Splinter Effect

In contrast, I thoroughly enjoyed the time-travel adventure Splinter Effect (#1,342) by debut novelist Andrew Ludington.  Think Indiana Jones, if he had the technology behind him to send him back to particular moments in time.

Rabbit Ward is a chrono-archaeologist on a mission.  He's been commissioned to retrieve six manuscripts known to have been in the Library of Alexandria when Caesar destroyed it.  He manages to grab three, but another scavenger from the future beats him to the other manuscripts.  He has barely enough time to hide his trophies before he must jump back to 2018, his own time.  His corporate sponsors are disappointed, to say the least.  So he's glad to be given another chance to go after his real prize - the Menorah looted by  the Romans from the Temple in Jerusalem.  He's tried to retrieve it once before and failed, but this time he's going back to Constantinople in 535 CE and he vows he will be successful...

Things never go as expected, and his own past failures come back to haunt him, while he is forced to team up with his nemesis, Helen, who grabbed the manuscripts from him in Alexandria. Of course, she's after the same Menorah.  And even if they are successful, who will claim the Menorah in the future?  Blending into the past isn't always easy, especially when you know how things are supposed to go.  Their mission is not to change the past in ways that will affect the future.  When things do change, that's the Splinter Effect, and all bets are off.

Rabbit and Helen make such a great team, I sure hope we haven't seen the last of them!  I think this could be the start of a very promising series.  Please, Andrew Ludington, let's go more places in time!