The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman

Published by

Sarah Ann

on

January 30, 2011

The Accidental Time Machine is a super quirky sci-fi novel. The writing style in this one reminds me of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams.

Matt is a research assistant at MIT. One day, the calibrator project he’s working on becomes a time machine by accident.

After he loses both his job and girlfriend to the man who replaced him at work, Matt decides to put his time machine to good use. However, he soon learns that his time machine can move only forward in time, not backward.

I’m not a big fan of the sci-fi genre, but I picked up The Accidental Time Machine in an effort to broaden my horizons. Fortunately, this novel is fun and engaging, right off the bat. Matt is extremely likable. He’s spunky and sarcastic, and easy to root for in all his glory as the underdog.

I like the concepts introduced in this one, and there are lots of fun theories about alternate universes. The second coming of Jesus occurs in this book during the last part of the 21st century, which is presented in a humorous way. There’s another funny part where the President of the United States asks Jesus to appear before him in the Oval Office.

While The Accidental Time Machine was enjoyable, I won’t be rushing out to by every Joe Haldeman book ever written, mainly because I’m just not a fan of the genre.

Other books by Joe Haldeman include:

What did you think about this book?

Last Updated on January 26, 2026 by Sarah Ann

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