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.
The man who folded himself. It’s about a kid who discovers time travel and only has relationships with different versions of himself. It’s a sad meditation on loneliness and so unusual. Never read anything quite like it.
I loved this novel as a kid. It was also my introduction to how bad censorship and book banning is.
I was surprised by the plot turn that he had orgies with himself, and said so out loud to my mom. She walked across the room, took the book from my hands and ripped it in half, telling me not to read that sort of trash.
We argued for a while, and she made a decent point that some stories are just meant to be sexual for the sake of being arousing, and she felt I was too young to read that sort of thing. I agreed with that, but I made the point that was only a small part of a larger exploration of what time travel would mean.
I went to the library and got a copy in secret to finish the book. It’s still one of my favorite reads.
Censorship and book banning still make my blood boil, too.
I am also happy in retrospect that my mom intentionally preserved my innocence as a child from some of the seedier side of adulthood. That can wait until you’re old enough to experience it correctly.
Looked up the plot. That sounds like the Heinlein story “–All You Zombies–”.
Interesting fun fact I learned on the DAVIDGERROLD forum on CompuServe in the 90’s: David Gerrold, the author, knew Heinlein, and ended up taking care of Heinlein’s cat after he died. And then the cat ran away.
That means the cat that inspired Pixel in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls disappeared and it was David Gerrold who lost Heinlein’s cat.
‘—All You Zombies—’ by Robert A. Heinlein. Different story. Similar though.
Not to mention the excellent movie adaptation “Predestination.”
I just read “All you zombies”. It’s different but has some similar themes.
It’s rare to find a book that explores the concept of time travel in such a personal and introspective manner, making it a truly standout piece in the science fiction genre.
This should be number one. I still think about that book. IT’S MIND-BLOWING.
Came here to see if this is mentioned. This book is my Roman Empire
I feel like it’s important to mentioned (due to the joke alternate title “The Man Who Fucked Himself”) that he’s an adult for most of the book lol
Loved this
This was my pick too. Careful where/when you leave your soda bottles.