Love The Science of Doctor Who? Readers share 89 books like The Science of Doctor Who...

By Mark Brake,

Here are 89 books that The Science of Doctor Who fans have personally recommended if you like The Science of Doctor Who. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of All You Zombies: Five Classic Stories

Travis Stecher Author Of Dilation: A 10,000-Year Sci-Fi Epic

From my list on immersive stories centered around time travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a writer and musician with a background in mathematics, which is what originally led to my intrigue in cosmology. For writing speculative fiction, Iā€™ve dug into a range of topics from quantum mechanics to cognitive theory, but spacetime had the opposite causality: my interest later spawned my writing. When I first learned about special relativity, many aspects seemed counterintuitive but were mathematically sound, leading me to obsessively read books, watch videos, and perform hours of calculations to get a feel for it. And what draws my adoration most to the cosmos is the quality it shares with dinosaursā€”the more I learn, the more majestic it becomes.

Travis' book list on immersive stories centered around time travel

Travis Stecher Why did Travis love this book?

Iā€™d characterize the title story of this book as having Animal Farm energyā€”a huge idea in a short storyā€”and a prime example of why Heinleinā€™s era is called the ā€œGolden Ageā€ of science fiction. I listened to multiple sections of this story twice after realizing my bearings had been off, slowed the audio to normal speed (I typically listen at 1.25x), and even looked up diagrams online outlining the order of plot events, which exist because this story pushes time travel to its limits.

Completing the story wasnā€™t the end, either. I wanted to read the analysis, discussions, and the aforementioned diagrams. It is a masterfully written, thought-provoking tale whose big reveals and revelations were legitimately jaw-dropping at times.

By Robert A. Heinlein,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked All You Zombies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The story "All You Zombiesā€”" is the basis for PREDESTINATION from Sony Pictures, just released in the US on January 9, 2015, starring Ethan Hawke, directed and written by the Spierig Brothers.

Robert A. Heinlein's brilliance and diverse talents are on display in this collection of five short stories that range from mind-twisters ("All You Zombiesā€”"), paranoia and surprise ("Theyā€”"), hilarious engineering conundrums ("ā€”And They Built a Crooked House"), fantasies ("Our Fair City), and the beautiful, heart-breaking "The Man Who Travelled in Elephants".

"Not only America's premier writer of speculative fiction, but the greatest writer of such fiction in theā€¦


Book cover of The Time Machine

Robert J. Pajer Author Of A Handful of Dust

From my list on various modes of time travel.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a young boy, Iā€™ve been fascinated with the concept of time. Iā€™ve spent hours studying the physics of time as a hobby, and to this day, as an adult, that fascination continues. Whenever the topic of time arises in conversation, I will be the first to contribute my understanding of this mystery that has baffled humankind since the beginning of...well, time.

Robert's book list on various modes of time travel

Robert J. Pajer Why did Robert love this book?

I loved this book because itā€™s the granddaddy of time travel stories that use a machine method of transportation to the past or future. The protagonist creates a machine capable of moving through time without actually moving through space.

I easily suspended my 21st-century pragmatic understanding of time travel and was immersed in Wells's plot for a world of the future, one with a socialist propensity. For a book that would be considered a Novella, this has a ā€˜big storyā€™ feelingā€”for me anyway.

By H.G. Wells,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked The Time Machine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.

The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed byā€¦


Book cover of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Jeremy S. Pratte Author Of FIVE

From my list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always been a creative, imaginative person, and I love creating exciting, fantastical worlds, either through my fine art or the stories I write. As such, I am always intrigued by creations by others that depict all the interesting possibilities of reality. I consume and create fantasy and science fiction tales, which take up the majority of my readings and viewings. But I also love comedy! I love to think and laugh, and when I come across a story that makes me do both, thatā€™s a beautiful double whammy! And I particularly love sci-fi because it isnā€™t just about escapism, but this genre leads to real-world scientific advancements.

Jeremy's book list on science fiction that makes you think and laugh

Jeremy S. Pratte Why did Jeremy love this book?

Most of the time sequels are disappointing, but not this one. I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up to ā€œHitchhikerā€™s Guide to the Galaxyā€ as Arthur and Ford and other weird characters deal with a possible Doomsday.

It turns into a quest of sorts to find not the answer to the secret of life and the universeā€”which is 42, because, of course, it would be something absurd like thatā€”but the question to the answer. Which is also absurd! I was amused as well as intrigued by their adventure, which included finding a good cup of tea and a good place to eat, the restaurant mentioned in the bookā€™s title.

By Douglas Adams,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Restaurant at the End of the Universe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Following the smash-hit sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second part in Douglas Adams' multi-media phenomenon and cult classic series.

This edition includes exclusive bonus material from the Douglas Adams archives, and an introduction by Monty Python star, Terry Jones.

If you've done six impossible things this morning, why not round it off with breakfast at Milliways, the Restaurant at the end of the Universe?

Which is exactly what Arthur Dent and the crew of the Heart of Gold plan to do. There's just the small matter ofā€¦


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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

Book cover of The Order of Time

Isabel Hoving Author Of The Dream Merchant

From my list on showing that our world is a wildly different place.

Why am I passionate about this?

My favorite books all show me that reality is much, much richer and stranger than it seems. And that is exactly what makes me write myself. Already as a child, I wanted the world to be different. I longed for the other, richer realities that were, I felt, just around the corner. So I started to travel, to Senegal and beyond, and learn about other peopleā€™s life experiences. When I became a researcher of world literature, it truly came home to me how one-sided my view of the world was. Ouch. Fortunately, there is a wealth of stories out there to tell us about everything we have been blind to. 

Isabel's book list on showing that our world is a wildly different place

Isabel Hoving Why did Isabel love this book?

Carlos Rovelliā€™s The Order of Time is not at all a fantasy bookā€”it is scienceā€”but nevertheless the most inspiring, life changing fantasy Iā€™ve ever read. If I look around me with scientist Rovelliā€™s eyes, I too see that ā€œthe world is made up of networks of kisses, not of stones.ā€ Beautiful, weird, and scientifically accurate. True fantasy! 

By Carlo Rovelli,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Order of Time as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

One of TIME's Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade

'Captivating, fascinating, profoundly beautiful. . . Rovelli is a wonderfully humane, gentle and witty guide for he is as much philosopher and poet as he is a scientist' John Banville

'We are time. We are this space, this clearing opened by the traces of memory inside the connections between our neurons. We are memory. We are nostalgia. We are longing for a future that will not come'

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long exploredā€¦


Book cover of The Knight, the Fool and the Dead

Richard Powell Author Of A Rescue In Time

From my list on science fiction for a good belly laugh.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I became enthralled with both science and history. Also, who doesnā€™t enjoy a good laugh? The chance to combine all three? A dream come true!

Richard's book list on science fiction for a good belly laugh

Richard Powell Why did Richard love this book?

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.

By Steve Cole,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Knight, the Fool and the Dead as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We live forever, barring accidents. Just like everyone else in the universe.

The Doctor travels back to the Ancient Days, an era where life flourishes and death is barely known...

Then come the Kotturuh - creatures who spread through the cosmos dispensing mortality. They judge each and every species and decree its allotted time to live. For the first time, living things know the fear of ending. And they will go to any lengths to escape this grim new spectre, death.

The Doctor is an old hand at cheating death. Now, at last, he can stop it at source. Heā€¦


Book cover of Pilot X

Brian Guthrie Author Of Rise

From my list on science fiction that you should definitely read.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since reading Heir to the Empire (Timothy Zahn), Iā€™ve been fascinated by science fiction stories with amazing characters and intriguing concepts. I love finding a new story, especially one that isnā€™t being talked about, and falling into that world. I still get lost in the worlds of the Deathgate Cycle and Rose of the Prophets because they introduced me to concepts and places Iā€™d never imagined or thought to imagine before reading them. I crafted a world and characters both familiar and alien because of these influences and Iā€™m still drawn to them when I start a new book no one is talking about, like those on this list.

Brian's book list on science fiction that you should definitely read

Brian Guthrie Why did Brian love this book?

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, ā€œNo, I have one more.ā€ Be glad he wrote Trigor because you will not want to be done when Pilot X ends. 

By Tom Merritt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pilot X as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Tom Merritt's time-bending space adventure had me hooked from the start." ā€•Gary Whitta, screenwriter of Star Wars: Rogue One and The Book of Eli, author of Abomination

What if a time traveler lived in a world where disrupting the timeline could destroy everything in the universe ā€• everything but himself?

Pilot X is Ambassador of the Alendans, a race with the ability to move through space and time as guardians of the timeline. Locked in ongoing conflict with the Sensaurians, an organic hive mind that can send messages in thought throughout its own history, and the Progons, a machine raceā€¦


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Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. BrenƩ Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,ā€¦

Book cover of The Cornelius Chronicles

Ira Nayman Author Of The Dance: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction

From my list on wildly entertaining journeys around the multiverse.

Why am I passionate about this?

I, Ira Nayman, have been writing stories set in the multiverse for almost twenty years, first with the Alternate Reality News Service set of books, then with my Transdimensional Authority/Multiverse novels and, most recently, with multiverse triptychs (the spark for The Dance). One of the things that I recently realized about my writing is that a lot of it focuses on the factors that shape our lives and make us the people we are. My ongoing fascination with the multiverse is because it is a great vehicle for exploring this idea by showing us how our lives could have turned out if circumstances or our choices had been different.

Ira's book list on wildly entertaining journeys around the multiverse

Ira Nayman Why did Ira love this book?

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 Moorcockā€™s work, including The Dancers at the End of Time trilogy, the Elric of Melnibone books and even his Dr. Who novel.

But wait! Thereā€™s more! Moorcock gave other writers permission to use the character, so he appears in other peopleā€™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.

By Michael Moorcock,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cornelius Chronicles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jerry Cornelius, a time traveler who is able to assume many identities, must prey on others to maintain his image stability


Book cover of On a Pale Horse

Cleave Bourbon Author Of Red Mage Ascending

From my list on fantasy that inspire reluctant readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I first got fascinated with fantasy as a very reluctant high school reader. I didnā€™t like to read all that much because I was a slow reader and it was a laborious task for me. A high school friend offered me a fantasy book to read sophomore year and I couldnā€™t put it down. That one book started me on a reading journey that has never stopped. I also studied English, became a teacher, and finally began writing my own fantasy. These books took a reluctant reader in high school to the man and author I am today. I hope my own work does the same for future writers.

Cleave's book list on fantasy that inspire reluctant readers

Cleave Bourbon Why did Cleave love this book?

This is the first book of the Incarnation series. What got me to read this book was the description. A man sees the incarnation of Death (the dark hooded grim reaper) and he shoots and kills him. Now that he has killed death, he must take Deathā€™s place and become Death himself.

The second book in the series is about Chronos (time) and he lives his life backwards! The entire novel is written with time moving opposite of everyone else in the novel. I read these books in my early twenties and a lot of the series plot points still stick with me today. I have been influenced by it because in my series if one kills a mage, they must take their place as that mage.

I think The Doctor in Doctor Who and his wife moving opposite in time might have been influenced by the second book, Iā€¦

By Piers Anthony,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked On a Pale Horse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this first novel of the Incarnations of Immortality, Piers Anthony combines a gripping story of romance and conflicting loyalties with a deeply moving examination of the meaning of life and death. This is a novel that will long linger in the reader's mind. 

Shooting Death was a mistake, as Zane soon discovered. For the man who killed the Incarnation of Death was immediately forced to assume the vacant position! Thereafter, he must speed over the world, riding his pale horse, and ending the lives of others. 

Zane was forced to accept his unwelcome task, despite the rules that seemedā€¦


Book cover of The City At World's End

Robbie Sheerin Author Of Tales From Another Dimension: A Sci-Fi Collection

From my list on sci-fi from the 1950s.

Why am I passionate about this?

For many people, reading has been a lifesaver for their mental health. I didn't begin reading until my 20s. But I wish I had had those windows into other realities when I was younger. Having a difficult childhood molds our adult lives, and therefore we can still be haunted by childhood memories. Reading can help us see other worlds and other people, and it can ignite our imagination. Growing up in a small fishing town in Scotland is the perfect backdrop for imagination, with coastlines lined with dark, boisterous waters and castles steeped in battles, folklore, and intrigues of the past. All this has given way to my writing. 

Robbie's book list on sci-fi from the 1950s

Robbie Sheerin Why did Robbie love this book?

Not to be confused with the Doctor Who episode of the same name. City at Worldā€™s End is one of the earliest dystopian stories.

The writer, Edmond Hamilton is more famous for Captain Future and his contributions to DC comics Batman, Green Lantern, and Superman. I enjoyed this novel for its quirky characters, as well as its simplicity as a sci-fi story. It explores crowd hysteria and basic fear of change and survival. It also highlights the need for adaptably in an ever-changing society and world, that has transformed so much since the early days of science fiction.

By Edmond Hamilton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The City At World's End as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.


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Book cover of Activating Our 12-Stranded DNA: Secrets of Dodecahedral DNA for Completing Our Human Evolution

Activating Our 12-Stranded DNA by Ruslana Remennikova,

In this vibrant guidebook, sound healer and former corporate scientist Ruslana Remennikova reveals how, through vibration and intention, you can shapeshift DNA from the standard double helix to its 12-stranded, dodecahedral formā€”unlocking your spiritual potential and opening the way for deep healing of the past, the present, and the futureā€¦

Book cover of The Initiate

K.V. Johansen Author Of Blackdog

From my list on with gods as characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a Canadian writer with a degree in Mediaeval Studies. Even as a child, I wrote stories about characters who werenā€™t entirely human; they were also always people lurking on the edges of thingsā€”families, cultures, places, ways of being, even people existing only on the edges of becoming themselves. Those have always been where I found my stories and as an adult I havenā€™t lost this fascination and the need to tell such tales. Gods, assassins, devils, demons, shapeshifters, immortal wanderers, and ordinary people caught up in their history, vast, deep worlds, and complex charactersā€”thatā€™s what I do. 

K.V.'s book list on with gods as characters

K.V. Johansen Why did K.V. love this book?

A classic from the eighties, The Initiate is the start of the Time Master Trilogy. (Nothing to do with Doctor Who!) A powerful young sorcerer finds refuge among the Initiates, scholar-sorcerers who serve the seven gods of Order, but the seven outcast gods of Chaos, their ancient counterparts and enemies, claim Tarod for their own. Tarodā€™s journey into himself is a dark one. Politics, magic, friendships betrayed, and gods you really do not want to put any faith in or reliance on taking an active part in events as Chaos tries to take back control of the world it once ruled in a reign of terror. Iā€™ve loved this series and reread it I donā€™t know how many times. 

By Louise Cooper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Initiate as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The seven gods of Order had ruled unchallenged for centuries, served by the adepts of the Circle in their bleak northern castle on the Star Peninsula. But for Tarod - the most enigmatic and formidable sorcerer in Circle's ranks - a darker affinity had begun to call. Threatening his beliefs, even his sanity, it rose unbidden from beyond time; an ancient and deadly adversary that could plunge the world into madness and chaos - and whose power might rival that of the gods themselves. And though Tarod's mind and heart were pledged to Order, his soul was another matter...


Book cover of All You Zombies: Five Classic Stories
Book cover of The Time Machine
Book cover of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

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