Splinter Effect
A Novel
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In Splinter Effect, an action-packed debut by Andrew Ludington, time traveling archaeologist Rabbit Ward maneuvers through the past to recover a long-lost, precious menorah hidden 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 redemption—and possibly his life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ludington debuts with a rip-roaring thriller about a time-traveling treasure hunter who journeys to Justinian Constantinople in hopes of recovering the menorah of the Temple of Jerusalem. In 2018, the menorah has been lost for centuries—making it a hot commodity for adventurers like Dr. Robert "Rabbit" Ward, who works as a chrono-archaeologist for the Smithsonian, embarking on missions to the past sponsored by wealthy donors. On Rabbit's first attempt to recover the menorah, he made an enemy of the influential Kahan family by abandoning their 20-year-old son, Aaron, in 455 CE Rome as it was being sacked by the Vandals. Since then, Rabbit has traveled alone on a series of successful assignments, but his credibility has been shaken by the interference of an unknown female time traveler in his most recent missions. Skeptical donors give Rabbit a final chance to prove himself by retrieving the menorah from its last known location in 535 CE Constantinople. He faces steep odds, however, with another traveler after the same object, and indications that he's become the target of a shadowy adversary. Rabbit's quick wit and fast fists make him a winning protagonist, and though the book's home stretch feels a bit rushed, Ludington demonstrates a knack for fleet action sequences. Readers will be eager for the sequel.
