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Year Zero

by Rob Reid (Goodreads Author)

3.6 · Rating Details · 9,333 Ratings · 1,472 Reviews

An alien advance party was suddenly nosing around my planet.
Worse, they were lawyering up. . . .

In the hilarious tradition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Rob Reid takes you on a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe—and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.

Low-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks ...more

Hardcover, 364 pages

Published July 10th 2012 by Del Rey (first published July 1st 2012)

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Apr 09, 2012 Tom Merritt rated it really liked it

Nobody should ever be compared to Douglas Adams. It's unfair. Not to eulogise the dead but Adams is literally incomparable. That's why I respect the bravery of Eoin Colfer. Now there's an idea. Rob Reid matches and often surpasses the wit and glorious absurdity of Eoin Colfer. Year Zero not only paints a beautiful tale of the absurdity of our laws but packs the story full of excellent geeky nuggets both musical and Monty Python. Plus there's some damn fine science fiction concepts packed in lik ...more

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Feb 04, 2014 Joe Valdez rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Illegal download junkies, alien visitors, jokesters

Shelves: sci-fi-first-contact

I can imagine Rob Reid writing with a copy of Mad Magazine or Cracked on his desk, if not for comic material, ammunition for spit wads perhaps. Fiction needs a funny bone, but my patience has its limits, and like having to sit in front of the class clown, Year Zero exhausted mine.

In a nod to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Year Zero begins with a thoroughly average Earthling who realizes his planet is facing annihilation for bureaucratic reasons. Nick Carter (cue the first of many Backstre I can imagine Rob Reid writing with a copy of Mad Magazine or Cracked on his desk, if not for comic material, ammunition for spit wads perhaps. Fiction needs a funny bone, but my patience has its limits, and like having to sit in front of the class clown, Year Zero exhausted mine.

In a nod to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Year Zero begins with a thoroughly average Earthling who realizes his planet is facing annihilation for bureaucratic reasons. Nick Carter (cue the first of many Backstreet Boys jokes!) works as an entertainment attorney in Manhattan. Facing certain termination by his boss Judy Sherman due to lack of original thought, Nick is visited by a young woman dressed as a Catholic nun and a dope who looks like a mullah. Giving the names "Carly" and "Frampton", the pair have confused Nick with the Backstreet Boy and assume he's partner at the law firm, ruthless litigators for the music industry.

There's a lot of explaining in this book, so Carly and Frampton explain that the universe has been pirating Earth's music since 1977, when a broadcast of Welcome Back Kotter was intercepted and the theme song brought ecstasy to billions of beings. 1977 is known as Year Zero, when Earth's pop music changed life everywhere. Carly and Frampton (get it?! get it?!) are Perfuffinites, a race that have gained fame as interstellar concert performers lip synching Earth's pop music. They're concerned that by our arcane copyright laws, every being in the universe owes us $140,000 for each illegal download. Certain parties would prefer to destroy the planet rather than pay up.

Intergalactic adventure (or lack thereof) ensues, with Nick receiving assistance from his neighbor, curvaceous musician Manda Shark, and cousin, a capable creep who Nick refers to as Pugwash.

I downloaded a copy of Year Zero for Kindle because the first several pages did sound irreverent and fun. Reid demonstrates a great deal of acumen about music copyright law and the gears of a cutthroat law firm hired to enforce it. My favorite sections simply dealt with Nick's ne'er-do-well poker player versus his boss of brass balls Judy. Nick is clearly a Mary Sue, a nice guy like the author whose only flaw is being a bit vanilla, and the attention that Nick's red hot musician neighbor lavishes on him stretches believability. Manda such a fun character, and I wanted to see what happened to her next.

Year Zero is a joke based book and I hate jokes. Black Sabbath references or digs at reality TV are fine, but what I love is humor based on character, humor that comes from some sort of reality, even if it's Ghostbusters reality. Reid fires pop culture jokes at a clip of one per page and after a while, I just wanted that to stop. I wanted to spend time with characters I liked and enter a strange universe that stimulated my imagination. This book fails to manage either. This isn't so much a novel, it's a wit delivery system loaded by the author and fired at the reader.

The special characters and punctuation in Year Zero annoyed me. The novel is littered with footnotes, at least four per chapter revealed at the end of each chapter. Footnotes took me out of the story, practically directing me to the table where the author of the book was signing copies. And the question marks never cease to end. "So what do we do now?" said Manda after a long pause. "Call the FBI? The air force? NASA?" Forget showing versus telling, this is showing versus asking and telling. Even worse. ...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Richard rated it did not like it · review of another edition

A "science fiction" book for people who normally wouldn't be caught dead reading science fiction, and one that's directed with laser-like focus at its intended audience.

Year Zero is entertaining enough for what it is, but the book is trying very hard to evoke the spirit of Douglas Adams and not surprisingly, it falls well short of that mark.

Add to that an irritating tendency to include pop culture references that are getting well past their time (Rickrolling, Gaga, etc.), and flavor-of-the-mom ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-at-your-own-risk, science-fiction, amazon-vine, idiot-protagonist, dnf, ha-ha-ha-no-really

Nick Carter (but not the Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys) works at a law firm as a copyright assistant. Life drastically changes when two aliens pop into his office and tell him the news: Earth know owns the entire galaxy and some aliens aren't so happy about that.

NOTE: I received this through the Amazon Vine program.

Up until this morning, I had every intention of reading this book until the very end. But I had an epiphany: I had absolutely ZERO interest in finishing this book.

Why did I sto Nick Carter (but not the Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys) works at a law firm as a copyright assistant. Life drastically changes when two aliens pop into his office and tell him the news: Earth know owns the entire galaxy and some aliens aren't so happy about that.

NOTE: I received this through the Amazon Vine program.

Up until this morning, I had every intention of reading this book until the very end. But I had an epiphany: I had absolutely ZERO interest in finishing this book.

Why did I stop at page 156 at the book that everyone is comparing to Douglas Adams' brilliantThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Cline's amazing Ready Player One? I've loved both books. I've read Hitchhiker's twice--once on audiobook, once in actual paper form. "Ready Player One" is the best book I've read all year and my new top 5 favorite book. So if this book is being compared to those great works of art, why did I not finish it?

I think the biggest reason is because this book is most definitely NOT either book. It's nowhere near as clever, witty, funny, and irreverent as either book. Instead, this book is sophomoric, clunky, and mean. The characters are 100 shades of stupid, the prose is bland and emotionless, the story is buried under legalese, the footnotes made me stick a fork in my eye, and instead of being satirical or funny, the book is mean-spirited.

Nick Carter is a 12-year-old boy stuck in adult's clothing. I can understand why he has to be clueless (wasn't Arthur Dent?), but making juvenile jokes about petting someone's cat caters to the lowest-common-denominator. Manda is, like most women in stereotypical "scifi" books, reduced to being a set of boobs. Judy Sherman is a hideously caricatured boss, even so far as to be nicknamed "Cruella deVille"! (REALLY?!?) And the aliens, Carly and Frampton, are so stuck in their roles (one as the person who knows everything and the other as the stupid-beyond-belief idiot) that I wanted to cry. At least in Hitchhiker's Guide, pretty much everyone was a moron. And in "Ready Player One", the characters weren't perfect, but they were likable and relatable.

The story idea had promise. Aliens coming to Earth, trying for music rights? Interesting, no? But execution-wise, not so much. Much of the book is like one massive info-dump in music copyright laws (and given that the author was the creator of Rhapsody, I'm not that surprised). I suppose if you are a lawyer or like legal thrillers, you may not mind this as much as I do. But I came in for a scifi novel, not a legal thriller.

What about the scifi aspect? Pathetic. Although there are some mildly amusing sciency remarks in the footnotes (about the periodic table, powers of ten designators), there are ONLY mildly amusing sciency remarks in the FOOTNOTES. FOOTNOTES. What are FOOTNOTES doing in a fiction piece? Talk about completely disrupting the flow of the book! And half the time they could A) have been omitted without losing anything or B) integrated into the text and only ADDED humor to the situation.

Not once in the entire 156 pages I read did I laugh. I didn't even crack a smile. It's just not funny. It's like a 12 year old tossing in every half-funny thing he's ever heard and screaming, "LAUGH LAUGH IT'S FUNNY!!" And what jokes there are, seem to be mean-spirited jabs. The senator nicknamed "Fido" because he's at the law firms beck and call. The insults hurled at Clippy the Microsoft Word assistant. The horrible racial joke about how all Koreans playing WoW are actually aliens. Even the WoW scene seems to be making fun of people who play MMO's. This isn't like the references in "Ready Player One", which may have been silly, but at least they didn't outright insult people who play MMO's or video game nerds or people who like kitschy 80's bands and TV shows and whatnot. Here, it comes across as someone with an axe to grind.

If you are thinking this is like Hitchhiker's Guide or "Ready Player One", I would be VERY cautious when entering this. Please, if you consider reading this, check it out from the library or at least find a place that has a few chapters (and not just the Prologue, which is pretty good) for you to peruse before plunking down nearly 30 bucks. Maybe you'll find you like this book, and that my review doesn't reflect what you like at all. But maybe you'll be surprised that this book is nothing like what it is touted to be, and I can save you some money and time. ...more

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Sep 20, 2012 Twesterm rated it did not like it

I hated this book.

I think it has a brilliant premise but beyond that it just fails on everything else. Poor writing, bland characters, boring world, and old jokes. Nothing in this book really worked for me and it was made even worse to find out the book is one long setup for an old, uninspired, not-that-funny, and completely obvious joke at the end of the book.

I think besides the bad writing, boring characters, poor execution, and boring obvious jokes, I think the thing that gets me the most is ...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Joanna rated it liked it

Recommends it for: People actually involved in the music industry or copyright/license law

Shelves: music, speculative-fiction, 2010s, amurika

It starts off really funny, but not gonna lie I got kinda tired of the joke after about the halfway point. Like, seriously I should have written this review earlier because I find it hard to have an opinion anymore. Like two months after watching a mediocre movie or television episode and someone asks you, "How was that?" and you're like, "Uh... it was... okay? I think? I mean, I finished it so it couldn't have been bad... "

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Dec 13, 2012 Terri Light rated it it was amazing

Shelves: prof-xenia-glitchy-picks

As I listened to the audiobook during a particularly long and grueling week of work, this was a welcome and hilarious distraction from the technology grind. Probably one of the funniest things I have come across in a while, it has a wicked satire of popular music, trendy television, our array of must-have-electronic devices, laws and lawyers and the improbabilities of space. I probably can't describe the plot any better than any other reviewers, but I will say that all of the music-related easte ...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Chris rated it it was amazing

Both hilarious and relevant, this book is a must read for people of my generation. The plot is zany and off-the-wall, but it is a great vehicle for explaining the complications, greed, and absurdity behind our music industry. The characters are fun and easy to like. There are plenty of references to bands and musicians that will make any pop culture geek smile. There are also actual laugh out loud moments. This surprised me because I rarely find "humor" books funny anymore. They all seem to try ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Katy rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: folks who enjoy humorous, sci-fi and music

Recommended to Katy by: Amazon Vine

Shelves: vine-book, galley-for-review

Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of humorous stories, science fiction, people who like music.

Disclosure: I received an ARC paperback copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Low-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks it’s a prank, not an alien encounter, when a redheaded mullah and a curvaceous nun show up at his office. But Frampton and Carly are highly advanced (if bumblin ...more

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Jul 09, 2012 Cathy rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, humor, read-in-2012, netgalley

It started off with a good chuckle--the noble opus so sublime as to trigger the dawning moment of Year Zero was the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter. Which, I've got to say, while I might not call an opus, is a mighty fine song that is on my iPod.

My first impression was Christopher Moore meets Hitchhiker. I'm not sure why the Moore since it's sci-fi, maybe just the slapstick humor. Now I know everyone is comparing it to Hitchhiker, and really it's not fair to hold it to such a high standard, It started off with a good chuckle--the noble opus so sublime as to trigger the dawning moment of Year Zero was the theme song to Welcome Back, Kotter. Which, I've got to say, while I might not call an opus, is a mighty fine song that is on my iPod.

My first impression was Christopher Moore meets Hitchhiker. I'm not sure why the Moore since it's sci-fi, maybe just the slapstick humor. Now I know everyone is comparing it to Hitchhiker, and really it's not fair to hold it to such a high standard, people are bound to be disappointed if it doesn't meet their expectations after reading that, so I was reluctant to mention it, but I could hardly ignore it. And some will say that it's too derivative of Hitchhiker. But really, just because that was my first thought and so many other people's thoughts doesn't make it actually true. Because once you read it (and I hope you do) you'll see that actually it's nothing like it except in tone and because it has a lot of odd, silly aliens. And the Earth is in danger. And really, every story is derivative of the seven basic stories, right? The trick is just in writing a good, entertaining tale. This definitely doesn't copy Hitchhiker's plot or jokes in any way, it's just similarly styled, so if you like that kind of humor you'll probably like this. It doesn't have Douglas's satirical depth, but it is consistently sweet and amusing.

The book definitely caters to people of a certain age with the some of the humor like Hogan's Gyros, a Magoo-like stroke of fortune, the Kotter thing, Nick Carter, etc., but I fit the demographic so I enjoyed it. On the other hand, it's a thoroughly modern use of tech with mentions of the computer audio software, iPhone, apps, Google, etc., felt very fresh, and the Nick's voice felt very young and relatively hip, if somewhat nebbishy (as intended). I hope that the mentions of technology that were used don't make it feel very dated in a few years like some books that I've read. It doesn't feel like it will because it's pretty general. It mentions iPhones but it doesn't say which one. It complains about the new Windows OS, but everyone does that. It is more obviously set in a certain time than most books, but I think it will have a shelf life.

The plot had a lot of good twists that I didn't expect from the silly way things started out. And Nick isn't as helpless and bumbling as he first appears or as the inevitable comparisons to Hitchhiker will make the reader assume he will be. The premise is silly but the plot really does hold together, it unfurls logically for all of its absurdity and humor. The author said in the (very long) introduction that his beta readers gave him a hard time about this and it was worth it, it's more than just a long series of jokes.

The supporting characters were all pretty good too. Manda was cute without being too anything. Pugwash was a good character, he started off appearing to be that guy you think you're going to hate, but he isn't actually a bad guy, just kind of distasteful and annoying. Judy was a cool shark. Paulie was even funny.

The only printing issue I had with the advanced review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley was that the cutesy little footnotes totally don't work in the ebook version, at least in the pre-release edition, because they're printed at the end of the chapter not at the end of each page, so in order to read them you have to either try to remember what the footnotes were referring to when you get to the end of the chapter, or page forward page by page to find the end of the chapter and the footnote text each time it happens because the chapters weren't marked in a way that could be selected in the ebook version that I had. This may well be corrected in the final print edition. It's not that big of a deal, the footnotes are sometimes funny, but not significant to the story. (**edit - The author reported to me that the printing problem with the ebook version has been corrected, so go ahead and buy it if that's your preferred format.)

Overall, as you can probably tell, I really enjoyed this book. It was clever and funny and surprisingly sweet. I hope you'll give it a try. ...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Tracy (Cornerfolds) rated it it was ok

Shelves: scifi, comedy, read-2012

I received this book in a First Reads giveaway and really had no idea what to expect when I got it out of the mailbox. It had an alien wearing headphones on the cover... I read the back and realized that this is totally not my style. Still, I felt an obligation to the author to give it a go (he gave me a free copy of his book, after all).

Right from the start, the reader has to be up to date with every musical performer from the 70s until today. As a child raised in the 90s, I have no idea what ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Karissa rated it really liked it

I have had this book on my to be read this for a few years. I was excited to finally get around to reading it. I loved the hilarious concept behind it, but I thought the pacing started to drag a bit as the book continued.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator did an excellent job with emotion and having individual character voices for everyone.

In the year 1977 aliens discovered Earth music and found it was far superior to anything aliens had created (i I have had this book on my to be read this for a few years. I was excited to finally get around to reading it. I loved the hilarious concept behind it, but I thought the pacing started to drag a bit as the book continued.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator did an excellent job with emotion and having individual character voices for everyone.

In the year 1977 aliens discovered Earth music and found it was far superior to anything aliens had created (in fact it was literally mind-blowing because of how much better it was). Now aliens have been listening to Earth music for the last few decades...without paying any licensing fees. Given the amount aliens listening to Earth music that means that the universe and beyond are quite literally in Earth’s debt by an astronomical amount of money.

Enter Nick Carter, entry level music copyright lawyer (who is sometimes mistaken for a Backstreet Boy). Nick winds up with two aliens in his office one day demanding he figure out a way to nullify the Universe’s debt to Earth. It may not sound like a big deal, but some of the aliens are thinking the best solution to their debt problem is just to blow up Earth...or at least allow it to blow up itself. Suddenly Nick is put in the position have having to save humanity from the music loving aliens that are in debt to it.

This was a hilarious book that reminds a bit of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi or Armada by Peter Clines. The whole story is completely over the top, yet strangely plausible.

For the most part this is a fun and zany sci-fi novel that is entertaining and engaging. None of the characters are all that likable, but this is more of of plot driven story than anything...so that works pretty well for this book.

I do have a couple of complaints...mid-book things start to drag quite a bit and I found myself getting a bit bored with the story. Additionally some of the plot points are so completely over the top that they come across as just plain ludicrous rather than entertaining.

Overall this was a decent humorous sci-fi read. I enjoyed a lot of the humor and craziness and the strange power Earthling music has over the rest of the universe. The story did lag a bit in the middle and some parts were so over the top that they were more ludicrous than entertaining. I would recommend to those who enjoy John Scalzi’s books, Douglas Adams, and Peter Clines.
...more

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May 10, 2012 Sasha rated it it was amazing

I won this book on the Goodreads "enter to win". I read it and all I have to say is that this book is amazing. It truly made me laugh out loud, and I couldn't stop reading it. It has some really clever humor, some of which you have to have the right references to understand like "The cake is a lie", etc. The story line kept me captivated and it's delivery made me feel almost as if I was speaking to a friend. I honestly feel this is one of the best books of all time and I will be truly disapointe ...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: e-books, read-2012

4.5 Stars

This book is a laugh out loud blast to read. It is cut from the news headlines and it is very relevant with the news of today. This is a novel that centers on the greed and machinations of the ultimate evil in the universe, the largest and most powerfully corrupt empire to ever walk the face of our Earth. I am speaking of the music industry of course…those dirty bastards. This novel is a parody, a science fiction unmasking of the music industries corporate greed. It is an alien novel tw ...more

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Sep 16, 2012 J.P. rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

If you’ve seen the movie Earth Girls Are Easy that’s where I thought this book was going. A motley bunch of aliens bumbling around Earth trying to assimilate our culture and instead standing out like the Three Stooges.
It turns out to be a lot more than that. Although creative, original and funny there were times where the author overdoes the creativity and the humor felt forced. Instead of building on the background of previous aliens, we get introduced to more of them. And there were a few p ...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Jane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, humor, book-club

According to Year Zero by Rob Reid, it turns out that there are many sentient life forms in the universe, and all of them are terrible at music – except one species. Humans. Us. Other brilliant and peaceful species in the universe have formed a confederation called the Refined League (Earthlings have not yet been invited to join), and members of the Refined League value music as the highest of the 40 identified “Noble Arts.”

One day a few years ago some alien anthropologists eavesdropping on Eart According to Year Zero by Rob Reid, it turns out that there are many sentient life forms in the universe, and all of them are terrible at music – except one species. Humans. Us. Other brilliant and peaceful species in the universe have formed a confederation called the Refined League (Earthlings have not yet been invited to join), and members of the Refined League value music as the highest of the 40 identified “Noble Arts.”

One day a few years ago some alien anthropologists eavesdropping on Earth heard their first music created by humans. And rhapsodic joy swept the cosmos. Human music was so much better than any music ever heard elsewhere in the galaxy that many aliens died from forgetting to eat while replaying the theme song. The Refined League was so moved by the discovery of human music that they begin counting time anew from the moment of the discovery, and that moment became Year Zero. And the song that inspired such exaltation and respect? The theme song to the television show Welcome Back, Kotter.

If that last sentence made you laugh, or even smile, than you will probably enjoy Year Zero, a kind of Men in Black meets The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s a very funny take on human society through the eyes of young lawyer Nick Carter, a peon in a law firm specializing in copyrights and patents. He is in his office late one night when his assistant announces the arrival of two strange visitors. They are aliens trying to arrange for a license for all of humanity’s music. It turns out the Refined League has strict rules about following the laws of primitive societies like ours, and as aliens have been illegally downloading billions of copies of our music since the 1970s, they now owe us all the wealth in the universe. There are other aliens who figure it would be far easier, and far less expensive, to destroy the Earth instead.

Fortunately for Nick, the aliens mistake him not only for the founder of the law firm (now retired), but also for the Backstreet Boy by the same name. The interaction between the characters is great, and Nick is a likeable and totally believable guy. (At one point, the author spends half a page describing Nick’s thought process as he types up a brief text message to the girl he likes, so that it will sound friendly but not goofy, enthusiastic but not dorky.) Year Zero has references to other sci fi/fantasy series, but they are not overwhelming the way I’ve found them in some books. Year Zero also contains a wise-cracking sentient alien parrot and his sidekick, a sentient alien vacuum cleaner.

Author Reid offers a satirical look at the music industry, music piracy and the U.S. legal system. He takes many pokes at Windows, Microsoft, and Bill Gates. (“I twisted my fingers to hit the CTRL, ALT, and DEL keys – a gesture I associate so strongly with both annoyance and panic that my hand now reflexively makes it when I’m caught in traffic, stuck in a long line, flying in extreme turbulence – you name it.”) When Nick and a friend have trouble with an alien interface on a computer, the computer switches to a “native” interface that turns out to be Clippy from Microsoft Office (and no desperate act will make Clippy go away).

I completely enjoyed Year Zero, and I’m not even a big music fan. It’s funny and well written, and it moves at a great pace. I highly recommend it. I read an advance reader’s edition; Year Zero will be available on July 10.
...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Russ&Sara rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone 18 and up!

Shelves: own-it

Since the moment I first saw this book I have been completely fascinated by it, and was even more enthralled when I won an advanced reading copy on GoodReads.com. At first glance, the cover looks somehow familiar, yet foreign. Anyone see a hint of Napster? Well you should, as Rob Reid took a lot of the inspiration for this story from those very legal battles. Oh, also, he was the founder of Rhapsody (Napster competitor and iTunes predecessor).

Have you worked in an office in the past decade? Have ...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Anita rated it really liked it

This is a satire set today in NYC as a low-level lawyer must save the world from aliens. Doesn't sound great--but what if the earth was to be destroyed because of the popularity of our great music and the enormous penalties from copyright infringement? But wait, there's more. What if the song that first created the universal mass hysteria for Earth music was the theme song from Welcome Back Kotter? Now you have my attention. This is a very funny--maybe not laugh out loud, but certainly a snicker ...more

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Aug 01, 2016 Enzo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, thriller, life

When I caught site of "Year Zero" I thought Napster with an Alien head? Read the comparison to Douglas Adams and decided I would read it. Now lets say something straight out. If you are expecting the Douglas Adams incredible knack for invention and incredible worlds. You won't go disappointed. Rob Reid really does a great job in "Year Zero".
Rob Reid makes fun of the Music industry wild attempts at trying to stop piracy while backing truly bloodthirsty lawyers.
But lets get back to the wild and ...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Ben Babcock rated it did not like it

Shelves: own, science-fiction, humour, not-anyone-s-cup-of-tea, 2015-read

Why not finish out 2015 by reading a book called Year Zero? I was ambivalent about this one, and I figured this for a win–win proposition. Either I love it, so my year ends with a bang; or I hate it, but if so, then there’s always next year! I was correct—and I’m coming down on the “hate it” side. So here’s to 2016: a brand new year for reading! But first, let’s sweep away this year with one last scathing review!

The warning signs for Year Zero start early. The prologue, Chapter Zero, is a neutro ...more

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Dec 11, 2016 Philip rated it really liked it

Before I forget to add it to the review, one thing this book gave me is listening to Stereolab, which I've never done. As with books, there's a lot of music out there.

This book's been sitting on my side-stand for the past 4 or 5 years. On my literal side-stand, beside my bed. It's where I keep the books I'm "currently reading." But this book was there as a reminder that I wanted to be currently reading it. There are a couple more like that on there.

My brother recommended it (and loaned) it to me ...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Everitt rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: sci-fi fans, douglas adams fans

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, american-literature, comedy, nerd-lit

This is my favorite book of 2012 so far. And if a book were to be published between now and January 1, 2013 it would have to be damn good to beat Reid's debut novel.

The premise is simple and original. Aliens suck at music. But humans have just the right gravitational relationship to our planet to produce eardrums perfectly designed for creating the most beautiful music in the universe. As a result aliens have set up a piracy station under New York's subways and have been pilfering our music sin This is my favorite book of 2012 so far. And if a book were to be published between now and January 1, 2013 it would have to be damn good to beat Reid's debut novel.

The premise is simple and original. Aliens suck at music. But humans have just the right gravitational relationship to our planet to produce eardrums perfectly designed for creating the most beautiful music in the universe. As a result aliens have set up a piracy station under New York's subways and have been pilfering our music since Welcome Back Kotter debuted. They actually measure time in relation to this most seminal of events in universal history.

The novel is a satire of current American copyright law, specifically the relationship between government officials who pass the asinine laws that allow a record company to sue individuals for penalties approximating the value of a house in suburban Phoenix (150,000 USD), and the record companies/ copyright law firms that facilitate the laws in the first place. When the aliens stop rocking out to humanity's music long enough to read our laws, which their own laws require they obey, the aliens realize they owe us: ALL THE MONEY IN THE UNIVERSE!!!!!!

This does not go over well with the universe's government unions, who've got retirement deals similar to those bankrupting cities in California. The unions take some hilariously incompetent measures to help us facilitate our own destruction.

The story follows a human copyright attorney named Nick Carter (not the Backstreet Boy, but mistaken for him) as he teams up with brother and sister reality TV stars from another planet named Carly and Frampton in an attempt to save Earth.

This story is great. It's not political. Everyone takes their licks in Reid's story. He doesn't seem to be a fan of the left or the right and gets in one very long running joke at the expense of Senator (view spoiler).

The pace is tight and the prose is well written. I was very impressed and would not have guessed Reid was a first time novelist had I not known. The ending seems hopeless. I thought there was an imminent deus ex machina. But no, Reid pulled off a great twist ending.

There is an odd epilogue though...(view spoiler)

The novel has been compared to H2G2. That's a fair comparison. They are both comedies, albeit of different varieties. But if you are coming to Year Zero expecting the absurdist/satire comedy of Adams you'll not find it. Reid is a policy minded satirist, and a damn good one.

Recommended for: fans of sci-fi, fans of satire, fans of Douglas Adams ...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Mike rated it it was ok · review of another edition

It's clever, but not enough to make me marvel at the mind that created it. It's funny, but never laugh out loud funny, and never even "Lol" funny.

The description for a two-star review seems tailor made for this book: it was "ok". Nothing more, nothing less. And ultimately, from the setup and the comparisons being made, that disappointed me terribly.

There's some good ideas in there, but I'm not sure whether they were ruined for me by the fact that the book was too normal in some ways (the dialog ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 John rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Americans 30+ years of age who are lawyers or music aficionados

I read this book over the course of two days and mildly enjoyed it. It contained a few laughs and wasn't a waste of time. Gen X-ers who were "into" pop music during their youths, adolescence and early adulthood might really dig it, but I didn't. I would not read it again, nor would I recommend it to anyone who wasn't into law, music or clumsy silliness.

Year Zero has been compared to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and High Fidelity. It is nothing like either book. This is a light, silly read w ...more

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Jul 19, 2012 Julian rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2012

No, no, no, no, no. This is not in any way like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The only remote link is that like Hitchhiker's, we discover that there is a rather large and very silly universe out there, but that is where it ends. The book is amusing, slightly chuckle worthy and a good book in its own right, but it has absolutely none of the intelligent, dry, hilarious and out right craziness of Douglas Adams.

The sad thing is that the reference to Adam's work in the marketing for this book has ...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Jason Pettus rated it really liked it

Shelves: funny, sci-fi, smart-nerdy, weird

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

To tell you the truth, about a month now after I first finished this book, I just now had to re-look at the manuscript just to remember what it was about; and that should give you a good idea of this book's inconsequential nature, competently done but bound to be quickly forgotten by the culture at large. ...more

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Jan 12, 2014 Martti rated it it was amazing

Squeezed some fresh sf between my "reading the classics" routine. Saw Rob Reid in TWiT 427 (http://twit.tv/show/this-week-in-tech...) discussing tech and writing (kudos to Leo & team for bringing up cool guests). The description of Reid's book sounded just bordering on crazy, so it probably would be a good read. Instincts didn't betray me.

This is Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchett style of humor with some additional sarcasm for flavor.

Intellectual property (IP), copyright theft and piracy are dai ...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Scott Sigler rated it it was amazing

I did a video review for this book, which I posted here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7bI9b...

Below, I'm experimenting with pasting in the YouTube embed code. If it winds up being gibberish, just move along, nothing to see here.

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May 21, 2012 Kayla rated it it was amazing

Shelves: first-reads, 5-star-books

Thank you for picking me! I won this book and it enjoyed every second of it. I couldn't stop turning the pages. I stayed up way too late last night finishing it. I'm at work right now half asleep.. Haha! I couldn't put it down because it was so funny... I never knew what was going to happen next. Hands down this was awesome! If you love music & have a light heart you're sure to love this book. I will read this again in the near future!!!! Thanks again!!!

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Aug 08, 2012 Vassilena Valchanova rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, fun

This was really really good and I laughed quite a bit. No author deserves to be named "the new Douglas Adams", as this raises the bar so damn high, but Year Zero is a great book in itself. It is contemporary, witty, even hilarious in some spots and keeps up the good work right to the end. I'd sure read something else by Rob Reid after this one.

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The Sword and Laser: Your questions for Rob Reid	4	69	Oct 01, 2013 02:38PM
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About Rob Reid

Rob Reid is a writer and technology entrepreneur based in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. He's the author of "Year Zero" (Del Rey, 2012) - a novel about aliens with a mad passion for human music. He also wrote "Year One" (William Morrow, 1994), a memoir about student life at Harvard Business School; and "Architects of the Web" (Wiley, 1997), which chronicles the rise of the Interne ...more

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“And like most of her peers, Barbara Ann has a French postal worker's sense of divine entitlement when it comes to her hours.” — 3 likes

“I used to think that English-speaking who conveniently look, dress, and act human only turned up in lazy science fiction. But as Carly and Frampton dematerialized, I became grimly aware of how well they'd also fit into a psychotic hallucination.” — 2 likes

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