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)

Fun listen

What did you like best about this story?

A nice change from the usual first contact books. Takes a page from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and runs with it.

Copyright Mathematics meets Star Wars

If you haven't seen Rob Reid's TED talk on Copyright Mathematics it might take a while to understand the tone of this book. John Hodgman was a great choice to read this, his flat humorous tone drives the story from funny to downright hilarious!

Wonderful book

Would you listen to Year Zero again? Why?

I have already listened to Year Zero twice; I just can't grasp the full awesomeness of the book yet. John Hodgman gives a joyful performance, making each character unique and memorable. He had so much fun narrating the book which made me have twice as much just by listening to him. Awesome, timed, contemporary and layered book plus special, talented narrator make this an audiobook I will always get back to.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Now, that would be a spoiler, wouldn't it?

Which scene was your favorite?

I won't write any spoilers! Why do you keep asking me that? :)

If you could rename Year Zero, what would you call it?

Title is absolutely fitting.

Any additional comments?

All you creatures interested in quirky sci-fi and subtle and intelligent humour - GET THIS ONE!

Great story and narrator!

this was a great story from beginning. A great narrator as well. I will look for more by the author.

Hi-freakin'-larious.

Hodgman does a great job bringing some really funny material to life. Reid blasts lawyers, intellectual property law, the music industry, politicians, bureaucrates, aliens, public service workers, and more with a double barrel full of satire.

I wanted to like it, and I did, a little...

Science fiction comedy is really hard. HHGTTG is perhaps the definitive success in the genre, largely because it's the only success I can think of. Red Dwarf somehow pulled it off on TV, so maybe the British have figured out how to make SF comedy work.

I really wanted to like Year Zero, and it does have its moments. John Hodgman's narration is good and elevates much of the material; I haven't listened to one of his books before but his narration means that I will.

The combination of hard science fiction and silly planet names doesn't work for me. The referential comedy harks back to HHGTTG but also doesn't work for me. For example the reference to a planet's atmosphere being roughly the same as Drakkar Noir seems forced.

However, was this a waste of 10 hours? No. There are clever ideas throughout the book and those are always worth hearing. Even HHGTTG has its annoying elements and so I'd personally put Year Zero as a close runner-up in the SF comedy genre.

I loved every moment of it!

Entertaining doesn't even begin to describe this novel. Found myself laughing constantly. Just hilarious.
Maybe a couple of "slow moments" but barely a couple. I was left wanting more. I think the ending happened too fast. Still waiting to find out what the deal is with Meowhaus.

Superb narration... Ozzy is the best!

Edge of your seat funny

Would you listen to Year Zero again? Why?

Yes, very funny.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Year Zero?

I don't believe in spoilers

What about John Hodgman’s performance did you like?

Great. He did an awesome job with a wide array of charcters.

Any additional comments?

Year Zero's summary may sound a bit far fetched but it's completely plausible. The Universe's financial structure is in perial because of America's asinine copyright laws. The only way to solve the issue is to try to negotiate the rights to every song created..... So, destruction of earth it is. Actually, most of the aliens are so smitten with our music that they would never wish Earth any harm, but one group wishes otherwise.

This is one of those books that you will tell everyone about and buy for your closest friends. It's edge of your seat funny and a one sitting kinda read. My recommendation is buy as soon as possible. Unless you work for a record label or congress, you probably wouldn't get it anyways.

People who will like this book may include: nerds, geeks, and music lovers. I don't want to put Rob in the same class as Douglas Adam's its not fair to Rob. It's like going to see a movie that everyone tells you is best ever and when it doesn't completely blow your mind your let down. This book is an instant favorite for me and there will be a hardback edition on my shelf. I just don't want you to go into it expecting the universe..

So-so

To be fair, I bought this audio book based on the publishers statement that this story was in the tradition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which is why I gave it a 3 and not a 2, can't blame a book for being what it claims to be.

Hodgman's performance was good with the exception of a single character that had me turning down the volume and waiting for the scene to end.. which unfortunately went on far too long.

Overall this is an OK book to listen to if you are in between books in a series or just looking to listen to something new. If you are a BIG fan of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy you may want to listen to something else though.

Not sure I would buy the next Prequel/Sequel that I'm sure is on its way, I look forward to listening to most books on my drive to work, but there was never a point in this story that made me look forward to the next time I would listen to it.

Clever and very creative plot details

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked the fact that the protagonist, Nick Carter is a lawyer. I never though I could find myself cheering for a weasel like him. The vacuum cleaner, Ozzy, was hilarious.

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

I liked John Hodgman's interpretation of "plahs"

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

I had to laugh out loud a few times.

Any additional comments?

This book was a strange but funny mix of different elements. It was highly critical of our "modern" society in a lighthearted and humorous manner. The storyline was a bit all over the place but it had some ingenious details in it. Definately worth listening to.