Are you a fan of mind-bending novels, historical fiction, mysteries, and thrillers? Take a wild ride through different worlds with five female authors and their unique perspectives on the complexities and consequences of time travel.
1. Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
This 9-volume book series follows WWII nurse Claire Beauchamp, who finds herself transported from 1945 back to 1743 in a Scotland ravaged by war and raiding border clans. She’s forced to use her wits, practical medical skills, and knowledge of the future to survive in the 18th century.
Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed Outlander series has won her millions of fans with its riveting blend of historical fiction, adventure, and romance.
Goodreads: 4.71/5
2. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Get pulled through time with Dana, a modern Black woman who is repeatedly transported between her LA home in 1976 and an early 19th-century Maryland plantation. With each trip, her stay grows longer, more arduous, and dangerous as she fights to survive slavery and ensure she makes it back to her own time.
Octavia E. Butler’s masterpiece, Kindred, explores the horrors of slavery and the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy both then and now.
Goodreads: 4.3/5
3. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Told from the perspectives of several characters who exist in different times (and whose lives ultimately converge), Sea of Tranquility is a novel of art, time travel, love, and plague that takes us from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a dark colony on the moon five hundred years later.
Delving into humanity’s centuries-long exploration and colonisation of space, Emily St. John Mandel’s sci-fi novel takes readers on a journey through human emotion and our metaphysical existence.
Goodreads: 4.08/5
4. Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Can you stop a murder after it’s already happened?
Wrong Place Wrong Time tells the story of Jen, who witnesses her teenage son, Todd, murder a stranger in the middle of the night. After Todd is taken into custody, Jen falls into a fitful sleep. However, when she wakes up, it is the day before… and the murder hasn’t happened yet. As each day passes, Jen wakes further and further in the past. Somewhere in this past lies the trigger for Todd’s crime. Her mission? To find it — and prevent it from taking place.
Gillian McCallister’s murder mystery thriller and time travel adventure explore the intricate nature of family relationships and how secrets, personal histories, and each member’s actions can significantly impact collective well-being.
Goodreads: 4/5
5. The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley
Amnesiac Joe Tournier’s first memory is stepping off a train into Victorian England ruled by France. The only clue he has about his identity is a mysterious century-old postcard that arrives with a note from a person who claims to know him, signed only with the letter “M.”
The search for M time jumps Joe from French-ruled London to rebel-owned Scotland and finally onto the battleships of a lost empire’s Royal Navy. In the process, Joe becomes involved in an attempt to change history.
Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms is a time-twisting alternative history novel that asks whether it’s worth changing the past to save the future, even if it costs you everyone you’ve ever loved.
Goodreads: 4.03/5
