This is a bonkers books including some major non-human companions. You might think it's a book with some cute animal sidekicks. But in the case of Road to Roswell, it's an alien that looks like a tumbleweed.

While the book definitely science fiction, it's also got a hefty helping of romance, including a Vegas marriage of convenience, some hidden identity angst, a road trip, and even an appropriately ridiculous final reveal about that MOC.

Willis often peppers her books with classic Hollywood references, and Roswell is no different. Here, the tumbleweed alien (Indy) gathers (or rather, abducts) a ragtag group of travelers while he tries to complete a quest that none of them can grasp. It's part "Arrival," part western stagecoach character study, part screwball comedy with a dash of romance, but mostly nonstop action from the moment Francie tries to help her friend get ready for her Roswell-themed wedding.

If you already like Connie Willis, you'll probably like what you find here! If you don't, we'd recommend starting with To Say Nothing of the Dog or Crosstalk for a similar SF/Romance mashup.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

The Road to Roswell
A Novel
by Connie Willis

What at delightful Sci-fi romp author Connie Willis takes us on. This is an alien invasion story with a little touch of romance that explores and explains most of the alien conspiracy theories out there.

A great book to escape into!


Thank-you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#TheRoadtoRoswell #NetGalley

Ahoy there me mateys!  I didn't read the blurb because the cover says it all.  Awesome author and aliens.  Yup.  Beam me up.  This had such a fantastic fabulous beginning.  It made me laugh.  Francie doesn't believe in aliens until getting abducted by one! Francie, the main character, was a hoot.  So was the rest of the gang that ends up involuntarily joining her.  This is a cute, fluffy feel-good story.  It is a first-contact story with a side of romance and a dash of western and sci-fi movies.  I didn't get all the references but was certainly entertained by those I did recognize.  It was a fast, if somewhat rambling, read that made me smile.  I am glad to have read it.  Arrr!

This goofy alien abduction/road trip/semi-romance novel harkens back to a cross between a 1940s romantic comedy and the Marx Brothers cabin scene from A Night at the Opera! Francie is going to Roswell with mixed feelings: is she going to be her best friend’s maid of honor, or will she stop the bride from making a terrible mistake? Roswell’s annual alien festival is in full swing when Francie goes on an errand and is abducted by a very strange alien with demands that it cannot communicate very well. What follows is a zany zigzagging trek in the New Mexican desert. The alien and Francie kidnap more passengers: a handsome, laconic stranger, a conspiracy theorist aficionado, a senior citizen gambler and a retired RV driver with a great rig. All become embroiled in trying to discover the intent of the alien and how to help/thwart him. If there is such a thing as a “beach read” alien/romance/western road trip novel this is it. Recommended for those who want humor, slyness, and a dollop of romcom with science fiction light. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

The Road to Roswell has been difficult for me to review because while I enjoyed it when I was reading it, I had to remind myself to pick it back up. I expected to love it, and I feel like I’m being unfair to the book when I complain that I only liked it. Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing of the Dog is one of my all time favorite books, and Roswell has some similarities. In both books, people are trying to find something and they aren’t entirely sure it’s findable. Some of the characters are obstacles because they have a very specific world view. And both books have some characters who are trying to do the right thing, even if it means breaking the rules that usually govern their behavior.

Level-headed Francie and quick on his feet Wade are rational problem solvers in an extremely unusual situation. They are helped and hindered by people who see the world through their own distinctive lens. When Francie was trying to bring attention to the fact that she had been KIDNAPPED by an ALIEN, she was either dismissed as a nut, or dismissed because her experience didn’t match the true believers’ preconceptions. Francie spends a lot of the book being frustrated by people who won’t listen, or who won’t communicate honestly. Along the way, the alien they have named Indy pulls in other people (literally).

I think where The Road to Roswell got stuck in “like not love” territory is that one of the secondary characters irritated everyone, including me and the way Indy learned to speak English was more annoying than charming. The things I didn’t like are my personal issues, and not broader issues with the book.

CW: abduction, alien abduction, conspiracy theorists, running from the law, interrogation.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Random House Publishing and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

3.5 stars rounded up. A solid addition to Willis' body of work even if it doesn't live up to the expectations of it being her first novel in 7 years.

The Road to Roswell contains Connie Willis' signature charms. There were a few minor spots that took me out of the book. For example (very minor plot spoilers) when an alien from another planet cannot comprehend that people are able to put on different clothes and that is not the same as peeling our skin off. There are some ways to rationalize these instances but each time it crops up it is distracting. But when picking up a Willis I am not going into it for hard SF and adherence to a rigid system. What I expect is stories about characters who are bold in the face of trials, cutesy romance subplots, and a heartwarming ending. And comedy. You can never forget the addition of warm comedy with her. And this was ultimately a quintessential Connie Willis novel.

The specific story here is about Francie, who flies into Roswell to attend her best friend's wedding, and hopefully, break it up before it begins. Almost as soon as she arrives she is abducted by an alien that resembles a tumbleweed and forced to chauffer it around. They race all across the southwestern deserts of America looking for, well for what Francie doesn't really know. During their quest for the book's McGuffin, they pick up a band of merry misfits. This book is also saturated with Western movie lore. It's a fitting sepia-toned backdrop as they search endlessly and learn a bit more about each other, and the abducting alien itself.

Connie Willis is an author I adore. I would recommend everyone give her reading a try, though I would not say to start with this novel. Checkout Doomsday Book, or To Say Nothing of the Dog for her best work.

Note: I received an eARC of The Road to Roswell from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved many of the author's books, but this one was slow and unsatisfying for me. I'm not a fan of alien encounter works or those that make fun of alien believers. Perhaps the setting and satire would sit better with someone who was.

I enjoyed the mix of characters, although my two concerns may seem contradictory. The first is that everyone seems to become fast friends awfully quickly, particularly once the human kidnap victims start identifying with their alien captor. The second is that I wished the book was shorter, as parts seemed redundant. And yet, I wanted more space to develop some of the secondary characters, which were one-dimensional, based around a particular quirk without much more to define them.

Overall, this was a misfire for me. Hard to get into and hard to recall enjoyable details now that I've finished.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for access to this arc.

YES YES YES I adore this book. Aliens, found family, an RV – ooops SORRY SORRY SORRY, western trail wagon – UFO nuts, and best friend’s sacred duty adds up to a wonderful time. Who knew old Western movies could help with intergalactic communication? I’m “mighty grateful, ma’am” that they did. And I love Indy!

Francie and her college roommate Serena are best friends which explains why Francie is willing to be there for Serena’s wedding in Roswell during a UFO festival. Serena’s fiancé is a true believer. Things get snarled as Francie arrives, drives down to Roswell, then gets kidnapped. By an alien. YES YES YES. Francie gets dissed by the Roswell PD when she tries to call for help but she manages to leave a message for an FBI agent friend of the fiancé – not that anyone comes to Francie’s aid. When a hitchhiker almost jumps in the path of her car, Francie has no choice but to stop and just like that, Wade gets added to the abduction. Soon Lyle (also a true UFO believer), Eula Mae (who knows a lot about gambling), and Joseph (Western movie fan and owner of the RV – NO NO NO, it’s a western trail wagon) – are along for the ride. But what is the alien doing, where is he taking them, and why?

There is not a character in this book I didn’t enjoy. OK, Lyle is a bit fixated on being probed by aliens and can get hysterical at times but even he’s basically harmless. For most of the story, and much like the abductees, I had no idea what was happening. Why does Indy (Francie has a reason for calling the alien this) sit outside for hours at a time and then direct whoever is driving whatever vehicle all over the place? Does Indy really understand what the humans are saying? Is his taste in clothing so awful that he actually likes the neon green (it has pockets, too!) bridesmaid dress Francie is wearing? Why does he freak out when he sees images of Monument Valley? And why is Wade so sure that sweet Eula Mae will be able, at a casino, to turn their small cash stake into enough money to buy food for the group?

I was delighted that maps – real, honest to God paper maps – were vital to the story as well. Yeah, if you don’t have a phone then all the GPS in the world won’t do squat for you. Sure I wanted Francie and the gang to have an immediate breakthrough in communications with Indy but the way it actually happens was inventive and since I love a lot of the movies quoted and mentioned in the story, I was fine with it. Then watching how this method of communication was taken intergalactic had me in stitches. The core values of so many westerns, the Code of the West, was the basis of the book: trust your Pardner, extend hospitality to strangers, honor your word, be there for a friend who needs you.

This is, honestly, a bit of a silly, frothy book. Much of the time, the characters are aimlessly driving around trying to get Indy somewhere to do something which language communication issues keep the humans from understanding. I desperately wanted Indy to get what he needed, the twist on the aliens is heartfelt, and instalove is all over romance so why not toss it in here? Another review I read mentions that the end has a sort of deus ex machina tone to it and I can’t disagree with this. The romance, while I’m all for it, is sudden although the Vegas wedding is a scream. But … but I still had so much fun reading it. If Earth ever does get invaded by aliens, I hope they’re like Indy and his people. B+

The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis is a very highly recommended, hilarious science fiction novel. This delightfully entertaining novel has it all: aliens, a hideous bridesmaid's dress, movie talk - science fiction and westerns, rattlesnakes, conspiracy theories, men-in-black, and a hint of romance.

Francie owes her college roommate so it is her duty to show up in Roswell, New Mexico, and be a bridesmaid for Serena's wedding to a true UFO believer during the annual UFO Festival. Much to her shock and surprise, Francie is abducted by a real alien when she goes out to Serena's car to get the decorative fairy lights for the wedding. Her abductor doesn't look like any alien she has heard about. It resembles a tumbleweed with lightning-fast tentacles and is forcing her to drive it out of town.

Francie is not the only abductee of the alien who is quickly given the name of Indie after Indiana Jones for his fast-moving tentacles. Wade, a hitchhiking con man is pulled into the car. Additional abductees who are pulled along include Lyle, a true UFO believer, Eula Mae, a gambling retiree, and Joseph, a fan of classic Western movies. They soon come to believe that they need to help Indie accomplish something, but what?

I laughed my way through this charming, humorous novel and was completely captivated by all the elements Willis included in the fast-paced plot. First, it was the awful neon green, glow-in-the-dark bridesmaid dress. Then it was all the references to science fiction movie plots and later Westerns. Adding to the engrossing story is the divergent cast of characters, the comedic dialogue between them, and the unique alien.

It's hard to explain fully why I loved this lighthearted, comical caper so much. The diverse cast of characters certainly added a comedic depth to the narrative and to the entertaining plot. Francie is a wonderful character, both compassionate and rational while in the midst of an absurd situation. This is an absolutely perfect, wildly entertaining summer read. One of the most entertaining books of the year and I absolutely very highly recommend reading The Road to Roswell.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Del Rey via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

2.75 stars

This was exactly what you'd expect; just cheesy, crazy alien antics. It wasn't anything insane, but just funny enough to make it a fun read. Especially if you are or ever have been an alien believer.

The Road to Roswell is set to be published on June 27, 2023. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley and the author for the digital advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Well, it was definitely interesting. I honestly don’t know what to say haha! I’ve been to Roswell, I love aliens and this was fun!

Published by ‎ Del Rey on June 27, 2023

Connie Willis’ time travel novels are some of the funniest — and remarkably insightful — works in the field of science fiction. In The Road to Roswell, she brings her sense of humor to a First Contact story, while goofing on people who attend UFO conventions with the absolute certainty that aliens walk among us, or are about to invade us, or at least make regular appearances to abduct us for a fun day of anal probing.

Francie Driscoll hasn’t taken much of an interest in UFO sightings. She’s invited to be the maid of honor for her former college roommate, Serena, who is getting married in Roswell during a UFO convention. A High Priest in the Church of Galactic Truth is presiding. The wedding was planned by Serena’s fiancé, a nutcase who takes UFO conspiracy theories way too seriously. This is not the first nutcase to whom Serena has been engaged. Francie believes it is her duty as a loyal friend to talk her down from her insanity.

As a Connie Willis fan might anticipate, Francie is abducted by an alien as she is retrieving wedding decorations from Serena’s car. She is thoroughly pissed off to learn that alien abductions are a real thing, upending her commitment to rational thought.

The alien resembles a tumbleweed but has remarkably strong and stretchy tentacles. She tries to report the abduction to the local police but they’ve had their fill of alien abductions. She manages to leave a message with an FBI agent who was invited to the wedding before the alien hurls her phone into the desert. She eventually names the alien Indy, after Indiana Jones (the tentacles remind her of whips).

Indy has Francie drive in multiple, seemingly random directions. A hitchhiker named Wade who stands in the middle of the road to make her stop is also abducted. Wade tells Francie that he’s a con man who on his way to Roswell to sell alien abduction insurance policies.

Indy decides they need a bigger vehicle so he abducts the driver of an RV (he calls the RV his Chuck Wagon). They add an elderly woman who is gambling at a casino and a UFO enthusiast named Lyle who believes every conceivable conspiracy theory about aliens, most of which he has drawn from science fiction movies.

Over time, all the abductees but Lyle become more curious than frightened, as Indy doesn’t seem to intend them any harm. They eventually become protective of Indy. Lyle, on the other hand, is convinced that Indy is the vanguard of an invasion force and is taking them to be anally probed.

Indy seems to understand Francie but can’t communicate with her until he learns to match written with spoken language. His English lessons consist of (1) pointing at road signs until someone reads them aloud and (2) watching westerns with the closed caption activated. The Chuck Wagon owner has pretty much every western worth watching. Indy comes to understand certain human concepts, including duty and friendship and loyalty, by watching westerns. On the other hand, he freaks out whenever Monument Valley appears, as it often does in westerns (regardless of where they are set).

The plot follows Francie as she attempts to understand Indy’s purpose for abducting her. He wants to go somewhere, but where and why are a mystery, as is his fear of Monument Valley. Indy is a decent little alien, if a bit annoying and demanding in the way a 5-year-old tends to be. The RV owner and the gambler have interesting personalities, while Lyle is the dolt you would expect a conspiracy theorist to be. Wade behaves mysteriously for much of the novel until Willis reveals his secret.

The story is cute. All its mysteries are neatly resolved in the last act. Willis doesn’t deliver the kind of rolling-on-the-floor laugher that she elicits with her best novels, but the plot and characters are consistently amusing. Willis adds a bit of romance with an ultimate “meet cute” that might be just a little too sappy, but romcom fans will be pleased. I wouldn’t be surprised if Netflix amps up the romance and turns The Road to Roswell into the movie. For the rest of us, the novel’s mockery of Las Vegas and UFO conspiracies, along with its reverence for classic westerns, is enough to make the novel worthwhile.

RECOMMENDED

Well this was a surprise. I'm not a science fiction fan (really) but this is less science fiction and more road trip with an alien that's sort of like a tumbleweed who is searching for.....no one's sure for a long time. Francie is in Roswell for her BFF's Serena's wedding when she finds herself pulled into and tied to the steering wheel of the Navigator she went to get lights from. Next thing she knows, she's driving around the desert and then stops to pick up Wade, who claims to be a con man in town to sell insurance policies for alien abduction. And then they drive around the desert for gas and get the lazy Lyle and off again until they stop at a Casino and pick up their next passenger, Eula Mae a senior citizen who is a card shark. And then they steal an RV with a Western loving owner (which has the benefit of an on board bathroom, shower, and food). And all of this while they (mostly Francie but also Wade) try to comunicate with the alien Wade has named Indy. This goes a little flat at times with the repeated efforts to communicate (I didn't really understand the tentacle thing and honestly, why did they think he would understand a map written in English) but it sparkles in others. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. What's in Wade's tote? Where does Indy want to go, and why? No spoilers from me.

Genre: science fiction, western, comedy
Roswell, New Mexico

Francie promised her best friend Serena she’d be there for her wedding, even if that wedding is to a UFO chaser who insists on having their wedding on the anniversary of the First Crash. A few transportation mixups later, Francie thinks she’s set for the weirdest weekend… and then she gets abducted by an alien which at best description resembles a tentacled tumbleweed. Francie’s abductor, nicknamed Indy (like Indiana Jones, for reasons), picks up a motley cast of characters, and on their wild road trip in stolen RV, Francie starts to wonder if he’s in trouble rather than acting maliciously.

To set a little tone for you, first consider the opposite of Doomsday Book or Blackout by Connie Willis. Now take the movie Arrival and mix it with the Crashdown Cafe of the TV show Roswell, every single weird Western, road trip, and alien movie you can think of, up the frenetic energy, and you have this book. It’s likely the zaniest and most bonkers book I’ve read this year (which in this year is saying something).

And yet, it works. It’s filled with some of the silliest science fiction alien crash landing tropes - from conspiracy theorist Lyle to conman Wade selling abduction insurance to Eula May and her gambling addiction. It’s also a marriage of convenience and road trip romance, for anyone keeping track of the romance tropes at home.

The pacing is a little odd, but I find that to be the case with many of Connie Willis’s books, and it settles in fairly quickly. By the last 25% of the book, I was laughing nonstop at the antics of what can best be described as a Screwball Close Encounter.

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a lighthearted and completely bonkers road trip story. While I read this as an eARC, I have high hopes that this would be the perfect road trip audiobook!

I hate to say it, but this book is kinda bad. Its ceiling seems to be "light-hearted but somewhat forgettable sci-fi alien romp" (akin to John Scalzi's <i>Agent to the Stars</i>), which is perfectly fine, but it's full of one-note (and frankly annoying) characters and the speed with which our main couple of characters jump from "oh no, this alien is abducting me!" to "BY GOD I WILL DIE FOR MY NEW BEST FRIEND, THIS ALIEN" is head-spinning. Top it off with a conclusion that made me pine for the excellent first-contact-linguistics of <i>Arrival</i> and a romance subplot that I never once cared about and you get a pretty disappointing effort from an author I've loved elsewhere.

In typical Willis style, this is a sweet and entertaining romp. One alien and four humans zigzag across the American West, trying to figure out how to get where they need to go to help the alien find his people and get home. Along the way, there's Las Vegas, gambling, terrible truck-stop fashion, lots and lots of Westerns, conspiracy theories, real Men In Black, and love. It's a delightful read, even if the bits where everyone is locked up by the MIB is a little overlong.

DNF at around 25% - between this and having only an okay time with Crosstalk earlier in the year, Connie Willis' style may just not be my thing. Which is a shame - I think the general ideas behind the plots of her books are fun, but there's a general circular nature to her writing - characters discuss the same things over and over and over again, seventeen subplots are constantly spinning and need to be resolved, etc. - that just irritates me at the back of my brain until I can't really take it and either speed through the back part of the book (as with Crosstalk) or completely tap out (like with this one). This is fun, but it needed an editor to shave off some of the Too Much going on that doesn't seem to have much to do with the main plot.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE - I want to live in this book.

When Francie is invited to her college roommate's wedding (to a UFO-nut) in Roswell, the last thing she expects is to be abducted by a real-life alien and end up in a cross-country road trip with a con-man, an old lady, a bonafide cowboy, and a UFO believer. But, that's exactly what happens. I can't tell you anymore, only that there's rattlesnakes, all-you-can-eat-buffets, and all kinds of love in this hilarious new novel.

While it is being listed as romantic comedy, don't let that dissuade you, if you don't read rom-com books. This is a sci-fi - comedy - adventure at its core. My one complaint about this book is I needed more! That ending? Come on. You're killing me, Connie.

Thank you so much to Del Rey Publishers & Net Galley for the e-ARC of this book! This book was my first Connie Willis read, but it certainly won't be my last. Can't wait for my pre-order to arrive!

This book was cute, but kind of ridiculous at the same time. I'm not usually a fan of science fiction/alien abduction literature, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give this book a chance. I enjoyed the main character and found her relatable and level-headed. My main gripe was the dialogue. It was a little over the top. I wanted more description of the plot to flesh out the secondary characters. I read like a Hollywood script than a novel.

Oh my goodness - this was a fun ride. If traveling in the desert SW, especially through New Mexico, you MUST cue this book up. I read a print version (thank you, NetGalley, for providing me an electronic ARC in exchange for a review), but the audio would be a perfect accompaniment for a road trip to Roswell and beyond.

Connie Willis creates an endearing and fun cast of characters in this hijinx-filled alien abduction/road trip adventure. And it is quite an adventure. This novel is just plain delightful. If you've had fun visiting Roswell, or if the UFO capital of the US is on your bucket list, then I predict you'll enjoy this book. I devoured it over a few days - I didn't want to put it down. And when I finished the book, I was smiling. What better endorsement is there than that?