An interesting historical fiction adventure set during the 580s AD and the search for a missing menorah. "Rabbit" is the present-day agent who goes back in time to find it. He has to deal with warring factions, bad bookkeeping, and time-traveling competitors. To me, the story was occasionally gripping and occasionally snarky/funny. By taking the middle ground, it did neither adventure nor humor exceptionally well. 3.5 rounded up. A better historical time-travelling tale is Connie Willis' classic, Doomsday Book.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @MacmillanAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #SplinterEffect for review purposes. Publication date: 18 March 2025.

OH MY GOSH I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK. Sorry to shout. Actually, I'm not. I'm going to shout about this book from the hilltops until I get everyone I know to read it. Time travel? History? Murder? Intrigue? Mayhem? What is not to like?

As soon as I saw the phrase "time traveling archeologist," I knew I had to bring this debut novel into the store. Dr. Robert "Rabbit" Ward is from the Indiana Jones school of archeology. There's a lot of artifact hunting, enemy evading, and running for his life. And in between, there are big action sequences and hints of romance. There's also the exotic travel of an Indiana Jones film, but the travel isn't just to a place, but a time. Mr. Ludington does a great job with both the action and the history elements of this first book in a series. He's also created several compelling characters. Given the premise, I imagine there are some we'll never see again, but other's will definitely be back.

I was worried, as the novel's end drew near, that we'd be left on a cliff-hanger. Fortunately, that was not the case. Splinter Effect comes to a satisfying conclusion, but it's clear that there are many more stories to be told in this world. This was pure fun, and I can't wait to see what Rabbit gets up to next!