An entertaining science fiction novel.
Humanity's first extra-solar system mission is in progress. Woken up by the advanced ship's AI, Maggie, Captain Ridgeway takes on board a bit of alien tech - to be examined, reverse-engineered, and returned to Earth. What they learn about the device changes the trajectory of space exploration and human technology.
Plenty of adventure, action, some good and well-placed humour, and decent characters. I enjoyed this.
Recommended if you like your sci-fi with a dose of levity and plenty of exploration.

It’s a galaxy-spanning tale of first contact, where the human crew of the Magellan (a brilliant character in her own right) stumble across a mysterious alien artefect sitting perfectly still in deep space.

And nothing sits perfectly still in space.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s great fun, with a cracking plot and some great characters, with shades of Douglas Adams, John Scalzi and more than a sprinking of Becky Chambers’ Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. And those are three of my favourite things.

The ensemble cast is great, with a lovely line in witty wisecracks. The plot bounces around the galaxy, but works well. My only slight criticism is that everyone conveniently speaks English (as it’s so easy to learn!) but that’s a minor niggle and easily put to one side when you’re having this much fun.

Gate Crashers by Patrick S.Tomlinson

The Magellan or ‘Maggie’ is Earth’s first vessel to travel deep out of our solar system. It’s taken decades for them to reach this far, every year out another sacrifice for its captain and crew who will not see their families alive again. The only real time constant they have is a method of communication with Earth that is so advanced, it’s almost beyond their understanding. But otherwise Captain Allison Ridgeway and her crew are on their own. And then they discover the artefact fixed in space. It’s clearly non-human. It has unintelligible inscriptions on it. It’s just what the crew of Maggie has been after – the answer to that question asked by the people of Earth since time began: Are we alone in space? No, we’re not. Oh dear.

The technology of the artefact is extraordinary and, when Earth hears about it, the powers that be want to understand it, to recreate it, to make it their own. And so another vessel joins Maggie, this time using alien technology to reach the Maggie almost at once. As new and old spacefaring technology collide and they all finally realise the significance of this enigmatic, powerful artefact, survival becomes paramount. It appears that Earth has rather annoyed the creators of the artefact, it’s trodden on some toes and kicked off a rumpus that could have catastrophic consequences. The people of Earth might mean well but perhaps the rest of the universe can’t be bothered.

The premise of Gate Crashers is so fantastic, I couldn’t wait to read it. It fully delivers. I love a space romp with mysterious artefacts, even more so when they bring about that first contact with enigmatic aliens. But what makes Gate Crashers unusual and particularly successful is that here we have a science fiction novel that is full of humour and actually makes me laugh. This is really unusual! I’m a huge fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy novels and any attempt at humour in space since then has fallen flat for me. Gate Crashers clearly has the feel of a homage to Hitchhiker’s, while also going for the fans of the genial and wonderfully easy going spacefaring novels by Becky Chambers, but it also works in its own right. There are plenty of jokes here aimed at those who’ve read a lot of science fiction but, more than that, Gate Crashers is such an entertaining and warm space adventure with moments in it that made me roar with laughter.

The characters are fantastic, whether they’re human or not. Gung-ho Maximus Tiberius isn’t somebody you’d forget in a hurry, however much you might try, while the efforts of ‘Maggie’ to fit in with her crew are poignantly entertaining. It’s just as well that the aliens are in two or three or four minds over what to do with these humans. I really enjoyed the first contact element of the novel, especially when we realise what a bad job the humans are making of it. But the aliens we encounter here are an entertaining mix of species, all with their own issues and concerns, and some downright horrible and frightening. Suddenly the universe feels very big indeed.

There might be humour here but there’s also action and drama and the moments after the artefact is brought inside the Magellan are particularly tense. This is hugely exciting and it becomes even more so when we discover the meaning of the artefact. I think my jaw may have dropped.

Gate Crashers is a hugely entertaining space romp! It’s undoubtedly well-written and witty with some laugh out loud moments to treasure. Humans might be flawed but they’re not the only ones and so the result is a warm, humorous and thrilling look at what might lie in store for mankind once it breaks free of the solar system. I can’t wait!

The nitty-gritty: Full of humor and heart, this first contact, galaxy-busting story is a ton of fun.

I’ll admit I said “yes” to a review copy of Gate Crashers because of the title, and I ended up enjoying it because of the  hysterical humor, the unexpectedly enjoyable hard science elements, and some very human and heartwarming moments between humans and aliens. Although I did have some issues with the length and pacing of the story, which I’ll dive into later in this review, I ended up with a huge smile on my face at the end. For readers who love humor of the “stand-up” variety and enjoy keen observations of the human condition woven into an action-packed narrative, you’ll probably really enjoy this book.

The story focuses on four different groups of people scattered throughout the universe: Captain Allison Ridgeway and her crew aboard the Magellan, a deep space vessel on a long mission of exploration; a crack scientist on Earth named Felix who is about to make some startling discoveries; a more or less peaceful alien race called Lividites, who must take drugs in order to feel any emotions, and another, more aggressive group of aliens called the Turemok, who have established a sort of “no fly” zone around Earth to deter other aliens from invading their atmosphere.

When the story begins, Allison is woken from stasis when the crew member on guard spots a strange artifact in space that isn’t moving. Much like Captain Picard from Star Trek: the Next Generation, Allison instructs her crew to bring the artifact on board for further observation. Once they determine that the object is alien in nature, the crew of the Magellan begins a collaboration with gravity propulsion expert Felix Fletcher back on Earth, who has been tasked with reverse engineering the artifact so that it can be studied. This is achieved by a fascinating invention called a Quantum Entanglement Radio, or “QER” for short, which allows instantaneous communication between Earth and a vessel many light years away in space.

But unbeknownst to Captain Ridgeway and her crew, the aliens who placed the mysterious artifact in space have discovered its theft have started tracking and following the Magellan. And they aren’t the only ones in the galaxy who have noticed the humans’ bumbling attempts at space exploration. As the Magellan races toward home, and the team on Earth attempts to figure out its secrets, a clash of species in space seems imminent.

I have to admit, Gate Crashers made me laugh out loud quite a few times while I was reading, which is admittedly hard to do. I tend to be very picky about my humor, and even though there is a fair amount of low-brow humor that typically makes me groan—and by low-brow I mean penis jokes, people—most of the humor worked really well. The subject matter of aliens and first contact alone has plenty of potential for well done humor, and Tomlinson doesn’t shy away from inserting jokes about the Roswell alien landing and poking fun of pop culture. One of my favorites was a book that Allison used as a reference guide called First Contact for Dummies. The author also shines a sarcastic light on our current political and social climate by creating a group of highly intelligent animals who have formed an organization called the Association for the Advancement of Non-Human Persons, which includes such creatures as elephants, chimpanzees, and dolphins. And of course there are plenty of opportunities for funny misunderstandings between different species who are coming together for the first time.

As for the characters, D’armic was probably my favorite. The Lividites are unique because they need to take drugs to feel emotions, which they do in certain situations. (Also, side note: every time I read the name “D’armic” I flashed back to the STtNG episode called Darmok. I’m not sure if the author intended his name as a tribute to that iconic  Star Trek episode, but if so it really worked for me!) The Lividites also have the appearance of the typical alien whose image has been fed to us through countless movies and TV shows, the tall, thin grey creature with huge eyes. That appearance also worked well when the explanation for Roswell comes up.

Gate Crashers really took off for me starting about midway through the story, but up until that point it felt a bit slow to get going. There is a lot that needs to be explained in the beginning, as Tomlinson sets up his vast world. Not only are there four main POVs to contend with, each set in a different place in the universe, but there is the stretch of time involved from start to finish that tripped me up a few times. Because the concepts that the author is dealing with are complex scientific advancements that take years to develop and perfect, there are some odd time leaps between chapters that felt abrupt and confusing. For example, a chapter might end with Felix discovering the purpose of the alien artifact, but when the next chapter starts, we’ve jumped forward several years, skipping over the mundane parts of the scientific process so that Tomlinson can get to the action. Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciated these leaps to some extent, but it didn’t feel quite as organic as it should have. Also, the main characters never seem to change at all from year to year, and it would have been more realistic to see some kind of shift in their lives, a change in their relationships, or even new characters coming into the story, things that happen naturally when you’re talking about a span of ten years or so.

The last few chapters give us the epic space battle that the author has been hinting at, although it’s wrapped up a bit quickly for my tastes. However, the ending was perfect. Tomlinson gives us a feel-good emotional moment between Allison and D’armic that had me grinning from ear to ear. Despite a few pacing glitches, I had so much fun with Gate Crashers.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.