Fiction about the Multiverse and Parallel Dimensions

[Lapis Exilis]

Can any one recommend any novels or short stories that deal with the multiverse theory and/ or parallel dimensions? Excluding things like Thomas Covenant in which there is a single other dimension/ alternate earth to which the protagonist is transported.

Thanks!

 

[Nerys Myk]

Number of the Beast by Robert Heinlein. The World of Tiers series by Philip Jose Farmer

 

[Sindatur]

Not sure if it's Parallel worlds or simply other worlds, but, two more Books by Covenant's Author Stephen R. Donaldson are Mordant's Need

Book 1 - The Mirror of her Dreams
Book 2 - A Man Rides Through

 

[Klaus]

Just about to read The Coming of the Quantum Cats by Frederick Pohl, which comes highly recommended.

In a way, The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold fits here too.

 

[Davros]

Elric
Hawkmoon
Corum

or anything else from Moorcock's Eternal Champion books.

 

[Klaus]

^^And you can read the entire Eternal Champion cycle and have less words to go through than any two Donaldson books!

 

[Sindatur]

^^And you can read the entire Eternal Champion cycle and have less words to go through than any two Donaldson books!

Heh, I like Donaldson's Wordsmithery. I like JK Rowling also, even though she doesn't use more than 100 different words in her novels

 

[Owain Taggart]

The Neanderthal Parallax by Robert. J. Sawyer. It's quite an excellent trilogy with some excellent character development, and a trilogy that actually doesn't peter out before it gets to the end.

Hominids examines two unique species of people. We are one of those species; the other is the Neanderthals of a parallel world where they became the dominant intelligence. The Neanderthal civilization has reached heights of culture and science comparable to our own, but with radically different history, society and philosophy.

Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal physicist, accidentally pierces the barrier between worlds and is transferred to our universe. Almost immediately recognized as a Neanderthal, but only much later as a scientist, he is quarantined and studied, alone and bewildered, a stranger in a strange land. But Ponter is also befriended—by a doctor and a physicist who share his questing intelligence, and especially by Canadian geneticist Mary Vaughan, a woman with whom he develops a special rapport.

Ponter’s partner, Adikor Huld, finds himself with a messy lab, a missing body, suspicious people all around and an explosive murder trial. How can he possibly prove his innocence when he has no idea what actually happened to Ponter?

 

[Klaus]

Heh, I like Donaldson's Wordsmithery. I like JK Rowling also, even though she doesn't use more than 100 different words in her novels

Oh I love SRD, have since reading Lord Foul's Bane from the SF Book Club when it came out lol... but he's fun to tease. Who else would use "chiaroscuro" more than once in the same book, other than an art historian?

 

[Kegg]

This is something that comes up a lot, obviously, in Philip K. Dick's books. Off the top of my head, Now Wait for Last Year fits the OP's parameters the closest.

or anything else from Moorcock's Eternal Champion books.

Moorcock's credited with coining multiverse so, quite.

 

[Lindley]

The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter. Sequel to HG Wells' The Time Machine, it theorizes that while travel forward in time is simple, every single time someone travels backward in time, they arrive in an alternate timeline. It then becomes the time-traveler's duty to seek out the best of all possible timelines.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The Man in the High Castle by P K Dick.

 

[Mistral]

OK, as the self-proclaimed resident expert:

Parallelities- Alan Dean Foster

Damn near anything by Harry Turtledove. Start with The Guns of the South.

SM Stirling's Nantucket Trilogy. Start w/Island in the Sea of Time
Also, his novels The Peshewar Lancers and Conquistador

Pavane by Keith Roberts

My personal fav: 1632 by Eric Flint(and all the other books in that "universe") go here: http://www.crucis.net/ericflint/

Stephen King's new book 11/22/63

Paratime by H Beam Piper. Also, his Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen and the sequel by Roland Green

The Worlds of the Imperium(and sequels) by Keith Laumer

The Big Time by Fritz Leiber

The Timeliner Trilogy by Richard C. Meredith (Awesome multiverse theory application in this one-and lots of sex and death too.)

The Gate of Worlds by Silverberg

Fatherland by Robert Harris

The Proteus Operation by James P Hogan

The Axis of Time trilogy by John Birmingham (lots of fun)

The Lord Darcy books by Randall Garrett

That should keep you busy.

also, you can go here:http://www.changingthetimes.net/samples.htm

and I suggest reading A Time For Patriots on that site. As well as that author's other work. (Hamilton)

ed.- I almost forgot Mike Resnick edited a series of short story anthologies.
Alternate Generals
Alternate Kennedys (You HAVE to read The Winterberry!)

• Nicholas A. DiChario

Alternate Presidents
etc

 

[Silvercrest]

Definitely The Proteus Operation.

I thought about suggesting Worlds of the Imperium, but in a lot of ways it almost seems outside Lapis' criteria. Haven't read the sequels, however.

 

[stj]

Good, a thread I actually have time to post in.

If you include stories that have someone moving across timelines and/or manipulating them, I think H. Beam Piper's Paratime Police, Poul Anderson's Time Patrol stories, Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity qualify.

Iain M. Banks' Transitions is much more recent and much more influenced by the multiverse interpretation.

Jibber jabber about parallel dimensions are very common as a makeshift way to try to have the best of both worlds and fit together SF and magic. Andre Norton's Witch World series and the late great Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci stories, for example. But Norton had a quartet of books about travelers across timelines though I forget the names.

PS Double checking to see if Moorcock's Cornelius chronicles were mentioned, I see that I missed mistral's nod to Piper. Oops!

 

[Starbreaker]

The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter. Sequel to HG Wells' The Time Machine, it theorizes that while travel forward in time is simple, every single time someone travels backward in time, they arrive in an alternate timeline. It then becomes the time-traveler's duty to seek out the best of all possible timelines.

He uses this in the Xeelee novels too, specifically Exultant. The wars in the books pretty much come to standstills because everyone knows the next 100 moves that are about to be made.

 

[captcalhoun]

are we talking about stories just set in parallel times or actually dealing with travelling between them?

if the former, i highly recommend the Star Trek: Myriad Universes trade paperbacks. each contains 3 novel-length stories set in a different parallel universe.

if the latter, there's a Voyager novel dealing with travel between realities which is quite good, but i've forgotten the name of...

...aha, it's called Echoes.

 

[Darth_Daver]

Well I quite enjoyed Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and while the first one was a "usual" fantasy, and the third one was something different, the second one had quite a scifi feel to it, and there was more than enough universes in it

 

[Bast]

I haven't seen any mention of Darwinia by Robert Charles Wilson.

 

[Mysterion]

Alternities by Michael Kube McDowell is a favorite of mine.

You might go here: http://www.uchronia.net/

It's a listing of alternate history works mainly, but many of them will include travel from one dimesion/timeline to another.