My pick would have to be the A Whole Nother Story trilogy, in which (spoiler warning) you can only travel back in time. But because time is in a loop of sorts, if you go before the beginning of time, you will be at the end of time. From there you can go back to any time you want to. And time paradoxes cannot be produced. Plus, your memories from the previous timeline exist as well as the memories from the new one.

  • pebrudite@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    “In the afterword of 11/22/63, Stephen King states that Time and Again is “in this writer’s humble opinion, the great time-travel story.” He had originally intended to dedicate his book to Jack Finney.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_and_Again_(Finney_novel)

    I’ve read Time and Again and it’s a good book. Mostly it’s such a good portrait of late-19th century NYC. Did you know the statue of liberty’s torch-holding hand stood alone in Central Park to raise money for the rest of the statue? Or that Central Park had actual farms in it? Or that before TV and radio people used to buy cheap statuary and play charades with them for fun? You’ll learn all this and more!

    • mysterysciencekitten@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I read Time and Again and hated it. Worst part (spoiler): one of the main characters is suddenly and without real explanation transported forward in time to modern day NYC. If that happened to me, or any person I’ve ever known, I would think I was dreaming, or high, or would scream my head off in fear and disbelief and immediately demand answers. Instead she calmly observes and marvels at the changes (to architecture!). No one in real life would react that way to something so insane.

    • Tight_Knee_9809@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      One of my favorite books. I try to visit locations mentioned in the book when i go to NYC. Re the Statue of Liberty arm - I had no idea about this history until reading about it in Time and Again. Actually, the arm was located in Madison Square park (not Central Park). When I visited Madison Square park, I looked for a plaque that might acknowledge this history but didnt find one. Anyway, great book!

      Also, the arm and Madison Square Park are included in an episode of The Gilded Age (Season 1).

    • juvenalsatire@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      So many great modern time-travel books but Time and Again is absolutely wonderful in the way it evokes New York. A leisurely read that suits the era.