Time travel, murder and a conspiracy will have you turning pages into the night as chrono-archaeologist Rabbit Ward hunts for precious treasures before they are lost forever. Working for the Smithsonian, he jumps back in time to conceal the artifacts where they can be retrieved in the present. His biggest regret was the loss of his mentee Aaron, who was killed on a trip to Ancient Rome to retrieve a menorah. Helen, an unlicensed jumper, interferes with a mission to Alexandria to rescue scrolls before the library is burned. As a result his mission was incomplete and he lost the backing of his sponsors. His only chance for redemption is to retrieve the menorah, which has now been traced to Constantinople in 535CE. From the very beginning he has a feeling that something in this mission is wrong. When Helen turns up again they form an uneasy truce. Their time in the past is limited and as bodies begin to pile up their time is running out.

Andrew Ludington briefly explains the Splinter Effect as Rabbit attends a meeting of history organizations, elaborating on the dangers of time travel. Shortly after the meeting Rabbit is facing vandals, soldiers and the Emperor Justinian. With the help of Helen and Andor, a soldier whose greatest desire is to prove himself in battle, Rabbit discovers a conspiracy that could change history. Ludington fills his story with history and vivid descriptions of the cities and culture of the ancient world. With a story that appeals to fans of history and mystery, Rabbit is a worthy successor to Indiana Jones. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for providing this book.

I'm impressed with this debut book. I hope this author brings more adventures with Rabbit Ward. Fast paced, action-packed, entertaining and informational. The encounters with his competition, a woman named Helen are frustrating because she wins a few times and grabs the prize. This jump into the past however they're thrown together as partners when things don't add up historically. Without a clear timeline of events, it's impossible to easily figure out where the menorah really is. Becoming more friends that enemies takes time and is like pulling teeth for either of them to open up. Lying is a big part of the job when you have to fit in to grab the antique making telling the truth unnatural. Rabbit has become complacent and something close to jaded. The man needs a vacation or hobby and Helen wakes him up. The mysterious Helen is smart, challenging, attractive and turns out to be his equal. Together they encounter people from evil to good and kind, a real-life mix. I had fun from start to finish. There was plenty of interesting people and events for me to do my own research rabbit hole later.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Minotaur Books.

#Minotaur Books #Splinter Effect #NetGalley #Andrew Ludington #adventure #time travel #archeology #history #Roman Empire #ancient Constantinople

I just finished Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington and here are my thoughts. Firstly, the audiobook was a tad bland but I did get used to it after a while and got sucked in.

We are introduced to Rabbit Ward… A time traveling Archaeologist who has gone into the past to find a long lost menorah (candelabrum used in Jewish worship) from Ancient Rome. Things couldn’t have gone more wrong from the second he arrives and when a rival, Helen arrives to find the very same item… He knows there's a mole in his organization… Yet the only way to find the Menorah might be to work with the very person who is here to steal from him…


Genre - Time Travel - Science Fiction
Date of Release - March 18th 2025
Publisher - @minotaur_books


It was an interesting book. It was a tad monotonal but I think that was done on purpose. Rabbit is very rigid and I think the tone of the book was to match him. I didn’t much care for that but I did get used to it.
The plot is insane!!! I loved the storyline! The author did a phenomenal job of creating this story and I couldn’t find a hole in it. Not one plot hole… That right there is incredible because the story has a ton going on and most of the time there is something in a book that doesn’t fit or get explained.. Not here so bravo!


I liked Rabbit ok. I think he was growing on me towards the end of the book but I did love Helen! I know I'm not supposed to have warm feelings for the “bad guy” but I couldn’t help it. I am really glad this is book 1 and it’s a debut novel so honestly, if this is the level the author is already writing at… I am excited to see what comes next.
I adored all the sights of Rome and all the wonderful backstory delivered in a really clever way. Honestly the only things I can say about the book is the tone was a tad off for me and it could have had a slightly faster pace but these things are like a grain of rice compared to how excellent this book is.


4.5 stars! I know you are looking at the genre and thinking… I don’t read sci-fi… It’s really so much more than that! It’s a Historical Fiction, Adventure, Mystery Thriller so give it a go!


Thank you to Minotaur books for my gifted hardcover and @netgalley for my ALC!


#splintereffect #andrewludington #scifi #historicalfiction #mysterythriller #scifiread #scifireader #minotaurbooks #alc #audiobookreader #netgalley #bookinfluencer #booksbooksbooks #booktok #booktuber #bookishpodcaster #bookalorian

This review is my opinion and my opinion only. This is my first story by Andrew Ludington. It’s fast paced and gives a little of Indian Jones feel. I did enjoyed the story, but I feel it lacked character building. It’s almost as if the author assumed you already know the characters even though this is book one.
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.

Well that was interesting. If Indiana Jones and a sci fi time travel story had a baby-this would be it.

A fast, exciting, fun, and interesting read. A bit like The Librarians movie/tv series. I'm looking forward to additional books in this series.

DNF@ 6%

Maybe I didn't give this a fair chance. But I like to have an idea of what's going on before being thrown into a story.

Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward travels through time on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. In a failure twenty years ago, he lost both the menorah of the second temple. So, when new evidence reveals the menorah’s reappearance in 6th century Constantinople, Rabbit seizes the chance for redemption. As soon as he arrives in the past, things start to go wrong. Rabbit quickly finds out that his prime competition is an unlicensed “stringer” named Helen. Then the oppressed Jewish population of the city is primed for revolution, Constantinople’s leading gang seems to have it out for Rabbit. Why? There is also someone local interested enough in the menorah to kill for it. Who is it? Will Rabbit be able to recover the menorah before it's once again lost in time?

The author has written a novel that combines adventure, time travel, science fiction and history. It is imaginative, fast-paced, and clever and an original story. I enjoyed it immensely.

I love a good mystery/suspense novel, one that keeps me engaged from the first word until the end. SPLINTER EFFECT kept me guessing and I enjoyed that. The book is about a time-jumping archaeologist named Robert “Rabbit” Ward. Because of a major failure on a past mission, Rabbit is under serious restriction and suspicion. On a previous jump his assistant was lost in time, having not returned at the proper moment. Now, against better judgment, his superior has given him this one last chance to redeem himself and restart his career.
The mission is to return in time and retrieve the item that was not recovered on the previous jump: the menorah from Jerusalem's Second Temple. Positive proof that it was in Constantinople in the year 535 CE. All he has to do is make the jump, get to Constantinople, retrieve the menorah, and get back to the return site within the time limit.
The complication is that another time-jumper has been detected, a “stringer” named Helen. This is a complication that could seriously jeopardize Rabbit's mission. The key risk is that something happens to significantly change history and cause a splinter effect, something that changes everything in the time line from that point in history on.
Following Rabbit on this delicate journey through time was captivating. The author created a well crafted plot that was fresh and engaging. The only thing that held me back was that there were times when it felt as though we were given too much extraneous information about the architecture and history of a particular city or region. This seriously slowed down the reading and actually pulled me away from the plot of the novel—the place where I wanted to be.
Still, I recommend this novel to anyone why enjoys a good historical adventure filled with suspense. I thank NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this novel and offer my honest review.

Andrew Ludington
SPLINTER EFFECT

This was a wild, unpredictable journey through time (455, 535, 2018 CE) to Alexandria, Constantinople, Greece, Rome, London, Washington D.C. Glad to be “safe inside a book” while reading of such risky travel while Robert AKA Rabbit, time traveler/archaeologist, takes all the chances while seeking lost treasures
Time travel requires one to be careful of what or whom is lost and what is found, and above all, to be sure to be on time back to the “decay point,” the point of entry into a new time. There are other rules, and suspected rules, and there are other forces at work, including Helen, rival or ally? Who’s to be sure of which?
SPLINTER EFFECT caught me in its web of intrigues so much that bedtime was delayed and the TV stayed off, and these characters live on in my mind . . . and maybe in another book? Please?

We love an action packed story with a different timeline and going back in time involved in the story! Very interesting since it involves different civilizations and traveling to different times, just the thought of changing one small thing could lead to a huge ripple in the present and future! Recommend for action readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I love a good time travel novel and have read several but this kind of fell flat to me. I'm not sure exactly why but I just had a hard time getting into this book. I read/listened to the audio and feel like the narrator, Roger Wayne, did a great job though.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 18 March 2025

A Splinter Effect (hard from Minotaur Books) is what happens when a time traveler makes too great a change in the past .Andrew Ludington tells an exciting tale of trying to retrieve the menorah stolen by Rome in 70 ad. It made its way to Byzantium under Justinian in the fifth century CE. Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward, who's been retrieving objects from the past for two decades, has less than a week to steal and hide it to be recovered in his present. There’s a mysterious woman who sometimes hinders, and sometimes helps. There’s a gangster in the city whose goons are after him. Very exciting. I’m hoping it's the start of a series.

This was such a non-stop action filled tourist attraction! I've never been to Europe, but it was so fascinating to hear about all of the different historical places and people while also being taken through an incredible journey for artifacts.

It was also really cool to see Rabbit working through past traumas while also growing to right his old wrongs, all with a little sprinkle of budding feelings on the side.

In this debut novel by Andrew Ludington, time travel exists and it is both privately funded and publicly controlled. There are a fair amount of rules and due to the vagaries of private funding, it is used primarily to recover items from the past right before they disappear or are destroyed. If, somehow, you screw up something and change the past, the timeline splinters and creates a new reality separate from the one you are in. Interesting concepts, but they aren't explored very much in the story. Instead, we have "Rabbit" Ward heading back to the 6th century to retrieve an item and most of the story takes place in this time period. Despite the difficulty in funding and arranging for travels to the past, Rabbit is competing with two other people from the present all vying for the same item at the same time. In addition, Rabbit is haunted by losing his partner 20 years prior on a different mission. The details from 6th century Constantinople were fascinating and you can really picture that time period. While I enjoyed the story, I think I would have preferred a less rushed ending to the story and some more time travel details, especially about splintering, considering the book was even named for that effect.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance ecopy. My opinion is my own.

I ended up really liking this story, I did have a hard time getting into it, because I kept thinking about Quantum Leap while reading it. But, at about the 40% mark I was hooked and then read it every chance I got.

I will definitely continue with this series. The premise was one I haven't read before and I found the action enjoyable. Plus, there was a cliff hanger and I have to see what happens next.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. The story is about time traveling to obtain lost treasures. This is kind of an Indiana Jones type time travel thing, and I was half expecting the bad guys to be Nazis who had figured out time travel first and just messed up reality. No, it was much closer to home. I would definitely recommend,

Who doesn't love a great mystery with a bit of time travel thrown in, and a slow burn romance to boot? I'm a big fan of the slow burn as these types of relationships seem to last. I wouldn't call it a romance though,more Sci-fi in nature. I find with these types, I need to read a second or 3rd time because 1. I always read fast on the first go around and 2. I pick up more details I missed in the first read through. Especially if it's a fast-paced book.

I don't seek out sci-fi, but I often end up reading and immensely enjoying time travel novels. This one is excellent for fans of ancient history, especially ancient Rome ( includes an epic chariot race ) and Egypt. I fell in love with ancient Egypt during grade ten history class. It was the only history class I enjoyed.

I couldn't read this fast enough, wanting to know how it ended. Will he or will he not get the menorah? Regardless will he make it back to his own time, in the original time line? Or will the time line splinter changing life as he knows it forever.

A well paced mystery that spans the ages, with a twist that is oh so good, and an extra-slow burn romance in the background.

Great for fans of The Ministry of Time!


Thanks @NetGalley and @stmartinspress for an E-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up!

Recently released, March 18th, 2025!

The concept of a time traveling archeologist going back in time to rescue artifacts before they are forever lost in time was unique and entertaining. The time traveler’s mission is to recover the artifacts without doing anything to alter history or there will be a splinter effect in the historical timeline. The snapshots of ancient history were interesting. Rabbit Ward has traveled back to 535 CE Constantinople to retrieve a menorah in hopes he’ll find redemption from a previous mission to recover the menorah that went horribly wrong. Rabbit, as well as his career, have never recovered from the loss of his mentee, Aaron, on that failed mission. There’s plenty of suspense and action in this enjoyable story.