Year Zero

A Novel

By: Rob Reid

Narrated by: John Hodgman

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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 bumbling) extraterrestrials. And boy, do they have news.

The entire cosmos, they tell him, has been hopelessly hooked on humanity's music ever since "Year Zero" (1977 to us), when American pop songs first reached alien ears. This addiction has driven a vast intergalactic society to commit the biggest copyright violation since the Big Bang. The resulting fines and penalties have bankrupted the whole universe. We humans suddenly own everything - and the aliens are not amused.

Nick Carter has just been tapped to clean up this mess before things get ugly, and he's an unlikely galaxy-hopping hero: He's scared of heights. He's also about to be fired. And he happens to have the same name as a Backstreet Boy. But he does know a thing or two about copyright law. And he's packing a couple of other pencil-pushing superpowers that could come in handy.

Soon he's on the run from a sinister parrot and a highly combustible vacuum cleaner. With Carly and Frampton as his guides, Nick now has 48 hours to save humanity, while hopefully wowing the hot girl who lives down the hall from him.

©2012 Robert Reid (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Fans of Douglas Adams will rave about this smart, funny satire. Debut novelist Reid, founder of Listen.com, has crafted a masterly plot that deftly skewers the American obsession with music, money, and power. Fast paced and original, this is highly recommended." (Library Journal [starred review])

"Witty and original - I loved it. A biting satire of the record business and those who run it...and ultimately ran it into the ground." (Cliff Bleszinski, creator, Gears of War)

"With chess master precision, the refreshingly ray gun-free novel wittily plays with the possibilities of its fantastical plot. It mixes airtight point-and-counter point rounds of arguments with wild travails to distant worlds. The careful cohesion of Year Zero is a marvel given its star-hopping digressions." (Buffalo News)

A child of 70’s / 80’s music

Hilarious! I loved all the music allusions and the narrator did a great job on voices…

After On much better

Amusing enough to finish but not as good as his later book, After On, which shines as audiobook.

Hilarious and Clever

I've listened to this book multiple times over. It's one of my favorites. Rob Reid's writing is clever but also intuitive. The story is hilarious and entertaining. And John Hodgman brings it to life very well.

Fun, lite and entertaining

I read this book many years ago and it's one that I still consider from time to time. It's not epic sci-fi, nor will it win any awards, but it is most certainly fun and worth a listen. I group this book with the Hitchhiker's Guide for quirky comedy and I enjoyed listening to it as much as I did reading it.

So many laugh out loud moments:

This book is hilarious! And the epilogue is a wonderful encore! It helps if you have a little knowledge of, and fondness for 70s music, but not a deal breaker.

This is the funniest combination I've heard

What made the experience of listening to Year Zero the most enjoyable?

The writer is funny. The story has plenty of nice twists. Hodgman is the perfect narrator. The combination is perfect. I laughed out loud during this book more frequently than ever before while listening.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Just a great combination of characters.

What about John Hodgman’s performance did you like?

He's funny just talking. With good material like this he's great.

If you could take any character from Year Zero out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Sorry, I'm not writing a fifth grade book report. I just want other people to know this book is worth their time and money

Any additional comments?

You will not be disappointed.

Written by a Apple Fanboy

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The fact is that Rob Reid turn a fun story in to an Apple commercial. Turning, the last 20 minutes in to an Microsoft bashing that would make any Fanboy drool. Tell the story please, Having to stop the story several times through out the book for commercials is not fun.

Which character – as performed by John Hodgman – was your favorite?

John Hodgman did his usual superb performance and the fact that he was PC for the Apple commercials was not lost on the community that reads this book

Could you see Year Zero being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

With massive changes this could work in other media.

Any additional comments?

Good first try. Topical, fun and Interesting. Very Scalzi like humor and story. Rob next time I paid for the book leave the commercials out.

So, so. Good narrator.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I drive a truck so it killed time. But I would not want to listen to it again. For me audio books have have replay value. This was a one shot listen.

Tons of fun

This may be SciFi, but it is the tradition of the Hitchhikers Guide with its tongue firmly in its cheek. If you pick this up prepare to laugh at this glorious romp.

So Much Fun

I can’t do my usual detailed review because I’m on my phone, but I enjoyed this immensely. The storyline is unique, quirky, and imaginative. It’s not hard sci-fi as there are a number of plot holes, but they don’t matter because it’s more for laughs than serious world building. I had fun with this.