Gate Crashers

The Breach

by Patrick S. Tomlinson

On humanity’s first extra-solar mission, the exploration vessel Magellan discovers an alien construction. Deciding that finding advanced alien life is too important to ignore, the ship’s captain chooses to return to Earth while reverse engineering technology far beyond anything back home.

Meanwhile, at mission control, the governments struggle to keep the existence of aliens a secret while also combating bureaucracy, the military industrial complex, and everyone else who wants a piece of the science that could sky-rocket our species into a new technological golden age.

Little does everyone involved know that the bumbling of a few highly-evolved apes in space hasn’t gone unnoticed, and humanity has put itself on a collision course with a far wider, and potentially hostile, galaxy.

Because, in space, no one can see you screw up…

Genres: Science Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Comedy, Aliens

416 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2018

About the author

Patrick S. Tomlinson lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife, a menagerie of houseplants in varying levels of health, a Mustang, and a Triumph motorcycle bought specifically to embarrass and infuriate Harley riders. When not writing sci-fi and fantasy novels and short stories, Patrick is busy developing his other passion for writing and performing stand-up comedy in the Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago scenes.

Reviews

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2018/08/06/...

I loved this book! As someone who has lost track of the number of times I’ve been hoodwinked into reading so-called sci-fi comedy mashups à la Douglas Adams or Star Trek-like spoofs only to have them turn out to be cringeworthy juvenile attempts at humor, all I have to say is Gate Crashers is the real deal. Smart, funny, and creative, it elicited more than a few genuine belly laughs from me, and not a lot of books can do that.

Our story begins with humanity’s first extra-solar mission aboard the space exploration starship Magellan, the most advanced vessel of her kind. Carrying a crew in suspended animation, the ship AI, affectionately nicknamed Maggie, notices an anomaly on her sensors and wakes Captain Ridgeway from her stasis to inform her of the discovery. The anomaly turns out to be of alien origin, and Ridgeway, deeming this evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life too important to ignore, decides to load the artifact on board and report the find to Earth. Meanwhile, back at home, researchers, politicians, and the media are working themselves into a froth trying to understand and reconstruct the alien technology.

Eventually, the mysteries of the alien artifact are unlocked, changing the trajectory of human space travel and exploration forever. Within a relatively short time, a powerful warship, designed and built with a shiny new hyperspace drive, joins the Magellan in deep space, captained by the chauvinistic, cocky, and supremely vain Maximus Tiberius (with the inspiration for his character being immediately obvious). But humankind’s sudden leap forward in technology and knowledge has not gone unnoticed. It appears that Earth has upset the original creators of the alien artifact, who have been tracking Maggie’s movements ever since their property was stolen. The even greater threat, however, is a more aggressive alien species called the Turemok, who sees humanity’s first awkward baby steps at faster-than-light travel as an opportunity to frame Earth and start a galaxy-wide war.

Gate Crashers fully delivers on the promise of an entertaining and adventurous romp through space. My past experiences with books that have touted something similar, such as Steven Erikson’s Willful Child, Joe Zieja’s Mechanical Failure, or Catherynne M. Valente’s Space Opera, have mostly been enjoyable, but in my eyes, they all lacked something important: balance. Humor, especially parody, can be quite tricky. What I’ve learned is that the amount of silliness in a story is usually inversely proportional to the amount of depth you’ll find. Go overboard with the slapstick or toilet humor, and you also run the risk of turning off your readers looking for something less infantile.

Then, there’s personal taste. What one person laughs at might make someone else groan. Some readers prefer in-your-face jokes and gags, while others go for dry and subtle wit. Myself, I tend to gravitate towards the latter, with just a sprinkle of the former. But above all, I just want a worthwhile story. Gate Crashers is proof that a sci-fi comedy novel can be full of warmth, depth, and substance without sacrificing any of it for the humor. Here we have a full-flavored plot, despite many of the book’s elements being homages to popular science fiction motifs. Readers will be able to spot nods to everything from Star Trek to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, though the story of Gate Crashers also has enough originality to stand on its own.

I also loved the characters, even when it is clear some of them are light parodies of the genre. In humor, a lot of first contact stories depict humans as doltish and incompetent idiots who wind up embarrassing themselves on the galactic stage like some drunken uncle at a dinner party. With only a couple exceptions, Tomlinson’s portrayal of Ridgeway and her fellow space explorers aren’t anywhere near so extreme. There’s a difference between stupidity and ignorance; the humans in Gate Crashers might not know what they’re doing, but they have enough common sense to use what knowledge they have to do right by themselves and the aliens. While their bumbling attempts at space diplomacy might look foolish and absurd, the characters are genuinely full of heart and well-intentioned, qualities that make them very likeable. Everyone has a story (even the non-humans), demonstrating the author’s efforts in character development. Most of them are dealing with very relatable problems or internal conflicts. Even James Kirk—I mean, Maximus Tiberius is someone you will want to root for, as much as he makes you want to shake your head.

Perhaps what works most about Gate Crashers is that it could probably be categorized as full-on comedy, but general sci-fi readers can also enjoy it as an adventurous space opera with comedic elements. While books of this genre aren’t all that uncommon, I found the blend of humor and amount of substance behind the story to be just right, and for me to find something that strikes that perfect balance is very special and rare indeed. If you’re looking for a genuinely entertaining and clever sci-fi novel that will also leave you with a big smile on your face, Gate Crashers is your answer. Highly recommended.

[Patrick Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, sure, I'm biased. But I honestly love this book. It's my first. I started writing it in 2009. The version you'll end up reading next June 18th is the seventh or eighth rewrite. It's been a very long journey, and it almost stayed locked away in my trunk forever.

I'm seriously ecstatic about the opportunity Tor has given me to bring this book to you, and I hope you end up loving it as much as I do. Peace.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

An enjoyable read but let down by the silliness of the humour and basic scientific inaccuracies. The humour doesn't really work well when it's not from the characters and jars you out of the story.
The characters themselves never really get fleshed out as more are added to the main cast. There's even a walking stereotype/trope.

Edit: Changed rating to a 1 star because the author accused me of being a stalker.

[Doctor Science · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish, I found it too relentlessly twee. Also, though the author acknowledges he needed help to become less brocentric, it wasn't enough for me. Frinst, I was 1/3 of the way through and a main POV character's "young wife" still had no name. It's set in the future, yet women in politics change their last names with each marriage.

Mr Dr Science finished it, and found it adequately amusing in a Douglas Adams kind of way--and he doesn't care for Adams all that much.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hugely entertaining space romp! Witty with a few laugh outloud moments (and it isn't easy making me laugh with a book) and a great premise and bunch of characters. Clearly going for Becky Chambers' fans, it also has the feel of a homage to Hitchikers Guide. I certainly enjoyed it. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.

Incidentally, the Pb has about 400 pages (my proof had 414 pages).

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This first novel overcame a slow and uncertain start (to the point where I considered abandoning it), to a not-bad first third.... Then, about the time the human exploration starship Magellan deciphered a warning sign, 30 light-years out, that read “Human Wildlife Preserve. Keep Out!”, I was pretty well won over. Be aware that this one recycles just about every SF and space-opera trope and joke from the past half-century, many very well-worn indeed. And the rubber science strains WSOD to the breaking point. But hey! The author has read the classics, and steals from the best!

A real plot with some actual interest starts to emerge. There’s a Galactic Assembly out there, and the police force/army, a particularly bellicose race called the Turemok, are not welcoming the humans. But those plucky humans have a few things to show those proud Galactics! Stop me if you’ve seen this stuff before — but the book has a clunky charm that won me over. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Some highlights: Tiberius Maximus[!], Captain of Earth’s first interstellar warship, who we first meet at the Captain’s Mast bar in DC, with a girl under each arm.

Roswell, NM 1947: it turns out that an alien intern “borrowed” his boss’s saucer, to impress his date, and managed to run it into a weather balloon!

And the windup scene, with the Fate of Earth in the Balance, ends with a splendid 32.4 terawatt Bite into the Bad Guys. Pow!

[Judy Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It is a science fiction novel with enough humor included to give a lightness to the story for a nice change of pace in the genre. Some of the instant science was a little eyebrow lifting for me and the passage of time was uneven to the extent of making me go back to read some passages over; it wasn't me, it was the author. But, even with some problems I can say I enjoyed the book enough to have had some chuckles along with some hold-my-breath moments when the fate of planets was hanging in the balance.

The deep space ship Magellan has an AI called Maggie who stays on alert while her crew of 157 "peoplecicles" continue their cryosleep rotations. Maggie decided she must alert Captain Allison Ridgeway to the anomaly she has noticed. Ahead of the Magellan is an object in space that isn't moving; the readings would make you think it was a rock, but how did it get there without moving at all? Other members of the crew are awakened so the item can be observed. The next decision begins a chain of events which leads to the destruction of planets, the impending destruction of Earth and the interactions with multiple alien nations.

This book has just about every type of character you would want to meet in a slightly tongue-in-cheek science fiction novel. In fact, it would make a quite good television serial with the geeky science guy, the ultra-macho military guy, the strong-but-reasonable female captain of the exploration ship, the good alien and the really bad aliens plus all the important supporting cast. But there is actually some very good sounding science involved so it isn't all funny and light hearted. My favorite novels are mysteries and thrillers, but when the body count begins to get me down I want to spend time with something different. For me fantasy or science fiction is what I reach for. I'm very glad I went with science fiction this time because this novel gave me just the reading pleasure I was looking for.

[Kara Babcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space … the final frontier. Our mission … to boldly go … and steal aliens’ shit…. Gate Crashers is a fun romp, as you might say. Patrick S. Tomlinson writes characters with a combination of humility and hilarity, people who might seem a little larger than life but still all-too-human. This is the Brooklyn Nine-Nine of space opera comedies.

The human exploration vessel Magellan suspends its thirty light-year voyage when it encounters a mysterious device of alien origin. As its crew tries to unlock its secrets, they remain in instantaneous contact with people back on Earth—people who weren’t even born when they set out. Meanwhile, members of the coalition of alien species who left that device out there have noticed its absence and the human spaceship. And that might not be so good for humanity. But if you were expecting a dramatic, high-stakes thriller, you might need to re-calibrate. There are high stakes here, up to and including the survival of humanity—but there is also a lot of humour.

Tomlinson explicitly acknowledges the influence of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in his acknowledgements, and that’s very clear. I was also reminded a lot of John Scalzi’s writing, where the stakes are quite high, but the interactions among humans and aliens are also a little silly. If you’re a fan of some of Scalzi’s SF, you would probably enjoy the dynamic here in Gate Crashers.

The main plot takes a while to get started, in my opinion. It’s a while before the humans actually get to confront the aliens, and while there are some good moments beforehand as the tension builds, the book gets really good once the humans are in the thick of an intergalactic power gambit. There’s a great mixture of types of people on the human crew. From the over-the-top womanizer with a tactical mind to the female captain with a lot of gumption to the physicist-turned-hyperspace-tech from Luna with no practical experience, there is plenty of disagreement and reluctant compromises. This keeps things interesting even as we learn about the alien species humanity has come into contact/conflict with.

Sometimes Tomlinson’s exposition is too infodumpy for my tastes. In this he emulates Adams quite a bit, but where Adams writes with years of experience parodying bureaucracy in British sketch and television comedy, Tomlinson brings a history of stand-up to the table. This results in a slightly different style and tone, and that is by no means bad, but it doesn’t appeal to me quite as much. Or maybe it’s just that, after years of read and re-reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy so much my Trilogy in Four Parts omnibus’ dog ears have dog ears, nothing is as good as the original flavour. (I wholeheartedly agree with Tomlinson’s dismal opinion of the “sixth” book, may we never speak of it again.)

So I could do less with the descriptions of the Lividites’ emotional shortcomings and pharmacological solutions. Less with the discussions of the AESA administrator’s political misgivings. Still, these digressions aside, Gate Crashers is a remarkably straightforward and enjoyable story. The antagonists have clear motives beyond “humans must die”. The humans have a diverse range of viewpoints, from xenophobia to territorialism to curiosity and a spirit of exploration. The resolution to the plot is a little rushed, but on the whole, it’s an exciting enough book that I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.

So if you want science fiction that is funny, and original, then you can’t really go wrong with this.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light enough to float away like a child's birthday balloon, "Gate Crashers" is a pleasant first-contact diversion that tries very hard to be amusing, and succeeds often enough to make for a fun read.

The plot is simple: Spacefaring humans come across an alien artifact, and haul it away to investigate. Complications ensue (the aliens notice that the artifact is missing, to begin with), and various feats of good old fashioned ingenuity and bravado keep the bad guys at bay.

What that means is the success or failure of "Gate Crashers" depends on how clever and/or amusing the reader finds author Patrick S. Tomlinson. For me, he was just clever and/or amusing enough that I didn't regret the time spent reading the book, but not clever and/or amusing that I'm going to get in line for his next one.

But off of his achievement with "Gate Crashers," there should be a next book, and with just a little improvement, Tomlinson could become a lighthearted voice worth listening to in a field in desperate need of less dark and a lot more fun.

[David Day · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sixteen chapters in: bored rigid; minimal character development; laughed once. Not funny, didn’t enjoy it at all.

[Michael Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

My original GATE CRASHERS audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

First contact scenarios are a common enough trope in science fiction, but Patrick S. Tomlinson manages to inject a bit of freshness and fun, and more than a few dashes of silliness, into mankind’s discovery of intelligent life out amongst the stars.

Gate Crashers feels at times like an ode to Star Trek (Tomlinson’s Captain Ridgeway of the Magellan being only a hairsbreadth away from Voyager’s Janeway, while Bucephalus‘s Captain Tiberius, a dashing man of action in and out of the bedroom, draws an obvious parallel to one James Tiberius Kirk), replete with a few away missions for our band of cosmonauts that see them tangling with strange new worlds, new life, and new civilizations, boldly going where plenty of aliens have already been before.

Despite there being a certain degree of familiarity baked in, Tomlinson still manages to do his own thing and brings in shiploads of fun along the way, playing a lot of Earth’s first expedition into deep space for laughs. The discovery of an alien artifact by the Magellan’s crew kicks off a wave of scientific advancement, as well as the emergence of an artifact worshiping cult, back on Earth. This latter development is particularly preposterous given the fairly mundane nature of the alien device, and this sense of grandiose discovery for mankind, of things that are commonplace for the galaxy’s alien races, becomes a significant theme that recurs throughout the book. There’s a fun bit of interplay between expectations of discovery and the reality of their situation, but Tomlinson injects plenty of high-stakes action, political machinations, tabloid sensationalism, and world-destroying perils along the way. The threats to mankind are deadly serious, and despite some scenes overloaded with attention-killing technobabble, the story floats along with a good degree of jubilation. Not every joke landed just right for me, but I found myself laughing along with Tomlinson’s wit more often than not. One pun about being a “seasoned veteran” still tickles me, in fact, well after having finished my listen of Gate Crashers.

While the writing is bent toward the comedic, Alyssa Bresnahan’s narration is, unfortunately, largely straight-forward. While she does an admirable job bringing the various characters to life, injecting each member of the Magellan and Bucephalus with their own distinct quirks and voices, her reading is oftentimes much too serious given the tone of the material. Quite a few times, I found myself wondering how Gate Crashers would have sounded with a narrator like Wil Wheaton at the helm, who could capture the irreverence of this particular story and Tomlinson’s writing, much as he had for several of John Scalzi’s audiobooks. Bresnahan’s narration is perfectly adept during this book’s more serious moments, and I’d like to listen to her reading a work that isn’t so reliant on humor, but she too often misses the author’s comedic beats and plays too much of a straight man to Tomlinson’s silliness. On the production end of thing, Bresnahan’s reading comes through crystal clear and Gate Crashers is another finely recorded audiobook from Recorded Books.

Gate Crashers is a fun, witty, feel-good listen, one in which its author has carefully balanced freshness and familiarity while giving us some much-welcomed insight into humanity’s perseverance and ingenuity, and more than a few well-timed fist-pumping heroics as Earth’s most evolved apes outwit far more advanced alien races by the skin of their teeth. If there are more voyages in Megellan’s future, well, beam me up! Or freeze-dry, vaporize, shift, and reconstitute me. Or whatever the hell it is they do around here…

[Note: audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com]

[Kiran · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Advanced Reader Copy**

Science Fiction isn’t in the recluse section of the bookstore, anymore. It’s mainstream enough that we can pick and choose the stories, the sagas, with which to go on a journey while having endless options. Unfortunately, because of this popularity mediocrity has birthed too many books leading to the misrepresentation of the genre.

Cue Patrick S. Tomlinson. A noteworthy wise-cracker, he’s armed to the teeth with hearty quips, evergreen references, and just the right amount of arrogance to warrant his cavalier story-telling.

His second trilogy begins similar to his first- toeing the line of unbelievably advanced technology paired with the often-banal employment of such technology. Not to miss his effortless injection of nostalgia for innovations in which his readers will undoubtably find comfort. Altogether, the combination is sure to catch readers smiling to themselves.

Above all, Tomlinson reigns in Sci-Fi back to it’s roots as a story telling device rather than a crutch for an author to spew techno-babble and, more-often-than-not, inflated and confusing jargon. His humor punctuates a driven plot woven together by an imagination fueled by his personal enjoyments, often central in value to Midwestern America. The universe he has conjured, and all its inhabitants, beats to one main heart-string: Humans have come a long way, in our own way, but have much to learn and much to discover. With humility masked by hubris, his invitation to the world of Gate Crashers is genuine.

@afrikiran

[Si Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this one.

It was billed as funny science fiction. It has funny moments and it has warmth and wit, but I wouldn't call it a comedy.

It has frequently been compared to Hitchhiker (including by the author); however, I don't see that at all.

It was written more than a decade ago and published two years ago. I suspect the author's worldview has shifted dramatically in that time. Some of the book seemed to reflect the outlook I see in his twitter feed, but it carries the ghost of what I suspect were his earlier views.

There were a lot mixed messages and I'm not sure what the book's aim was.

I enjoyed the writing style and the character development. I think I'd like to read something Mr Tomlinson has written more recently as I suspect this isn't the best he has to offer.

[Charlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very plot-driven, with bland, predictable characters and aliens that aren't particularly alien.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

"It's okay, Charlie... I got an angle."
—Captain Lincoln F. Sternn, in a scene from the animated film Heavy Metal (1981) that was viewable as an excerpt, at least when this was posted, on YouTube...

The exploratory STL (slower-than-light) Earth vessel Magellan, her crew in cryogenic suspension, is six decades away from Earth when she (Maggie, that is—the ship's AI) runs across an alien artifact, stationary and all alone in interstellar space. Once awakened and consulted, Captain Allison Ridgeway orders this anomalous object taken aboard and examined—not, perhaps, the most cautious possible decision, but certainly a productive one. The device turns out to be more-or-less comprehensible to human engineers, who begin reverse-engineering it with great glee—and great success. The Magellan heads back to Earth with her prize. Everything's going so well... until the aliens show up and want their doohickey back.

They're not asking politely, either... The crew of the Magellan has to find that angle, and fast... and hope that it works out better than Sternn's scheme did for him.


Okay, you know there are only a couple of ways this conflict could go (well, three, but we're not talking about Catherynne M. Valente's Space Opera here): either the ancient, galaxy-spanning civilization crushes upstart Earth like a gnat, which makes for a pretty short book (unless you're John Varley, maybe), or the plucky humans find something they can use against Earth's numerically, technologically and organizationally-superior foe—an angle, just as God (in the form of editor John W. Campbell, Jr.) intended.

From very early in Gate Crashers, it's pretty clear which course Patrick S. Tomlinson intends to take.

Gate Crashers is in many ways a throwback, firmly in the vein of Campbellian SF that was tapped so well more than forty years ago by Christopher Anvil in Pandora's Planet (and more recently by Ryk E. Spoor's Grand Central Arena, although Spoor does not position his series as comedy). The humor in Tomlinson's book wasn't a matter of guffaws for me—it did not hit me in the feels (as the kids say) the way Valente's Space Opera did a few months ago—but the chuckles came continually. He's not shy about skewering the usual easy targets; politicians, bureaucracy, management, the military... organizational inefficiencies in general are the most frequent but hardly the only objects of his jibes.

My subtext detector did go off a few times—it seems remotely possible that Tomlinson's political sentiments do not fully align with my own—but overall Gate Crashers was great fun, even when my own adopted home town came into Tomlinson's satirical sights:

The Great Nerd War started innocently enough when an overworked Park and Rec employee in Portland accidentally double-booked a shelter with a Tolkien reenactment of the Battle of Helm's Deep and a Star Wars LARP game. The two sides did their best to avoid each other until the reenactment's Saruman was overheard saying that Christopher Lee "totally phoned-in his Count Dooku performance." By early evening, seventeen lay dead. Eight years of bitter fighting later, a truce was signed in what became known as the Shelter C Accords.
—p.387

Heh...

Goodreads friend Peter T. has already marked this one as to-read, and I think he's right—Gate Crashers seems likely to be even more in his wheelhouse than it was in mine. One character even shares his surname!

Gate Crashers probably doesn't have a character in it with your surname... but if you've been looking for a good old-fashioned humans-first rebellious romp through the Galaxy, you could do a lot worse than pick up this particular anti-gravity device.

[Satomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not quite get along with his writing style. I felt the story did not flow smoothly. There were some funny moments, but not enough or not my kind of humor. I felt the aliens are too alike humans in the head.

Only the thing I liked was the starship called “Maggie” (AI).

[Chris Panatier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and I had a very lol-y time lolling it up. The Great Nerd War? Come on. I squirted pee at that one. Will read Tomlinson’s other stuff because I want to pee more. But seriously. Read this book.

[Nicholas Smeaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Science Fiction comedy is easy to do, good Science Fiction comedy on the other hand is very difficult to do, however in his debut novel Patrick S. Tomlinson succeeds in writing one of the funniest books I've read in years. The trick seems to be in delivering the humour deadpan and in knowing the genre you're sending up and this book does both very well. The plot revolves around the 'Magellan' (or Maggie as she prefers to be called) stumbling across an alien artifact. Examination of this artifact draws in a host of oddball but believable characters, things take a twisted turn when the human's find out what the artifact was and why it was floating out in interstellar space. Before you know it the Magellan and it's crew find themselves caught up in a galactic conspiracy where the stakes are as high as they get. The beauty of this story is that the main characters - both human and otherwise - are for the most part intelligent and good at their jobs (Yes even the character who's clearly a send up of Captain Kirk is good at his day job), it's just other people keep getting in their way. While this is the hard way to do Sci-fi comedy, it is the way most likely to have the reader wanting to start the book again when they finish it. There are also a couple of clever variations of the 'Chekov's gun' trope. There is a fair amount of satirical comment, thankfully well enough disguised to prevent aging. According to the author's end notes this book was inspired by anger at the ending of the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (He doesn't make it clear if he was referring to the books or the movie) and the book does succeed in capturing some of the Hikers vibe. Recommended.

[Charles Dion · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not finish this book, it was far too painful. But i'm sure someone who does not enjoy serious Scifi would. In only the first 5 pages one can see how little Tomlinson respects the scifi genre as he takes every opportunity he can to crack a joke. Not to say humor should not be mixed with scifi. Humor is great in every genre, but for the love of all that is holy stop with the Puns! Tomlinson enjoys the use of puns allot too much and often bastardizes English in order to get a laugh (ie, Peoplesicles). I did not enjoy reading this novel as it was too much work to get to any substance. Other than the premise and story, which is why I kept reading to a half way point, there is no joy to be had reading. Tomlinson definitely knows how to world build and craft a narrative and if he can learn to curb his odd sense of humor I will give him another chance. If you are one of those readers who can shut off your mind and just enjoy the story being told then you may enjoy this book, if bad humor is not you thing i would give it a skip.

[Fred · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked parts of it. Didn’t like the mixture of seriousness and humor. It’s like the author couldn’t decide if the was writing comedy or a serious Space Opera.

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It pretty much hits everything that I enjoy in SF: good story, interesting characters, well done hard science and military action, and wonderful humor.

Here is my full review:

It's 2345 and the American/European Union Starship Magellan has just passed the 30 light year mark on it's way to explore Solonis B. This is the fathest from earth mankind has travelled. While the crew are in their peoplecicle state for the long journey, the ship's AI, known as Maggie, monitors the ship and surrounding space. Maggie detects an anomalous object that gnaws at her processors. What makes the object unusual is that it is completely at rest, something that should be impossible what with Newton's laws of motion and all. She awakens Capt. Allison Ridgway to authorize a flyby but when Maggie detects radio emissions from the object, Ridgeway knows they need to get their hands on the object and the entire crew is awakened. With the object in the shuttle bay and authorities alerted by the instantaneous QER (quantum entanglement radio), the Magellan heads back to earth. And then things go from weird to dangerous to life-threatening.

Tomlinson pretty much hits all the major SF tropes. We get: first contact, space opera, space marines, space combat, space poop, girl shy nerd, mad scientists, enterprising scientists and engineers, hard science, galactic politics, aliens with an unsettling knowledge of English (it's easy to learn) and Earth TV shows, a effective and stable civilian captain, an infuriatingly capable navy captain named Maximus Tiberius who falls somewhere between Star Trek's James Tiberius Kirk and Blackadder's Lord Flashheart, a snarky ship's AI who decides she must be female because she has to nurture so many helpless children, and lots of humor. You might also note some Star Trek and maybe Heinlein here.

Military action isn't a major theme of Gate Crashers but Tomlinson handles it realistically and very well. Likewise, the hard science is handled nicely so that you can read it thinking, okay, that works.

The humor is decidedly Douglas Adams-esque which is a major plus for me. In fact, alert readers will notice a direct homage to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The humor ranges from clever wordplay to downright silly. Kind of like throwing pasta at the wall, some stick, some don't. I could quote something that made me chuckle from most pages but here are two examples:

It was a cold, dark night in deep space. Of course, that's the sort of night experienced spacers preferred. A hot, bright night meant you'd flown into an uncharted star. Such nights were known for their brevity.

And then the silly

The Teskin are one of the most specialized carnivores in the known galaxy. They evolved over the millennia to infiltrate cocktail parties, wedding receptions, and class reunions. Once inside, they corner their unsuspecting prey and regale them with hours of banal anecdotes about office politics, family vacations, and medical issues. A successful hunt ends when the target kills itself out of desperation.

Gate Crashers is a fun and satisfying SF that I enjoyed so much I read all 414 pages in one sitting.

Fortunately, there is a sequel titled Starship Repo so I don't have to wait for more of this universe. It features features a female protagonist named Firstname Lastname due to a clerical error so I anticipate the same level of humor.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book combines some interesting SF themes, humor, some political commentary, and some action scenes. The premise is that Earth sent out a starship to check out a possibly-habitable planet in another star system. The ship travels at about 1/2 light speed, and the crew takes turns in suspended animation and on duty. Along the way, an object is noticed, investigated and taken aboard the ship's shuttle bay. It turns out to be an alien device which the crew works to reverse engineer. Eventually, it's learned the device is a "buoy" which is part of the boundary set up by six advanced alien species to delineate what they have put aside as a "human wildlife reserve."

When political leaders on Earth learn aliens consider humans to be in a "wildlife reserve," they are angered and begin a crash program to build a military starship which includes the FTL technology that has been learned from the buoy. The military ship is sent to join the original civilian ship with the intent to show the aliens humans aren't to be dealt with as savages. The civilians work to control the actions of the military ship. The 2 ships continue on the exploration mission and find a planet with scattered villages of small-society humans. After leaving that planet, a ship from one of alien societies destroys the planet and proceeds to frame Earth for killing worlds. An investigator encounters the human ships and finds reason to believe the humans could not have done it. This leads to a debate among the council of alien societies - who have been given info to frame Earth.

As humans from the ships present their case, they learn an alien ship has already been sent out to destroy Earth - and it's too late to send a message to revoke the order...

This is a rather simplified description. At the end, the story is wrapped up rather quickly. I'd recommend the book to SF readers who don't find something in the above that would make them choose otherwise.

[Leander · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als een Aards ruimteschip tijdens een interstellaire vlucht een object tegen komt dat stil ligt in de ruimte en de computer terecht de bemanning wakker maakt omdat objecten in de ruimte nu eenmaal niet zomaar stil liggen, begint dit avontuur. De Aarde raakt in contact met een vereniging van buitenaardse rassen en wordt al snel beschuldigd van de grootste misdaad die zij kennen. Wordt het eerste contact direct ook het laatste?

Science Fiction met een sterk gevoel voor humor. Overduidelijk met invloeden van Douglas Adams. Ik heb al vaker geprobeerd dit soort SF te lezen en meestal faalt het enorm met domme grappen en ander flauw gedoe maar in dit geval werkt het. Waarschijnlijk vooral omdat de schrijver niet probeert een Adamsiaans plot te smeden, maar een relatief eenvoudig SF plot gebruikt wat ook zonder humor zou werken. De meeste humor komt uit de personages en uit observaties over menselijk gedrag. Het barst ook van de referenties aan aan andere nerdy ideeën, TV series en boeken en dat is eigenlijk het enige minpuntje. Meestal zijn die referenties subtiel genoeg om niet te storen maar niet altijd... En dan haalt het me uit het verhaal. Maar het wordt nergens zo erg als in Ready Player One, maak je geen zorgen.

Een aanrader.

[Dave McGraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been quite some time since I've struggled to put a book down. Gate Crashers was not just an entertaining, page-turning sci-fi adventure romp through the unknown, but it was quite literally, enchanting. The "science" part of the fiction was grounded in real-world theory, and the solutions to getting around the lightspeed barrier and all that other impossible-as-we-know-it-today stuff was clever and well done.

Patrick Tomlinson not only averted my "this is bullshit" sensors quite well, but he also succeeded at inspiring my own imagination, and hopes for the future of our species.

Did I mention that the book was not just fun, but features plenty of hilarious moments? Seriously folks, when was the last time you read a speculative fiction novel that prominently featured humor as one of its main resources? One that wasn't penned by Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett?

I'll wait... *Crickets*

Yes, Gate Crashers has done it... and I suspect this is just the beginning.

Honestly, I can't recommend this book enough. With just the right blend of hard sci-fi, humor, action and exploration, Gate Crashers one hell of a fun story. I'm can't wait for the next.

[Fred Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sarcastic ramp through space with multiple aliens and lots of space battles. Relatable characters and a pedal to the metal story line there is adventure after adventure.

Lots of weird alien stuff and always the egotistical Captain at the helm.

Highly recommended. I'm going to see what else the Author has written

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely hard scifi. But I found it enjoyable. The way it's written reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams's writing. Could it have been shorter? Yeah probably. But I still had a good time reading it and would recommend it to fans of Douglas Adams.

[Wlad · Rating 3 out of 5]

É da mesma linha de O guia do mochileiro nas galáxias. Gostei da história e dos personagens, apesar de ter achado decepcionante como só tem 2 personagens femininas importantes. A história é meio parada até às últimas 100 páginas e aí vira tiro porrada e bomba. A leitura é tranquila porque os capítulos são bem curtos.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly good story with somewhat reasonable technical advances. The characters were mostly stereotype with little development, except perhaps one and the AI (assuming AI is a character). The humor was wonderful, seemed a little British.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun, light-hearted, funny, adventurous. Would be a fun action sci fi comedy movie. Lots of aliens, lots of fictional science, lots of Star Trek references and homages. Caught a bit of Douglas Adams and John Scalzi influence in there too. Loving all of it. Here for more!

[Andrew Einspruch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, humorous sci-fi read about the first human encounters with alien intelligences out in space. A lot to like in this in a Hithchiker-ish kind of way.