Books like The Quest for the Galleon of Time — picked by fans

This is another one I have re-read because I love the fantasy aspect. I didn’t come across C.S. Lewis’ books until I was a young adult, and then it was his adult writings. Now, I’m loving catching up on his Narnia series.

Written in 1950, this classic tale lives on, never becoming out of date, and I love that it is currently a stage production.

As a Christian, I also love a classic tale of good versus evil, with the drama between the white witch and the lion hero, Aslan, who overcomes death to save Narnia from the witch’s evil spell. For me, it’s a truly inspirational allegorical tale that stands the test of time.

I read this book three times. I have loved dragons and fantasy since childhood (a very long time ago!). Edith Nesbit was certainly ahead of her time with fantasy tales, and my favourite author when our high school curriculum included some of her books. Within this publication, I particularly love The Book of Beasts and the Ice Dragon, tales which come to life off the page as you read them, just like the storylines.

Although these stories were written over 110 years ago, they are still entrancing and beguiling, even if some of the language is a little dated. This collection of short stories possesses a fairy-tale-like quality that engages my imagination.

This is a wonderful historical fiction story, which I love for the way the tale has been crafted around a ghostly lighthouse inhabitant, weaving in and out of time.

Lighthouse legends and their historical backgrounds have always been fascinating for me. Fictional stories based on historical facts always draw me in. This particular author visits the locations in the stories to gather the information, which is something I admire greatly. The kids in this story become convinced they could assist in helping to right a past wrong. It had me thinking: what if we were able to do that?

I love this as a page-turning adventure for young readers to immerse themselves and learn some interesting facts, along with a tale for the imagination.

I love history. In high school, I took geography instead, to be with my friends. Now I’m delving into historical stuff. This is another wonderful, historically set fantasy and fictional story (with a dark side), based on the real-life Coles’ Arcade in Melbourne, Australia, in 1895. 

It’s well thought out and interesting, with its many plot twists and turns. I was drawn into the scenario around the Coles family, and the depictions of life in that period, especially the fact that there was a devastating heatwave at the time. I also loved the main theme about what happens when people deal with dark forces, and the outcome, even though it’s a fictional story. This is an absorbing, heart-stopping tale that I loved right unto the end.

What’s a pirate story without a little stolen treasure? Well, modern-day Jill doesn’t exactly steal the broken sword piece she finds on the beach, but it certainly is a treasure—one that transports her back in time to the age of pirates. Who hasn’t wanted to be transported to a pirate ship? I know have…and I still do! 

I'm a sucker for time travel stories and they don't come much more bountiful than in the long-running TV show Doctor Who. I love it, particularly the juxtaposition between the ancient Gallifreyan's boundless enthusiasm and deep emotional trauma from seeing everyone he (and now she) loves come and go over time. Over the last 60 years, the show has tackled pretty much every paradox and possibility. Brake's book weaves the physics behind the TARDIS into backstage insights into the show.

The penultimate time traveler? What is not to love here. A time lord racing through time, saving the world past and present maintaining the status quo in a phone. Adventure, romance all done with a chuckle that will warm the coldest heart. Of course, a steady diet of this might lead one to become a cosplay addict existing from one Comic-con to the next.

If you want a blend of fun science fiction serials from the earliest days of television mixed with everything you love about modern Doctor Who set in an entirely new setting that draws you in from the moment you start reading, this book is the one to do it. The author deftly weaves a fantastic story centered around an impossible decision and the only person who can make it, aptly capturing the struggle involved in making the worst choice ever.

I still remember where I was when I read this book so many years later. The only thing disappointing about it was that it ended in such a way that this reader thought it was over. Tom Merritt said, “No, I have one more.” Be glad he wrote Trigor because you will not want to be done when Pilot X ends. 

This book is a delirious romp through time and space with a political edge, which is enough to make me love it on its own. However, versions of the main character, Jerry Cornelius, pop up in just about all of Michael Moorcock’s work, including The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy, the Elric of Melnibone books and even his Dr. Who novel.

But wait! There’s more! Moorcock gave other writers permission to use the character, so he appears in other people’s works (including one of my novels). One of the first explorers of the concept of the multiverse, Michael Moorcock brilliantly paved the way for the rest of us.

This first-in-series book takes place in 1868 in the American West, a place I would visit in my time machine (I wouldn’t stay because I’m not a fan of dust and dirt and there was plenty of that in the early American West, but that’s on me).  

Abigail (Abi) MacKay is a Pinkerton detective who has to do her job twice as well as any man to prove she deserves the position. Nat Quinn and Jake Conroy are leaders of the payroll train-robbing gang known as The Innocents. Nat and Jake are supposed to be the sworn enemies of the Pinkertons, but as luck would have it, Abi and the two men are forced to team up after the men save her life and she promises to help them find the person who murdered a friend of theirs.  

But once their collaboration is over, what’s going to happen? Abi is… show more.