Splinter Effect: A Novel by Andrew Ludington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars**
Splinter Effect is a Time Travel Thriller that features heavy historical aspects. I found it to be a unique read, that definitely improved for me in the 2nd-half of the book.
While it started slowly and was a bit heavy-handed in the historical politics, there were definitely some fun twists towards the end that hooked me back in.
In this story, we follow Rabbit Ward, a Smithsonian Archaeologist tasked with traveling through time in order to rescue precious artifacts before they are lost to history.
Even though Rabbit is quite successful in his career, there was an epic screw-up decades ago that included the loss of his mentee, Aaron, and it has haunted him ever since. They were after a special menorah during that mission, and recently evidence has surfaced that the menorah has now been located in another time and place.
Rabbit sets out again to try to recover it, mistakenly thinking this time, it won’t be quite as difficult. However, from the moment he arrives in the past, things go wrong.
Apparently, there are others, contemporary competitors, of his searching for the same artifact. One in particular, Helen, becomes a real thorn in his side.
In addition to this though, the time and place they’re in, 6th-Century Constantinople, is on the brink of revolution. It’s a dangerous place for anyone to be, and Rabbit and Helen find themselves thrust right into the middle of it all.
I listened to the audiobook and am glad that I did. The narrator, Roger Wayne, had a film noir quality to his voice, which I feel worked very well for this story. I would recommend that format if you’re going to pick it up.
I think as a start to a series, this is strong. I have a feeling the longer the series goes on, the better it is going to get, as the Reader becomes more attached to the MC, and also gains a better understanding of the time travel system.
The concepts did take a minute to get used to, as it is sort of a fresh take on time travel, and one I did thoroughly enjoy.
For me though, it did lean a little too heavily into the politics and societal happenings of the time that Rabbit traveled back to. I felt that brought the pace of the story down, which detracted from the high-stakes mission Rabbit was on by sucking some intensity out of it.
As mentioned above, there were some great twists towards the end though that I definitely didn’t see coming. One in particular, helped to completely reinvest me into the story, which was starting to lose me.
I would be interested in continuing on with the series. I think my decision will most likely be made after I read the synopsis for the 2nd-book; if the mission sounds intriguing enough to me, I will continue.
Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
I do enjoy checking out different styles of Time Travel stories, and this one was fascinating. Even though I had some few issues with it, I still think the author did a great job in developing the plot, settings and characters.
‘You cannot fathom the distance I would travel for you.’
Wow – what a book! I know I will be mentally processing this one for a while – thank heavens for Kindle highlighting. I did a lot of highlighting during the course of reading this book, not because the concepts were difficult to understand or follow but because they were so meaningful. Ian Mortimer, as many know, is a wonderful historian, and he doesn’t disappoint with this work. The Outcasts of Time is indeed a work of fiction but is replete with very specific historical details; it runs through every element of the story.