Quirky read, but entertaining. I initially felt it somehow connected to David Bowie's song- and it did, sort of, but it also has lots of other fun cultural references, sort of time Ready Player One. It's an enjoyable story that will bring both smiles and tears. I liked that it's tied in Star Wars and the first person on Mars themes, brings it nicely to present day events. Good story.

Such a sweet, heartwarming little book with really nice characters that I actually came to care about.

Loved it! This is the story of how a grumpy old man became grumpy, unexpectedly became an astronaut, helped a struggling family while in space, and helped himself along the way. Full of great humor, the story also touches on real issues some families face today. Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group/Trapeze for letting me read this very original story. I do love a story that makes me laugh! 4.25 stars!

This was a sampler provided through NetGalley not an entire book to review. It was fun and intriguing and would seem to be solid purchase.

You know, you have to admit, whoever thought of the idea of providing the sampler was having a particularly clever day. It's definitely an excellent way to get readers... NetGalley readers at that... to go out and purchase the novel. That said, I have not purchased the novel myself... not yet anyway, but I definitely plan to.

With this sampler you only get the first 4 chapters of the novel, but it's enough of a tease into these characters lives that you want to know more. You want to know what shaped Tom to be the grumpy middle aged man that wants nothing to do with society, and you want to learn about what makes Gladys the simple yet quirky woman she is today.

With this sampler we don't get to witness the first interaction between Tom and Gladys, as I said, it's a bit of a teaser as it ends right before their first conversation. Which is what makes you want to rush out and purchase the novel. Which I will get to... as soon as I clear out some other titles from my NetGalley shelf.

I want to thank NetGalley, Orion Publishing, and David M. Barnett for providing me with this teaser... I mean sampler. It was a wonderful introduction to the novel, and I'm sure I will enjoy the rest of the novel once I pick it up from Amazon.

I'm providing 3 stars for now... until I actually finish the novel.

P.S. Whoever came up with the idea of the sampler... you're evil... terrible thing to do to a reader. But as I said, it's genius, and you deserve a raise.

This was just a sampler and not sure the book is for me. I am sure other readers will enjoy.

Good for a sample. Looking forward to the rest of tje book

A shame that it was only a sampler, but definitely an interesting sounding story about a man in a spaceship and an elderly lady in Wigan.

Calling Major Tom-David M. Barnett- 4* 19th Jan Netgalley
Tom Major is in space going to Mars and is grumpy to say the least. Back on earth Gladys is getting confused. She can remember what her husband made for dinner 30 years ago but not where her phone is. This was just an extract but gave a wonderful flavour of the full book. Written with humour and a little pathos, it is one of those easily read books that will lift you and gives evocative characters that you remember. It’s quirky, slightly nonsensical but wonderfully enjoyable. A book to look forward to.
(rest of links on publication day)

Really enjoyed the sampler, though I must have missed something as I did not realize it was only a sample. Anyhow, it was a nice teaser and I am looking forward to getting a copy of this book to read in full.

Loved the sampler for this book so much so I purchased the book and went to a literary event the author was participating in.
Wonderful book so different and special

Really enjoyed this - had to go on t read the whole book!

This was a fun and quirky book. It's chock full of cultural references that work well as short hand to enhance the story line. What a fantastic read!

Thank you netgalley for giving me a sneak peak into this novel. I was sucked in and will definitely be buying the novel.

I read this 23-page sample, obtained from Netgalley

This book was a page-turner. I was not expecting it to be science fiction and space travel, but was delightfully surprised that it was. The characters are developing very well, I didn't have questions about who anyone was when I was reading about them.

The language is definitely written for a British audience, containing nuances and references unheard in the US or Canada. I would love to see where this story goes: The sample definitely wet my appetite.

I received a copy of this sneak peek from Trapeze Books through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I'm back to being me again and didn't read the synopsis before starting this sneak peek, and based on the title, I was expecting a book, probably romance, that involved phone calls between a soldier (Major Tom) and likely his significant other, the two of them separated by an ocean because of a deployment. That's not what this book is about at all. No, this book is about a man named Tom Major (who is also a Major like the military rank now I think), on a one-way trip to Mars to set it up for future settlement (it seems).

Because this is a sneak peek, I only got a small taste of each of the main characters personalities. This story seems to be told from the perspectives of two characters, Major Tom and Gladys, an elderly woman in England who seems to suffer from Alzheimer's from the brief glimpse I got into her life. At first I was not sure how the two perspectives were connected aside from the fact that they're both British, but I've since come to the conclusion that they spend a lot of time talking on the phone during Tom's trip to Mars.

I noticed that another reviewer said this book was "on par with A Man Called Ove" and while I cannot say for sure that that is an accurate assessment of the book as a whole, Tom definitely has some very Ove-like qualities to his personality, so I am inclined to believe them. I can definitely see how this story may play out in a somewhat similar fashion to A Man Called Ove as well.

There was one line early on that made me giggle. There's a bit where Tom mentions that his training manuals indicate that his job on Mars will involve survival and a lot of potato farming, which I feel is a pretty clear reference to The Martian by Andy Weir. That made me wonder if the "training manual" in question is actually a copy of The Martian. From what I can gather about Tom's personality, that seems plausible.

So would I buy this book? Yeah, probably. Although I'm not in a big hurry to continue reading it, so I'd be inclined to wait for a sale myself.

This was a sampler and I would like the read the full book. The sampler caught my attention and I enjoyed reading it.

I only read a sampler of this but enjoyed what I read and have now purchased the book so that I can read it and give it a proper review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the sample of Calling Major Tom. It piqued my interest and I will be excited to see what the outcome will be. I can see that Gladys will provide lots of humor in this story.

A brilliant start to the book with this sampler. I was instantly hooked. Different characters with interesting stories who are somehow intertwined. Really wanted to read more. A recommended read.