What do you think?
Rate this book
Voyagers
Not yet published
Expected 16 Jun 26A story of fame, friendship and conspiracy, and the possibility of life beyond Earth
When the Signal – a mysterious transmission pulsing from the edge of the solar system – arrives, the world changes overnight. Planes are grounded, satellites fail, and speculation abounds. With many believing it could be first contact with extraterrestrial life, humanity holds its breath. But for Alex, a thirtysomething lawyer who’s spent years distancing himself from the unexplainable, the Signal feels deeply personal – the opening of an old wound.
Decades ago, Alex and a girl named Ana both vanished for thirty-six hours while on vacation in Palm Springs. When they returned, dazed but unharmed, the six-year-olds' account of the experience had all the hallmarks of an alien abduction. The media frenzy that followed made them famous, and the long months of child stardom, of talk shows and sitcom cameos, forged a seemingly unbreakable bond between them – until the mystery behind their disappearance began to tear them apart.
Now, with the world on edge and the Signal growing stronger, Alex is drawn back to the one person who might have answers. Ana – now a professional advocate for experiencers of extraterrestrial contact – is leading a retreat near Palm Springs, a stone's throw from the site of their childhood disappearance. As the former best friends tentatively reunite, what starts as a quest to confront the reality of their original experience becomes a larger reckoning with friendship, faith, family, and truth itself – what it means to see the stories we tell ourselves for what they really are.
With the imaginative soul and propulsive storytelling of Station Eleven and The Ministry of Time, Voyagers is a profoundly human, thrillingly original and brilliantly ambitious literary debut about friendship at the end of the world.
When the Signal – a mysterious transmission pulsing from the edge of the solar system – arrives, the world changes overnight. Planes are grounded, satellites fail, and speculation abounds. With many believing it could be first contact with extraterrestrial life, humanity holds its breath. But for Alex, a thirtysomething lawyer who’s spent years distancing himself from the unexplainable, the Signal feels deeply personal – the opening of an old wound.
Decades ago, Alex and a girl named Ana both vanished for thirty-six hours while on vacation in Palm Springs. When they returned, dazed but unharmed, the six-year-olds' account of the experience had all the hallmarks of an alien abduction. The media frenzy that followed made them famous, and the long months of child stardom, of talk shows and sitcom cameos, forged a seemingly unbreakable bond between them – until the mystery behind their disappearance began to tear them apart.
Now, with the world on edge and the Signal growing stronger, Alex is drawn back to the one person who might have answers. Ana – now a professional advocate for experiencers of extraterrestrial contact – is leading a retreat near Palm Springs, a stone's throw from the site of their childhood disappearance. As the former best friends tentatively reunite, what starts as a quest to confront the reality of their original experience becomes a larger reckoning with friendship, faith, family, and truth itself – what it means to see the stories we tell ourselves for what they really are.
With the imaginative soul and propulsive storytelling of Station Eleven and The Ministry of Time, Voyagers is a profoundly human, thrillingly original and brilliantly ambitious literary debut about friendship at the end of the world.
320 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication June 16, 2026
6 people are currently reading
3175 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Read
March 11, 2026this was just okay
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher; all opinions are my own.
The story is told from the perspective of a man who disappeared for 36 hours in the desert when he was 6, along with another 6-year-old, and neither of them has any memory of what happened. Now, 28 years later, a weird signal originating from far out in the solar system starts fucking with all kinds of technology and GPS on Earth which starts to send people into panic mode, and he has to navigate that while trying to learn more about his past through a series of events. The main plot is interwoven with entire chapters from earlier in his life, which gives context but also allows us to better understand why he's made the decisions he has, what he's learned, and how we reconcile the stories we tell ourselves with facts that can say something different.
This book is primarily an exploration of relationships, both between people and between us and the truth. It questions what truth really is, if we can trust our memories; if they even matter, or simply the way we *feel* about something we believe happened? Does the origin of a relationship ultimately determine the strength of its bond? How do we maintain those bonds over great distances and lengths of time, and what makes each one different? The speculative aspect definitely lends an extra layer of intrigue - are the aliens real, or are they not? The book asks you that almost right up until the very end.
I thought the author did an excellent job with these characters, and they are the core and foundation of the entire story. Fully half of the book is taking you through various moments in their lives, how they connect to each other, and how it's all synced up to bring them to this moment; there's so much detail you can forget you're reading about fictional people. I found the writing incredibly insightful, and I did want to find out the answer to the main mystery of the book (what happened to them when they were young, and is it connected to what is happening now) - though it is very much about the journey and not the destination with this story. It is much more literary than speculative, though I think fans of both will enjoy it.
The story is told from the perspective of a man who disappeared for 36 hours in the desert when he was 6, along with another 6-year-old, and neither of them has any memory of what happened. Now, 28 years later, a weird signal originating from far out in the solar system starts fucking with all kinds of technology and GPS on Earth which starts to send people into panic mode, and he has to navigate that while trying to learn more about his past through a series of events. The main plot is interwoven with entire chapters from earlier in his life, which gives context but also allows us to better understand why he's made the decisions he has, what he's learned, and how we reconcile the stories we tell ourselves with facts that can say something different.
This book is primarily an exploration of relationships, both between people and between us and the truth. It questions what truth really is, if we can trust our memories; if they even matter, or simply the way we *feel* about something we believe happened? Does the origin of a relationship ultimately determine the strength of its bond? How do we maintain those bonds over great distances and lengths of time, and what makes each one different? The speculative aspect definitely lends an extra layer of intrigue - are the aliens real, or are they not? The book asks you that almost right up until the very end.
I thought the author did an excellent job with these characters, and they are the core and foundation of the entire story. Fully half of the book is taking you through various moments in their lives, how they connect to each other, and how it's all synced up to bring them to this moment; there's so much detail you can forget you're reading about fictional people. I found the writing incredibly insightful, and I did want to find out the answer to the main mystery of the book (what happened to them when they were young, and is it connected to what is happening now) - though it is very much about the journey and not the destination with this story. It is much more literary than speculative, though I think fans of both will enjoy it.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Alex and Ana are six years old when they are abducted by aliens.
This supposed event completely shapes their lives. How do you define yourself when you are forever stuck in a strange infamy not of your choosing? Alex, now in his 30's, is a lawyer in New York City. Ana is a reality TV C-lister who now leads retreats for people who claim to have had alien encounters. Each is shaped by their experience, and are completely committed to a friendship forged by shared trauma.
So far so "normal", until the Signal arrives. The Signal is a radio disturbance of unknown origin that is causing global chaos, as countries blame each other for sabotage and the public begins to fear alien invasion and the end of the world.
This is a book about all these things, but mostly it is a book about friendship. I was completely taken by Ana and Alex's care for each other, and how it shapes their lives.
This book is full of twists and turns and surprises, but it is this representation of the power of friendship that cemented its place in my heart.
This supposed event completely shapes their lives. How do you define yourself when you are forever stuck in a strange infamy not of your choosing? Alex, now in his 30's, is a lawyer in New York City. Ana is a reality TV C-lister who now leads retreats for people who claim to have had alien encounters. Each is shaped by their experience, and are completely committed to a friendship forged by shared trauma.
So far so "normal", until the Signal arrives. The Signal is a radio disturbance of unknown origin that is causing global chaos, as countries blame each other for sabotage and the public begins to fear alien invasion and the end of the world.
This is a book about all these things, but mostly it is a book about friendship. I was completely taken by Ana and Alex's care for each other, and how it shapes their lives.
This book is full of twists and turns and surprises, but it is this representation of the power of friendship that cemented its place in my heart.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
SUCH a fun book!!
It critiques celebrity and how the media distorts stories, and creates their own narratives, how fickle these stories can be and the impact on the people they're about.
But it is also about friendship, about an aromantic love between a man and woman, who went missing when they were young children and are now revisiting their past with the fear of the Signal increases. At its core, this book is an analysis on the two main characters: Alex and Ana, and how their childhood impacted them and their friendship over the years.
The Sci-Fi elements to this book are so fun! It is quite ambiguous/speculative until near the end, and I think it's so good that way! It really has a great atmosphere of aliens and government conspiracies, especially in this day and age. It was really atmospheric and executed so well for a debut. The voice was so strong and established, and the characters felt SO real.
I thought it was brilliant!
It critiques celebrity and how the media distorts stories, and creates their own narratives, how fickle these stories can be and the impact on the people they're about.
But it is also about friendship, about an aromantic love between a man and woman, who went missing when they were young children and are now revisiting their past with the fear of the Signal increases. At its core, this book is an analysis on the two main characters: Alex and Ana, and how their childhood impacted them and their friendship over the years.
The Sci-Fi elements to this book are so fun! It is quite ambiguous/speculative until near the end, and I think it's so good that way! It really has a great atmosphere of aliens and government conspiracies, especially in this day and age. It was really atmospheric and executed so well for a debut. The voice was so strong and established, and the characters felt SO real.
I thought it was brilliant!
Read
January 22, 2026Looking forward to reading it.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Booklist review! I liked this a lot. Heartfelt and well-written. You don't see a lot of books with such deep friendship/aromantic relationships, and I liked the speculative twist.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I'm the author of this book but I'm rating on behalf of Allen, who gives it a 4.99.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews