The Navigators

by Dan Alatorre

A time travel adventure. SOME SECRETS AREN'T MEANT TO BE KNOWN! A freak landslide at a remote mine site uncovers a strange machine to a group of paleontology grad students. Wary of corrupt school officials, team leader Barry takes the machine home to study it in secret, reaching only one realistic, and unbelievable, conclusion: it was designed to bridge the time-space continuum. It’s a time machine. Testing delivers disastrous results, sending one team member to the hospital and nearly killing another. When word leaks about the discovery, the ultimate power struggle ensues: the university wants it for funding, the power company wants its energy regenerating abilities kept under wraps, and a rival group wants to steal it for themselves. No one cares if Barry's team comes out alive. Fleeing for their lives, the students must fight the school, the police, and each other if they want to learn the truth about what they've discovered, a truth with more severe consequences than any of them can predict.
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Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Time Travel, Amazon, Adventure

480 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2016

About the author

USA Today bestselling author Dan Alatorre has published more than 50 titles and is read in over a dozen languages around the world.

His fast-paced thrillers have gripped readers all over the globe, notably his USA Today bestseller The Gamma Sequence, a medical thriller series, his successful murder mystery Double Blind series, and more. Readers can't put his books down.

Dan resides in the Tampa area with his wife and daughter.

Check out his Readers Club at DanAlatorre.com and find out about new releases before anyone else!

Double Blind, a murder mystery thriller series
- Double Blind
- Primary Target
- Third Degree
- Fourth Estate
- Five Sparrows
- Six Sisters
- Seventh Avenue, coming soon

The Gamma Sequence, a medical thriller series
- The Gamma Sequence
- Rogue Elements
- Terminal Sequence
- The Keepers
- Dark Hour

Jett Thacker mysteries, a murder mystery series
- Tiffany Lynn Is Missing
- Killer In The Dark
- Definition Of A Murder, coming soon

Horror Anthology series:
- Dark Passages
- Dark Voodoo
- Dark Intent
- Dark Thoughts
- Shadowland
- Wings & Fire
- Spellbound
- Nightmareland
- Dark Visions
- The Box Under The Bed

Paranormal Thriller/Horror:
- A Place Of Shadows

Sci Fi Time Travel Adventure:
- The Navigators

Comedy Romance:
- The Italian Assistant

And many more!

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I am not even going to play around with building suspense, I just out and out loved this book. Melissa was a fun character that was right in the middle of things, keeping it flowing. Barry an over the top male and I loved him for it. He was reckless and more than a little self-serving but darned if he wasn't fun to have around. Peeky was a favorite he was brainy and I just liked him a lot. I was so excited to read this because I love time travel, I love an archaeological dig and I love paleontologists. So we had the trifecta of interests in one unbelievably good book.

There is also so much humor and intelligence in this story. I found myself laughing at their funny friendships. One of my favorite characters was the doctor. I am not going to say any more about him, except that I liked his style. There was also plenty of danger. There were enemies and dangers and conspiracies.

I read this book slower than I normally read because I wanted to enjoy the characters and their interactions. I found them all so unique and interesting. I also loved the scene settings later in the book. I hope you take a look at this book. It really has so much to offer the reader.

[John Winston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a mega-surprise, and not your typical time travel story. Dan Alatorre gives us a treat, complete with great writing, memorable characters, awesome suspense, and the best part is that The Navigators is completely unpredictable. Oh, and ... it's funny, too!!! My 14-year-old daughter is going to love to get her hands on this one, highly recommended.

[Jeff Cochrane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on the book. Interesting premise but the characters were too busy squabbling among themselves to move the story along. It’s not a good sign when you don’t care about any of the characters in the story.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't a time travel story. This is a story about grad students fighting for the rights to their work which just happens to involve a time machine.

[Audrey Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a great story that made me laugh, cry, and made me mad. It's a story about five college students who find a time machine and chaos follows. There are a lot of twists and turns in this book that keep you reading and wanting to know what's going to happen next. The doctor in this book was a great character to add to the story. He made me laugh. The ending, though, had me saying, "Wait, what? It was definitely worth reading.

[Marissa Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dan Alatorre claims to write “unputdownable” books and he’s 100% right! This book had action and adventure as well as relationships and characters I truly care about. I loved the mix of points of view and how the twists and turns were revealed to us as readers. I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of sci fi and mystery! Time to read more of his books now!

[Robbie Cheadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book of The Navigators by Dan Alatorre. The reader had a pleasant voice and well paced reading style and this added to my enjoyment of this book.

The books starts off with lots of excitement when a group of paleontology students (4 males and 1 female) decide to set off to investigate a remote mine and see if they can unearth any unusual finds. The decision is fraught with anxious debate as it is an unusual, and potentially dangerous, time of year to set off on a dig. During the summer the site of the mine is extraordinarily hot and prone to unexpected and torrential downpours. The lure of turning up something special as a result of shifts in the soil at that time of year overcomes good sense and the group sets off on an adventure.

Two of the students uncover a strange machine and cause a landslide while trying to dislodge it. One of the students is injured quite badly but the group decides to try to recover the machine and then take him back to the hospital on the university campus. They manage to pull the machine out of the mud and load it into their vehicle. They store it at one of their own apartments instead of turning it over to the university to investigate. The group is desperate to discover the secrets of the machine and believe it will be taken from them as soon as the university becomes aware of its existence.

An unfortunate decision to involve a third party in determining the purpose of the machine and how it works sets the group, and other interested parties, down the treacherous path of greed, corruption and deception.

The Navigators is well-written and exciting. The plot is interesting and full of action. There is more to this book than initially meets the eye. There is a fascinating sub-plot of friendship, teamwork and learning to overcome disappointments in the present and the past. The twists and turns in this sub-plot, which spill over into the main story, are unexpected and keep you on the edge of your seat. The author also has a unique and compelling view point on time travel which really made me think.

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Navigators by Dan Alatorre
Not so sure I'm going to like this being that it's a sci-fic and time travel but will give it a chance.
Starts out where the group decide on the dig they will go to. Once there it's hot and they find themselves in a serious medical emergency because of a machine they found...
Like the adventure and action and bit of romance but the sci fic stuff is not something I totally believe in but makes the story...
Made it til the time travel, swearing present also. Not my cup of tea.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest review.

[Jeanne Johnston · Rating 1 out of 5]

It may be that my last book was so outstanding, the bar was just too high for this to compare. Almost from the start, I hated the idiocy, the lack of self control (really, you can't wait an hour for a group consensus before fucking things up for everyone? What kinds of scientists are these people?), the overabundance of arsehole villains, the betrayal of "friends," and especially the wonky way the story jumped POV the whole way through. I must have told myself to bail halfway through every chapter but was thwarted by my OCD and need to finish damned near everything.

[Karen M. Kebrdle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Scooby Doo without Scooby

I expected more time travel and science fiction. What one can expect is a never ending story which was like reading a Scooby Doo comic. Too bad I got 80% through before I quit.

[Roland Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing opening chapter propelled me into the lives of Barry’s group of palaeontology students in Dan Alatorre's The Navigators. The characterisation built my interest and quickly established the personalities and group conflicts – conflicts that cleverly fed the plot.

These conflicts emerged in such human ways, that I sensed that everyone should watch out – as the blurb implies. Everyone was creating situations that could have those ‘severe consequences’. As the plotlines unravelled, I was telling the characters to watch out – to no avail. Would I have listened? Not when I was their age.

Their reactions were believable. Plus some good observations on the paradoxes of time and the tough choices it poses. In The Navigators’, time travel tests everyone and loyalties are stretched by the discovery of the machine.

I kept asking questions – some of which the friends forgot to ask:
Who do you trust? What are other people's motivations? What is the way out of this situation?

Maybe not the answers that Dan Alatorre came up with, but they worked and I had to keep reading. I expected some comeuppance but I was ready to be surprised as the intentions came unravelled. That’s life.

As with the best books, there were some good morals in the story, such as – lying is never the best answer; shortcuts rarely work (even with a time machine); beauty is more than looks. The latter prompted me to highlight the following dialogue:

“… ‘A beautiful woman’s breasts will eventually sag and her hair will turn gray. What will you be married to then? If you choose wisely, you will be married to a beautiful personality and a curious mind that loves your children and who would do anything for you.’ That is true beauty.”

And where better to put the punchline – at the very end. Now that makes me grin and recommend this novel.

Story – five stars
Setting/World-building – five stars
Structure – five stars
Readability – five stars
Editing – five stars
Style – five stars

[Linda McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Navigators


From page 1, Alatorre intrigued me; in all the following pages, he mesmerized me and compelled me to keep reading.
“What would you do with a time machine?” College grad paleontologists dig up just such a machine and, one by one, they can’t resist taking a ride. The results are nasty, nearly fatal. Even so, temptation overcomes the danger.
The book also explores the very real, ferocious battles faced by paleontologists and archaeologists for ownership of their discoveries. Scientists, colleges, landowners, corporations and even the federal government get tangled up in espionage, with lots of lawyers thrown in. Nefarious elements try to flat-out steal artifacts.
The suspenseful plot twists around the motivations of human nature, the supernatural ability to transcend time, a blooming romance, and the desperate lies and greed in the fast-moving ownership face-off. The team needs to evade all of dangerous people to stay alive.
Mr. Alatorre has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His imagination astounds me, with each book different and original. His thorough research is obvious in the myriad of details that build the story. The characters are believable, the heroes very likable and the villains despicable.
The ending of this book is bittersweet yet satisfying. I loved every well-crafted word!

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair, Interesting Tale .. but, a Bit Amateurish in Plot

The Author misses a few basics when trying to deal with a complicated subject like Time Travel. For instance, a weak explanation is offered that “Hey, maybe this machine is just a Viewer — not something that transports you.” — Yeah, well, then explain the test they ran for a simple 5-min jump backwards (I don’t want to give away the results — just pointing out they missed something REALLY obvious.) There was a subsequent test which injured someone, but then The Author never, ever refers to this again (except in trying to get treatment for the injured person).

So, the real question is WHY does The Author totally skip out on ACTIVELY using the Time Machine?!? Seems to me it’s use would immediately fit in with The Author’s plot, and help resolve A BUNCH of problems The Author threw into the story — especially with the introduction of a jerk of a Computer Scientist, who’s viciously out-to-get “the others” (don’t try to make any mature sense of this — just roll with it and give The Author the latitude he needs for his story).

The Author has a beginning and end to this book, but the middle guts of the story are where he gives up on the SciFi aspects and just drones on and on and on about the story’s characters — not the plot.

[J.A. Alexsoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Navigators will pull you in and won’t let go. Unlike many time travel stories, this book revolves around the machine in the modern day, and not as much actual time traveling. But, don’t let this fool you. This is a real page turner.

There are a few jumps made with the machine, which are interesting in themselves, but Dan Alatorre did a splendid job throwing the readers into the lives of five archeological grad students. He gives you a desire to continue reading, from their adventures finding, experimenting with, and trying to keep the machine safe, to the intricate relationship between the students. The Navigators had me hooked.

There is some coarse language and implied sexual content, but I was too engrossed in the story to be bothered by it. Some could even say that it keeps the characters real.

I recommend The Navigators to anyone who loves a good time machine adventure, filled with humor, twists, and revelations that will keep you on your toes. Try the sample chapters, you just might get pulled into a great read.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be a really exciting, interesting story. Mr. Alatorre has become a favourite author of mine, every one of his books that I have read, have kept my attention from the beginning. This story was very different from the others I have read as it has to do with time travel, but the imagination of the author is very creative. In this story the main characters are a group of college students that are on summer break but looking for something to do that would give them some extra credits. I enjoyed every one of them they are all very different in background and personality. There are many of the things I enjoy in a great book, suspense, action and romance. When adults get into the mix it just ups the ante on all the excitement. I think this is a great story that any age would enjoy and I totally recommend it.
I received a free download of this book from the publisher. This review is my own honest opinion.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Click to purchase your own copy

Pretty decent story. I can't say I agree in the least how the characters handled the time machine, but to each his own I suppose. I think it could have been a much better story, but it's done well enough as is. If you're a time travel fan, you may not like this one, since that entire part of the story was glossed over for the most part. I was seriously expecting that to be a major part of the story, but other than a few minor references, with most of a chapter dedicated to one of the trips, there really wasn't a whole hill of beans when it comes to the time travel part of the story, which was disappointing to say the least.
I think with a few more time trips, and more intelligent handling of the machine itself, this story could have been fantastic. It's certainly not a bad story, I just think it left most of it's potential hanging.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual way of using a time machine story

This was an interesting story with unusual characters. Instead of being a true time-traveling tale, it is more like "Button button who's got the button". Only this time the button is a time machine. This is really a story about chasing a time machine down to try to recapture it as it travels, not through time, but from person to person. It did have quirks in the story though. If the military ever found out about a true time machine it would have been secured and protected a hundred times better than the president. If the kids were thinking right they would have gone back to the day they found it and convinced themselves to do things differently. But I really read books to enjoy them, not to pick them apart. Overlook a few things and just enjoy the book!!

[David Berger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy a clever, on non typical Time Travel story

This one dealt more with the relationships between college age adults, that in what happened during time travel.
It was fun, and kept my interest til the end. I did not care for generalized stereotypes within the characters, nothing racial or gender specific. But stories that enable the suspension of disbelief typically reveal characters with both good and bad in them. The yin/yang of good and bad within individuals was evident in some, but not all characters. I won’t spoil the story with examples.
It’s a fun summer getaway read.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second read/listen from author Dan Alatorre. I don't restrict myself to a particular genre. I'm a sucker for anything with memorable characters and a story that keeps me guessing and a plot that keeps me turning the page. and this book did! Narrarator Vivien Swain’s narration added greatly to the book’s enjoyment. *Spoiler* The open ending of the book leaves it open to a sequel. I was given an Audible copy of this book & am voluntarily reviewing it. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018).

[William C. Prows · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review is 4 stars based upon my preference for more Speculative fiction. The setting was possibly 80% contemporary. The ventures into the past were kept my attention and the last trip had some moral value to me that was meaningful. The story was well written, no blatant spelling or grammatical errors taking attention away from the flow of the story or characters. I would have liked to see the action more centered on the travels – "navigation" if you will – of the characters through their experiences in the past, Like Melissa’s and less on the “crime spree.”

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this one at first. It started out slow, but it soon hooked me and I had to keep going to find out what scrape happened next to the kids who made the initial discovery.
With a hacker who downloaded their computers illegally trying to blackmail them, a shaky dean, a greedy company, and theor own desires to check the machine out, things get hectic and heated. Is a happy ending possible for anyone? Read and find out. And by the way, it's not "ridden them" when you get rid of someone, it's "RIDDED them.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it.
The Hardy Boys (I really wanted to say the Scooby gang, but this is not a ghost story) meet Professor Langston.
The science fiction was a simple backdrop to an great action/adventure/conspiracy/romance novel.
Dan writes for a young adult audience, but has at least one scene that will appeal to the next generation.
He does not spent enough time fleshing out the antagonists, and there are several, or this would have made five stars.

[James Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

review of "The Navigators" by Dan Alarorre

I found this to be a very interesting novel a little bit of a slow start but it didn't take me long to get totally immersed in the story line and very interesting characters it also showed an ugly side of humanity when people don't always get what they want The ending was a surprise well written

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Holy cow was this book good!

Great book! Action, suspense, science and humor, this book has it all. I was up way late because I HAD to find out what was going to happen next. I really really really hope there's going to be a book 2

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good story from a fresh perspective, quite enjoyable. My only major complaint is that the lawyer's college educated daughter defines burglary and robbery pretty much backwards and you think she'd know better.

[Erik Deckers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping there would be more time travel involved. I also thought people accepted the idea of a time machine to easily and without any proof or demonstrations. And how did the students still end up with the machine at the end? Why didn’t the government just confiscate it?

[Ciayrra The Scorpion Flower · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a pretty slow read at the beginning, but then towards the middle it got very interesting. The best thing about this story is time travel, it is always cool! It has tons of action as well so that’s why I kept reading.

[Mark Whalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Navigating time

I loved reading this story about a group of college students who, while on a fossil dig, uncover what turns out to be a time travel machine. They have many misadventures learning how it works.

[Barbara Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid read

I found myself wanting to get back to my book, to read more, to see what happened next. The characters were believable and likeable or not. I appreciated the good morals of the story like giving people second chances.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic journey

This is a great book. Explores morals, ethics, delimmas, greed, and humans...all in an enjoyable novel. Truly a great read and not what you expect...great plot twists.