The Wrong Stop

by Rex Burke

Ready for an adventure that’s out of this world?

Hutch has it all planned. College is out – backpacks ready for a summer train trip around the famous sights of Europe.

Sure, it means matching party animal, Sully, drink for drink, and dealing with conspiracy nut, Jed, who’s along for the ride. But it’s nothing that Hutch can’t handle – until they meet a mysterious stranger on the way to Berlin.

Faced with an extraordinary truth, they are drawn into a life-changing adventure – one that will have repercussions down the years.

Off the rails and on the run, they’re pursued from city to city by shadowy forces. In the end, there’s only one place left for them to go. And one chance to escape.

But as ancient secrets are uncovered, the next journey might just be a trip too far.

The Wrong Stop is ‘Starman’ meets ‘Paul’ in an irreverent, fast-paced SciFi caper that will keep you guessing until the end.

'Incredibly engaging banter with fun characters, and personality spilling off the page. It was the alien buddy road trip I didn't know I needed!' - Raquel Brown, RevPit Editor

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 12, 2024

About the author

Rex Burke is a SciFi writer based in North Yorkshire, UK.

When he was young, he read every one of those yellow-jacketed Victor Gollancz hardbacks in his local library. That feeling of out-of-this-world amazement never left him – and keeps him company as he writes his own SciFi adventures.

When he's not writing, he travels – one way or another, he'll get to the stars, even if it's just as stardust when his own story is done.

For a fantastic FREE prequel to the Odyssey Earth series ('First Date') not available anywhere else, sign up to his newsletter at http://subscribepage.io/GPiihl

Reviews

[Rebecca Crunden]

OH THIS WAS FUN! One of my favourite movies is Paul, and this feels like Paul’s British complement and it’s utterly well done and fun! We follow Hutch, Sully and Jed as they’re wrapping up their European beer tour via Interrail when they happen to sit down beside Vlak on the train and suddenly find themselves taking care of a confused, chip-loving, crash-landed, beer-allergic alien.

Everything about this was fun! I laughed at so many points. The friendship between the trio, Vlak’s confusion re: everything Earth-related, Jed’s obsession with YouTube conspiracies, Hutch’s utter exasperation, Sully’s optimism - it was all so well done!

I also really loved the final twist. I won’t give it away, but it made me so happy and was just perfect.

I can’t wait for Rex Burke’s next sci-fi adventure!

Thank you so much to the author for a paperback review copy!

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[KDS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic outing from one of the rising stars of light hearted British comic sci fi. This is a rail trip like no other, as three students - Sully, Hutch and Jed - decide to go on an all out bender throughout as many pubs in Europe as they can cram in and end up meeting someone very unexpected. Unless you're Jed - he was always expecting this to happen.

The unfolding premise is familiar to anyone who has watched a Simon Pegg/Nick Frost collaboration and it is almost entirely one long back and forth of banter filled dialogue from start to finish. If you thought the back and forth between Reeves and Jordan in the author's Odyssey Earth series was amusing, this cranks up the juvenility to eleven and will keep you laughing through every chapter (and in between with the brilliant X-Team). And every time you think you can't cringe or chuckle any more, there's always just something else that happens to make your mind boggle. And it might just involve a rogue selfie stick.

I loved the authenticity of the rail trip - clearly written with first hand knowledge (there's a particular museum I don't want to know more about it's existance mind you!). There's also plenty of the usual nods to pop culture as we have come to expect from Rex's writing - taking the mick out of everything from films to conspiracy theories- but as always it's the raw wit and heart warming nature of the people involved that are the hallmark of his story. It may be very silly at times, but with so much darkness and seriousness around us, stories such as this are the perfect tonic.

If you want something that blends the immature best of The World's End and Paul, the reluctant camaraderie from Red Dwarf and the light hearted fun of Hitchhiker's Guide- all thrown together with intelligence and warmth - then this is not so much "The Wrong Stop", as very much the right one.

[Jonathan Nevair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really hit the spot! Fast, fun, and funny light sci-fi done just right. THE WRONG STOP is a book I read like I eat a bag of cheeps [sic]. The story is built around solid and well-developed sci-fi tropes in an easy reading and entertaining writing voice, but with a unique twist. Burke is so good at infusing entertaining banter and cultural references into his books and this one really gets it right – every generation of reader will find themselves cackling and smiling at the numerous light-hearted and funny nods to pop culture. What made it shine even more, and added depth, was the premise and surrounding subplots that thickened the story’s soup. That, and the fact that the travel experience derives from firsthand author experience really brought out the charm (and for this reader, memories) of the friends, adventures, mishaps, and in THE WRONG STOP, extraordinary events, that happen on the road… wherever it leads. Highly rec!

Thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC.

[Esmay Rosalyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally published on Before We Go Blog

Part European interrail adventure, part first contact story, and part heist thriller, The Wrong Stop is a chaotic and hysterically funny sci-fi caper that is truly a disastrous trainwreck in the best way possible.

A slightly anxious control freak, a perpetually drunk party animal and an oddball conspiracy theorist are almost at the end of their hectic interrail trip through Europe when they see some strange flashing lights in the sky… or maybe they were just drunk. Soon after, they meet a very strange stranger on their train to Berlin who seems to have gotten off at the wrong stop, and of course these lovely British lads will play the hero and help this stranger out; none of them signed up for being chased across Europe by men in black and then getting roped into a dangerous museum heist to obtain an ancient alien artefact, but armed with their dry wit and wry humour, they will make the stars align for them.

So, did I devour this book or did it devour me? Right from the very first page, Burke’s sharp and witty prose just completely enchanted me, and I ended up blazing through this rollicking adventure in one day. While I was initially a bit nervous about the prospect of reading a story with three young (possibly hormonal) male British students as the protagonists, they all quickly captured my heart with their irresistible charm and tragically clashing personalities; how The Wrong Stop didn’t become one big frustrating testosterone bomb is truly beyond me, but hats off to Burke!

The authentic way that the chaos and stress of an interrail trip was captured and described honestly kept me in a chokehold, and then we are not even talking about the supernatural mayhem yet. There is no denying that some of the scenarios required some big suspension of disbelief, but the laid-back attitude of everyone (well, everyone except for our ‘anal spreadsheet monkey’ Hutch) in combination with the general irreverent tone of the story somehow just made it all work so well.

Honestly, The Wrong Stop is filled with some seriously good quintessentially British humour, and the effortlessly funny and quippy dialogue had me cackling more times than I’d like to admit. And as if the bizarre dynamic between Hutch, Sully and Jed wasn’t already entertaining enough as is, the addition of Vlak to their motley crew truly increased the tension and hilarity to unimaginable heights. The culture clashing and initial miscommunication resulted in so many tragically funny situations, and I just couldn’t stop turning the pages to discover how they were going to dig themselves out of the ever-deepening pit of chaos they have found themselves in.

Moreover, I really enjoyed the addition of some mixed media elements in the form of text messages and emails between people from the Bureau of External Visitor Incursions, or the ‘hunting party’, if you will. Amidst all the shits and giggles, Burke cleverly delivers some snarky social commentary and throws some amusing shade at the incompetency of government agencies, which added some surprising layers of depth to this delightful romp of a story.

Even though I usually prefer my stories to be a bit slower paced and to have a slightly more intimate style of narration, I fullly acknowledge that Burke nailed the execution of his vision for The Wrong Stop. Despite not being as deeply emotionally invested as I tend to prefer, I somehow couldn’t put the book down and every single shocking twist and turn still completely landed for me. Not to mention, the boldly unconventional and slightly bittersweet ending totally caught me off guard and left me with more questions than answers, but I think it was just the most perfectly imperfect way to wrap up this crazy adventure.

This was my first book by Burke, but I can safely say that it most definitely won’t be my last. The Wrong Stop is honestly the best type of summer popcorn read; it’s light-hearted and utterly bingeable, but it also packs a big punch and just has so much heart that you won’t soon forget it. Though, you better make sure that you have some free time when you start this book, because there are some conspiracies floating around that there’s alien magic in this book that makes it impossible to put it down… you have been warned!

Thank you to the author for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rex Burke writes SciFi the way it should be written: with humor, plot twists, and a believable and well-written story. Students Hutch, Sully, and Jed are Interailing round Europe (much to Sullys disappointment, as he wants to be in Ayia Napa), when there are unusual lights in the night sky. At least, Hutch thinks there were, because he was quite drunk at the time. And the next day, they meet a mysterious stranger. This is the start of a fabulous story, with shades of ET the movie, conspiracy theories, and a rollicking, amusing, and well thought out plot. The fact that I read it in under two days tells you that it's unputdownable. And although this is written as a stand-alone novel, I can see how it could become a series. Please Rex?

[Ven · Rating 4 out of 5]

So we hit my Third Burke book, and I sense a theme here, this was once again a really a fun read, the banter between the group of Uni students backpacking across Europe was fun and reminded me of when I was (much)younger, if considerably less cuss filled, and had some genuine laugh out load moments.
The basic premise is that an alien crashes on earth and needs to find mcguffin to get them home, and ends up with a, let's go with less than ideal, on the surface group helping them while various agencies try and track them down.
Cue some absurd escapes, alcohol induced situations and interesting decisions then throw in some brief commentary on the historic habit of the British museums light fingered tendencies for other people's things, and a moment at the end acknowledging the tendency of friends to drift apart as life gets it's hooks in no matter how close you are, just to add some balance to the shenanigans and you are left with a delight of novel.
If you are looking for a fun,breezy and genuinely amusing light sci-fi novel, then this may well be the one for you.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than I Expected

An oddly appealing storyline, set in a classic college summer style vacation trip with the sudden addition of an off-planet alien. Bits of back-and-forth with various “secret” agencies, and the eventual escape of the off world visitor. Ends on a positive note.

[Byron Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Fun. Like a coming of age movie from the 80's. Some references might not work for a younger reader. By younger I mean under 40.

[Jeanette Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three lads from a flat share are spending their summer on an interrail trip, drinking their way through Europe.

Jumping on the train to Berlin from the place of beer baths and massive hangovers, they join a stranger in the restaurant car. A strange stranger.

Arriving in Berlin, they decide to help the stranger to get to Athens on the evening train, meaning they have to spend the day together. Of course, that stranger does not make it to that train.
And now, the lads are chased by men in black suits.

They are embarking on a wild adventure from country to country trying to outmanoeuvre these scary men in black suits that are in tow. They have to figure out where to go as soon as possible to keep Vlak safe from getting probed. They are convinced there will be probing. Or at least Vlak is.

Hands down the funniest book I have read this year.😄

[Kate Sibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three British students and an alien meet on a train... It sounds like the start to a joke but it is actually the premise for The Wrong Stop. And while there is plenty of humour and wit on display, the Wrong Stop is anything but a joke. I have read some of the authors other works (I adored Orphan Planet), so was excited to offered an advance copy of this. This is another hit for me, as although it has a very different plot, the warmth and humour I felt from Orphan Planet is still there. The ability to draw you into the story is there.

The plot is simple - an alien crashes into Earth and needs to find an artefact to get home. Cue a race to get to the artefact before they are found by the extra-terrestrial version of the FBI. On their way, the alien is befriended by three British students who are interrailing their way around Europe. Add some high jinks, a lot of beer and some hefty sarcasm here and that is the plot to The Wrong Stop. While this is Sci-Fi, and very well written Sci-fi at that, don't go in expecting any hard science about... just about all of it. In fact, expect to see "It's complicated" at various points. If you are wanting hard Sci-Fi, this is not the book for you. If you are wanting a witty caper with teenagers and aliens, read on. I actually enjoyed it more like this and thought any additional hard science would have broken the flow and led to a very different book.

The characters are 3 very typical British teenage boys and an alien. It could be tricky to infuse this lot with anything but stereotype. While the stereotypes are there, the author has managed to make this lot feel real and authentic. Anyone sitting on a bus around a major town centre in the U.K. would not bat an eyelid at Hutch, Jed and Sully. Anyone living near an University probably sees someone like them every day. The banter is sharp. It's the Inbetweeners but with added alien. It is very British, very snarky and heavy with the sarcasm. It is my kind of humour. The alien is probably the least well developed character, I think, and there are some a bit too convenient moments (It's complicated!) but it didn't affect my enjoyment at all.

The Wrong Stop has a cosy feeling to it, even though much of it is spent charging across Europe being pursued by various government agencies. While this should make for a heart pounding thriller, we are treated to the trials of friendship and how to deal with that one exceptionally perky morning person that never seems to have a hangover. In that way, it's a little like A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, with a very similar humour and characterisation. I love Hitchhikers Guide and I love Rex Burke's writing, so I thought this was delightful. I had a great time reading it! Now, I just have to fight off the urge to bung some clothes in a rucksack and get on a train to Prague.

I received an advance review copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

[Zach Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic airplane reading. Top notch. I read this on my flight back from Christmas, and it is a loads-of-fun alien arrival story that takes you all around Europe with three college guys who were just planning on drinking when - naturally - things take a turn.

Reasons to read:

- Very funny. I laughed on my flight, drawing attention. Sully, Jed, and Vlak all have lines that are just absolute killers.

- You like history. No spoiling, but there's a good amount of fun details about history in this one.

- You like visiting places. The book takes you all around Europe, which was fun for me because I've never been, and it was neat to read a little about these places.

- You can read it on a flight, if you've got a decent one.

Reasons not to read:

- You want something serious. No fun allowed.

- You like the fictional science in your science fiction to be super explained. You want to know how the wormholes work. Fictional science that exists for the purpose of being very funny is a problem for you.

Read it!

[Sapphyre Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wrong Stop was a great comic sci fi read. It flowed really well and was an easy read.
Following Hutch, Sully, and Jed as they're on their return leg of a European trip between their 1st and 2nd year of uni. They meet an individual called Vlak who is not what they seem and subsequently involves them in an unexpected adventure.
I loved that there were also chapters which told you what was happening from the point of view of Vlak's pursuers.
All in all, I very much enjoyed this read and would recommend it to others.

[Regina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one word: FUN!

Oh, and there was beer (lots). And an alien (just the one - that I know of).
Was I entertained by this madcap adventure? Heck to the yeah! It was super easy to root for Hutch, Sully, and Jed - not your typical adventure heroes - to save the day and help get Vlak home.

More, please?

[David Bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable book. I do not normally finish books quickly but read this in 3 days. A good story that builds well and very funny. A good mix of characters in it as well, with a good twist at the end. I will certainly be reading more of Rex’s books.

[Maya Darjani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly, snarky adventure

Loved all of it. The banter, the wit, the 'Don't Panics'. A euro trip with a twist. Not one to miss

[Karl Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this author on Kindle Unlimited. Easy to read and a well written, imaginative story. A first contact story that is part "ET" and part "European Vacation", and a bit of a coming of age story.

[Ronit J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on SFFINSIDERS.COM

What really made me want to pick up this book was the nods to old—man, I feel like I’m getting old— movies like Euro Trip, Paul, and the likes. I really enjoyed these movies as a kid, and thought reading this book would be like a nice walk down nostalgia avenue.

To be entirely honest, it was. Right from the beginning with the three friends on a trip, I was transported back to my own college trips with friends. And this cozy feeling stays with you pretty much throughout the narrative. I think that’s primarily the reason I kept reading, because of the comfort this story brought.

The story is quite straightforward and simple. Three friends on a trip across Europe encounter an alien trying to get back home. A nice blend of teen comedies with sci-fi elements, The Wrong Stop does a lot of things right with its character moments and callbacks. You almost feel like a part of the group. Young and idiotic, but free-spirited, the adventure is something every teenager and young adult would have loved to embark on, and the author does a brilliant job of immersing you into that experience. Be it the bad puns and teasing, to college kids acting like college kids, Burke really nailed the dynamics with this one.

That being said, not everything is perfect with the book. As much as I loved how the secret service’s scenes were handled, I found them rather lackluster. SPOILERS: We never really see any of the scenes, instead experiencing them through one-sided text messages, emails, and ‘formal communication’. While this was novel and neat in the beginning, it lost its charm halfway through the novel. The physical detachment from this arc of the plot ended up taking away from the main plot’s urgency and stakes. Speaking of, these stakes are relatively low to begin with, given how a lot of the conflicts that arise in the main plot get resolved with little effort. It can be comforting, but at times can feel unearned.

I really enjoyed the ending. SPOILERS: I thought I wouldn’t like it when there’s a thirty-year time jump in the last chapter, but it actually served as a nice epilogue to the characters we spent all this time with. This is exactly the kind of happy ending you want from a buddy sci-fi comedy, and I was left with a smile and a warm feeling when I finally closed the book.

The Wrong Stop doesn’t try to break the mold, but embraces it in favor of crafting a comforting experience that fans of sci-fi comedies will love to read. Despite a few flaws, it delivers on its promise of a buddy sci-fi comedy that pays homage to a lot of our favorite comedies from the 90s and the early 2000s.

TL;DR:
WHAT I LIKED: Character moments between the main cast, comforting read with homages to many of my favorite comedies.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE: The B plot with the Secret Service, lack of stakes or effort needed to solve problems.

[Paul Eastley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three young guys with euro rail passes out to have a great time and drinking too much beer and backpacking. What could go wrong? They're going to meet someone who'll totally change their way of thinking which will turn their lives upside down. I had quite a few "Laugh Out Loud" moments reading this little gem and I loved it. I'd give it ten stars If I could.

[Vinay Badri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Euro Trip meets Super 8 meets Another Round in this fun-packed drunken romp through Europe

The Wrong Stop is a book that promises tons of fun and over-delivers significantly. It takes on the alien landing on Earth among friendly faces trope in the form of a boozy romp through Europe. I am thankful to Rex Burke for providing the ARC to this immensely enjoyable book


A perpetually sozzled party animal, a conspiracy theory-loving wacko and an anal spreadsheet monkey (in the words of the conspiracy theorist) walk into a train - If that sounds like the set-up for a punchline, the punchline is pretty much this immensely entertaining book. On this train, this disparate group encounters this universe-hopping alien who is forced to crash-land on Earth. Hijinx ensues as the party of 3 does not fully realize who their new companion is until it is too late and then decide to help the alien get back home. All this even as several government agencies are hot on the trail of the alien – and are conveniently sent the wrong way.

“Humans are born with a blood alcohol content (BAC) deficiency of 0.05% and that being at 0.05% makes one more creative and relaxed” - Another Round, 2020

The result is a wildly hilarious jaunt through Europe intimately culminating in London. While the story is nothing new, it is the treatment of the story that makes it worthwhile. The difference in nature of the group makes each one’s interaction with the alien entity and the reactions to their situation quite funny. Further hilarity ensues as the alien’s perception differs quite significantly from the trio’s, whether it relates to the nature of family, time, and sex. There is also a fabulously well-timed joke on aliens and probing. The differences related to time also play a role in the search for a historical object which it certainly is not

"How many Earthlings does it take to change a diode in a ship’s surge protector”

“I don’t know, how many?”

“Only one, if you insert the probe correctly”

The author packs some stinging satire on the nature of government agencies, especially the blundering American ones. As the group reaches London, British Museums get added to the target list as things head towards a tense and funny climax – just not tense in the way you would expect it to be

“Because British gentleman used to go abroad and take things that didn’t belong to them”

Which brings me to the slightly contentious nature of the climax itself. In a way, it’s a muted climax with an interesting choice thrown in. In some remote corner of my brain, this came up as a cop-out to where the entire story was heading – like the entire book was rooted in a kind of suspended absurdism and this ending introduced a sobering amount of reality to things. That was possibly the only discordant note in this whole funky pop song of an escapist novel.

“What’s most likely? That Vlak here is an alien? Or that a hot girl has wanted to hang out with the three of us”

The Wrong Stop is just the perfect kind of book that you need to have a good time. I hadn’t counted on finishing the book this quickly – in fact, I think I procrastinated and wrote this review in possibly more time than finishing Wrong Stop would take. In fact, I would proclaim The Wrong Stop as the ender of reading slumps – this is just the perfect book for it.

Rating – 3.5 Lost Aliens on 5

[FantasyBookNerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three university students, Hutch, Sully and Jed embark on trip across Europe by Train. What can go wrong? Especially when you throw three different personalities in the confined space of a train carriage. Firstly, there’s Hutch, a lover of order and spreadsheets! Then there’s Sully, a lover of Chaos and anything that has alcohol in it. And finally, there’s Jed! A lover of pockets and conspiracy theories.

When the group bump into a bloke on the train who has a penchant for chips, they find out he’s got off at the wrong stop, and much to Hutch’s reservations, Sullly takes the stranger under his wing. However, nobody was expecting what they found and ultimately how much trouble it would get them into.

The story is told from three different perspectives, firstly there’s the group of lads (and I mean that in the most laddish sense), then the other two points of view come from the Bureau of External Visitor Incursions (or Bevi for short). Firstly, there’s the bureau itself who send emails to each other, and then there’s the operatives who we see the replies to the texts they send.

The book is very reminiscent of the great British comedies that I grew up with, and whilst there is that modern British banter humour that you see with the likes of Pegg and Frost, or in Red Dwarf, the book also put me in mind of other great British comedies like That Riviera Touch. It’s that same kind of aesthetic, a group of bumbling idiots get thrown in at the deep end and bumble their way through the situation.

The Wrong Stop is very fast paced, and I have to admit, this was one of those books that I started, and before I knew it I had finished. I chuckled my way through, right to the end, especially with the different mediums, emails, texts and quick-witted banter. The book was such an easy read that much like the trains that the story is based on, the pages flew by as quickly as the miles across the continent.

It was an absolute joy to read.

[Palmer Pickering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having traveled extensively across Europe on Eurail/Interrail passes, and having always wondered about extraterrestrial life, I was primed for this book. What took me pleasantly by surprise was the witty banter and laugh-out-loud moments.

The trio of traveler types are well-known to me: the one who wants to stop at every museum (me), the one who wants to stop at every pub (you know who you are), and the one who is intrigued by the magical possibilities of every ancient stone megalith and artifact (also me).

The author captured the impulsive and haphazard way of traveling by this method. What city shall we go to tomorrow? Let's take the overnight train and hope we get our own compartment. Being woken in the middle of the night to produce passports and tickets.

Add to this the intrigue of an alien encounter, and the story quickly goes off the rails in a flurry of fun and adventure. Our trio must help their new "friend" find their way back to their planet, and it's one hilarious scene after another, from the MIB American special agents, to the chasing down of an ancient artifact. All good fun, with lots of twists and turns and entertaining dialog.

The other "characters" are the secret governmental alien-hunting agencies trying to track down the origin of an alien crash site, adding to the story the frantic suspense of a chase. The comms style used here is fun and adds another angle and source of tension to this wild ride.

Part caper, part heist, part first-encounter story, it's all fun. The story also includes an undercurrent of character growth and depth as the three young men slowly get to know each other and themselves, in a coming-of-age, found family vibe that adds a note of seriousness into an otherwise lighthearted romp.

Highly recommended for a quick, lighthearted read with British humor and a trio of young men who are thrust into a crazy situation.

[S. Bavey · Rating 5 out of 5]

“That’s the point of interrailing, isn’t it? Go new places. Meet interesting new people.”

The Wrong Stop is a hilarious first contact story featuring a cast of unlikely drunken British students on an extended pub crawl through Europe and an incognito humanoid alien they meet on a train. The alien has become stranded on Earth and there follows a breakneck chase across Europe led by the Bureau of External Visitor Incursions (BEVI) who are racing to be first to find the alien before any other country. The chase culminates in a nailbiting museum heist as the unlikely group tries to locate an ancient artifact which will aid their new friend’s journey home.
The author draws from his extensive European train travel experience to include real hidden gems along the journey as a backdrop to the bones of this story of unlikely friendship and a feeling of “you can do anything if you only try”.
The laddish characters of Sully, Jed and Hutch are fun to get to know through their witty banter and each is ridiculous in their own way. I particularly enjoyed Jed’s “travel trousers” with their multiple pockets:

“Jed reckoned that a backpack would hurt his shoulders, and that the pocket-shorts were a genius method of packing. Consequently, he only carried a small daypack and had everything else stored in one of his many zipped and buttoned pockets – toothbrush, wet wipes, headphones, boxer shorts, you name it.”

Filled with plenty of wry humour and laddish banter, with many laugh out loud moments, this light-hearted story will resonate with fans of witty repartee, silly escapades, or anyone who went Interrailing during a gap year.

[Valerie Poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fourth of Rex Burke's SciFi books I've read and it was every bit as entertaining and compelling as the others. Unlike them, however, The Wrong Stop is not set in space or another universe, but in Europe with trains as the means of travel rather than rockets. That said, the plot is a hundred-percent science fiction adventure involving a trio of good-time seeking students whose encounter on a train with an unexpected fellow traveller leads them on a journey that's both an escape story and a heroic quest.

I loved the comic interaction between Sully, Jed and Hutch. The dialogue was just brilliant, being typical of guys that age as well as wittily original. I also really enjoyed their dawning realisation of the enormity of what they were involved in and the build-up to the nail-biting climax. This is another hugely enjoyable read from Rex Burke that will make you an instant fan if you aren't already. Very highly recommended.

[Jill Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished 'The Wrong Stop', having read and very much enjoyed Rex's 'Odyssey Earth' trilogy.

Rex's new novel did not disappoint! It's highly entertaining - amusing, clever and suitably tense in places. I loved the way he interwove the story of three students inter-railing round Europe and the account of the unexpected arrival of a UAP (Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) landing near Prague, where you can, apparently, sample a beer spa and visit a Sex Machines Museum (who knew?)

This is highly readable: a perfect summer read for sci-fi fans and others who enjoy a 'caper'.

Jill Berry

[Nick Snape · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the mood for something with a light-hearted, comic warmth with lashings of great prose? Look no further, for Rex Burke’s The Wrong Stop had me turning the pages with a smile throughout. On an alcohol fuelled bender around the cities of Europe, students Sully, Hutch and Jed end up slap bang in the middle of a hunt for an alien only to find … ah, that would be telling. Letting the alien out of the bag would simply spoil the surprises and the gentle humour that carries you along right up until the point you realise you finished the book in just a few days. A scifi caper, a feel-good book, enough said. Five stars.

[Leon Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three friends. One European pub crawl. Throw in an alien, some conspiracy theories, and a multi-national chase and you have one heck of a fun ride.

I like how each character brings something to the table so that you can’t imagine any of them being able to get through the challenges they face without each other.

There is a variety of ways the author presents the story, alternating between lines of back-and-forth dialogue with little description (not everything has to be detailed, people do just talk), one-sided text messages, and email correspondence.

Some of the humour is definitely regional, but other than that, it’s an entertaining read.

[Lisa Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy original, character-driven stories (with great characters), weird and wonderful twists, and sharp, witty dialogue: ‘God, this is like your dream date. An alien with a sense of humour, and the distinct possibility of a good probing later.’, then this new sci-fi book from Rex Burke is for you. If rockets and space aren't your thing, worry not; this new offering from the Burke pen is set firmly on Terra Firma, with trains as the main mode of transport. There's a daring heist, a beautiful alien and my favourite geek, ever. Me? I’d give it 10 stars if I could.

[Andy Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A SIMPLE MAN'S REVIEW:

Meh. A fun idea with mediocre elements just kind of leaves you feeling, meh.

The story is pretty straightforward: three college students meet an alien (disguised as a human) and help them get home while avoid the authorities. You get the typical setbacks, the usual questions about the alien answered with "it's complicated", and the standard ending.

All in all, meh.

[MaryAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun fast paced Sci fi caper.

What happens when three partying college friends who are traveling through Europe for the summer meet an alien who accidentally crash landed on earth and is trying to go home? Humorous with generous use of classic Sci fi tropes and social/cultural references. A light and quick read.

[Juanita G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! Finished this book in one day. Kept putting it down to get some things done and would find myself going right back to it. The characters are very interesting and quirky and will draw you right in. Quite an adventure you don't want to miss!!!