Agent to the Stars

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: Wil Wheaton

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

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)

A delightfully fun read!

Enjoyed this book from start to finish! Couldn’t stop grinning with lots of laugh out loud moments.

Funny, brilliant, perfect for Scalzi fans

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

Absolutely.

Scalzi's writing is geared toward long-time readers of science fiction, so there are quite a few meta in-jokes and references; but even with that said, I think even the most casual of SF readers will enjoy this story of an alien race using a Hollywood talent agent as their "mouthpiece" for humanity.

What did you like best about this story?

The humor and the easy flow of the narrative.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wheaton is the perfect choice to read all of Scalzi's work. He's a nerd's nerd and his love of the subject matter shines through in his performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it's a little long to do so.

Any additional comments?

This is not a space opera, Star Wars-style action novel. It's intelligent, funny, sometimes moving story set in contemporary Los Angeles (just with aliens).

Not your ordinary alien invasion!

I love John Scalzi's writing style and sense of humor He can wite the most comedic and at the same time, touching stories. In Agent to the Stars you will laugh and laugh, and then find yourself crying, in joy at the end.

Also, I have to say that Will Wheaton has an excellent voice for doing narration. I've listened to dozens of audio books and I can say without a doubt the Wheaton is defiantly top tier in his presentation.

Different and so much fun!

What a great ride... I didn't want it to end. A good look into the world of entertainment from the business side, tongue and cheek, then through in aliens and see what you get. It's a blast. Love the dialogue!!!

More a human story then science fiction

read excellently, the story attributes a lot of power to hollywood and is more about that little world inside the world then extraterrestrials. Scalzi does what he blames humanity in his story to be doing: He makes the aliens very human.

shallow moral dilemma, but I could’ve been harsher

My review was going to be much harsher. It would’ve started with something like: um, what? I mean, this was my 3rd experience in one of scalzi’s worlds.. so what happened here? But after reading another reviewer explain that it was scalzi’s very first (self published) work? I decided to look at it from that context. (******SPOILER ahead, so don’t read on if you want to read this book- just know that, if you want to see a great premise get hijacked by an early writer’s desire to employ a good science fiction moral device... and instead execute insensitivity toward psychological issues and the like... then just brace yourself.)

But I am still offended by the ethical domain that he tried to pass off as some kind of Star Trek-ian “shades of gray” moral dilemma that pertained to suicide. Hearing a character talk about how some teenagers (and actors, in his opinion) commit suicide because they want attention but can’t comprehend that they won’t be alive to see the attention? I thought I had accidentally dozed off (which I would’ve done more often, if not for the talented and familiar sci-fi voice of Wil Wheaton). But no. This was one of the “persuasive” arguments for why a friendly alien “body snatching” could be ok.

I of course finished the work.. which had all kinds of “happily ever after” shmuck, because it completely danced around the tragedy of a life ended too soon, which nothing - not even an alien reanimation - could compensate for, or replace. (And the paralleling moral metaphor about trading film for actual tragedy or experience also did not go unnoticed, but was equally inelegant.)

My heart goes out to anyone who has lost someone to suicide. We need to do better than this..as science fiction is an important mirror for modern life...

Oddly Interesting

I enjoyed the first part of this book, I was sure that as it went on, my enjoyment would elevate. However, the plot and characters turn from believable in a weird way, to contrived and ironically superficial. Definitely give credit to the author for the uniqueness of the story. But, I think it was slightly off in execution. Good performance from Wil Wheaton of course. I've heard him better though, so I couldn't give him a 5.

Fantastic. Just utterly fantastic.

What a unique and fun storyline and a reader that was more than up to the job. I can hardly wait to listen to more from both the author and the reader.

A Completely Different "First Encounter" Story!

What made the experience of listening to Agent to the Stars the most enjoyable?

I read that the author started this as a "practice" book, just to see if he could write one. Let me say, he can! He somehow combined a lighthearted romp through Hollywood with aliens and spaceships to create a completely different take on the typical first encounter story. It came down to earth, as it were, when the two races (human and alien) had to resolve some serious cultural differences for the plot to reach its conclusion, and the author showed a great ability to explore ethical issues without getting bogged down.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I have to say the smart-alecky wise-cracking alien named Joshua. He kept things light. The book never took itself too seriously. The narration by Will Wheaton was spot-on throughout.

Which scene was your favorite?

The entire sequence where he walked us through the actual first encounter was really great writing, There were several unexpected and absolutely atypical turns of events.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

First, I would cast Will Wheaton as the protagonist, Tom Stine. Mr. Wheaton was great as the narrator for this book. As for the tag line, "First Contact, Hollywood Style".

Any additional comments?

This is one of the reasons I keep my subscription to Audible. I had never heard of this book, then one day it popped up on sale. I was between books so I snagged it, and what a delight it was. I will be looking into the author's other books soon.

Surprisingly good!

I didn't expect too much based on yhe description but the high rating and promise of humor drew caught my eye. This is a VERY entertaining romp! The characters are well drawn and the tempo is upbeat. The narrator is spot on with his performance.