Split Second

By: Douglas E. Richards

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

A stunningly unique take on time travel. The 27th bestselling Kindle book of 2017—out of almost 6 million titles!

What if you found a way to send something back in time? But not weeks, days, or even minutes back. What if you could only send something back a fraction of a second? Would this be of any use? You wouldn't have nearly enough time to right a 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

©2015 Douglas E. Richards (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton." (SFBook.com)

"Richards is a tremendous new talent." (Stephen Coonts)

"[Richards can] keep you turning the pages all night long." (Douglas Preston)

Fictional Time-Travel Primmer

Richards is famous for writing thrillers in the vein of Michael Crichton. I don’t know if this is a departure for him but Split Second is in reality an old-timey Golden Age Science Fiction story. It takes a scientific principle—in this case, quantum time travel—and extrapolates the implications of that principle into an informative science lesson, and if possible throw in a little story and a few interesting characters to make it interesting. But make no mistake; the appeal of this story, like the old gadget story, is the idea. Richards employs the tried and true, but oft-criticized, technique of the info-dump. You know the scientifically ignorant, but true blue, protagonist asks a question and the bespectacled scientist in the white lab coat launches into an impromptu lecture bringing the ignorant hero (and the reader) up to speed on all the physics that must be understood in order for the plot to make a lick of sense.

All this may sound critical but being a long-time science fiction fan, I found this technique to be like an old friend from my youth. I enjoy speculation on science as part-and-parcel of the appeal of Sci-Fi fiction. The science in this novel is based on the latest speculation from Einsteinian thinkers who cannot rule out time-travel based on the principles of General Relativity, like Kip Thorne and Stephen Hawking. Clearly Douglas Richards has read the great book Time Machines by Paul J. Nahin that tracks time-travel in physics and science fiction. He employs elements from Nahin’s treatise such as time-travel paradoxes, predestination, and the block universe theory. If these concepts interest you may find this novel a fine fictional primmer of the basic elements of the standard science fictional trope of time-travel.
Kevin Pariseau is a top flight narrator. His voicings are always spot on. His skill is at such a level that the narration becomes completely invisible. Mr. Pariseau is also excellent giving voice to Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny.

Egghead Thriller

Richards knows some fascinating science and has a gift for extrapolation. He then uses his insights to build a fast-paced action story. But, he also has a few axes to grind and is a bit prone to monologues. Pariseau as narrator delivers enough variety in voices to move the story without being distracting.

Crazy plot

What a story of twists & turns! Excellent read about the ethics of duplication of human beings

Great story

Douglas Richards is a great storyteller. This is the third of his books I have read or listen to and each of them, though with improbable scenarios, have certainly captured the imagination. He is extremely well read and his scientific knowledge obviously comes through in his tales. I would highly recommend his works to everyone.

Out of the box

Highly orignal scientifirc ideas. Excelent story. Memorable characters. Plot twist you will not see coming