• Agent to the Stars

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,698 ratings)

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Agent to the Stars  By  cover art

Agent to the Stars

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Editorial reviews

Wil Wheaton, a Star Trek: The Next Generation alum, is a canny choice for narrator of this intersection of science fiction and Elmore Leonard-esque Hollywood farce. In addition to being a rather prominent footnote in sci-fi history, Wheaton’s also got a great voice — sonorous, with an inflection similar to a late-night radio DJ who’s bemusedly sharing an anecdote on air between tracks. His voice also carries a hint of that lilt peculiar to many native Angelenos, which comes in handy when he exaggerates it to Valley Girl-proportions to portray starlet Michelle Beck, former cheerleader and current box office draw.

Hollywood agent Tom Stein is the book’s hero, and when the story begins, Michelle is his most important client. That is, until Tom meets Joshua, an extraterrestrial whose alien race hires Tom and his boss, superagent Carl Lupo, to represent them. The Yherajk have decided their best hope for a peaceful first contact between their race and all of humanity is to out themselves via the movies, and they know if they want to make it in Hollywood, they need good representation.

Wheaton’s voicing of Joshua, who has traveled to Earth as the Yherajk’s representative, is another highlight. Joshua, like his kinsmen, looks like a gelatinous blob, gives off a noxious odor, and slithers around amorphously. He’s also incredibly educated when it comes to human pop culture, having logged countless hours watching sitcoms. Wheaton delivers Joshua’s line, “We look like snot. And we smell like dead fish,” in a nasally deadpan that suits a one-liner-delivering alien to a T.

Even when Scalzi veers into semi-philosophical territory — as when he explores why an alien race would choose a Hollywood debut over staging their premiere in Washington — Wheaton keeps the narration moving with his just-right character voices. Look out for the both silly and spot-on sounding Quebecois accent he uses to portray Roland Lanois, an art-house film director with a critical role in the novel, and for his Buddha-like turn as Gwedif, a Yherajk storyteller. —Maggie Frank

Publisher's summary

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

©2005 John Scalzi (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Wil Wheaton animates the slapstick text with a tone that is appropriate for the story of a young Tinsel Town agent whose other clients are either equally deranged or aren't making him much money.” ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Agent to the Stars

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stunning

loved it
lots of swearing in the first part
but i finished and glad of it

the characters change in very satisfying ways through the action

worth while fun read

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A Very Pleasant Surprise!

I was pleasantly surprised by this very enjoyable book that had been languishing unread in my library for too long. The book is very clever and, at times, laugh out loud funny. Narrator is great. I'll be checking out other books by this author soon.

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Funny and Entertaining

Really love this narrator, and the storyline was unlike any I've heard. Pretty funny and entertaining all the way around.

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scalzi always entertains

This one had me laughing out loud, which makes one look silly in an elevator in Manhattan. Great job by all.

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Fun book, very well read

Enjoyed the story, the writing, and the narration. Is there ANYTHING Will Wheaton doesn't do well?

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Unbelievably stunk, but in a good way( inside joke)

Wow, what a ride! Who wouldn't want that made to film or tv series? Wil Wheaton, you absolutely nailed it! I know it's work, but you confirmed the cliché. You would be my vote for Tom, no, Joshua, no, I'm so confused. Felicia Day for Michelle? I would like to say I can't remember last time I had so much fun, but Hardluck Hank books, Marko Kloos' Terms of Enlistment and sequels, Pierce Brown's Red Rising, and sequels, etc. Audible, you are awesome!!! Better than breakfast.
Mark Vasquez
El Paso, TX
OTR Truck Driver
Forever a nerd

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Oh, how I love dry humor. :-)

Loved the descriptive humor. The book went down easy from start to finish. Very creative.

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Excellent, as usual

Though I am a big Scalzi fan, I was a little hesitant to read this. The description of the story didn't seem that intriguing to me for some reason. But I listened to my Scalzi fan in me and I wasn't disappointed. The story was quite unique and entertaining. And, as always, Wil Wheaton's performance was spot on. If you're a Scalzi or Wheaton fan, you won't be disappointed.

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Awesome book!!

I honestly laughed out loud at least 8 times!! The story was great and there is no better narrater than Wil Wheaton. Thank you for the wonderful experience!!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Scalzi and Wheaton are great, two complaints

The story is amazing and inspiring, and really just plain funny. I bought the book but couldn't get through it. no problem with the audio book.

Wil reads a little too fast sometimes in this one. usually I speed up playback but not for this book. He was much better in Ready Player One. also Joshua's voice was annoying, but the other aliens were quite interesting to listen to.

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