The Third Rule of Time Travel

By: Philip Fracassi

Narrated by: Abigail Reno

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.

In this riveting science fiction novel from acclaimed author Philip Fracassi, a scientist has unlocked the mysteries of time travel. This is not the story you think you know. And the rules are only the beginning.

Scientist Beth Darlow has discovered the unimaginable. She's built a machine that allows human consciousness to travel through time—to any point in the traveler's lifetime—and relive moments of their life. An impossible breakthrough, but it's not perfect: the traveler has no way to interact with the past. They can only observe.

After Beth's husband, Colson, the co-creator of the machine, dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left to raise Isabella—their only daughter—and continue the work they started. Mired in grief and threatened by her ruthless CEO, Beth pushes herself to the limit to prove the value of her technology.

Then the impossible happens. Simply viewing personal history should not alter the present, but with each new observation she makes, her own timeline begins to warp.

As her reality constantly shifts, Beth must solve the puzzles of her past, even if it means forsaking her future.

Critic reviews

"A page-turning adventure with a mind-bending conclusion."—Les Johnson, futurist and space technologist

“A novel of frighteningly plausible science fiction, Fracassi blends deft character work with suspense to create a story that’s simultaneously focused in its approach and massive in its implications. Part Crichton, part Blake Crouch, part Bradbury, and all Fracassi. Chilling and unpredictable, The Third Rule of Time Travel further demonstrates why Fracassi is one of the best writers working today, regardless of genre.”—Tyler Jones, author of Midas and Burn the Plans

“Fracassi paints this gloomy tale with painfully beautiful and detailed prose.”

—Library Journal on Boys in the Valley

"[Fracassi is] especially skillful at creating, and sustaining, suspense.”—The New York Times

“This Fracassi guy is damn good.”

—Richard Chizmar, New York Times bestselling author

“Philip Fracassi is an artist who paints with words…timeless and original.”

—Zoje Stage, USA Today bestselling author of Baby Teeth

Ending was abrupt

Clever show bit it seemed like it wrapped too quickly. Id give it 3.5 stars if I could. Narrator was ok although the male voices all sounded the same

The Peak

This was an absolutely amazing novel. Kept me on my toes. Listening to this store helped with accepting the past and present. Overall great experience!

Thrilling and Heartbreaking

Perfectly paced story with great sequences, the sci-fi element is well done while not being too overly technical. The story is akin to Arrival or "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, if you're a parent it's going to be a sucker punch to the gut.

An ok story

I was excited to listen to this book after the reviews but honestly I just thought it was an average plot and story

Kinda basic

Narration was good. Enjoyed the slower pace and deeper character development of the first 1/4 to 1/2 ish of the book. Then sped way up and felt rushed. Main character ended up feeling pretty shallow. Some of the scenarios and dialogue felt trite, especially the last 10 ish mins of the book.