• Agent to the Stars

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,715 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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great book, great reading

again John scalzi puts together a fun story with plenty of laughs and a few tears. Will Wheaton does a great job as usual

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good fun story. Very John Scalzi

I enjoyed this book very much. I love John Scalzi's story telling. I highly recommend other Scalzi works.
Wil Wheaton rocked too, great performance.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very engaging

Any additional comments?

I book description for this was pretty spot on. Narration was good. $ well spent

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun story

Really kept me engaged and Mr. Wheaton does a wonderful job as a narrator. The story did drag a little near the end, but it was still quite entertaining.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Unexpected Delight

I liked this story and performance very much. I am the kind if sci fi fan who likes humor, new ideas and loveable protagonists. Agent to the Stars kept my interest and delivered a wonderful message without being heavy handed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Listened to all in one day

This was by far the best J.S. book ever! I couldn't stop it. I admit I had reservations about it but within the first 5 minutes they had evaporated. I am not one to give in depth details of the book, so you'll have to read other reviews if you're looking for that info.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun and lighthearted

Agent to the Stars is fun and lighthearted, but doesn't have much tension. Great for something to listen to or read that won't keep you up, obsessed. Wheaton does a good job keeping the various characters sounding different enough to be confusing. Overall pleasantly adequate.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Entertaining but slightly falls short of its potential

It's highly entertaining and starts strong with a lot of potential. However the scifi part of the story doesn't get very developed and misses out on the potential a little bit.

Still a very nice way to spend about 9 hours and I admit that I kept listening to it even after I got off the train which I don't usually do.

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Excellent

Great story. Great narrator. Funny yet thought-provoking at the same time. Get it now--you won't regret it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Never thought I'd like science fiction

What an amazing and pleasant surprise this book was. I'm not a fan particularly of sci-fi -- haven't seen ET and watched only a couple episodes of Harry Potter -- BUT this book was captivating. With writing that seemed to me the quality of Carl Hiaasen, coupled with an amazing performance by narrator Wil Wheaton, makes me want to look for another book by John Scatzi.

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