Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

In the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book, John Scalzi calls Agent to the Stars, his practice novel. The novel he wrote just to see if he could write. He can.

The premise of the book is that an alien race wants to make first contact with earth. They’ve been hovering over the planet for years observing life on the planet through the TV shows beamed into outer space. The Yherajk (for that is their name) have an image problem. They are smart and funny but ugly. Fearing that their outer appearance will make them unwelcome they have decided that the best way to introduce themselves to the human race is to hire a Hollywood agent.

This book is funny. The premise is fun, the banter is witty and the story is both heart-warming and silly. The only thing I didn’t really care for was the way the ending was presented. The actual conclusion is brilliant but it’s almost as if the writer decided it was time to shorten the story and he uses newspaper headliners to make the leap over the concluding months. I could have easily read the extra 100-150 pages it would have taken to flesh out the rest of the conclusion. And I sincerely hope there is a sequel in the works.

If you are a science-fiction fan and you like your aliens witty, intelligent and friendly then you will like this book.