No one has yet mentioned Orson Scott Card’s Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, which I greatly enjoyed.
The Shield of Time by Poul Anderson is not too bad; a little melodramatic, I suppose, and it reads like a Heinlein juvenile, but it can make for a diverting afternoon.
Just beware of some endlessly redundant exposition.
I’ll second the nominations of Stirling’s Nantucket trilogy and Silverberg’s Up the Line.
Empire of Time by Crawford Killian is an entertaining time travel book that hasn’t been mentioned yet. You’ll have to find it in a used bookstore though; it’s been out of print for several years.
Vernor Vinge’s Marooned in Realtime is an excellent novel about a sort of time travel. Also out of print, but it’s included in an omnibus edition called Across Realtime.
I am not a big fan of Dean Koontz, but I did enjoy his Lightning, an action/thriller dealing with time travel.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
Yeah, there’s romance, but the time travel aspect is very well done. I would say that’s a nifty historical drama with some time travel and romance thrown in.
Add two votes for Doomsday Book and Pastwatch (me and genie).
The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock isn’t really about time travel, but it is relevant. There’s a brief review here.
I’ll also put in a word for the Connie Willis books mentioned above.
I was going to, if someone else hadn’t. Since you did, I’ll just agree. It’s my favorite Card book after Ender’s Game.
I also quite liked Doomsday Book.
The End of Eternity, by Isaac Asimov.
The good doctor used to write mostly about robots, but this one is a trepidant -and sometimes creepy- hell of a time travel and time fixing novel. At certain points, it made me shiver to the bone.
Lissa was speaking of 1632 and 1633, the continuing story of a West Virginia town that is transported to Germany during the Thirty Years War.
Yes, I liked them both very much. There’s a lot of the “what if” ideas, because the people of Grantville have foreknowledge of a sorts about events to come. Of course, as soon as they start interacting with the world at large those events may or may not happen. Just think, if Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, was not killed in battle when our history says he was, how would that have changed history?
And sure, the people of Grantville have cars and electricity and rifled firearms, and that will give them an edge, but they are well aware that when the lightbulbs won’t last forever. And imagine the frustration of a 21st century doctor that has run out of antibiotics.
All in all, try the books. I am looking forward to 1634: The Baltic War.
I wish you’d read Elleander Morning by Jerry Yulsman. I’ve mentioned it before in Time Travel threads, but haven’t had any feedback on it. I think you’d like it. It is not hard science fiction. Yulsman doesn’t sweat paradoxes or concentrate at all on the mechanics of time travel. It’s a fascinating book – especially in its glimpses of a present in which WWII never took place. It’s out of print, but you ought to be able to find it at your library, or through a library loan. Or there are several cheap (less than $10 for HC, or $5 for paperback) copies at abebooks.
The Proteus Operation and Thrice Upon a Time by James Hogan
I’d add another vote for both 1632/1633 and S.M Stirling’s Island on the Sea of Time series. Both S.M. Stirling and Eric Flint have done some serious research to get the historical settings “as right as possible.” Both series also capture more of the military/political sweep of the time period better than most simple time travel stories. You can actually read an eBook of 1632 for free here.
Thanks for that! I’m always looking for new eBooks.
The Technicolor Time Machine by Harry Harrison
One of my all-time favorites. Harrison at his colorful (technicolorful?) best.
Also there’s a whole series: The Time Patrol by Poul Anderson
Good stuff, much (?) of it based in the Norse legends that Anderson loves so well.
About 1632 , I enjoyed the book a great deal. It’s an easy read, really. My only complaint is that the class warfare is a little overplayed. The protagonist is the head of a local union. Still, it was a lot of fun.
Let me second the nomination for The Man Who Folded Himself and add John Varley’s Millennium, which is one of my favorite novels of all times, time travel or not. Just don’t watch the horrible movie made from it starring Kris Kristopherson (sp?)
Rats, vibrotronica beat me to Millenium. Varley is awesome.
I don’t think I’ve seen Timescape by Gregory Benford mentioned.
A third vote here for Silverberg’s “Up the Line” one of the finest time travel stories you will read. The probability of existence is a great theme.
“Millenium”, the book, is good and funny.
Does anyone remember a story called “Replay?” Can’t remember author.
Of course the OP mentions “Replay”
“Doink” (sound of hand smacking forehead)