Agent to the Stars
{4.5/5} “For them, it’s not simply a matter of the most efficient way of doing something, otherwise Joshua would be addressing the UN right now. But there’s that notion the Yherajk have of surrendering to the crucial moment, burned right down into their reproductive strategies. I think that once again, they’re surrendering the moment to us — they’re saying, here, we trust you to take this, the most important moment in the history of both our races, and make it work.”
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, published in 2005
Tom is an actor’s agent. He’s a junior agent at his firm, but he has one actress who currently gets millions of dollars for a movie. His boss Carl invites him to participate in an extraordinary opportunity — prepare the world for the knowledge that there are aliens called Yherajk who look like Jello. The alien in front of him is named Joshua and he’s going to be staying with him for a while.
This was Scalzi’s first novel. He initially posted it on his website in 1999, before it was picked up by a publisher.
It has his trademark humour, which fits delightfully into this story. I love the attitude of the main character.
It has interesting aliens, and a unique first contact — Scalzi makes it plausible.
I’ve read all 16 of Scalzi’s novels. I previously reviewed The Kaiju Preservation Society.