I enjoy a wide variety of science fiction and science fantasy books. Sometimes I feel more like a tale grounded in hard science. Other times, I tend towards a more “neon noir” feel, like the Nightside novels by Simon Green, in which the supernatural and science fiction super-technology co-exist.

Also, even though I’m now old and grizzled, I still enjoy reading the young adult (YA) tales of my youth, particularly ones like the Heinlein juveniles (Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars, Citizen of the Galaxy… need I say more?).

One genre I particularly like involves time travel. For example, I recently read Just One Damned Thing After Another, which is the first in the Chronicles of St. Mary’s series by Jodi Taylor. This series is a delightful blend of chaotic time travel, British wit, and academic absurdity. For example, the historians at St. Mary’s Institute don’t “time travel.” Instead, they “investigate major historical events in contemporary time.” This means they’re constantly being hurled—often unprepared—into the most dangerous moments in history, and things almost always go hilariously or catastrophically wrong.

In my previous blog, I waffled about re-reading a book from my youth—The Future Took Us by David Severn. While writing that column, I ran across a very interesting website called Charlotte’s Library and the owner's comprehensive compendium of 500+ reviews of time travel books.

I found Charlotte’s review of The Future Took Us to be firm but fair, and I agree with everything she said, even the negative parts, which didn’t bother me in this case because I was on a mission to revisit my youth.

Suffice it to say that I will be returning to this site to peruse and ponder more of Charlotte’s time-traveling reviews. How about you? Do you see any tales you remember in this list? And can you think of any she’s missed that deserve to be added to the collection?