Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington ~ a Review

by MK French

Rabbit Ward is a Smithsonian archaeologist who travels through time to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Twenty years ago, he lost the menorah of the second temple and his mentee, Aaron. The menorah might be in 6th century Constantinople, and Rabbit sees it as redemption. As soon as he arrives, things go wrong. He's not the only one after the menorah, and Constantinople’s leading gang is after Rabbit. He's desperate to recover the menorah before it's lost again, but time isn't on his side.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

March 2025; Minotaur Books; 978-1250349309
audio, ebook, print (320 pages); science fiction

The idea of time travel in the service of historical information and archaeology is a fun one. There are laws and conventions about its use, and of course, there are private interests as well as government contracts. The title comes from the idea that altering the past creates a new reality, a splinter of the original place the time jumper came from, which then is its own timeline. Rabbit is called to find the menorah by a manifest in a mummified rabbit, and he enters the past to try to find it. He knows the time period we'll, making both allies and enemies as he looks for its location, trying to keep a step ahead of his rival. It's more dangerous than he thought, both for himself and the allies, and even the rival. 

While there was the constant threat in the past/present as Rabbit tracked down the menorah, he didn't try to change history. His guilt over the past followed him, and the final quarter of the novel sees all the threads come together. Once it does, I had to keep reading to see how it would end. I really enjoyed the story, and the author pulled off the ending. It worked and was very fitting. Definitely worth the read!

Buy Splinter Effect at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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