The Third Rule of Time Travel

Corporate politics and experimental physics clash in this exciting sci-fi outing from Fracassi (A Child Alone with Strangers). Soon after quantum science researcher Colson and his brilliant wife, Beth, create a wormhole in their laboratory at Langan Corporation allowing them to time travel, Colson dies in a freak car accident, leaving Beth in charge of the laboratory. How the time machine works—beyond finagling with the neurophysics of human consciousness—is anyone’s guess, but sharp-tongued Beth is determined to continue the dangerous experiments that sent Colson, and now her, back in time for sessions that last only 90 seconds. When Langan’s unscrupulous CEO invites a journalist to witness the machine in action, Beth risks back-to-back journeys to save her position as project lead. Each journey forces her to relive her most painful memories, including the plane crash that killed her sister and parents. Meanwhile, during the downtime between voyages, strange things begin happening: she hallucinates Colson and discovers a ghost computer file written by him warning her of malicious glitches in the software. Underlying the brisk time-caper plot is Colson’s ominous warning that scientists should not play God. Sci-fi fans with a taste for noir will savor this one. (Feb.)