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)

Hilarious!

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

Excellent narration by John Hodgeman, a well-written, funny story that moves right along! If you are looking for an entertaining, well-paced audiobook, you'll love this one! Many laugh-out-loud moments!

just think hitchhicker meets napster!

ya its just that good. Doug has definately found a medium here in the land of the living cuz. this is just that kind of humor. Not to take anything away from our true author but it just had to be said. I was laughing and nostalgic the whole time! ya to many exclamations well it deserves it. Treat yourself to this little story you wont regret it.

(by doug i mean douglas adams)

Literal laugh out loud book.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is hilarious.

This book has a winding plot that will keep you on your toes but us still coherent. There are no "surprise butlers" at the end to clean up a messy plot.

When introducing a new subject, item, character, development; Rob Reid will use colorful allusions to describe it that always end in a punchline. Even though it can be indirect at times, you will not be left wondering "What just happened?"

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is hilarious. I had to be careful where I listen to it because it will blindside you with wit and force you into laughter.

Any additional comments?

I have gifted many people Audible credits and told them to seriously consider this book.

Good characters

This was a light and fun read and it was performed well. Rob Reid tried to give us another Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but the silliness wasn't quite up to the same level and the chuckles were spaced further apart.

Still, I enjoyed the listen and it did produce a number of chuckles!

loved it

Who would have thought that intellectual property law could be so hilarious? Welcome Back Kotter haa all new resonance for me now.

Enjoyable and Entertaining

Fun story, good sense of humor, and to put a bow on it, expertly narrated by John Hodgman

Enjoyable

Really more like a 3.5. I enjoyed this book, but would never feel compelled to read it again.

Gratuitously funny and fun adventure

I get a kick out of the author’s liberal use of cultural and technological references in his humor, and I’m glad he knew he could get by with indulging his wish to take swipes using both one-liners and elaborate sub-plots when needed to make the humor work.

One wouldn’t have to have listened to his book “After On” before this one, because the shared things and people work on their own.

But, generally, I think you might want to give that audiobook a try before this one, keeping in mind that it is presented as more of a radio-play than a book.

What a Crazy ride!

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

This book explored a topic that was just screaming to be sent up. What a ride. I loved every minute of the book. John Hodgman's narrating was outstanding and I was picturing him in my head a Nick constantly. What a great first novel. Great job. I hope there might be more adventures for Nick. This is a must read....

What did you like best about this story?

The way you kept me reading (listening) and wanting to keep going until I finished the whole book.

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

Nick, closely follow by Frampton. Oh and the plaaa.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Meowhouse was holding down Pauly in the Metallicam force field. I laughed hard.

Any additional comments?

Please write some more adventures for Nick. Maybe Nick Carter- Lawyer to the Stars.....
Where Nick help all sorts of Aliens with their legal problems.

John Hodgman makes everything better

What did you like best about Year Zero? What did you like least?

John Hodgman's narration is wonderful. Great voices. Great delivery. However, I would not have enjoyed reading this book myself. There was very little about the characters and plot that I enjoyed. The characters were very archetypal. Although the idea of the main plot is funny and clever, I feel it was not fleshed out very well into a believable, consistent universe. The 'plot twists' were seen coming a mile away.

What about John Hodgman’s performance did you like?

He just has a very dry, witty nature about his narration, which I enjoy. He does very well with the limited characters and silly plot he is given to work with.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.