What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Big Time
Fritz Leiber · Book · 2022
If you loved The Big Time, start with Timeless (Shawn Ryan, 2016) — a series on the same thread. Below: 4 films, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Big Time across media.
What hooked you in The Big Time is the way the vastness of cosmic conflict forces individuals to confront the fragility of history.
Films on the same thread
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Mamoru Hosoda · Film · 2006
Explores: Regret, Consequences of Time Travel, First Love.
Like the soldiers in The Big Time, Makoto discovers that manipulating the timeline carries heavy emotional consequences that ripple far beyond her own personal desires for improvement.
The Time Machine
George Pal · Film · 1960
Explores: Time Travel, Social Darwinism, Class Conflict.
If the temporal scope of The Big Time fascinated you, this classic examines how the passage of time fundamentally alters the trajectory and social structure of the human species.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Emeric Pressburger · Film · 1943
Explores: The evolution of warfare, Lifelong cross-cultural friendship, Nostalgia and changing social order.
Much like the weary combatants in The Big Time, General Candy struggles to reconcile his identity with a shifting social order and the relentless, evolving nature of warfare.
The Great War
Film · 1959
Explores: Anti-war, Cowardice, Survival.
The Big Time portrays war as a chaotic, inescapable reality, a theme mirrored here as these reluctant soldiers navigate the absurdity and existential dread of a global conflict.
Series on the same thread
The Man in the High Castle
Frank Spotnitz · Series · 2015
Shares a thread with The Big Time: Alternate History.
Those drawn to the alternate history elements of The Big Time will appreciate this exploration of a world where the outcome of a major war was radically rewritten.
Timeless
Shawn Ryan · Series · 2016
Shares a thread with The Big Time: Alternate History.
This series captures the high-stakes tension of The Big Time by focusing on a specialized team tasked with protecting the continuity of the timeline from external sabotage.
Game of Thrones
David Benioff · Series · 2011
Explores: Power Struggles, Moral Ambiguity, War and Politics.
The moral ambiguity and sprawling power struggles that define the cosmic factions in The Big Time are mirrored in this epic clash of noble houses and ancient threats.
Dark
Baran bo Odar · Series · 2017
Shares a thread with The Big Time: Time Travel Fiction.
The Big Time highlights the terror of a fractured reality, a feeling that permeates this mystery as characters grapple with predestination and the secrets hidden across three generations.
Podcasts on the same thread
The Realignment
The Realignment · Podcast · 2026
Explores: institutional change, populism, technological disruption.
If you enjoyed the geopolitical focus of The Big Time, this podcast offers a modern analytical perspective on the institutional changes and tectonic shifts shaping our current reality.
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
Dan Carlin · Podcast · 2026
Explores: civilizational collapse, human nature, moral ambiguity.
Dan Carlin applies the same Martian, big-picture perspective found in The Big Time to human history, interrogating the moral consequences of power and the inevitability of civilizational collapse.
Keep exploring
Common questions
What is the conflict described in The Big Time?
The Big Time centers on the Change War, a billion-year conflict fought across the timeline. The two opposing factions involved in this struggle are known as the Spiders and the Snakes, who manipulate the past and the universe itself throughout the narrative.
How long has the Change War been occurring in The Big Time?
In The Big Time, the Change War has been active for a billion years. The text indicates that the conflict is expected to continue for another billion years or so as the Spiders and Snakes battle up and down the timeline.
Does The Big Time suggest the universe is a dream?
The Big Time prompts readers to consider whether the entire universe might be a crazy, mixed-up dream. This concept is presented as a potential hint that one has encountered the ongoing influence of the Change War and its effect on the timeline.
Is memory instability a theme in The Big Time?
Yes, The Big Time explores the experience of worrying about one's memory when the past does not seem to be recalled exactly the same way from one day to the next. This perceived instability is linked to the broader occurrences of the Change War.