would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a time traveller with hints of indiana jones escapades.... it should live up to its name but i found it so descriptive that it put me off a bit.... that being said if you jump over the bits that dont interest you its not a bad storyline....

Robert Ward is a time-traveling archeologist who gets a second chance to go back in time and find the menorah. But he has a rival who has making things difficult on him, especially on his last job. When Rabbit goes back in time to Constantinople, he meets a young soldier who helps him.

For me, the pace of the story was a little slow due to the amount of detail regarding the day-to-day life and politics of the time. I kept wanting the story to speed up to the point where Rabbit went after the menorah, and to learn more about his interactions with Helen and his mentee.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This unusual novel starts right out with the premise that time travel is a well-known and universally accepted fact in a 2018 world quite different from ours. In fact, respected foundations sponsor the work of “chrono-archeologists” who comb through history looking for lost works and artifacts.

Splinter Effect is a first novel for Ludington and the beginning of a series. It becomes compelling soon after you start to read it. Will Robert “Rabbit” Ward find a new sponsor after a thief steals have of his most recent discovery? Will he catch and deal with the thief?

As the technology unfolds and another jump is engaged, it occasionally becomes daunting to follow. Nevertheless, the story is so good that, at least for me, I was willing to just take in the facts and not worry too much about the details. Ludington’s book is an entertaining read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

In 2018, time travel has been perfected and Rabbit Ward, a time traveler and archaeologist, routinely takes trips back in time to secure precious lost artifacts and hide them so that he can return in the current time and find them for the Smithsonian. There are a few rules to this time travel, and one of them is not to change history too much. Because if large changes are made to history, then times splinters and a Splinter Effect is formed, which may interfere with the return of the travelers, as they may actually have destroyed the science that allows them to travel.

But Rabbit's career was going well, and he was the most famous of these travelers, until a few years ago when he was coerced by wealthy patrons to include their 20-year-old son in one of these expeditions. The untrained young man got too involved with the locals. Rabbit was unable to intervene and young Aaron was killed. Rabbit's life and career have never recovered and Aaron's parents no longer sponsor his travels, blaming him for their son's death, as he also blames himself.

But now he has managed to get funding for what may well be his last trip and is, as always lately, closely monitored by rival traveler who too often seems to steal his treasures before he can retrieve them. When things go horribly wrong and a "splinter effect" is created, they are lucky to return alive. In fact, he is not sure she did survive, but is unable to contact the her rival organization to find out. But he is able finally to get in contact with them and offers to go back to around the time he lost Aaron and try again to retrieve this valuable artifact.

The story is very well written and seems plausible. The personal interactions could be at any time, either ancient Rome or Washington DC and the story is a good one. Made me wish time travel was real!!

Thankyou Minotaur St. Martin's Press for my #gifted copies. My opinions are my own.

The year is 2018 CE and archeologists can now travel through time to save precious artifacts before they are forever lost to history. Rabbit Ward is one such, and in his work for the Smithsonian he has never been able to shake his guilt over his failure to bring back the menorah of the second Jewish temple...or his mentee, Aaron. So when he finally gets on the track of the menorah's location in 6th Century (CE) Constantinople, he can't get back there fast enough. But from the moment he arrives, he can't shake the feeling that something is off. Even when he joins up with his competition--an unlicensed time traveler Helen who has beat him to the treasure more times than his reputation can withstand--it still feels like someone is setting them both up. As time runs out for the two of them, the problems get bigger, until it's not just a race against time, but also against a shadowy enemy that seems to know more about them than anyone in the 5th Century could.

Time travel! Action! Intrigue! And history--there is lots of historical detail about this period, which is one that I'd never even thought to look into before. After the Roman Empire became a Christian one and along it's slow decline, so much happened that my history classes seem to have all skipped over. First, there is a LOT of death, often in gory detail. But Ludington paints a picture of everyday life too, down to the clothes and the roles. The science-y bits mostly made sense to me as a lay reader, although there were some holes that I think can be attributed to "it's all theoretical anyway." The message I took away from this book--quite aside from the entertainment value--is that while things around us change, the human condition doesn't change all that much. And all culture is built on the one that came before--we want to eclipse the past but end up repeating it. We can choose to be bigots like those who came before us (to their own detriment) or we can see humans for who they are and try to make the best of our differences.

If Indiana Jones met Back to the Future, you’d get Andrew Ludington’s debut novel.

Splinter Effect is the story of Dr. Robert “Rabbit” Wars, a chronoarchaeologist, or a time traveling archaeologist who travels to the past to retrieve lost historical items for the Smithsonian. When a mission goes wrong, Rabbit is looking at forced retirement until an anonymous donor funds a trip for him to retrieve his white whale: the menorah of the second Jewish temple. But Rabbit senses something wrong in the past, and as his current mission continues to get stranger, Rabbit must decide if finding the menorah again is worth getting stuck in the past forever.

Splinter Effect is an action-packed, history nerd dream of a story. I loved the fast pace of the story, the random tidbits of history, the redemption story, and the detailed settings. The science behind time travel is pretty much skipped over aside from a few hard rules, and that helps keep the story from getting bogged down in details and just lets readers focus on the outcomes of such a fascinating discovery.

Rabbit is a somewhat unlikeable character, but he’s levelheaded, determined, and smart. He has trust issues, but he’s not mean, just serious and aware that, in the past, the outcomes of his actions aren’t really consequential. However, this changes as the story plays out and as Rabbit begins to uncover the terrible truth about who is pulling the strings in ancient Constantinople.

The other characters aren’t developed all that much, although I feel like this might change if this book is just the first in a series. However, this book feels a bit like James Bond, and sometimes a full background isn’t needed for every character, even the ones who show up in every movie. They’re there to do a job in helping the lead, and that’s it. PJ and Ian are this kind of character.

The legal vs illegal time traveling is a fun aspect, and this will certainly be a major topic moving forward assuming a series is in the works. Rabbit’s adversarial relationship with Helen, the “stringer” who is traveling illegally and stealing all Rabbit’s artifacts out from under him, is fun and will certainly develop into some sort of romance. Helen is a smart and capable woman, and I’d love to read her backstory.

Splinter Effect needs a bit more development in places but is overall a fun and fast read that will appeal to history nerds and sci-fi fans.

I love history. especially ancient history, so I was on board and excited about reading this book. I pictured Indiana Jones in the future - traveling through time, but we have Rabbit Ward. Which is fine - my only issue with him is the author described him too much, not letting me create the character in my head, not a big deal but .... The overall story was interesting, but full of info dumps - which is a huge pet peeve of mine and I couldn't get past it. I enjoyed Rabbit as a character, but several of the other characters were 2D. I think this author is on the right track, but needs more writing experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

The premise of this book really intrigued me - a time traveler working for the Smithsonian, who goes back through history to recover artifacts before they are lost.

Rabbit is one of those time travelers, and he's still reeling from losing his young partner Aaron on a previous trip to find the great Menorah, a trip that failed. During a recent trip he ran across a fellow time traveler Helen, who is working for a rival, and who is determined to prevent him returning with his finds.

After a few failed missions, he expects to be sidelined, before a benefactor offer to fund another trip to find the menorah. This trip is the focus of the book, as he and Helen form an unlikely partnership to try and retrieve the artifact while others are willing to kill for it. As neither trusts the other, they constantly try to outmaneuver each other.

There are a lot of characters, and a fair bit of action in the book. Lots of historical facts and figures are shared, which to be honest I found distracting. I started to struggle to keep everyone straight and sort out which information was important to the plot.

I loved the premise, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

A time traveling thriller about Rabbit who’s sent back in time to find a piece of history and bring it to the present. Meeting a rival time traveler, the two come across issue after issue in their journey to secure the artifact.

Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington is an ARC I was able to read immersively. I need to thank Net Galley, MacMillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) for my advance copies. The narration on the audio book is by Roger Wayne - and it is really well done. This is time travel and historical fiction. Rabbit Ward, our main male character, is saddled with a desperately terrible name. He is an archeologist and a time traveler. He travels back in time to ancient lands and times to retrieve artifacts that have been lost to time. Here is the key - he can't bring the artifact back with him - everything in the past must stay in the past - he has to hide the artifact in a location they can find and when Rabbit returns to the present, he lets them know the location and they dig and find the artifact. That's all well and good, but something terrible happened on one of his trips to ancient Rome, and, for his last few jumps, someone has known what he was going back to retrieve, and stolen the artifact from him. Now his funding is drying up and he needs to figure out how to turn this situation around. There is a lot of history in this story - traveling to save scrolls from the Library at Alexandria and a menorrah from Constantinople. It's a blend of historical fiction and science fiction, and I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

This book releases March 18, 2025

Splinter Effect is a time-traveling science fiction story. It reminded me of the short-lived (but great) TV show Timeless (after reading this book, I want to rewatch the show).

I was intrigued by the premise: an archeologist who can travel back in time. I'm sure there are archeology finds that we have gotten wrong as to its function or relevance (e,g, a priceless piece of pottery to us was the equivalent of Tupperware in its time). So it would be really cool to go back in time to understand the period. However, Rabbit Ward isn't just going back in time to understand the items found. No, he is going back in order to find the artifact.

If you are looking for an action-adventure story, then this is definitely a book to read.

I enjoyed the world-building in the story. There were enough details to understand it without feeling overwhelmed. Details are also sprinkled through and not just dumped all at once so that helps with the understanding. Ludington relied on some already known time travel rules that will be familiar to readers (I'm pretty sure Ludington watched Timeless too or at least the same materials in building his world). I liked how he handled changing to the future (or not) by traveling to the past.

There are two adventures in this book. One is the search for a menorah. Ancient history is not really my time period but I still enjoyed the story. I won't tell you about the second adventure as that is a bit of a surprise.

I enjoyed the narrator Roger Wayne. I did have some trouble with following the story. There are a lot of characters to meet both in present day and in the past so while it took me a bit to keep the characters straight it wasn't because of the narrator. He did a great job with all the voices. Listening to this book took a good bit of concentration.

I'm not sure if this is the start of a series. Everything is wrapped up in the end but there is some wiggle room at the end for a new adventure. I know if there is a sequel, I would read it as I think there is a lot more that can be explored with the characters.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Saturday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2025/03/splinter-effect-by-andrew-ludington.html

Robert “Rabbit” Ward is a time traveling rescuer of ancient artifacts. However, he has hit a streak of back luck - from losing his partner to being thwarted by a mysterious woman, Rabbit needs a break. And that break is in the form of a lost menorah. Can this be the job that helps him get his life back on the right track?

This was a fun novel with an interesting premise. Along with the adventure and thwarting of danger, the structure of time travel and how that works is pretty interesting. Ultimately though this is a story about Rabbit and him coming to terms with a new phase in his life. 3 stars.

Based on a digital Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you!

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my complimentary eARC of Splinter Effect. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an interesting time travel/science fiction book based in Constantinople 535 CE.
I can honestly say it's my first historical fiction based in that time period.
There is minimal jumping back and forth between time lines, and they are clearly noted.

I enjoyed learning about this ancient civilization. It took me a bit to get into all the history, so the first part was not as exciting. But thankfully all that action during the last 1/3 of the book really kept me engaged.

After that ending I am so glad to see this is noted as Book #1.

*3-3.5 stars for a debut time-travel thriller that takes us to the ancient world. Robert 'Rabbit' Ward
is 'an extremely accomplished chrono-archaeologist headquartered with the Smithsonian Institution. Specializing in the ancient Hellenic and classical Mediterranean, he has participated in over eighty expeditions in his twenty-year career.' Time travel was legally sanctioned twenty-seven years ago and has heavily favored reclamation of artifacts over research. Private sponsorship has paid for virtually all time travel in the United States. The Splinter Effect states that history cannot be materially altered or reality splinters, creating a parallel reality.

Rabbit Ward's one great failure was while trying to procure a menorah in ancient Rome. Not only was the mission a failure but his young partner was killed. The rules of time travel do not allow a traveller to return to the same moment in time to try again, but now the menorah has shown up in merchant records in Constantinople and his boss, collections curator at the National History Museum in Washington DC, wants him to try again. Only this time he will have competition.

Exciting action and interesting setting make for a fun read. Rabbit is a brave and clever time traveler with his own moral code, carrying a load of guilt over his failures. If there was a flaw in this adventure novel, I'd say it was in not trying hard enough to make the dialog match the historic time. I believe one character actually says, 'Give me a break!' And maybe piling on the adventures when there had already been enough. As an artist once said, The trick is knowing when to stop, when a work is done. Great action-movie material here though!

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

You say Constantinople, I'm there. You can take a girl out of Istanbul, but cannot take Istanbul out of a girl. When I see my beloved city, the capital of 3 empires, as a main character in a story, I'll wistfully sigh first (for not being there now) and then start flipping those pages like it's my job.

Splinter Effect is the sci-fi version of Indiana Jones. Rabbit Ward is the archeologist hopping from time to time to look for long lost wonders of the world and bring them to our time. He seems to have less capitalistic ideology in his search for these artifacts, but not everyone who could do the time hopping shares his objectives. His presence did not appear to tweak the history at first, but it sure impacts his own history and relationships. He lost a mentee in his search for the menorah, but he didn't know whether people really die or get lost in other times. This question and many other like this initiate a new series of events Rabbit might or not like.

I can see this book turning into 4-5 book series (or maybe more, who am I to say?) with so many missing magical and mystical artifacts got lost in the history. I'm sure Rabbit Ward would love to continue playing Indiana Jones in Dan Brown like settings and I would be interested in to see where he will go next.

An archeological time travel adventure featuring a harder Indiana Jones type MC and a mysterious female antagonist as they compete on their hunts for historical objects. The story isn’t bad, full of interesting but suspect pseudo science on paradoxes and ethical quandaries, but I felt like it had been done better a few times over. You can still enjoy it for its historical tidbits and action sequences but if you’re looking for something really entertaining, try Jodi Taylor.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Splinter Effect: if a significant change is made by a time traveler, another universe is created, one that splinters off our own timeline.

I like a really good time travel story and this one sounded like a good one. The summary made it kind of sound like a time traveling Indiana Jones, which is a pretty good description. Rabbit definitely has that whole Indiana Jones vibe going on. The book summary pretty much lays out the whole premise for the primary storyline. What it doesn’t say much about is the secondary storyline where 20yrs ago, Aaron, a newbie time traveler, got left behind and stuck in 455 Rome.

In an alternate universe, there are now laws that allow time travel under certain circumstances. However, because of the tremendous expense, the only people who can afford it are groups of extremely rich people who only fund expeditions that will benefit them in some way and almost none of the time travel that is done is for research purposes; Aaron’s parents are among this group. Rabbit’s reputation as a successful time traveler (he has experienced yet another failure) is basically over until an anonymous benefactor has agreed to finance another trip to obtain a renown Jewish artifact, the same one that Rabbit and Aaron tried to obtain 20yrs ago. It’s here that my armchair detective pretty much narrows in on two potential suspects.

Most of the story has Rabbit traveling back to 535 Rome to try and obtain this Jewish artifact – again. There are obstacles everywhere and those who are determined to see Rabbit fail – again. One of those would be Helen, who foiled Rabbit on his last unsuccessful trip. They form a tenuous alliance to obtain the artifact, but there is absolutely no trust whatsoever so they are trying to outmaneuver each other the whole time they’re working together, which is pretty much the whole second half. I was so far off the mark!

There is so much going on from the war between the Christians and Jews, and the tenuous alliance between Rome and Constantinople and the search for the Jewish artifact as well as the hunt for Rabbit by a gang of Christian defenders. Throughout the story, Rabbit is constantly reciting a boatload of obscure historical facts about the locales, people and time period that would probably be unknown to anyone but a historian. History buffs would probably love this kind of story. I found the constant info dumps kind of interrupted the flow of the story and the characters activities at those moments. Then again, I’m not a historian or much of a Greek/Roman history buff.

The character development for Rabbit was pretty good, and ok for a few other characters, but really thin for the rest making most of them nothing more than talking heads. The pacing was steady to fast and the storyline intriguing. The writing was ok, I guess, not terrible. Although, I did really enjoy the ending, which left an overall good feeling and a smile on my face. I’m looking at an overall rate 3.8 that I will be rounding up to a 4star review. I want to thank NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #SplinterEffect

I enjoyed this time travel sci-fi debut, and I look forward to further adventures with Rabbit Ward in the future.

This has a bit of an Indiana Jones vibe with our lead character being a treasure-hunting archaeologist with competition dogging his trail and a bit of possible romance thrown into the mix. There’s also good historical world building and research that adds to flavoring the story with vivid imagery.

I did (occasionally) have some confusion grasping this particular alliteration of time travel specifics, but not enough to detract from the story as a whole. I also hoped for more in-depth exploration of Rabbit’s character/past, but I’ll assume since this is the start of his story, we’ll get that as we go along.

Well done, especially as a freshman effort.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for providing the free early arc of Splinter Effect for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Dr. Robert “Rabbit” Ward’s sterling reputation has been taking a hit as of late. His work as a chrono archeologist for the Smithsonian may be coming to an end as his rich sponsors withdraw their support. He’s got to do something to keep his rival from stealing his glory. Now, on what may very well be his final mission, he’s being sent way back in time to retrieve an ancient artifact.
This is one snappy historical sci fi thriller. With an engaging plot and likable characters it really drew me in. I also liked the little bit of history I got while reading this propulsive story. Constantinople during the reign of Justinian came to life right before my eyes. It must have been a real marvel during its heyday. An entertaining tale from a debut novelist. 4.25 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook and reader copy of Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington in exchange for an honest review. This book had all the making of a great book, time travel, adventure, light romance, humor, history, but I found it hard for me to get into. For me it was just a good book, but I might pick it up in the future and try again, sometimes I'm just in the wrong place to enjoy a book.