Day 30 -Inspiration in different times

The possibility of time travel has always fascinated me.  In college I took a class called “Paradox”, and mid semester I came up with an idea for a book on it.  That was about sixteen years ago, and the book is finally in the works (well three books to be specific).  Can I go back and retract that typo?  Sure, that’s what the backspace key is for, but what if we could go back and change something in our past?

When I was ten years old I read H.G. Wells’ THE TIME MACHINE.  It was the first book that really had me thinking about the subject.  The classic movie from the 60s wasn’t as good as the book, but it’s still one of my favorites to this day.  Even the remake done in the 2000s holds a special place in my heart.  Am I bold enough to say it is one of the best science fiction novels ever written?  Yes, and I’ll stand by that statement.  Wells came up with an idea to quell his own curiosity about what the future held.  While the book doesn’t go into alternate realities or changing the past (it is hinted at, but not a major component), it instead looks forward.  In certain aspects it shows a bleak future (far ahead of our own time), but there is something to be taken away from it all.  I feel the lesson written here is that we should appreciate what we have now.  No matter how bad things can get, it can always be worse.

Once I reached my teenage years there was a show on called QUANTUM LEAP.  It involved a character who was from the future and stepped into a time chamber.  He woke up in the past in someone else’s body.  The fun thing about this show was that each episode had him trying to figure out what he needed to make sure happened in order for him to leap to the next random time period.  The show was limited only to years in which the actual character had been alive on earth.  If he were to leap to another time he’d cease to exist, so it kept it very grounded in modern times (or at least the last 35 years prior to the show).  This series had me tuning in every week, but sadly it fell victim to what I call the “final episode”.  At the end of the series we are left with a cliffhanger of not knowing if he ever made it home or not.  Was Sam stuck in time?  Where did he go?  I still hold out hope for a reboot/sequel that will explain it all and maybe re-launch the series.

Lastly is the TIME PATROL series by Bob Mayer.  Mayer’s series takes a similar concept to leaping into a historical person’s body, but goes beyond that to actual events.  He isn’t limited to one time period, but instead has a selection of multiple in each individual novel.  One date throughout history is being affected by the mostly unseen antagonist in different ways.  It’s difficult to go into detail about it without being spoilery, but the Time Patrol is a fun and interesting ride.  It may even have you wanting to do some research on certain days or events in history.  I haven’t just been entertained by the highly anticipated novels, but have learned from them.  Where else can you have one story with multiple subplots going on in a book?

With the holidays fast approaching I’m frantically working on A COURSE FOR HUMANITY.  It won’t be out until early 2017, but in the meantime if you are looking for a great time travel story, I highly recommend all three of the above; especially Time Patrol, since it’s a current series.

So what are some of your favorite time travel stories?  Use the hashtag #scrypthalloween and you may be one of the lucky winners chosen to receive a free copy of one of my novels.