Chasing Aliens

From Orwell Prize-winning Daniel Lavelle comes a wild road trip chasing aliens through the UFO heartlands

'Hilarious, humane and quietly devastating' ELIOT HIGGINS
'A hugely entertaining, gonzo-style examination of UFOs, ufology and ufologists' NICK POPE
'Lavelle answers the question that really matters: what is it we're talking about when we're talking about aliens? JAMES BALL

The US government has been investigating unidentified aerial phenomena in a secret division of the Department of Defence. A former intelligence official urged the US to disclose evidence of UFOs after saying the government possesses ‘intact and partially intact’ alien vehicles. And what about those sightings of Tic Tac, Gimbal, Go Fast and the infamous Oumuamua?

Danny Lavelle, our charming, borderline-bewildered investigator, sets out on a road trip through America’s UFO heartlands to get some answers (thankfully 41% of Americans believe aliens have made contact so he has plenty of sources to choose from). Talking to those in the know in government and the UFO scene – often the same thing – Danny follows Lue Elizondo, Jeremy Corbell, attends sky watches (sometimes falling asleep in the desert), listens to alien abductees and has coffee with Starseeds (human beings who claim to be actual aliens).

Whether he’s smoking weed whilst holding dumortierite crystals to access his interdimensional past, or discussing ‘space beads’ with the Harvard astrophysicist who’s convinced he’s found evidence of alien life, Danny’s journey becomes a deeper story about our unshakeable fascination with little green men – and our deepest wishes not to be alone in the universe.

Encountering a fair amount of religiosity, conspiratorial thinking and magical thinking, Chasing Aliens is a wild journey into the soul of America – where aliens are as American as George Washington and warm apple pie. This is a book for anyone interested in our (possible) neighbours in the universe, and our ongoing search for meaning and answers to life’s great mysteries, trapped as we are in the uncertainty of our short, mortal lives.

'A highly enticing sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity . . . he hears about secrets that should never be made public' NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH, THE INDEPENDENT

'Enthusiasm, deft writing and an attention to the strange, fascinating details of ordinary lives' THE TELEGRAPH, BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2026