From Library Journal
Using some of the same characters who appeared in his Broken Symmetries (LJ 10/15/83), Preuss leisurely sets the scene for a groundbreaking physics experiment by telling the life story of its inventor, the mysterious physicist Manolis Minakis, in flashbacks to 1920s-40s Crete. Preuss, who established his reputaion with hard sf but has since expanded into psychological themes, intertwines Minoan artifacts, Greek customs, and quantum physics with love, incest, secrets, and the theory that the future creates the past. The hard science (and science fiction) only sneaks into the last few chapters of this fine character- and place-driven novel. Highly recommended for both fiction and sf collections.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Physicist Peter Slater and his wife, Anne-Marie, arrive on Crete at the invitation of legendary quantum theorist Dimitris Minakis. Dimitris hopes to interest young Peter in taking up his work, which is a questioning of Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and, concurrently, a proof of reality. Preuss, author of Core (1993), is a subtle writer who handles such grand questions beautifully, but in the end, his story is about Anne-Marie's ulterior motives with regard to Dimitris and Dimitris' long recounting of his childhood on Crete, his British education, and his efforts during the war to oust the Germans. Preuss writes extremely well about war, archaeology, and even love, but his novel isn't exactly what it purports to be, unless, as it sometimes seems, his characters are working out the shifting principles of quantum mechanics through their scheming, loving, and dying. In any event, whether or not it is really science fiction, Secret Passages is a good novel by a fine writer. John Mort

From Kirkus Reviews
Contemporary science fictiontinged novel featuring some of the characters from Broken Symmetries (1983), thankfully without that yarn's overwrought melodrama. Following an acrimonious divorce, Anne-Marie Brand finds that her ex, Charlie, has gained custody of their son Carlos; she has a daughter, Jenny, by her current beau, physicist Peter Slater--who's struggling to formulate a new approach to quantum theory. Anne-Marie's problem is that Carlos isn't actually Charlie's son but her brother Alain's, the result of a savage rape. A dealer in ancient artifacts, Alain agrees to admit to Carlos's paternity, but in return Anne-Marie must inquire of the Cretan archaeologist and physicist Manolis Minakis the source of his stunning collection of Minoan artifacts. Surprisingly, Manolis opens up to Anne-Marie, telling her his complicated life story, even showing her the cave where he found the artifacts. Manolis also hints to Peter that he's found a way to reverse time in a small, limited way. After Manolis dies in the earthquake that seals the cave forever, Peter uses the old man's time-reversing device to reconstruct a picture of Manolis's mother- -and finally Anne-Marie understands the full Greek tragedy of Manolis's life and why he was so willing to help her. Impressive, low-key, resonant, with a fascinating Cretan backdrop and life-sized characters: Preuss's best outing so far. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Secret Passages is the story of a revolutionary physics experiment, set against the colorful background of the island of Crete, legendary home of a great civilization whose buried treasures emerge to complicate the tale. Earthquakes, love, loss, and the mysterious history of the physicist Minakis make this a fascinating and enthralling novel.

FROM THE CRITICS

Locus

In Secret Passage Preuss has neatly combined a deeply moving love story, a powerful historical novel, a thoughtful examination of the loss of faith, and a fascinating novel of science in one package. It's an impressive feat.

VOYA - Vicky Burkholder

Historic Crete is the setting for this novel that combines archaeology, quantum physics, and philosophy. Manolis Minakis, a Greek physicist with an interest in the effects of time, is trying to get American theoretical physicist Peter Slater to join him in his research. Rather than try to persuade Slater with money, Minakis sets up an elaborate scheme that lures Peter and his wife, Ann-Marie, to Greece, and he agrees to let Ann-Marie, a magazine photographer, do a story on him and his history. Blackmailed by her brother, an illegal dealer in antiquities, into finding Minakis's cache of priceless Minoan artifacts, Ann-Marie follows Minakis to Crete, leaving Peter behind in Athens, for reasons that are not altogether clear. When Minakis learns that Ann-Marie is being blackmailed, he helps her thwart her brother's plans. She comes to admire Minakis, and when an earthquake leaves him near death, Ann-Marie agrees to bring Peter to Minakis's side. Peter arrives and Minakis gives him the keys to the laboratory, then dies when an aftershock buries him. Taking up Minakis's experiments, Peter retrodevelops old negatives to show that Ann-Marie is the twin of Minakis's mother at fourteen. This story goes nowhere after that, leaving a lot of loose ends. The writing here is technically excellent, earning the book a 4Q. However, dry lectures in philosophy and quantum physics make it at times difficult to read. The first actual science fiction does not show up until page 300, with the rest of the book-about ninety percent-concerning Minakis's history and archaeological digs in Crete. If YAs want a fairly interesting novel about Crete in the period from 1920 to 1945, this might be the one; but if they are looking for a good science fiction novel, keep looking. VOYA Codes: 4Q 2P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Kirkus Reviews

Contemporary science fictiontinged novel featuring some of the characters from Broken Symmetries (1983), thankfully without that yarn's overwrought melodrama. Following an acrimonious divorce, Anne-Marie Brand finds that her ex, Charlie, has gained custody of their son Carlos; she has a daughter, Jenny, by her current beau, physicist Peter Slater—who's struggling to formulate a new approach to quantum theory. Anne-Marie's problem is that Carlos isn't actually Charlie's son but her brother Alain's, the result of a savage rape. A dealer in ancient artifacts, Alain agrees to admit to Carlos's paternity, but in return Anne-Marie must inquire of the Cretan archaeologist and physicist Manolis Minakis the source of his stunning collection of Minoan artifacts. Surprisingly, Manolis opens up to Anne-Marie, telling her his complicated life story, even showing her the cave where he found the artifacts. Manolis also hints to Peter that he's found a way to reverse time in a small, limited way. After Manolis dies in the earthquake that seals the cave forever, Peter uses the old man's time-reversing device to reconstruct a picture of Manolis's mother—and finally Anne-Marie understands the full Greek tragedy of Manolis's life and why he was so willing to help her. Impressive, low-key, resonant, with a fascinating Cretan backdrop and life-sized characters: Preuss's best outing so far.