• Agent to the Stars

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,759 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Agent to the Stars  By  cover art

Agent to the Stars

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.20

Buy for $26.20

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,045
  • 4 Stars
    5,056
  • 3 Stars
    1,340
  • 2 Stars
    208
  • 1 Stars
    110
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10,890
  • 4 Stars
    2,783
  • 3 Stars
    511
  • 2 Stars
    81
  • 1 Stars
    44
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,681
  • 4 Stars
    4,633
  • 3 Stars
    1,556
  • 2 Stars
    298
  • 1 Stars
    115

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hilarious!

If you like Carl Hiaasen's "Bad Monkey," this book is for you. If you also like John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" series then put "Agent to the Stars" at the top of your must-read list.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun listen!

Very good story matched by very good performance by Wil Wheaton. I powered through this in two days because I *found* things to do that I could also listen to the book while doing. Very credit worthy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Being

Excellent Wheaton performance.

Beginning of the story was s l o w. On the verge of turning off. But HEY it's Scalzi - hang in there. Oh yeah, then the characters bloomed and the story rose 50,000 miles.

Creative and thoughtful introspection - who / where. We are.

My rating thoughts evolved throughout my listening. Started at "2" hitting "5" by the 2nd halh finish. Average to a solid "4".

Don't miss this Scalzi poke at your being.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun listen

Silly, fun, sci-fi from beginning to end. Will Wheaton has become one of my favorite readers.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great opening, falls apart at the end

Really enjoyed the idea and potential, failed to finish strong. Enjoyed the characters and moral questions brought up throughout.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Read in 2019

Mostly, in 2019, the story holds up. But casual mention of fixtures like Joan Rivers who died (suddenly & needlessly) and going to the Weinstein group for funding was a bit wrenching.

Listened to the Audiobook and enjoyed it. Production values were even. Narrator slightly faster than most but I was still able to parse him clearly at the accelerated speed I normally use.

Interesting and useful thought experiment on how to get people to buy in to a friendly alien presence. Only obvious flaw is in underestimating the backlash successful women get for going off script. But it made for a feel good book in a year when I’ve spent a lot of time being angry, so yay.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fun little sci-fi romp

Fun book, cool concept. Scalzi is always a trip to read and he does a really good job shoring up his characters motivations and plugging plot holes (as in, "Why didn't so-and-so do this...?").

Language is a bit rough in places, so be forewarned. Otherwise, fun, quick little sci-fi romp with a happy ending.

Wheaton is pretty much becoming the "voice of Scalzi" for me, and his snarky delivery perfectly fits Scali's narration. This is an older recording, and I think Wheaton has grown/matured as a narrator since recording this, but he still does a great job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Will Wheaton's narration is perfect !

Will Wheaton's narration moves the story along with just the right vocal inflection changes so you're not distracted Cromwell the story. Instead, you follow the characterise seamlessly throughout. This is my first John Scalzi novel and I'm hooked! I'm already trying to decide which of his novels to try next. His storytelling pulls you in with humor and entices you with an amazingly believable tale of alien life on earth and their human connections.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very funny

Very enjoyable with loads of laugh out moments. I would highly recommend the audio book version: excellent performance from the reader.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Way better than I thought it would be -Galactic

It is a fresh look at alien interaction. I was pleased with the story and recommend it. The narration was well done, and not something I would have thought Will would do - I was surprised and would listen to any other narrations he performs. It earns 5 stars in all categories from me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!