5 SF/F Books That Operate on Epic Timelines

Arkwright, by Allen Steele
Beginning in the 1930s and ending hundreds of years—and several generations—later, Steele’s Arkwright is the story of one man’s obsession with ensuring the survival of the human race through interstellar colonization. It’s also a love letter to old-school science fiction, a hard-sci fi story that doesn’t bend the rules of physics to fit the story, and the saga of a single family and the final—and quite thrilling—results of the Arkwright Foundation’s mission to ensure our future as a species. Steele’s decision to focus on a single family makes the head-spinning scale of a story in which humans travel to and colonize a planet dozens of light years away not only manageable, but supremely emotionally affecting.

Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson
All you need to know about the scale of Stephenson’s latest novel is that, at one point, you’re going to turn a page and encounter the disconcerting phrase “Five Thousand Years Later.” This is halfway through, by the by. Stephenson’s tale begins (literally) with the moon exploding for “no apparent reason,” then explores the reactions and actions of humanity as it prepares for what comes after an extinction-level event—and keeps exploring, up until there are literally only seven woman left who are capable of bearing children; the titular “seven Eves” who will rebuild humanity in Earth orbit over the course of unimaginable time. Outside of Doctor Who, SF doesn’t get much more epic in scale.

The Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov
Technically spanning tens of thousands of years over the course of several inter-related novels and stories, the sheer on-the-page time scale represented in the Foundation series is rather mind-blowing. Asimov retroactively decided that his Robot novels and stories were set in the same universe, which made something of a mess of the timeline and created plenty of discrepancies, but the fact remains, there are few books or series in any genre that cover as immense amount an of time as represented here. The story begins in the modern age and extends forward into the future, encompassing the rise, fall, and reemergence of humanity as we found galactic empires, up to and including an eventual merging with a universal lifeform containing all living things. The true genius of the time scale is that you don’t have to be aware of it; each Asimov story can be enjoyed on its own, a slice out of an unimaginably long timeline.

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas is a daunting book, both in terms of structure (it’s essentially a nesting doll of short stories that travel back and forth in time), themes (characters repeat, arc-phrases abound, and nothing is simple), and sheer scale. In simplest terms, its connected stories begin in 1849 and culminate a mere five centuries later in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii where humanity is split between primitive tribes and technically-advanced people known as Prescients. Compared to some of the books on this list, 500 years may not seem so long, but Mitchell a lot into those centuries; as an amalgam of characters, motifs, and storylines, it presents one of the most daunting timelines in literature—helped along by numerous videos and infographics out there for your perusal.

The Belgariad, by David Eddings
The 13 novels set in Eddings’ Belgariad universe cover a lot of ground—a lot of ground. Belgarath the Sorcerer’s tale alone spans thousands of years, and his daughter Polgara’s lifespan is only slightly less epic. What makes this timeline remarkable is that it’s not simply backstory, but laid out quite clearly in three later novels that officially tie the ancient stories of these characters into the main cycle of books. That means that the story of Belgarath’s adventures, family, and friends ultimately covers nearly 10,000 year, a timeline that can be pretty accurately mapped out thanks to the attention to detail Eddings and his wife and co-writer Leigh lavished on the books.
What epic-scale books and series would you add?