Splinter Effect is a rollicking timeshift adventure series opener by Andrew Ludington. Released 18th March 2025 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's / Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback due out from the same publisher in 1st quarter 2026. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.
Very well written, engaging, action driven timeslip speculative fiction adventure. There's a definite "National Treasure/Indiana Jones" vibe to the whole, with a generous sprinkling of sarcastic humor reminiscent of Charles Stross' Laundry Files and similar. This particular adventure sees MC Rabbit (an archaeologist historian freelancer for the Smithsonian) on the hunt for a precious historical artifact, a menorah which he's trying to rescue from 5th century CE Rome. Nothing is ever easy, and shenanigans ensue.
The book is -very- history heavy, and readers who loathe dates, names, and historical context might want to prepare themselves, as it's deeply, deeply researched. Either the author has a stable of fact-checking minions, or he's a history nerd of the first water (and it's beautiful to see).
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 9 hours 57 minutes and is capably read by Roger Wayne. He has a slightly gritty "noir" quality midwest American accent for the read and does a solid job of the often rapid-fire character change dialogue. Sound and production quality are high throughout.
Four stars. Book two is due out in second quarter 2026 from the same publisher. Recommended for public library acquisition, fans of action adventure, or possibly a buddy/SF book group read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment