Time-Slip Novels

This article relates to The Heavens

The Heavens is not an easy novel to categorize, but on at least one level, it participates in a category of fantasy literature called a "time-slip" novel, in which a character travels between two or more separate timelines. The mechanism for the shift in time varies, but can be reading letters, doing research, traveling through a doorway or portal – or falling asleep and dreaming. Here are a few other notable time-slip novels:

The Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
In this novel, an archaeological dig in modern-day France offers a connection to a secret buried nearly a millennium before.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
This popular historical romance (also an equally popular television series) finds a 20th century woman transported two decades into the past - and into the arms of a Scottish warrior.

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King
Originally written for young adults (but able to be enjoyed by anyone), this novel's central character is a young woman with the ability to see freely both forward and backwards in time.

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Much as in Newman's novel, this novel by Stephen King imagines a protagonist sent back in time for a specific purpose – in this case, to avert the Kennedy assassination.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Niffenegger's debut novel is about a librarian who travels involuntarily through time and his love affair with an artist who remains stuck in the present.

Filed under Reading Lists

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Heavens. It originally ran in March 2019 and has been updated for the November 2019 paperback edition. Go to magazine.

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