Agent to the Stars
Ratings114
Average rating3.8
A nice light-topic read, a bit of staying on the same subject a smidge too long at times but for the most part the plot moved right along. I enjoyed the aliens and was pleasantly surprised in the author's comments that this was his very first story. Well done!
3.5 stars. A really fun and easy read. Engaging and witty. Would make for a fun comedy movie.
Unos extraterrestres nada agraciados llegan a la tierra y buscan hacer el primer contacto con los humanos. Lo primero que necesitan es un agente que les permita hacer contacto de la mejor manera, para no asustar y agradar a los humanos. Bueno, puede ser divertido.
Empezó siendo entretenido, y es que Scalzy siempre logra sacarme una sonrisa. Pero en la segunda mitad empieza a decaer. Pensé que iba a retomar con la discusión moral entre yherajk y los humanos, pero al final no me convenció ésta.
Más que ver la historia sobre el primer encuentro con seres de otros planetas, terminé leyendo como se hace y ensaya una película de Hollywood. Y por supuesto no quería terminar leyendo sobre chismes de la farándula.
Los yherajk se me hacen seres interesantes, sobre todo Joshua, así que le bajo más puntos por no aprovecharlos.
[a:John Scalzi 4763 John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1407277112p2/4763.jpg] can do no wrong.Great story!
Agent to the Stars was absolutely fabulous! Scalzi has been on my to-read list for ages, but I just never got around to it. So, when the audio of this book popped up on my Audible recommendations, I snagged it without a second thought. It wasn't until I sat to listen to it that I realized that Wil Wheaton was the narrator. WIL WHEATON! Let me tell you, he's the perfect choice for this story. Sarcastic, and brilliant. More on that in a second.
I think this was the perfect entry point to the world of Scalzi for me. This book is on the shorter side, but (at least according to my Scalzi addicted friends) still has his trademark sense of humor. I was wholly impressed at how easily he managed to mesh together more serious topics with a dry wit that just made me want to laugh out loud. The concept of aliens coming to Earth isn't anything new. However, the way that it's handled here is definitely outside of what we're used to. It was extremely well done, and hilarious to boot! I fell in love.
Now, as a narrator I truly think Wil Wheaton was an excellent choice. He mastered our main character, Tom Stein, immediately. Tom's trademarked dry wit, and no nonsense attitude, came to life in Wheaton's voice. While I admit that Wheaton isn't the best at female voices, he still managed to do justice to all the other supporting characters as well. By the time I reached the middle of this story, Tom WAS Wheaton. Wheaton was Tom. I enjoyed every minute of it.
This just makes me want to go hunt down more Scalzi! If you have some free time, give this audio a shot. It's worth your time.
I enjoyed Wil Wheaton's performance in this audio book. I'd heard good things about the author and for some reason chose this as my introduction. My one take away was that Mr. Scalzi must really have a thing with smell.
This starts out great, with all the sly wit I've come to expect from Scalzi. But I feel like the pacing is poor, and the story bogs down terribly when it gets to extended reflections on bioethics. Not only does this meditation last too long and clash with the tone of the first part of the book, but it feels rather contrived to deliver the outcome Scalzi wants so the plot can wrap up well, rather than an honest philosophical discussion.
Still, this is well worth reading and is overall very charming and fun.
Executive Summary: A decent, but not great sci-fi story. You can see the early signs of Mr. Scalzi's work, but not nearly as developed as in his later works.Audio book: This is the third audiobook I've listened to read by [a:Wil Wheaton 37075 Wil Wheaton http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1356706649p2/37075.jpg]. I think it might be his best of the three. He does a much better job with voice variation for the characters in the book. Voices aren't his strong suit, especially female voices. I still enjoy him as a narrator however.Full ReviewIf taken in a vacuum, knowing this is a novel that Mr. Scalzi wrote to see if he could, it's pretty good. Of course things aren't in a vacuum, and given my enjoyment of his later works, this one just isn't as good.This book was a series of ups and downs for me. I started off a little slow, but built up as it went on. I liked most of the characters. The normal Scalzi snark is present, but not as funny as in his other works.The premise itself is an amusing one. Thomas Stein is an up and coming young agent in Hollywood. He works for one of the top agency's in L.A. His boss is probably one of the best known people in all of Hollywood. It is for that reasons that aliens contact him. The very benign Yherajk have a problem. Despite being very peaceful, they look terrifying, and smell worse. They've been watching our movies and TV for years, and worry about how the human race will react. They decide they need an agent. Tom is chosen by his boss as someone who can spare the time to work the problem without being found out.Of course things don't go exactly as planned.Just as I was really enjoying the story, the book took a turn. It really changed the whole tone of the book for me. It went from being a light sci-fi story to something more serious, and characters I liked were pondering actions I didn't like.Things righted themselves a bit, and the ending saved the story from going completely off the rails for me.Overall, I'd say this is one that could safely be skipped by all the biggest Scalzi fans. It's enjoyable enough, but nothing that special.
Short Review: The official 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. Seemed like a humous book to me, so I picked it up on a whim. It was good. Felt like a science fiction version of Christopher Buckley book (high praise in my book).
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/agent-stars/
This book deserves five stars, since it made me stay up till 1 a.m. even though I was dead tired.