• Agent to the Stars

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,754 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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I couldn't stop listening! :D

I found this story hilarious and couldn't stop listening. From the moment I started it, I only paused it when someone insisted on talking to me, otherwise I kept going through my day, ignoring the phone, my squawking parrots, and even my exercise routine. I wanted it to keep going, and going, and going. I've been never so disappointed to reach the end of a book. Encore! Encore!

BTW, BRAVO to Wil Wheaton who did such a fabulous job narrating and giving each character their own voice.

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Loved it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great story. Funny & witty. Sci-fi Humour. And an excellent narration by Will Wheaton. Loved every bit of it.

Which character – as performed by Wil Wheaton – was your favorite?

Tom Stines and Joshua

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    3 out of 5 stars

satisfying

it was alright. I'm not sure I'm fully satisfied with the conclusion. some things that Miranda thought were pretty unnerving were never really addressed with the public, things that would undermine a lot of stuff.

also, a fair amount of cursing that I only realized was there when I decided to listen to the book without headphones at work...

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    4 out of 5 stars

good, but not quite what I expected.

This was a fun listen, Wheaton does a great job narrating and in fact I purchased this in part due to his performance on Ready Player One. Overall it is an original and entertaining listen, however it's not as humorous or madcap as the description implied. in fact it could be considered a philosophical work in places. Still a good and a bit offbeat light sci-fi.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Great! Only one very small problem!

I had trouble clearly defining Michelle's character after her big change (I won't go into detail to avoid spoilers) I wish we had either heard a more distinct voice for her character or it had been better conveyed through the text.

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good reading. hated most of the characters though.

easy and fun, great narration by ww. but, i thought the characters were all unlikable and the plot seemed too contrived at points. not as good as ready player 1.

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I enjoyed -- and I'm not usually a Sci-fi fan

I have to agree with the reviews I read before downloading this book. The story is creative--a pleasantly surprising approach to sci-fi and much lighter-hearted than others in the genre. The writing is enjoyable and the reading by Wil Wheaton is easy to get caught up in. I finished the audiobook in two days. Would recommend!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Scalzi and Wheaton do it again

Love Wheaton as a reader! Scalzi is always great, but the two of them together do great things.

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What a good, feel good, awesome story.

I loved this book. It was expertly done and performed. If you like comedy and science fiction, mixed with a little drama, the you will love this book. Wil has the ability to lend himself each character and makes them as unique as the story itself.

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Wonderful hilarious surprise

Great and unique alien story with a sense of humor. This book was a breath of fresh air for the genre. The narrator reads with such enrhusasim it's infectious. 10/10 Would reccomend.

AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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