Accessibility links

Welcome To The NPR Books Time Machine Time Machine is our semi-regular feature devoted to series coverage. Afraid to dive into a book because it's in the middle of a series? We'll rewind time to help you catch up.

Special Series

Time Machine

Miss out on a great book series? We'll rewind time to help you catch up.

Subscribe to Books Newsletter

The Deliciously Soapy — But Substantial — Supermarket Saga Of 'Forbidden Hearts'

Hate to Want You, by Alisha Rai hide caption

toggle caption

Review

The Deliciously Soapy — But Substantial — Supermarket Saga Of 'Forbidden Hearts'

March 31, 2018 • We're cranking up the trusty old NPR Books Time Machine again, and this time we're rewinding Alisha Rai's steamy series about love and drama among two estranged business dynasties in upstate New York.

Temeraire And Laurence, At Peace At Last In 'League Of Dragons'

Review

Book Reviews

Temeraire And Laurence, At Peace At Last In 'League Of Dragons'

June 14, 2016 • This week, the NPR Books Time Machine travels back to the era of the Napoleonic Wars for a look at Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, which wraps up this week with the release of League of Dragons.

'Too Tough To Die,' Cass Neary Cuts A Jagged Path Through Crime Fiction

Review

'Too Tough To Die,' Cass Neary Cuts A Jagged Path Through Crime Fiction

May 26, 2016 • This week, the NPR Books Time Machine is rewinding Elizabeth Hand's gritty, punk-inflected Cass Neary mystery series. "Scary Neary" is an aging rocker with addiction issues and a talent for trouble.

In 'Anything For You,' Raising A Last Glass To Blue Heron Vineyard

In 'Anything For You,' Raising A Last Glass To Blue Heron Vineyard

January 17, 2016 • This weekend, we're rewinding the NPR Books Time Machine to look at Kristan Higgins' beloved Blue Heron romance series, which wrapped up last month with book five, Anything For You.

The Gentlemen Bastards Unfold Sumptuous Stories Within Stories

The Gentlemen Bastards Unfold Sumptuous Stories Within Stories

August 29, 2015 • This weekend, the NPR Books Time Machine is rewinding Scott Lynch's swashbuckling Gentleman Bastard series, a combination fantasy of manners, heist caper and heartfelt buddy comedy. With pirates.

Farewell To The Legendary League Of The Pink Carnation

Review

Farewell To The Legendary League Of The Pink Carnation

August 16, 2015 • This week, we're setting the NPR Books Time Machine for the Napoleonic Wars, and Lauren Willig's swashbuckling Pink Carnation series, about florally themed spies battling it out across Europe.

'Sandman Slim' Is Urban Fantasy With Brains, Guts And A Blackened Heart

Review

'Sandman Slim' Is Urban Fantasy With Brains, Guts And A Blackened Heart

July 25, 2015 • This trip in the NPR Books Time Machine, we're rewinding Richard Kadrey's hard-boiled supernatural noir series about a half-angel, half-human man who fights crime and occasionally saves the world.

The Craft Sequence: Please Do Judge These Books By Their Covers

The Craft Sequence: Please Do Judge These Books By Their Covers

June 27, 2015 • This weekend, the NPR Books Time Machine rewinds Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence. Critic Amal El-Mohtar was drawn in by great cover art and discovered a sharp, smart, unusual urban fantasy series.

Review

Meditating On Maisie Dobbs, Our Favorite Intuitive Detective Psychologist

April 12, 2015 • This trip in the Time Machine, we're looking back at Jacqueline Winspear's well-loved Maisie Dobbs books. Reviewer Bobbi Dumas says there are interesting times ahead for the nurse-turned-sleuth.

Voyage Through An Adventurous Alternate Universe With 'Basilisk'

Courtesy of Tor Books

Review

Book Reviews

Voyage Through An Adventurous Alternate Universe With 'Basilisk'

April 2, 2015 • Voyage of the Basilisk is the latest book in Marie Brennan's Memoirs of Lady Trent series; critic Genevieve Valentine says if you love dragons like Lady Trent does, now's the time to get acquainted.

The Beloved, Bickering Bridgertons Turn 15 This Year

Summer of Love

The Beloved, Bickering Bridgertons Turn 15 This Year

March 21, 2015 • As part of our Time Machine series coverage, NPR romance guru Bobbi Dumas introduces readers to the rosy-hued Regency of Julia Quinn's Bridgerton family books, some of the most popular romances ever.

In 'Shadow,' Change And Growth As A Story Sheds Its Scales

Review

Book Reviews

In 'Shadow,' Change And Growth As A Story Sheds Its Scales

March 11, 2015 • Rachel Hartman continues her tale of half-dragon musician and unwilling diplomat Seraphina in Shadow Scale. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says the new book doesn't just live up to the old, it outgrows it.

A Haunting, Victorian-Inflected Dystopia In 'The Mime Order'

Review

A Haunting, Victorian-Inflected Dystopia In 'The Mime Order'

January 29, 2015 • Samantha Shannon's richly detailed follow-up to The Bone Season picks up with clairvoyant heroine Paige on the run after leading a revolt against the alien oppressors of her far-future England.

For A Taste Of Grimdark, Visit The 'Land Fit For Heroes'

Review

For A Taste Of Grimdark, Visit The 'Land Fit For Heroes'

January 25, 2015 • Richard K. Morgan's epic sword-and-planet (and alien technology) Land Fit for Heroes series is a good introduction to grimdark, a subgenre that aims to show the gritty underside of fantasy fiction.

'Golden Son' Is Space Opera That Doesn't Forget The Opera

Review

'Golden Son' Is Space Opera That Doesn't Forget The Opera

January 11, 2015 • Pierce Brown's followup to last year's Romans-in-space epic Red Rising is bigger, louder, and bloodier than its predecessor. Reviewer Jason Sheehan says it isn't perfect — but it is hard to put down.

'The Galaxy Game' Is Rich And Strong As A Shot Of Rum

iStockphoto.com

Review

'The Galaxy Game' Is Rich And Strong As A Shot Of Rum

January 10, 2015 • Karen Lord's new The Galaxy Game picks up where her previous novel, The Best of All Possible Worlds, left off — in a complicated galactic civilization trying to come to terms with a genocide.

More from Time Machine

Browse archive or search npr.org