There are a lot of sci-fi books out there that involve human contact with alien life, whether in space or on Earth. (Yes, there are some non-fiction books out there too!) The majority of the plots treat the idea very seriously, whether it’s the drama of scientific discovery and exploration or they take a horror angle as the aliens want to take over the world. But occasionally you get something a little different, something that actually points out how ridiculous first contact could potentially be. That’s where Agent to the Stars fits in.

Originally published in 2004, this novel by John Scalzi was recently rereleased. It’s about an alien race that comes to Earth after intercepting the outdated radio signals scientists have been shooting into space for decades. They are friendly and genuinely want to help humanity in whatever ways they can. But there’s a problem – they look like large blobs of gelatin and emit disgusting odors. They may not know everything about humanity, but they know they won’t even get past an initial greeting with their appearance. But they have a solution in mind – get a Hollywood agent to make them appealing.

Yes, it’s a ridiculous premise, but it’s actually a lot more believable in the real world than a lot of the alien stories out there. And it does actually work as a fairly engrossing plot. How the aliens discovered Earth, how they decided on which human to contact with their idea, the setbacks along the way – it’s well thought out and makes sense in the realm of this story. There’s even a pretty in-depth explanation of how these globulous entities function.

Though it’s a comedic novel, a lot of elements are taken rather seriously and that helps to keep the story from feeling absurd. It’s interesting to read just how the agent eventually figures out a way to make these aliens palatable to the human race – it’s actually pretty ingenious. And even though the book is 15 years old, it’s surprisingly not dated. So if you’re looking for some alien contact sci-fi that’s on the lighter side, you might want to consider finding an Agent to the Stars.