The breathtaking new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of WIRED.What if you found a way to send something back in time? But not millions of years back, to the age of the dinosaur. Not a day back. Not even a minute back. What if you could only send something back less than the blink of an eye? Would this be of any use? You wouldn’t have nearly enough time to right a wrong, change … wrong, change an event, or win a lottery.
Nathan Wexler is a brilliant physicist who thinks he’s found a way to send matter a split second back into the past. But before he can even confirm his findings, he and his wife-to-be, Jenna Morrison, find themselves in a battle for their very lives. Because while time travel to an instant earlier seems useless, Jenna comes to learn that no capability in history has ever been more profound or far-reaching.
Now, as Jenna fights to defeat the powerful forces arrayed against her, nothing less than the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. . .
SPLIT SECOND is a roller coaster ride of a thriller, one that will have readers pondering the nature of time, and of reality, long after they’ve read the last page.
“Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton.” (SF Book.com)
“Richards is a tremendous new talent” (Stephen Coonts) who can “keep you turning the pages all night long” (Douglas Preston)
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Loved it!
A must read for the Sci-Fi fan who likes action!
Action packed futuristic book. Like everything I have read from this author. I feel this book could be easily adapted to a movie
Though I’m still in the middle of it, the first 20-30 pages are so well-written and intense, I am sure I’ll be thrilled by the rest of it.
If you’re into science and fiction that’s believable, you’ll love this book!
A Thought-Provoking, Well-Constructed Technothriller
Split Second is a tense, fast-paced technothriller involving a capability that in the context of all the books and movies about time travel sounds rather mundane – the ability to move an object a mere split second into the past. I mean, what injustice could you right, what fortune could you win in a split second? None. But mundane it is not, as author Douglas Richards takes the science behind time travel, extends it in fictional but believable ways, and ends up with a story that’s not only adrenaline-charged, but also thought-provoking.
The pace is excellent, with ambushes following chases following gun battles following double-crosses. There are a number of twists in the story, some quite surprising, others a bit more predictable. But overall, they are more than adequate to keep the reader on their mental toes. The characters are likeable, but like most thrillers, a bit stereotypical, e.g., the computer specialist who can hack into anything but who can create encryption so secure that no one else can break it. They are also quite intelligent, which may partially explain why they talk the way they do, e.g., “… you haven’t given me any reason to doubt its veracity. You said you confiscated the cell phones of two men.” Even so, the dialog is too stiff and feels less than realistic in places.
When no one’s life is in peril, the story turns to the science behind time travel. And lest you think that would be dry and boring, it’s not. As one of the characters says, “Time is a nightmare. No subject is so utterly intuitive, and also counter-intuitive, at the same time.” Richards hits the highlights of theories about time travel to reveal how mind-boggling and disaster-prone it might be. I greatly enjoyed this part of the story. My only quibble is a small one – some of that dialog is protracted and the book might have been better served by working more of this scientific context into the plot. The same could be said about the hero’s view of the lack of consistency in politician’s support for the fight on terrorism. It was long-winded enough it began to feel preachy, rather than just a look into the attitudes of our protagonist.
Overall, Split Second is a superior technothriller with excellent action and mind-bending science. In my view, that’s an unbeatable combination.
Hard to put down and also hard to keep reading.
Wow!!!
This may be Richards best novel, having said that I love Quantum Lens as it was my first, and Infinity Born as it seems the most fun. A tragic beginning with characters you come to like, and then non-stop action for the rest of the book. The science is very plausible, the villain creative and evil, and the protagonists fun. The supporting cast makes it all better.
This is time travel done within the bounds of science as we know it. Very realistic. No going back and killing your grandfather or stepping on a butterfly here.
A perfect combination of science, mystery and action done in our time (or just a few years out) that leaves your feeling like you could be following this story in the current news.
An interesting concept and a story that was better than expected. Still, a few holes in the story line exist and this is where it loses a star for me
If you are into sci-fi or techno suspence then this is for you. I’m not but I have to say the plot takes off right away with the kidnapping of a brilliant scientist and his fiance, also a smart scientist in her field….nice move. Jenna is one very smart lady and goes on the hunt for the kidnappers when she escapes. The plot gets heavy on the theory of time, space and dark matter. It’s a lot to take in but I did enjoy the idea of time travel and the Star Trek references were fun.
The bad guys are a bit confusing as there are two sets of black ops trying to grab Jenna and the information. A private detective and another scientist become involved and paranoia seems the only way to survive.
The ending was too slick with everything solved and everyone happy and the major discovery of our time is safe….really!!??
This is action packed with perhaps a bit too much science for most thrown in but I actually enjoyed that. Who knew!
So far this one is as good as his others. I’ll probably keep reading his books into the future.
Good premise, fast action that was close enough to believability
Well researched and well written. Combines realistic view of time travel and accurate action of highly trained detective and combat-ready and trained hired goons. A must read.