turned reluctant hero in this science fiction adventure. A disillusioned major, a highwaywoman, and a war raging across time. It’s 1788 and Alice Payne is the notorious highway robber, the Holy Ghost. Aided by her...
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bad editing
- By Rebecca on 12-03-18
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Alice Payne Arrives
- Narrated by: Jennywren Walker
- Series: Alice Payne, Book 1
- Length: 3 hrs and 21 mins
- Release date: 11-06-18
- Language: English
- A time-traveling thief must step up and become a hero in this novella series written by Kate Heartfield and narrated by Jennywren Walker. Skipping across time, Alice Payne juggles some of the most interesting periods of history with two opposing ideologies—setting the scene for a major war! This is a quick and fun series that takes a look at time periods not as frequently explored in fiction, and Walker’s smooth narration will take you through the story quickly.
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Ruby Red
- By: Kerstin Gier, Anthea Bell - translator
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall1,867
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Performance1,671
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Story1,675
Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her...
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Where's the rest?
- By betsy on 11-26-11
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Ruby Red
- Narrated by: Marisa Calin
- Series: Ruby Red, Book 1
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Release date: 11-02-11
- Language: English
- This trilogy was original written in German and is translated by Anthea Bell. Marissa Carlin narrates all three books, which are about a family of time travelers living in Europe. Gwyneth doesn’t possess the gift—all her life she’s been told it’s her cousin who will eventually learn to travel. Except one day, she learns that she has the ability, and she’s woefully unprepared for her journeys through time. But she must do everything it takes to learn how to harness her power—and find out why her mother would lie about her birthdate to conceal her ability.
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Timebound
- The Chronos Files, Book 1
- By: Rysa Walker
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5,149
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Performance4,628
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Story4,630
When Kate Pierce-Keller’s grandmother gives her a strange blue medallion and speaks of time travel, sixteen-year-old Kate assumes the old woman is delusional....
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Completely Enjoyed It
- By Lessa on 06-27-14
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Timebound
- The Chronos Files, Book 1
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Series: The Chronos Files, Book 1
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Release date: 01-01-14
- Language: English
- Kate is certain her grandmother must be senile when she hands her a medallion and says she has the ability to time travel. But when a murder in 1893 at Chicago’s World Fair threatens Kate’s very existence, she learns that time travel is real—and now it’s up to her to right the past in order to have a future. The first novel was the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award winner in 2013, and all the books in the series, including their spin-off novellas, are available as audiobooks narrated by Kate Rudd.
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Beyond the Highland Mist
- Highlander, Book 1
- By: Karen Marie Moning
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4,758
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Performance3,718
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Story3,721
He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir....
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If you loved Gabaldon's Outlander... skip this.
- By Cynthia on 07-19-09
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Beyond the Highland Mist
- Highlander, Book 1
- Narrated by: Phil Gigante
- Series: Highlander, Book 1
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Release date: 06-06-08
- Language: English
- If you’re looking for your next romantic historical time travel series to marathon after Outlander, look no further! In the first installment, Hawk is a legendary warrior who is infamous in the Highlands. No woman can tempt his heart until he meets Adrienne, who must certainly be a fairy because she is not of this world. In fact, she’s from modern-day Seattle, and her journey back into time is a mistake. But when she’s betrothed to Hawk, she finds a love she’ll fight for across time. Each book in the series is narrated by Phil Gigante and follows a different but connected couple in a time-travel adventure.
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Tirzah Price is a writer and contributing editor at Book Riot. She lives in the Midwest and has a love for speculative fiction across all time periods.
