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When space comes to you...
I've come to expect certain things of a John Scalzi novel, and thanks to that, I'm tempted to pick up any of his books pretty much sight unseen. When I saw "Agent to the Stars" on a shelf in my local library on my last visit, I just grabbed it the way you might toss a bag of candy on the conveyer belt at the grocery checkout. And I'm glad I did.
At first, this story about an agent given the most unusual of clients was interesting but nothing special - out main character, Tom, is given a chance to represent an alien race as they decide how to approach humanity. Since they don't look or smell particularly nice to humans, they want help in not being run off the planet at the point of a gun, despite them having no hostile intentions. He agrees, because hey, how do you say no? And then wackiness ensues.
But somewhere in the wackiness, it also got a little bit... I don't know. It got touching. It got sweet, and a little sad. It asked questions about morality and death. In the end, it hit me a little more emotionally than I expected for a story about space aliens and California.
I recommend it. It's a solid, fast read, really enjoyable, and made me cry a little while I was waiting for Jury Duty, which was maybe embarrassing but also
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