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  • Agent to the Stars

  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (15,946 ratings)

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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

Average customer ratings
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Unexpectedly more

I figured this would be a fun little story but ultimately it has a few twists and turns that make it much more than the title suggests. It's worth a listen!

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Brilliant

What did you love best about Agent to the Stars?

Brilliant sums up this work exactly. The performance is done with consummate humor, feeling, and care. The plot line was inspired and doesn't drag. It takes you in interesting directions, and doesn't leave you behind. Everything I want in a good book from, character development, to I can't put you down/turn this off agony is here get it and enjoy!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Agent to the Stars?

The acadamey awards.

Have you listened to any of Wil Wheaton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No this was the first audio I have experienced but he flat nailed it!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The first press conference.

Any additional comments?

Buy it and listen as soon as you can. If you can't buy now, wish list it now!

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Such a fun listen!

Nice story, fresh and so funny! A great listen for anyone!!!

Wil Wheaton does a great job reading it, and I will certainly listen to this book more than once (which is rare for me!).

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Super Fun

This was a fun listen. Wil Wheaton is excellent (as usual for one of Scalzi’s books). I enjoyed the premise and the plot line. As usual though, far too many “he said” “she said” bits - we know which character is opining - it’s too much, she said...

Overall, this was really enjoyable. Highly recommended.

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

Very different, quite enjoyable.

Fun story, good narration, and an interesting look at first encounters. If you're tired of space battles, and hostile aliens this Sci Fi story is a good change of pace.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Fun Read

Half story of a Hollywood agent, half science fiction, but makes for a light fun read. It is not going to win a Nobel, but it will have you smiling from the first chapter to the last word. Always well narrated by Wil Wheaton.

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Meh

Ive listened to a couple of john scalzi books and i really love all of them but this one was not one of my favorites. Honestly i will listen to anything wil wheaton narrates lol but really thought this book could have been better.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

FAVORITE BOOK SO FAR

this book is so good the storyline is wonderful and unexpected that character development was very good I felt connected to every single character this is not what you would expect I love the narration the most this whole experience was wonderful five stars

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Original!

This was good! It was very easy to follow, the story and characters were well developed. This is a mixture of sci-fi mixed with a real-world scenario. Will Wheaton did a great job. Funny first contact story. I recommend this one for nice, easy listen.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!

Great story and PERFECT narration! Both hilarious and thought-provoking. Will Wheaton vocally nails every character.

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