My choice of Agent to the Stars as one of my favorite books of 2012 is based not only on this book, but also the other four John Scalzi books I read this year. Agent to the Stars was my favorite and I think the funniest. But the fact that I read five books by a single author and liked all of them is a sign of a good author.
Summary: Comedy about an alien race that contacts a Hollywood agent about introducing them to the planet earth.
This was a book I picked up on a whim. I was a bit burned out on my non-fiction books. And I needed to buy four audiobooks at once to get a $10 coupon from Audible. So Agent to the Stars ended up as one of the picks.
Reading the description (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.) reminded me of a Christopher Buckley novel. I love Christopher Buckley’s novels. They are funny, sharply political (against all sides) and almost always pull me out of reading funks. So I picked this up.
John Scalzi is just as funny as Buckley, but instead of the political subtext, this books uses a science fiction/entertainment subtext. You do not need to love science fiction to love this book, but it might help.
Will Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of Star Trek fame and recently regular cameo on Big Bang Theory), does an excellent job narrating. After listening to Wheaton narrate Ready Player One, he is becoming one of my favorite audiobook narrators.
I hate giving away too much of the plot on fiction books. But if you like humorous books, a little bit of (pretty clean) romance, a new take on the old stories (alien invasion) you will like this.
Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook
Related Bookwi.se Reviews
- Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
- Redshirts by John Scalzi
- Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
- The Android’s Dream by John Scalzi
