The most recommended multiverse books

This lesser-known gem was my favorite book of 2019. You take a World War II-style submarine war but throw in horrifying new supernatural powers, and then pitch it against Cthulu-style interdimensional monsters and you start to have an idea of the gloriously-insane trajectory of this book. That may sound over-the-top at a glance, but I promise this is a grounded read that’s flush with complex interweaving relationships, and an unrelenting pace that constantly throws new, bigger dangers at the characters before they’ve had a chance to catch their breath. This book is far better than it has any right to be.

Godzilla (who ravaged Japan in the 1960s) was a real, living, breathing animal. It’s true, I swear! Crazier still, there are more like him, though not easy to find.

Contact the Kaiju Preservation Society; they know how to get there. You see, kaiju means “strange beast” in Japanese, and you’ll meet quite a few in this thoroughly entertaining story.

Don’t worry, it’s not a horror story. Author John Scalzi’s knack for clever humor made me laugh from beginning to end. Don’t miss the fun!

The Golden Compass (also published as Northern Lights) is the first book in a trilogy of tales set in a world where every human is accompanied by a daemon—a sort of physical embodiment of your inner spirit.

Though not technically “animals,” daemons can take the form of animals. And, for some people, they can talk in the best possible way, like a perfect combination of coach, conscience, and companion. Pullman’s heart-wrenching story builds far more than an alternative world for his readers: there are multiple universes to explore and experience, along with a warrior race of armor-plated polar bears (who really are animals, and who also can talk).

I adore Sherlock pastiches, and this is one of my favorites with its high magic urban fantasy setting, pan sorceress Sherlock, and gay trans man Watson. Obviously, the leads aren’t romantically entwined. Instead, the plot revolves around Sherlock’s ex-paramour and current client, pan Irene Adler, whose impending marriage to a woman is being threatened by blackmail.

It’s joyously irreverent with a ton of literary allusions and dear Watson’s earnest and wholesome narrative voice. If you enjoy magic with your mystery, this book is for you.

This is the book that launched my Zelazny obsession as a teen. Carl Corey wakes up after a car crash with amnesia (sense a theme here?), which he hides from those close to him, some of whom insist on calling him Corwin. He gradually discovers he’s an immortal with a strong claim to the throne of Amber, the one true world at the center of infinite shadow worlds, including our Earth. As Corwin’s memories return, he realizes he was a cruel and arrogant man, and some of his numerous siblings have good reason to hate him. Here the amnesia trope truly allows a character to examine their past through a less biased lens. Top-rate fantasy set against a war for succession to the keys to the universe.

For those who don’t want to read a novel length but want to experience worlds beyond worlds, this book I would recommend, a neat short story where the protagonist uses the multiverse as a form of self-discovery, experiences he would never have in his own life and considers to a change of character.

Might not be a full-blown adventure, but a calmer mundane life experience, relatable while simplifying the multiverse without any complexities. 

I’m a scientist with an imagination. Where theory and evidence lead, I follow—even if the path ventures into exotic territory.

A routine description of the Big Bang isn’t enough for me. I already understand how our universe began. I want to know why it’s here. Where did it come from? Impossible to know, you may say, but hear me out.

Dr. Mersini-Houghton is a respected physicist on the cutting edge of cosmology who knows a lot about quantum fields (submicroscopic fluctuations that permeate our universe). As she dives into the world of the ultra-small, you’ll see, like I did, that she and her colleagues are onto something big.

Well, this book totally changed my view on the world and how reality is perceived! Whether you choose to believe that Castaneda met and was initiated by a Yaqui sorcerer, or whether you believe it is just a very convincing piece of writing by a college student studying anthropology is up to you. What shouldn’t be ignored are the underlying psychological truths and messages that make this a powerful story about seeing the world in which we live through new eyes. This book started my interest in shamanism and led to nearly 25 years of study and practice that has definitely influenced my life and writing.   

Combining a murder mystery with a colorful sci-fi universe that’s full of magic? Yes, please. Odd couple Lieutenant Iari and Ambassador Gaer (who, don’t let the title fool you, is actually an alien spy) have to team up to discover why a retired battle-mecha killed someone—an occurrence that should be impossible. The rapport between Iari and Gaer is a delight, and the plot quickly unfolds from a mere murder to something far more sinister. I absolutely love the world that Eason creates—it has the scale of a video game-like Mass Effect while simultaneously creating compelling characters. 

This book is an exciting, dimension-hopping adventure. It tells a unique concept of how one can travel between worlds beyond worlds, explore several worlds before going into the next, give an insight into the protagonist's constant struggle as he deals with this situation, he was in.

Even if each world is just a fragment of an entire universe, it still shows so many unique ideas and expansion of the multiverse in only a singular perspective. For that, I highly recommend this if you are looking for adventure and to explore several dozen worlds in the span of a novel.

2023 was an opportunity for me to catch up on modern classics I did not have the bandwidth to explore prior. 

N.K. Jemisin has always been one of my influences and inspirations. One of the most decorated authors in the world, she often offers raw, political storytelling with undertones of intersectional feminism and black girl power. 

I’m a huge fan of her other works (The 5th Season, The Killing Moon…), but this project has a special place in my heart: as a ten-year NYC resident, the City being the first place I set foot on in the US, I found this celebration and critic of New York City layered, accurate and compelling. 

The story follows the journey of city/borough avatars/gods as they face a threat of epic proportion. It shares a few similarities with American Gods and other Neil Gaiman works (The Sandman especially): the personification of… show more.

Deep Secret is one of my all-time favourite books; one I reread often. There are no spaceships here, (though there is a Land Rover that isn’t!) but much of the action takes place on distant worlds; chiefly Thule and the Koryfonic Empire. Rupert Venables, the youngest Magid, faces not only the fall of the Koryfonic Empire and his task of finding the hidden heir, but also the need to choose a successor for his dead mentor, Stan. There’s so much to love about this chaotic, tangled, wonderful book; not least the combative but ultimately loving relationship between Rupert and Maree, the least likely of the candidates on Rupert’s list.

Diana Wynne Jones understands fundamentally that cats rule and they are also little jerks. Throgmorten is a sacred cat from a temple in another world, which is a very cat lifestyle, and he spends the whole book spitting and scratching and biting people, which is the singularity of focus that I strive for in my life. Diana Wynne Jones is also not afraid to directly transcribe cat noises, by which I mean Throgmorten says “WONG” a lot, which is such an objectively weird way to describe a cat’s yowl until you actually hear a cat make that sound and realize, “Oh wow, yeah, it does sound like he’s saying ‘WONG.’” I’m not saying authors who exclusively say that cats “meow” are cowards, but. I’m not not saying that.

Though it never mentions the word ‘multiverse’, it has many aspects of a story about travelling through worlds beyond worlds, going somewhere from nowhere, taking things that don’t exist in another place.

I found this book interesting because it includes a mystery, as the protagonist goes through her journey, she uncovers mysteries and hidden truths about her abilities.

A different concept of multiverse travelling, as well as worlds that are aware of each other, it was still an interesting read that leaves a satisfying conclusion.

I know this thirteen-year-old boy who cannot stop talking about Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Something about the dark and eerie atmosphere of the book had him hooked from the start.

There is a quote that stayed with him, which I believe is a perfect summary of the book: "When you're scared, but you still do it anyway, that's brave." The story is exciting and humorous, with spare sprinkles of darkness. It is teeming with important life lessons about family, friendship, and finding your authentic self.

All in all, if your child is between 13 and 17, I completely recommend getting them to read Coraline.

Just be careful with allowing them to watch the movie version of this most excellent book. There are few children's animations on the silver screen more creepy than the book-to-movie adaptation.

A family man is kidnapped by a mysterious individual and sent to an alternate timeline. Another time travel epic unfolding against the backdrop of a conspiracy, Dark Matter made my Favorite Reads of 2023 list. For very specific reasons. 

It is not a tour-de-force in character development or classic literature, but a very slick high-octane thriller written like a screenplay: the journey is visual, the progression linear, and the pacing intense.

It’s an ode to my screenwriting days and I love how Blake Crouch was able to combine two different mediums (the novel and the screenplay) to shape a story you cannot put down, one moving to the beat of a filmmaker’s drums. 

There are very interesting themes, also: how decisions bear unexpected ramifications, the true meaning of significance, or even the manipulative nature of the corporate complex. 

A must-read for any fan of time travel thrillers.

This collection brings together eleven stories, some linked by shared characters or plot elements that connect the overlapping lives of the characters, ranging from apocalyptic science fiction, a fairy tale queen to a talking horse, which gives a winning betting tip to a racegoer, Franklin. In a later story, Franklin uses his winnings to buy an engagement ring before marrying Connie and moving into her wealthy parents’ home, where a surprising fate awaits him.

One of the pleasures is its intelligent, unforced humour, much coming from coincidences, observations, witty connections, and surprises. The stories are cleverly written, and the characters are well-drawn. A light but thoroughly entertaining read.

If you’ve ever been trapped in a loop of regret, certain you’ve done (and are doing) everything “wrong,” The Midnight Library might be a lovely read for you.

It begins on a somber note, with a woman crumbling under the weight of regret. The darkness in the first line—in the first twenty-five or so pages, actually—nearly derailed me. But if you can manage past those, you’ll find that this is a story about facing the darkness and finding a way through.

One of the many beauties of this novel is that it so deftly illustrates our propensity for selective memory—specifically, to remember and focus only on what we perceive as our faults.

Matt Haig’s writing is witty and smooth. For me, the hope and possibility that spring from this imaginative tale are pure magic.

This novel’s protagonist, Pepper Rafferty was raised by two Lesbian mothers, who found her as a newborn on the doorstep of their vet practice.

But at 36, Pepper is still trying to find her footing in the world and understand things about herself, like her habit of imagining she’s living in different worlds, based on different choices she might have made.
Without being shown exactly why, the reader soon grasps that this has something to do with the fact that her birth mother is Ula Frost - a very famous portrait painter about whom fantastic claims are being made.

These come primarily from the models in her portraits, these are her clients, who say that her painting them brought forth their mirror selves from other universes, often with disastrous consequences. Outrageous as this claim seems, many in the art world believe it, and Ula's paintings sell for millions of dollars.… show more.

Elric of Melnibone is an anti-hero. He is a bad guy who worships a god of chaos and delights in doing bad things. Pressured by family, a sense of duty, and a deep devotion to both his lover and his friends, he begins to question his life and his culture up until now. The lack of caring weighs on him as he vacillates between a world of evil and chaos and a world of law and goodness.