AGENT TO THE STARS by John Scalzi

Narrated by Wil Wheaton

Broadway Danny Rose Makes First Contact

This was my second John Scalzi book and was quite a relief after enduring the annoying character identifiers of ANDROID’S DREAM. Either Scalzi was taken to the woodshed by the audio producers and ordered to eliminate all the “he said,” “she said” repetitions in the dialog scenes; or he was tired of playing practical jokes on his listeners and allowed the characters to be recognized by the context of their words. In any event, the character identifiers in the dialog scenes are completely transparent. Now you can focus on the story.

 Here Scalzi writes like a Hollywood insider. He seems to know all the moves that occur behind the scenes. His protagonist is a talent agent thrust into the midst of the historic first contact with an alien species. It is a fun idea and plays like a comedy.

Wil Wheaton is becoming one of my favorite narrators. I will always be amazed that Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher, the most annoying character on Star Trek the Next Generation, could become such an excellent voice actor. Wheaton gets the audiobook medium like few others. He seems to sense the different characters to the degree that even when he doesn’t employ a distinct character voice, he is still able to set off each character apart by distinct pacing and diction. He’s one of the best. Don’t miss him.