Agent to the Stars

This book just as well start with, "Hi, I'm Joshua. I'll be your alien for the night. And by the way, here's a pair of nose plugs, our race communicates by smell-o-vision." That's the set up for a funny story about an alien race who has decided they want to make contact with humans but know that not being cute and fuzzy makes it difficult to be perceived as good aliens. What the Yherajk decide to do instead, is make contact with the CEO of a talent agency and ask for representation.

This is Scalzi's first published novel, and while not as strong as some of his later work, it's got all the hallmarks of what makes his books so fun and interesting to read. Lots of snark and sarcasm, and lots of creative problem solving. Lots of creative show more problem solving.

Go ahead, you try to think of a way to introduce a race of gelatinous, transparent blobs to the world which won't start a parade of burning torches and pitchforks down Hollywood Boulevard. That's why John Scalzi wrote this book and I didn't.

I do worry about his predilection for aliens who communicate by smell (see The Android's Dream). Is Mr. Scalzi working through some childhood trauma caused by farts? Or is he just a 12-year-old boy still? show less

Agent to the Stars was John Scalzi's first novel, written in 1997, and finally published in hardcover in 2005. It tells the story of Tom Stein, who is a young and upcoming Hollywood agent. Tom has just negotiated a huge contract for his biggest client, Michelle Beck, a clueless blond, when his boss, Carl Lupo invites him to a meeting. As a result of the meeting, Tom becomes the agent to the Yherajk, a group of friendly space aliens who want to make contact with the human race. The Yherajk need PR because they look like blobs of jello and communicate with each other using horrible smells. Tom has his hands full - Joshua, the Yherajk, has come to live with him, Michelle desperately wants the part of a Holocaust survivor, for which she is show more totally unsuited, in an upcoming movie, and a tabloid reporter has it in for him, costing him some of his remaining clients. When Joshua takes over the body of Tom's next door neighbor's dying dog, Ralph, and Michelle has a freak accident during the casting of her head, it is up to Tom to find a way to fix everything.

I listened to the Wil Wheaton narrated version of this book from Audible.

I thought this book was great! In my opinion, it was funny even though I knew what was ultimately going to happen throughout most of the book. I love Scalzi's sense of humor. There are no complexities here - it is just a fun and easy listen. Wheaton's narration was spot on as it always is (5 stars for the narration.) Scalzi is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

If you enjoy Scalzi or just enjoy humorous science fiction, I think you will enjoy this book. show less

In Agent to the Stars, John Scalzi and Wil Wheaton team up again. In this madcap adventure, Mr. Scalzi explores how humans might react if aliens were not humanoid but rather odorous, unpleasant blobs. What follows is zany, difficult to describe with a straight face, yet quite pointed in its depiction of humanity’s obsession with beauty standards. As with all of Mr. Scalzi’s stories, I flew through it, enjoying every second. It helps that Mr. Wheaton is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators and that he understands Mr. Scalzi’s aims so well. Together, they are audio magic.

This is a fun take on the first-contact idea. Aliens make contact with humanity: they have been watching Earth television for ages, so they know a lot about humanity (or at least about entertainment). They realize that their form - gelatinous blobs who communicate with rank smells - will not be appealing to humans. So to make sure their first contact goes smoothly, they hire a Hollywood agent to make sure they have a good image.

It's Scalzi, so naturally, hilarity ensues.

This was a fun, light read. I found all of the Hollywood/movie industry culture to be a bit tedious - I'm sure that for people who care about that culture more than I do, that was hilarious.

I probably would have enjoyed this a lot more as a movie than as a book.

Summary: Tom Stein, a young Hollywood agent, thinks he's just closed the biggest deal of his career for one of his starlet clients. And then he meets his new client... a member of the alien race called the Yherajk who goes by the name of Joshua. The Yherajk have been monitoring Earth for a while, and they're ready to make contact, but they've seen enough movies to know that when you look like you're made out of snot and you stink like rotting fish, you're going to have a bit of a PR problem on your hands... or your slime tentacles, in this case. So the Yherajk have hired Tom's firm to represent them, and Tom is tasked with finding a way of introducing the Yherajk to humanity, and with keeping Joshua under wraps until they do -- not the show more easiest thing in an industry where everyone is always looking for the next big thing.

Review: This book was utterly silly, but in the really fun sort of way. It's the first book that Scalzi wrote (although not the first one that he got published), and it is admittedly not quite as polished as some of his later books, although it's quite a bit better than many other first novels I've read. Agent to the Stars is one of Scalzi's "zany farce"-style books, although it's not as intricate as The Android's Dream (where the idea of aliens who communicate through smell reappears), and doesn't have the more serious ethical underpinnings of Fuzzy Nation. That's not to say that there isn't *anything* serious about this book; one of the things the Yherajk can do is take over the bodies and share the minds of other organisms, although they will only do so under strict conditions of consent; Scalzi dabbles with this idea as it applies to things like bodily autonomy and life support / the right to die. But mostly this book is full of a lot of zany alien adventures and fast-talking Hollywood agents. Scalzi's characteristic rapid-fire snarky dialogue is certainly already present in this book, and Wil Wheaton again is the perfect match to read the audiobook - his voice just fits so well with Scalzi's sensibilities. There's not a ton of character development (although there is some, mostly in conjunction with the times this novel brushes up against more serious subjects), but deep multidimensional characters aren't really the point of this novel. The point is: Gross aliens need an agent, wacky misadventures ensue. And sometimes, some wacky misadventures and some good laughs are all you really need. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Fans of Scalzi's later works will find the same fun sensibility and some germs of his later ideas here. Although it's not quite as good as his later novels, it's still a solid pick when you need something fast and fun to read. show less

Aliens have fallen in love with Earth culture and want desperately to integrate; however, there is one problem. They are extremely ugly. In order to ease the transition, they've hired a Hollywood agent. Agent to the Stars is delightfully written with lots of snarky tidbits. While the critique from some is that it is extremely predictable and takes an over-the-top happy-go-lucky approach just remember this was Scalzi's practice novel to prove to himself he could write one.

"We have seen The Blob, and it is us."

A race of friendly aliens want to introduce themselves to Earth. They're wary of our political figures, and besides, political figures only represent countries; American movies go out to the world. So, they decide to get an agent.

Agent to the Stars is a hilarious book with great characters (including, or maybe especially, the aliens) and a fun story. It's also unexpectedly moving at times.

This was Scalzi's first novel, written to see if he could do it, and he posted it on his website for people to read for free (where it's still available).