Aliens are in Roswell! For real this time! And the consequences are dire—they may even make the main character miss the wedding of her best friend! That’s the premise of Connie Willis’ latest novel, The Road to Roswell.
The book—a love letter to the Southwest according to the author—is also a romantic comedy wrapped up in an alien invasion tale, with more than a few nods to Western cinema. The story follows Francie, a woman heading to Roswell, New Mexico for her college roommate’s wedding with hopes of convincing her to call it off. Her friend has terrible taste in men, and the latest is deeply into UFO sightings (hence the Roswell location) and raising all the usual red flags. Francie doesn’t believe in aliens, of course—she just wants to be there for her friend, even if the wedding is taking place in the town’s UFO museum and her silver shimmery bridesmaid dress makes her look like a downed satellite.
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The Road to Roswell
In Roswell, the annual UFO Festival is underway, and while Francie might be the only non-believer in town, she’s the one who ends up getting kidnapped by a real-life alien when she goes to grab something from her friend’s car. This alien looks truly alien: It’s more like a tumbleweed than the green- or grey-skinned, big-eyed humanoid creatures many hardcore believers claim have invaded Earth over the years (not to mention the Lizard people, of course). In the course of her abduction, an apparent hitchhiker on the side of the road named Wade gets kidnapped as well, and christens the adorable tumbleweed with the name Indy. The three drive off into the desert, with Indy clearly trying to find something, though what exactly he’s looking for remains a mystery to the homo sapiens traveling with him.
The tale is a lighthearted one, much more in the vein of Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog than Doomsday Book, a novel told in the same time-traveling universe as Nothing of the Dog but decidedly bleaker in tone. You won’t find much bleakness in The Road to Roswell. Yes, an alien kidnaps several humans for initially unknown reasons, but the biggest recurring worry for Francie, especially after she’s spent a bit of time with Indy, is that she’ll miss her friend’s wedding.
The concern becomes a recurring gag later on in the novel when Indy, Francie, and Wade upgrade to an RV (excuse me, Western trail wagon) and gain some compadres in their journey: Joseph the Western-loving driver, Lyle the hardcore UFO guy who can’t stop talking about alien probes, and Eula Mae, an elderly lady with a penchant for playing slots at various casinos. Soon the kidnappees become Indy’s support crew, eager to help the extraterrestrial on whatever quest he appears to be on.
The story’s core is a romantic comedy, with more hijinks than mortal peril, and has strong homages and references to Hollywood Westerns and road trip flicks. Will Indy find what he’s looking for? Will Francie actually make it to her friend’s wedding? And does Wade like Francie the way she likes him?
The path of the tale has some twists and turns, most of which you can see coming from miles away. Perhaps that may frustrate you, but this book is not trying to be a whodunnit—it’s meant to be a romp, a lighthearted tale that would pair well, by the way, with a viewing of Wes Anderson’s upcoming film Asteroid City or the Peacock series Mrs. Davis. Both of those productions have a more serious undertone than The Road to Roswell, but the imagery from both complements the Southwestern landscape described in Willis’ book. (I also kept inserting Jake McDorman’s Wiley character from Mrs. Davis for Wade, as the two have some similarities that go beyond their hairstyles.)
One of the book’s highlights is Indy himself. His tumbleweed form is complimented by whip-like tendrils (which are the inspiration for the name Wade gives him) that can lasso humans from an impressive distance. Willis also succeeds in giving Indy a personality of his own—one that, dare I say, may be a bit cheeky. It’s a refreshing take on depicting alien life and successfully toes the line between having Indy create humorous moments without the extraterrestrial being the butt of the joke. The bond that Indy forms with Francie is also a sweet one that grows organically, becoming the heart of the story. What was a bit less compelling to me, and something that was hard to buy into even though the book has decent romantic comedy creds, is what Francie ultimately sees in Wade—you can do better Francie! The novel, for me, worked better if I viewed the romantic comedy as the platonic romance between Indy and Francie. Wade makes for good window dressing, but it’s Francie and Indy I want more of.
But all in all, The Road to Roswell is a fun story that makes for easy reading. Those looking for answers about Indy’s plight will get them, though while most of the main plot points are squared up by the end, the book still manages to end on a cliffhanger with Indy, Francie, and Wade apparently off on another adventure. This begs the question: Will there be a sequel to The Road to Roswell? No official news yet, but Willis has certainly set up one if she wants to write another tale. We’ll have to stay tuned to find out.
The Road to Roswell is published by Del Rey.
Vanessa Armstrong is a writer with bylines at The LA Times, SYFY WIRE, StarTrek.com and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her dog Penny and her husband Jon, and she loves books more than most things. You can find more of her work on her website or follow her on Twitter @vfarmstrong.
