The Third Rule of Time Travel is a sci-fi thriller that intertwines time travel with personal trauma and grief. Fracassi is well known for his amazing horror stories, so this book is a fresh offering that will likely attract a wider spectrum of readers.

The story follows physicist Beth Darlow, who, along with her husband Colson, has developed a time machine capable of transporting a traveler’s consciousness to brief moments of their past. The time travel is governed by 3 rules: Travel is limited to the traveler’s own lifetime; each journey lasts 90 seconds; the traveler can only observe and cannot interact with the past. When Colson dies in a tragic car accident, Beth is left with intense grief while raising their daughter, Isabella. As Beth continues to test the time machine, she begins to experience disturbing phenomena, including visions of her dead husband and altered memories. This makes her appear unhinged to others and has her questioning if the time travel is altering her present reality.

Beth is a formidable protagonist—she’s strong-willed, outspoken, and extremely emotional. Her grief and guilt over her husband’s death are palpable throughout the story, making her very relatable and multidimensional. She is so dedicated to her work that it almost becomes an unhealthy obsession, allowing her to escape the reality of life without Colson. She’s also a devoted parent, desperately trying to balance motherhood with intense professional obligations. At work, she has many heated conversations with her boss, often using offensive language that would lead to someone being fired—but she knows her worth and is willing to put everything on the line to advance her research! Her assistant Tariq is a calming counterbalance to her emotional instability, and their dialogue is quite fascinating, often discussing the risks, conflicts of interest, and ethical dilemmas surrounding their work.

The story has mostly even pacing throughout, but the tension greatly increases after Beth becomes emotionally unstable after multiple time travel trips. When Beth time travels and briefly observes a past experience, it is always a highly traumatic event she relives, and the scenes have immense emotional resonance. Fracassi is obviously using her observations as a metaphor to examine how past traumas can shape one’s present. But Beth is always eager to push boundaries and has an incessant desire to alter her past—after several attempts, her willed intentions have some very fascinating ramifications, and the story becomes more thought-provoking and compelling!

For readers who don’t enjoy time travel stories because of their complex technical jargon, it’s good to point out that this book isn’t one of them. Instead, Fracassi uses more straightforward prose to make the concept of time travel approachable for a broad audience. At the same time, hard science fiction readers who want to understand the mechanics behind the time travel may be left wanting more detailed explanations.

Overall, The Third Rule of Time Travel is a unique addition to the time travel genre, with its combination of emotional intensity and thrills. While it may not satisfy hard science fiction readers, it will definitely appeal to a wider audience than the average time travel novel. Readers who enjoy poignant human stories, character-driven “light science fiction,” and slow-burn thrillers will love this book!