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Sebastian Ritscher
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SPLINTER EFFECT

Andrew Ludington

In this action-packed debut, time traveling archaeologist Rabbit Ward maneuvers through the past to recover a long-lost, precious menorah hiding out in ancient Rome.
Smithsonian archaeologist Rabbit Ward travels through time on sponsored expeditions to the past to secure precious artifacts moments before they are lost to history. Although exceptional at his job, Rabbit is not without faults. In a spectacular failure twenty years ago, he lost both the menorah of the second temple and his hot-headed mentee, Aaron. So, when new evidence reveals the menorah's reappearance in 6th century Constantinople, Rabbit seizes the chance for redemption. But from the moment he arrives in the past, things start to go wrong. Rabbit quickly finds out that his prime competition, an unlicensed and annoyingly appealing "stringer" named Helen, is also in Constantinople hunting the menorah. And that's only the beginning. The oppressed Jewish population of the city is primed for revolution, Constantinople's leading gang seems to have it out for Rabbit personally, and someone local is interested enough in the menorah to kill for it. As the past closes in on him and his previous failures compound, will Rabbit be able to recover the menorah before it's once again lost in time? With new and old dangers alike hiding behind every corner, time might just be up for Rabbit's redemptionand possibly his life. Andrew Ludington writes transportive adventure stories intended to make you forget your commute. He graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in English Literature and lives in Evanston, IL where he moonlights as a technologist for Northwestern University. Splinter Effect is his first novel.
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Published 2025-03-18 by Minotaur/Macmillan

Comments

A smart, inventive, wildly original adventure featuring a chrono-archeologist who is tasked with going back in time to save a famed menorah from ancient Rome, Splinter Effect combines time travel, archeology, history, and a dash of romance to great effect. Fans of Indiana Jones will flock to this rollicking story. A superb debut!

Imaginative, fast-paced, and clever, Andrew Ludington's Splinter Effect is a first-rate time-traveling thriller. Rabbit Ward, a present-day archaeologist with a well-honed and intuitive grasp of the past, must navigate the fraught political landscape of sixth century Constantinople, using all his wits, some humor, and a bit of luck to retrieve a long-lost artifact. Already perfect for history buffs and time travel enthusiasts, a splash of romance adds to the intriguing start of this promising new series.

Splinter Effect has all the fun of Indiana Jones and the rapid-fire thriller pacing of James Rollins... Read this now!

A smart, action-packed thriller with a clever time-travel twist. Exactly the literary vacation I needed.