Agent to the Stars [Paperback]

At times, I am so jealous of John Scalzi. He seems to have more writing talent in his little finger (not to mention his middle one!) than many people do in their entire bodies. What brings this feeling to mind today? Having just read Scalzi's first novel, Agent to the Stars and realizing that it's one of the funniest, yet also kind of profound, novels I've read in a long time. Curse you, Scalzi!! But I just can't put it down.

I don't know whether Scalzi has any history in Hollywood or in the agent field, but he captures the whole Hollywood scene perfectly, at least to these layman eyes. There's the cutthroat negotiations of getting back-end deals versus front-loaded ones for his actors, lots of talk about the movie-making business (as well as TV too) and just an amazing amount of detail that either demonstrates Scalzi's knowledge or his research ability. Granted, it's all taken a step above reality into the mildly absurd, but that's what this novel is: an absurdist science fiction novel.

Scalzi's characteristic wit shines through, but the book is also laugh-out-loud funny too. There are just so many moments that I burst out laughing that I'm surprised my wife didn't have me committed. Joshua, the Yherajk ,that Thomas has to deal with, has obviously learned a lot about Earth culture, and he makes some wonderful comments about the whole thing, especially when he inhabits the neighbour's dog as a way to get around less noticeably. Some of the humor comes from the situations Scalzi sets up, some are just wry Hollywood asides, and some are sarcastic jokes. None of them fell flat for me, however.

Better yet, much of the humor actually comes from the characters, who are solid as usual under Scalzi's care. Even the bimbo Michelle becomes endearing as the novel goes along, and I loved the relationship between Thomas and his administrative assistant, Miranda. Joshua, of course, is beautifully done and the rest of the Yherajk are as well. There is just not a false note in any of the characters.

That's not to say there aren't any problems. No book is perfect, even less so a first novel. There are a couple of slow spots, including the sequence where Thomas' boss explains to him how the Yherajk came to him. There is definitely some good humor involved, but for some reason I found my attention wandering during this part. Also, the ending is a bit too wrapped up with a bow on top. Scalzi uses the device of a number of newspaper and magazine articles to detail what happens during the last year leading up to the alien revelation to the world. This would have added at least 100 pages to the book to write normally (and perhaps more to do it right), so perhaps it's understandable. I found that it distanced me from the characters and the events more than I would have liked.

That being said, Agent to the Stars is a wonderful book that is perfect for those looking for a good laugh. It is science fiction, but the humor in the novel makes it accessible to all readers. There are a few SF concepts that the non-genre reader may have to get through the head, but it's well worth it. Scalzi is a great writer, and this is a great read.

David Roy

Agent to the Stars was the unpublished debut novel of John Scalzi, author of the great Old Man's War, Ghost Brigades and Androids Dream. Like his other works Agent to the Stars has a sci-fi bent, but is a very different beast to the books that would follow it. This is not pure sci-fi like Old Man's War and nor is it a lightweight semi-comedic romp like Androids Dream. It is a strange hybrid of Hollywood-satire, critique of popular media and alien invasion B-movie. Remarkably, considering its disparate elements, it mostly works.

In a nutshell the plot involves a young Hollywood agent on the rise who get's given the biggest client of his career in the form of an entire alien race who want him to smooth their introduction to humans on earth. The aliens have reasoned that the fact they look like snot and smell terrible might lead to negative reactions from humans and that they need an agent to help sell them as the peace loving creatures they really are. What follows is a wild ride that satirises the obessions of Hollywood, the way the media treats celebrity and our preconceptions of what first contact with an alien race is likely to be like.

It all makes for a hugely enjoyable, often very funny tale that romps along at a fair old pace. Some of the ideas Scalzi would use in later novels to great affect can be seen in embryonic form; scuh as the aliens who use very human modes of speech rather than portenious tones, the lack of any sort of obsession with technological minutae, the avoidance of negative stereotypes and the humanising of even the most inhuman or foolish character. Scalzi also, wisely in my opinion, keeps things simple. He doesn't attempt any stylistic trickery that is beyond his skills as a writer. This is a very linear tale, told logically and straightforwardly and is all the better for that.

Of course there are some minor niggles here and there as you would expect with a debutant author, but the only major issue I had with the book was the ending. Without spoiling it for future readers I simply didn't buy into the way Scalzi resolved his tale. I simply couldn't accept that the plan the aliens and the agent come up with would ever work. I know this might sound stupid when you're talking about a book that deals with space aliens hiring a Hollywood agent to represent them, but up until the final quarter of the book I was able to suspend my disbelief and go along with events on the page, but the means by which the aliens are introduced to the world was just a step too far for me. That's not to criticise the quality of the writing but simply to say that personally I just couldn't go with the final turns the plot took.

Still that wasn't enough to stop me thorougly enjoying 80-85% of Agent to the Stars and for me not to recommend it. Whether you're a sci-fi fan or not there is much to enjoy here, and if you like this I can also wholeheartedly recommend trying Scalzi's other novels.

Sci-fi with humour, great fun read.

I loved the alien self-deprecating humour - very amusing - a brilliant holiday read.

I enjoyed the change of style and loved reading it.

Quite a decent plot line, although I did see the major theme coming; but executed very well.