Best Time Travel Books

The highest-rated books featuring the Time Travel trope, ranked by readers and listeners. Browse 50 titles across Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Historical Fiction.

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Time travel stories tap into something primal: the fantasy of second chances and the dread of consequences you can't undo. Whether a character is trying to prevent a catastrophe, save someone they've lost, or simply survive jumping through decades, the tension comes from knowing that every action ripples outward in ways they can't fully control or predict. It's not just about the mechanics of the jump—it's about what you'd risk to change your past, and what you'd sacrifice to protect the future.

You'll find time travel across science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, and literary fiction. Some books lean into the physics and paradoxes; others focus on the human cost of trying to rewrite history. Expect anything from intimate character studies to sprawling narratives that span centuries, all built on the central question: if you could go back, should you?

  1. 1
    Written in My Own Heart's Blood cover

    Written in My Own Heart's Blood

    Outlander • Book 8

    by Diana Gabaldon

    ★ 4.91 BLT Score (141.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.55 Goodreads (141.6K)
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  2. 2
    Outlander cover

    Outlander

    Outlander • Book 1

    by Diana Gabaldon

    ★ 4.65 BLT Score (1.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.26 Goodreads (1.2M)
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  3. 3
    11/22/63 cover

    11/22/63

    by Stephen King

    ★ 4.63 BLT Score (667.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.35 Goodreads (667.2K)
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  4. 4
    Kindred cover

    Kindred

    by Octavia E. Butler

    ★ 4.49 BLT Score (278.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.31 Goodreads (278.5K)
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  5. 5
    Night Watch cover

    Night Watch

    Discworld • Book 29

    by Terry Pratchett

    ★ 4.43 BLT Score (119.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.5 Goodreads (119.5K)
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  6. 6
    The Quantum Chain cover

    The Quantum Chain

    Joseph Bridgeman • Book 4

    by Nick Jones

    ★ 4.36 BLT Score (2.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.24 Goodreads (2.8K)
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  7. 7
    The Observer Effect cover

    The Observer Effect

    Joseph Bridgeman • Book 3

    by Nick Jones

    ★ 4.35 BLT Score (3.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.19 Goodreads (3.6K)
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  8. 8
    Song of Susannah cover

    Song of Susannah

    The Dark Tower • Book 6

    by Stephen King, Darrel Anderson

    ★ 4.32 BLT Score (177.2K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (177.2K)
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  9. 9
    Hyperion cover

    Hyperion

    Hyperion • Book 1

    by Dan Simmons

    ★ 4.31 BLT Score (303.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.28 Goodreads (303.0K)
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  10. 10
    Slaughterhouse-Five cover

    Slaughterhouse-Five

    by Kurt Vonnegut

    ★ 4.29 BLT Score (1.5M ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (1.5M)
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  11. 11
    The Shadows of London cover

    The Shadows of London

    Joseph Bridgeman • Book 2

    by Nick Jones

    ★ 4.28 BLT Score (4.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.07 Goodreads (4.9K)
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  12. 12
    Exhalation cover

    Exhalation

    by Ted Chiang

    ★ 4.27 BLT Score (113.3K ratings)
    ★ 4.27 Goodreads (113.3K)
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  13. 13
    The Fire Chronicle cover

    The Fire Chronicle

    The Books of Beginning • Book 2

    by John Stephens

    ★ 4.25 BLT Score (10.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (10.2K)
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  14. 14
    An Unwelcome Quest cover

    An Unwelcome Quest

    Magic 2.0 • Book 3

    by Scott Meyer

    ★ 4.23 BLT Score (18.6K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (18.6K)
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  15. 15
    And Then She Vanished cover

    And Then She Vanished

    Joseph Bridgeman • Book 1

    by Nick Jones

    ★ 4.22 BLT Score (9.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (9.8K)
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  16. 16
    Off to Be the Wizard cover

    Off to Be the Wizard

    Magic 2.0 • Book 1

    by Scott Meyer

    ★ 4.20 BLT Score (42.7K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (42.7K)
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  17. 17
    The Lost Colony cover

    The Lost Colony

    The Long Winter • Book 3

    by A.G. Riddle

    ★ 4.18 BLT Score (21.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.18 Goodreads (21.1K)
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  18. 18
    The Tumultuous Lives of Karl Strong cover

    The Tumultuous Lives of Karl Strong

    Middle Falls Time Travel • Book 18

    by Shawn Inmon

    ★ 4.17 BLT Score (778 ratings)
    ★ 4.66 Goodreads (778)
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  19. 19
    The Forever War cover

    The Forever War

    The Forever War • Book 1

    by Joe Haldeman

    ★ 4.13 BLT Score (181.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (181.5K)
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  20. 20
    1634: The Baltic War cover

    1634: The Baltic War

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 3

    by David Weber, Eric Flint

    ★ 4.12 BLT Score (4.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (4.7K)
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  21. 21
    Paradox Bound cover

    Paradox Bound

    by Peter Clines

    ★ 4.12 BLT Score (10.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (10.6K)
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  22. 22
    Recursion cover

    Recursion

    by Blake Crouch

    ★ 4.11 BLT Score (327.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (327.6K)
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  23. 23
    Flux cover

    Flux

    Infinite • Book 3

    by Jeremy Robinson

    ★ 4.11 BLT Score (2.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (2.6K)
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  24. 24
    Pebble in the Sky cover

    Pebble in the Sky

    Galactic Empire • Book 3

    by Isaac Asimov

    ★ 4.08 BLT Score (27.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.9 Goodreads (27.7K)
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  25. 25
    Multitude cover

    Multitude

    Dimension Space • Book 2

    by Dean M. Cole

    ★ 4.08 BLT Score (1.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (1.2K)
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  26. 26
    1633 cover

    1633

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 2

    by Eric Flint, David Weber

    ★ 4.08 BLT Score (6.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (6.8K)
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  27. 27
    Feedback cover

    Feedback

    Audible Original Stories

    by Dennis E. Taylor

    ★ 4.07 BLT Score (3.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.84 Goodreads (3.3K)
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  28. 28
    1636: The Ottoman Onslaught (21) (Ring of Fire) cover

    1636: The Ottoman Onslaught (21) (Ring of Fire)

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 6

    by Eric Flint

    ★ 4.06 BLT Score (1.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (1.1K)
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  29. 29
    1632 cover

    1632

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 1

    by Eric Flint

    ★ 4.06 BLT Score (13.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (13.7K)
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  30. 30
    Time Enough for Love cover

    Time Enough for Love

    The World as Myth • Book 1

    by Robert A. Heinlein

    ★ 4.04 BLT Score (37.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (37.2K)
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  31. 31
    A Prince Out of Time cover

    A Prince Out of Time

    RE: Monarch • Book 1

    by J. McCoy, Eligos

    ★ 4.04 BLT Score (1.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.29 Goodreads (1.6K)
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  32. 32
    Pathfinder cover

    Pathfinder

    Pathfinder • Book 1

    by Orson Scott Card

    ★ 4.03 BLT Score (25.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (25.1K)
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  33. 33
    1636: The Saxon Uprising cover

    1636: The Saxon Uprising

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 5

    by Eric Flint

    ★ 4.03 BLT Score (1.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (1.7K)
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  34. 34
    All Clear cover

    All Clear

    All Clear • Book 2

    by Connie Willis

    ★ 4.03 BLT Score (22.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.08 Goodreads (22.1K)
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  35. 35
    To Say Nothing of the Dog cover

    To Say Nothing of the Dog

    Oxford Time Travel • Book 2

    by Connie Willis

    ★ 4.02 BLT Score (44.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (44.6K)
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  36. 36
    This Is How You Lose the Time War cover

    This Is How You Lose the Time War

    by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone

    ★ 4.02 BLT Score (348.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.83 Goodreads (348.1K)
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  37. 37
    The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories cover

    The Minority Report and Other Classic Stories

    by Philip K. Dick

    ★ 4.01 BLT Score (14.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.11 Goodreads (14.8K)
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  38. 38
    1635: The Eastern Front cover

    1635: The Eastern Front

    Ring of Fire Main Line Novels • Book 4

    by Eric Flint

    ★ 3.98 BLT Score (1.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (1.8K)
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  39. 39
    The Girl in the Castle cover

    The Girl in the Castle

    by James Patterson, Emily Raymond

    ★ 3.97 BLT Score (11.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.85 Goodreads (11.9K)
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  40. 40
    Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus cover

    Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus

    Pastwatch • Book 1

    by Orson Scott Card

    ★ 3.97 BLT Score (15.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (15.8K)
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  41. 41
    The Time Machine cover

    The Time Machine

    by H.G. Wells

    ★ 3.96 BLT Score (569.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (569.0K)
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  42. 42
    The Last Labyrinth cover

    The Last Labyrinth

    by Gwendolyn Womack

    ★ 3.96 BLT Score (853 ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (853)
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  43. 43
    Wonderlands cover

    Wonderlands

    Star Trek: Discovery • Book 8

    by Una McCormack

    ★ 3.95 BLT Score (509 ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (509)
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  44. 44
    1635: A Parcel of Rogues cover

    1635: A Parcel of Rogues

    Assiti Shards • Book 7

    by Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis

    ★ 3.95 BLT Score (1.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (1.1K)
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  45. 45
    1636: The Kremlin Games cover

    1636: The Kremlin Games

    Assiti Shards • Book 13

    by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, Paula Goodlett

    ★ 3.94 BLT Score (1.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.99 Goodreads (1.3K)
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  46. 46
    Einstein’s Dreams cover

    Einstein’s Dreams

    by Alan Lightman

    ★ 3.94 BLT Score (43.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (43.2K)
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  47. 47
    Out of Spite, Out of Mind cover

    Out of Spite, Out of Mind

    Magic 2.0 • Book 5

    by Scott Meyer

    ★ 3.93 BLT Score (6.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.79 Goodreads (6.2K)
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  48. 48
    Cult Classic cover

    Cult Classic

    Eric Carter • Book 9

    by Stephen Blackmoore, Michael John Casey, Nora Achrati, Jessica Threet, Steve Wannall, Dawn Ursula, Holly Adams, Torian Brackett, Rana Kay, Alexandra Cohler, Richard Rohan, Ryan Dalusung

    ★ 3.92 BLT Score (747 ratings)
    ★ 4.48 Goodreads (747)
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  49. 49
    1635: The Cannon Law cover

    1635: The Cannon Law

    Assiti Shards • Book 8

    by Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis

    ★ 3.92 BLT Score (1.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (1.8K)
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  50. 50
    H.G. Wells Seven Novels, Complete & Unabridged The Time Machine, Island of Dr. Moreau, Invisible Man, First Men In The Moon, Food of the Gods, In the Days of the Comet and War of the Worlds cover
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How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

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