Rule One: Travel can only occur to a point within your lifetime.
Rule Two: You can only travel for ninety seconds.
Rule Three: You can only observe.
The rules cannot be broken.

Scientist Beth Darlow and her husband, Colson, have discovered the unimaginable, a machine that allows the mind to travel through time. But only to a point in the past and only ever to observe for 90 seconds. Those are the rules. But as the study goes on, the team question whether the rules are set in stone and if there is any effect of the travel of the two scientists testing the machine.

The synopsis for this one is deliberately vague, so I will keep my review the same, save for spoilers. I definitely recommend going into this one knowing as little as possible. If you love time travel and can suspend disbelief, then I think you will likely love this one, as I did. It was thrilling and so suspenseful in parts, I was literally holding on for dear life hoping things would work out. It was sensational! This will be another favourite for me this year.

Beth and her husband Colson are workaholic scientists who left academia for the abundant private-sector funding of the Langan corporation. Their research focus? A form of time travel where you can revisit 90 seconds from your own past and watch events through past-you's eyes. There are two catches: you can't change anything in your past, and you can't choose which 90 seconds you revisit.

The story revolves around Beth, whose life has been full of grief. We meet her while she's in the time travel machine for the first time, revisiting the second-worst moments of her life. (Do not read this book on an airplane if you're a nervous flyer.) We soon learn that the <I>worst</i> moment of her life was her last birthday, when her husband Colson was killed in an accident on his way to get her cake. Colson's death left her with a pre-school aged daughter to care for (with the help of a beloved and somehow-always-available-nanny) and an redoubled drive to make the time travel project a scientific and commercial success.

Both goals are difficult to achieve. Beth's journeys in the time travel machine are disorienting and they reopen old wounds. For some reason, the machine always chooses to send her to traumatic events. She returns to herself drowned in grief and emotionally off-kilter. Langan, her boss and the CEO of the corporation, is demanding results and wants to publicise the capabilities of the machine. Beth has to shepherd around a potentially-hostile journalist, who is present for some of the disastrous time trips. To top it all off, each time Beth travels in time, she has to submit to post-experiment questioning from senior colleagues. Their stated aim is to compare her answers to those she made pre-trip to ensure she hasn't changed the past. But she suspects they have unstated aims, too, none of which reflect well on their confidence in her.

Then strange things begin happening...

Although there's some hard science in the book, the narrative focuses more on how grief and revisiting trauma can hurt us and help us. It paints a realistic portrait of a person whose past has changed her, sometimes for the better but often for the worse. Beth is self-centred and inconsiderate, often rude, to her colleagues, her friends, and her daughter's nanny. As a character, she could come across unlikeable if we weren't inside her head, seeing exactly what drives these behaviours. Riding along in her mind, we feel the love she feels as well, and the sadness that makes daily functioning a challenge. These are the most realistic moments in the story.

The unrealistic moments challenge the reader's suspension of disbelief. It's difficult to imagine a corporation investing millions (billions?) in a time travel machine with so little obvious practical application. What can you do with 90 seconds of watching your past self? Where's the money to be made? Fortunately, there's a payoff here if you stick with it.

The book's ending is uplifting (if a little abrupt) but in some ways cheap: the book's earlier themes seem to be abandoned in favour of a spiritual message reminiscent of manifesting the outcomes you want through positive affirmations. Maybe the universe works this way and maybe it doesn't; but if the reader can relate to Beth's sadness and trauma and finds catharsis in it, they may find the story's conclusion disappointing.

Read if you like: slow pace, deep character work, questions answered at the end
Avoid if you prefer: fast-moving, action, very sympathetic protagonist

4/5
7/10

A tour de force in time travel fiction.

I'm going to be honest, I came into this read not expecting too much. I had previously read one of Philip Fracassi's novels and although I didn't hate it, it certainly wasn't a book that left me in awe. This book was a completely different kettle of fish. Put it this way, I devoured this with a 24-hour period. That is unheard of for me unless I'm reading a short story, which this certainly isn't.
The book follows our main character (Beth) during the testing of a scientific device that for all intents and purposes is a time travel machine. Yes we are treading ground that has been well trodden over the years and some might say is rather cliche or even so overused that it's boring, but that's where they're wrong.
Philip Fracassi has somehow managed to create something that flows effortlessly and pulls the reader in every step of the way. Yes there are some common tropes and the language isn't overly elaborate but this doesn't detract from what is a thoroughly engrossing, emotional and sometimes shocking story.
Ultimately what I'm trying to say is that it was an amazing read and a testament to the author's ability to tell a great story.
Read on sight!

RULE NUMBER ONE :
Travel can occur only at destination points during the previous lifetime of the traveler. These destination points are random.

RULE NUMBER TWO:
The traveler has only enough energy to maintain contact with the arrival world for approximately ninety seconds.

RULE NUMBER THREE:
The traveler has no ability to interact with the world they have traveled to...

I have been searching for exciting new authors to try within the Horror genre for some time and Philip Fracassi was a name that I kept seeing when searching for recommendations and I have been meaning to try his writing out as soon as possible. However, when seeing that he was about to release a time travel novel I just had to request an ARC immediately and keep my fingers crossed for approval as this sub genre of science fiction is one of my most favourite ones.

Being my first ever read of something by Fracassi I have no point of reference to compare how well this stands up against his works of Horror fiction but I was impressed with how this story was structured and crafted. Much of the prose is delivered in 3rd person narrative but cleverly switches to first person when our protagonist, Beth goes on a ninety seconds time travel excursion, and there are also some epistolary sections in the form of reports and memos. This all served perfectly to keep the reader engaged but also on alert for clues or signals for things not being as they should as the plot unfolds.

Fracassi does a tremendous job in providing an initial hook, launching straight into a time travel sequence of a plane crash and outlining what the rules of time travel in this story will be and from the book title, it is expected that the third rule might be the one to be suspicious about. The science elements are kept to a minimum and for the most part, this story reads like a thriller with short chapters and multiple cliffhangers to keep you turning the pages. The number of side characters to manage is also relatively low (thanks largely to convenient budgetary cuts in the story), this allows the story to progress at pace but at times it did feel a little empty and questionable how a large scientific project could operate with such little technical support. Nevertheless, not expending hundreds of additional pages to provide extra scientific jargon and back stories to every named character allowed this story to get to its point effectively.

This was a solid effort for a time travel story with a strong thematic focus on family and what is really important in life. For me there could have been a bit more depth and detail to the consequences of each of the journeys but it was still a difficult book to put down right from the beginning. I think readers looking to branch out into trying some science fiction would find this an excellent place to begin with and most likely fans of Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton will also appreciate the techno thriller aspect of this one. Overall, I enjoyed this considerably and I will be looking to pick up more books from this author as a priority now - I will most likely try 'Boys in the Valley' as my next Fracassi read but I would welcome any other recommendations if anyone can suggest what the best introduction to his horror novels might be.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review. The Third Rule of Time Travel is due for release from 18th March 2025.

Up on Goodreads now, live on the blog on 17 March:

I discovered Philip Fracassi as late as last year (I know, and I call myself a horror lover 😬) when his The Boys in the Valley was everywhere and I just had to read it. I found it an atmospheric and intelligent piece of folk horror, so when I stumbled across The Third Rule of Time Travel, there was no doubt in my mind I had to get my mitts on it, ASAP. I felt that if one author (besides Blake Crouch, obviously) could handle time travel in a clever, realistic manner, it would be Philip Fracassi.

Turns out, I was right! The Third Rule of Time Travel was everything it says on the tin, and everything I’d hoped it would be. It has just the right amount of science, and it’s just on the right side of plausible. It’s hard for a story about time travel to avoid being OTT, but The Third Rule of Time Travel pulls it off.

The juxtaposition of the scientific mind and goals of Beth and the greed and entirely different goals of her CEO works really well, and the story builds up at a steady pace until we reach the point where Beth has to fight for her sanity and her daughter.

The Third Rule of Time Travel is a smart and engrossing sci-fi thriller that grabbed me from the get-go and never let me go. I flew through it as I just had to know where I’d end up. I would definitely recommend it, especially to fans of Blake Crouch’s sci-fi thrillers and Heather Child’s The Undoing of Arlo Knott.

The Third Rule of Time Travel is out in paperback and digital formats on 18 March.

Massive thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

It was hard making it through this book. I'm new to Fracassi's work but I know he's popular in the horror genre so I wanted to give his latest novel a try-- perhaps it was a mistake to come in here. I love sci-fi; I've read countless books about time travel, but, sadly, this one was just quite boring. I didn't gel with any of the characters and actually found them generic and bland, which made it very difficult to stay interested in where the story would take them.

Other reviewers have said this reads like a thriller-- which, honestly, really appealed to me --but I didn't get that. I found it slow-moving and not very thrilling.

Any book involving time travel is an auto buy for me so I was thrilled to receive an arc of this one. I absolutely flew through it and felt like I had to just sit and catch my breath when I finished.

The author really does not waste a word of this story, the pacing is full throttle and the stakes build higher and higher as the plot progresses. I’m a fan of emotional trauma in my stories and there was plenty of it to be found here. I felt so heartbroken for Beth, she was a really interesting protagonist to follow, a powerful and intelligent woman who has experienced the most profound losses. Reliving the worst moments of her life with her was absolutely devastating.

The science aspect is fascinating and incredibly intricate although I did get a little confused at times. I think I would have preferred it to be longer so that we could really get into the nitty gritty and I would have loved more character development. That’s personal preference though, it’s an addictive fast paced thriller and I think it’s really impressive that the author manages to tell such a huge and complex story in a novel of this size. I think there will be a lot of cross appeal for this book for readers of all genres.

If you loved Recursion by Blake Crouch I think you’ll really enjoy this.

This reads more like a thriller with sci-fi elements than straight sci-fi. It is a very easy and quick read that has some nice moments and some paranormal elements. The writing was simple and effective. As a thriller I would say it's above average but..
..as a sci-fi book I expected more. The whole cast of characters felt very generic and didn't feel like they were behaving as people on the verge of a historic scientific breakthrough would. The science, while the author tried his best to present it and explain it, didn't come out as exciting as it should be and felt like a secondary character, who was there to help progress the plot.
I think the Fracassi name, who has a well justified fanbase due to his great horror books, will lift the readers expectations to unreachable levels. Adjust your expectations and you'll enjoy this book for what it is.

I love time travel stories and The Third Rule of Time Travel is definitely a worthy entry into the genre. I loved how grounded the science behind the time travel felt, but I do wish it had served to push the plot a little further as not much really happens until a good chunk of the way through. The same goes for the relationships; I think the characters and their connections to each other needed to have just a bit more meat on the bone for me to fully emotionally invest in the story.

But despite being left wanting more, I did find this a very fast read and I enjoying the sections where we dig into exactly how this form of time travel works. I think this book would be great for anyone wanting to get into sci-fi but is feeling intimidated.

I was chuffed to receive an ARC copy of The Third Rule of Time Travel. Whilst this is more sci-fi than horror, it's an excellent read and one I couldn't put down.

Our main protagonist, Beth, is struggling to deal with grief while working on a top secret time machine, created by herself and her late husband. Her character arc is very well written, with a solid supporting cast, plenty of twists and turns, and flaws that make her all the more relateable. I enjoyed the unpredictability and felt that things could've ended in a number of ways.

This felt fresh, with a well-constructed mix of familiar tropes but also some original ideas that worked really well for me. What really stood out was the underlying message of what actually matters in life and that being put into perspective.

Overall, a very good sci-fi novel, though it could've gone a bit deeper.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit!

No había leído nada de Philip Fracassi, ya que sólo le conocía como autor de terror y ya se sabe que ese género es un terreno que no soy muy dada a explorar. Sin embargo, con The Third Rule of Time Travel, una novela en la que se decanta por la ciencia ficción vi la oportunidad clara de conocer al menos algo de su obra, así que no lo dudé.


La protagonista de la novela es Beth, una científica que ha construido una máquina con la que es capaz de mandar su conciencia atrás en el tiempo, pero que debe cumplir tres normas:

Regla uno: solo se puede viajar hasta un punto determinado de la propia vida.

Regla dos: solo se puede viajar durante noventa segundos.

Regla tres: solo se puede observar.

Las reglas no se pueden romper.

Cuando el primer acercamiento a una novela viene reglado de esta forma, ya imaginas que la especulación va a ir sobre cómo romper las reglas, un poco a lo Asimov en sus cuentos de robots.

Sin embargo, Fracassi ha decidido enfocar su novela en la psique de la protagonista, ya que cada viaje parece llevarla a una crisis de su vida, como si el dolor extremo fuera el faro que guía sus viajes en el tiempo. Y estamos hablando de momentos tremendamente duros, como la muerte de sus padres y su hermana en un accidente aéreo. En este sentido el autor saber perfectamente qué cuerdas rasgar para que la melodía sea tremendamente melancólica y dolorosa. Gran parte de la novela intenta hacernos dudar sobre la estabilidad mental de Beth y a veces parece que lo consigue, pero si luego tenemos en cuenta las posibilidades de los viajes en el tiempo veremos que está preparando su gran final, que a mí al menos me ha parecido un poco descafeinado.

Y es que como novela de ciencia ficción, hay pocas cosas que la hagan destacar sobre cualquier otra de viajes en el tiempo: una gran corporación que financia la investigación con vistas a utilizar los resultados para enriquecerse más, una madre viuda que ha de cuidar de su pequeña pero que se ve absorbida por el trabajo, una serie de cambios que empiezan de forma apenas perceptible pero que luego hacen dudar de la salud mental de quien los percibe… Es algo que ya hemos visto muchas veces. Incluso la explicación de por qué las alteraciones temporales se pueden seguir percibiendo durante un tiempo es un poco ad hoc para lo que el autor quería que pasara, dando la impresión de que todo estaba preparado para un final blandito y bienqueda.

Aunque es una novela entretenida, da menos de lo que yo esperaba.

I had a roller-coaster of emotions while reading this book. The start was very slow and boring to me, I was getting really frustrated, because basically nothing happened but it took off after the 44%. After the first twist I was very interested and invested. A positive thing I would like to mention is how the diversity in the book is very subtle, there is no objectifying of the characters and you only assume their race by their names. This is a sci-fi thriller that has more to do with the personal life of the scientist that with the science itself, so don’t worry if you are not use to read high sci-fi, this is really digestible and at the same time complex. I would say that I didn’t like the main character all that much; she was fierce in some occasions and in the next begging the boss to let her finish her work, which was very conflicting. But I really sympathized with her experience. It was heartbreaking; it actually made me cry more than once. The ending was okay, I would personally prefer if there was some ambiguity or more of a sinister scenario, this ending was a bit predictable.
I would absolutely recommend it, just push yourself to get to the 40%, after that the plot expands fast and is more emotionally charged. My rating is 3.75 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC.

Thrilling, non stop, time travelling, smash.

What would you do if you changed your past, and changed something for the worse? Could not put this book down, loved every minute of it. From the time travel premise, to the moustache twirling villain, all of it was great.
This was up there with Blake Crouch. I this will be a hit!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. This was a nicely paced quick read for me. I've not read anything by the author previously. Like other reviewers, I did find that this read more like a thriller than a sci-fi book. I enjoyed it, although I found that the ending came rather abruptly and left me with a sense of wanting a bit more.

The premise of this book intrigued me however I didn't find it to be overly gripping and often had to struggle through to keep reading. This may just be that it reads more like a thriller than a sci-fi book and I'm not a massive thriller reader. The formatting of the eARC often contained errors which made reading slightly more difficult but I imagine this will be fixed before publishing. Thanks for sending this to me for review!