THE THIRD RULE OF TIME TRAVEL by Philip Fracassi

4 stars

Futuristic science smacks up against corporate creed in this provocative dystopian thriller.

Quantum research scientists Colson and Beth have discovered a way to time travel by projecting the human consciousness through a wormhole to another point in their lives. They’ve come up with a set of working. Rule 1: you can only travel to a point in your own lifetime; Rule 2: only for 90 seconds, and Rule 3: You Can Only Observe. They’ve only tried it on themselves, and struggle to understand how exactly their quantum time machine works. There also emerges an potentially unspoken rule: how exactly the universe feels about all this time shifting.

Colson and Beth moved their research to a laboratory at the Langan Corporation, run by a power-hungry, egotistical CEO who harbors secret designs of his own of what to do with their nascent discovery. Other huge research labs operate around theirs, all under the utmost secrecy.

When Colson unexpectedly dies in a car accident, Beth takes over the lab. But in demonstrating the machine’s working, each time it takes a distraught and exhausted Beth back to the most painful moments of her life. She and her lab assistant can’t figure out how the machine picks moments to travel to, but clearly it’s something other than random.

Meanwhile, ghostly appearances start, filled with ominous warnings about what can happen if scientists go too far. Here the book takes on a darker slant where visiting the past may impact the present and where unchecked corporate greed can threaten humanity.

Thanks to Orbit Books and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.