Onward with some fiction! Both of these books are written by John Scalzi, the shiny-new president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. I was altogether unfamiliar with Scalzi, until Wil Wheaton posted a blog post with a ghastly, horrifying, magically awesome painting, inviting readers to head over to Scalzi’s blog to find out the deets. So scoot over I did, and found John Scalzi to be an intriguing writer.

Since he’s friends with Wil Wheaton, and other friends of Wil Wheaton whom we’ve met have turned out to be really hoopy froods, I scampered over to the library Web site and put a couple of his books on hold.

Agent to the Stars arrived first, and was a great introduction to John Scalzi’s humorous sci-fi writing. A benevolent alien species wants to approach humankind in peace, but they’re smelly. And look like slime. One look at The Blob lets them know that it may not go over well, which leads the aliens to get a Hollywood agent to make the introductions.

I ripped through this book, because I didn’t want to put it down. The characters were fun, the situations clever, and the writing very witty. There were a couple of really glaring typos (which was also the case with the other Scalzi book I read), which is always distressing. And three female characters in the first part whose names start with M, which got a tad bit confusing. But considering that this was Scalzi’s first novel, written partially just to see if he could indeed write, it’s an amazing effort. A load of fun, and 8 out of 10.

The second Scalzi book I received was The Android’s Dream. On a future Earth where alien races are welcomed, a political incident arises when the Nidu species requires a specific genetically created sheep for a ceremony — the Android’s Dream sheep. (A nice nod to Philip K. Dick there.) The only problem is that someone’s killing off any and all of the sheep. Enter Harry Creek, a state department employee with a past both in the army and as a hacker. The perfect combination to find and protect Robin Baker, the only woman with a connection to the sheep needed to prevent interstellar war.

Again, the mix of humor and sci-fi was excellent. And again, I sped through this book in one day, in order to find out what happens. It tickled the same sci-fi funnybone as Douglas Adams — a nice, dry wit. 9 out of 10.

I’ve put my next Scalzi book on hold — The Old Man’s War, which is apparently the first in a set of four (the next are Ghost Brigades, Last Colony, and Zoe’s Tale) more serious books. I hope he still has some of his humor, even if the material is a bit heavier. We’ll have to see if they strike me the same way his lighthearted books have.

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