I'm not normally one for sci-fi but this one sucked me in immediately and did not let me go. It couples the sci-fi elements with the tried-and-true Indiana Jones effect to great success.

Rabbit is a chrono-archaeologist, who travels back in time to find artifacts from history. In a moment of spectacular failure, Rabbit loses a historic artifact and his mentee, Aaron. With both of them lost to time, he is faced with the chance to find the memory again, twenty years later. He jumps at this chance of redemption. But everywhere he goes, a mysterious woman shows up, and thwarts his plans.


This story was a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride! I enjoyed every moment of this book. I so desperately want this to be turned into a tv show or movie (preferably a tv show)! The characters had depth, being both stuck in the past, yet plowing forward into new adventures. I love how Rabbit craves the adventure of the past, yet must deal with the mundanity of modern day academia fundraisers. It’s a hilarious irony.

I hope there is a follow up book planned, I feel like Rabbit has many more stories to tell.

Dr. Robert Ward, better known as Rabbit, is a chromo-archeologist. He travels the time stream, looking for artifacts that could change the course of history. Lately, he has been plagued by another group of time travelers, including a woman named Helen, who he has come up against in the past. Rabbit receives intelligence that the menorah from the Second Temple in Jerusalem has surfaced in Constantinople during the reign of Justinian. The menorah was the worst failure of Rabbit's career, he lost both it and his apprentice, Aaron, the first time he tried to retrieve it. The Jewish population in Constantinople are ready to revolt; their oppression is legendary. But the leader of the Jewish opposition is the last person Rabbit would have ever expected to find. He and Helen must team up just to get out of the past safely and leave the timeline intact or it will splinter and they will never return to their correct future. An interesting take on time travel.

A gripping and suspenseful time travel story
A very well-written book with wonderfully-interesting characters. The tension builds at just the right pace as the story unfolds. I definitely had the feel of actually being transported to the past into the city of Constantinople. Very well done, a great plot line with plenty of suspense, tension and history. I love time travel stories and this has been one of the best I have read. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, it is like this author has a lot of experience in his writing abilities. A smooth flow, well worded, clear and detailed with plenty of depth. I know this is a fictional story, but I am sure there is also a lot of correct historical context as well. I found it to be very interesting from a historical viewpoint as well as entertaining as a novel. I received this book for free and voluntarily reviewed.

Loved it! History, adventure, action, danger, Themes of loyalty, friendship, morality, This is Andrew Ludington’ s first novel and hopefully, not his last. You don’t have to be a regular reader of science fiction or of history to enjoy all the feats of derring-do and on the edge of your seat suspense of Splinter Effect. Just suspend all disbelief and enjoy the ride.
Archaeologist Robert (Rabbit) Ward time travels to locate and bury historical artifacts so that they can be dug up and recovered in the future. His latest trip back through time is to discover a lost menorah in Ancient Rome. Twenty years previously, Ward had and lost the menorah along with his young travel partner and mentee, Aaron, who he could not rescue and had to leave behind. According to new evidence seemingly meant for him, the menorah is in Constantinople in the 6th century. Rabbit is determined to retrieve the menorah and right the wrongs of his past as well as assuage his guilt over his failure to rescue his young protege. Rabbit must accomplish his task during a time of imminent revolution by the Jewish population as well as race against Helen, his competitor, who is also in Constantinople searching for the menorah. Rabbit must survive marauding gangs in the streets, a murderer on the loose, and the events, politics, and justice system of 535 CE and get back to the Washington, DC in 2018. Travel with Rabbit back in time to Greece, Constantinople, and Rome in 455 CE and his story ending in Macedonia in 335 BCE.
The story moves along quickly, the characters are important to the plot and they interact and bond in a way that is important to Rabbit’s success. The plot is about more than the retrieval of an important historical object. It revolves around the growth of the main characters, the importance of friendship and loyalty, the effects of power, and the desire and need to set things right. Set against historical settings, you get a story of kinship, bravery, and the possibility of science to restore the treasures of the past.
I look forward to reading more about Rabbit Ward and to further enjoy his exploits and travels. Bring it on!
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of Spliinter Effect. This is an honest review of Andrew Ludington’s novel.

The Splinter Effect is fascinating if you are into time travel.
This is a fantastic book and kept me breathless on the edge during the diverse time travels and jumping back into the present.
Andrew Ludington is marvelous making me feel like I was right there with Rabbit Ward as we jumped through time, being chased by palace guards.
I would give this book a 10 if I could.
This book is way beyond the realm that I usually read and I loved it. It was hard to put down and my housework stayed set on pause until I finished it.
#TheSplinterEffect
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Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early review copy!

I was delightfully surprised by this book! I don't typically like sci fi books, but this book turned out to be heavier in the historical fiction area than sci fi, which I absolutely loved. I wasn't too sure how I felt about Rabbit, the main character, in the beginning, but I grew to love him. It looks like this may be the beginning of a series, and I truly hope it is because by the end of the book I was ready to go on another time traveling adventure with Rabbit!

In this book, agents travel into the past to rescue priceless items right before they disappear in history. Sometimes the reasons that the items were lost were dangerous: such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, an invading army, rioting, or contagious illness with a high fatality rate, for example. There is also danger from other time travelers looking for the same item for different reasons. They may mean to sell it for profit or may have been paid to retrieve it for a collector or an institution.

Rabbit Ward is the central character, an archaeologist who works for the Smithsonian. Rabbit's worst trip into the past led to him losing both the ancient menorah he was sent to find and his very young partner. Now the menorah has surfaced in 6th century Constantinople. Rabbit goes there and discovers some unpleasant facts: the city of Constantinople is about to explode into rioting, and he has other competitors looking for the prize, some contemporary and some from the future.

Then he spots someone from his past who can't possibly be there. I received this e-arc from the publisher St. Martin's Press and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

Indiana Jones with a time machine. I loved it. Modern politics, ancient life, lots of detail that I'll take as accurate.

Rabbit, an archeologist/historian travels through time saving “lost” artifacts. He is good at his job, but due to a mistake made years ago, his funding is drying up. He has to prove to himself and his sponsors that he can still do this. His current job is to rescue the menorah of the second temple. He travels to Constantinople to hunt the menorah down and bring it back to the museum. He runs into all sorts of issues, but his biggest is a competitor named Helen who is also after the menorah. When they decide to team up, issues still turn up. Rabbit has a feeling there is more to this than meets the eye, but can he figure it out before his time is up? Threaded throughout this mystery and adventure story is a lot of history of the Romans, the oppressed Jewish, and the everyday trials and tribulations of life in the mid-500’s.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Parts of this book were really great, but there were several pages and chapters that just seemed to drag it dow. Some needless information and dialog that added nothing to the story.

Four stars from me and I think that's generous

Thank you St Martins Press and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Rabbit Ward travels through time to secure artifacts. 20 years ago he lost a menorah and his mentee. Evidence comes to light that the menorah is back in play. Desperate to redeem himself he sets out on an adventure to find the menorah. He’ll have to battle a rival competitor, gangs, and someone willing to kill. Can Rabbit find the menorah? Can he redeem himself? A thriller through time! An edge of your seat adventure that you won’t be able to put down! It’s a quick read full of intrigue and excitement!

I love a great time travel book and this one had a great premise. In this novel, archaeologists go back to the past to find artifacts that have been lost and save them for the present. The novel did a great job explaining how time travel works and what happens if you try and change a significant event. It was a great take on parallel worlds.

Rabbit is a Smithsonian archaeologist who has been very successful for twenty years except for a gold menorah that he couldn't recover. While trying to get the menorah he also lost his mentee to the past. It has eaten him up and strained his relationships in the present. With his career about to be washed up, he decides to travel to 6th century Constantinople to try one more time for the menorah. When he gets there he makes friends with a Roman soldier named, Andor. Andor was one of my favorite characters and I would love to know more about him if there is a sequel. While Rabbit tries to make a plan to get the menorah he runs into more trouble and things begin to spiral out of control. Rabbit has some difficult decisions to make if he is going to successfully save the menorah and himself.

Overall, this was an action packed time travel book. There were a few slow parts but the ending was fantastic and I would definitely read more. If you like time travel or stories about parallel worlds you will enjoy this book.

Thank you to Minotaur Books/St. Martin Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

4.5 stars rounded up. I'm so glad I was offered this ARC by St. Martin's Press! It's not a book I probably would have found otherwise. The premise of a time-traveling archeologist was so interesting, and I loved the mix of historical & science fiction, and thriller. It looks like this might be the first book in a series and I would be excited to read any future instalments.

Splinter Effect is a fun read and the fun starts immediately. Dr Rabbit Ward is a time traveling archeologist who goes back in time to retrieve lost treasures for wealthy donors.
On his last assignment, there was another time traveler who forced him to share his find. He needs to redeem himself - his career is at stake.
The author has an easy writing style which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the historical aspect.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Andrew Ludington for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC of Splinter Effect to review. Splinter Effect comes out on March 18, 2025, and will published by St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books.
Imagine Indiana Jones with the power to use time travel to recover long-lost historical treasures and bring them back to the present day. Great Concept!
The action in Indiana Jones stories blended well with the quest and personal interactions. The Splinter Effect could have been done with less historical detail. Having said that, the action, along with the twists and turns, kept me guessing. I rate it a 4 out 5.

2.5/5 ⭐️

I was expecting a lot from this book, specially when U read it was time travel related. Unfortunately it was not for me. I was not invested in it, thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy.

2.5 stars rounded up-Splinter Effect is advertised as a time traveling thriller but it read as more of a historical fiction novel. Rabbit is supposed to be like an Indiana Jones traveling archeologist but really he does a lot of thieving. He’s not supposed to change things but seems to play loose and fast with that rule too. The story seems to drag somewhat but does touch on historical events. I didn’t really like Rabbit as a character but I am sure there are readers who would. Overall I’m just a little disappointed as this book was not as I expected and is not for me. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

This review is my opinion and my opinion only. This is my first story by Andrew Ludington. This book is part of a series. I was able to follow along, but I felt I missed a lot of character building. So, I went back to read the other books. I enjoyed the series. It’s fast paced and gives a little of Indian Jones feel. I did enjoyed the story.
This series is about Rabbit Ward who travels through time and takes artifacts. He has competition. She seems to get to the artifacts first, and Rabbit’s job is on the line because she keeps getting there first.
I recommend this story if you like time travel books.

This book meshes Indiana Jones and time travel.
Well written. It would make a great vacation read
Great story made to be a movie or a streaming TV show.
I could say more but I don't want to give anything away.

Thanks to Netgalley for the privilege.