364 pages
English language
Published April 11, 2012
Year Zero is a 2012 science fiction novel by Robert Reid. It was published by Del Rey Books, with an audiobook version read by John Hodgman.
A sci-fi comedy centered on copyright violations, the book is pretty mid. It's entertaining, and the resolution makes for a very good payoff, but it just doesn't quiet pull you in. Maybe it's better in written form than in audiobook. Afterall, Hank Green liked it, and I like Hank Green.
Fantastic! Great Technological Storytelling and comedy.
Solid beginning, great funny insights into the copyright industry but the last half was a little flat.
Really good book that highlight the ridiculousness of the copyright rabbit hole we have sunk into.
Very funny. A good satire of the recording industry, copyright laws, stardom, and hipsterism.
Year Zero tells the remarkable story of a universe-wide piracy scheme, where the entire universe is enthralled with our music, ever since coming across a beamed version of Welcome Back Kotter (which they call The Kotter Moment). Now that they are all thrilled with our music, they want to let us into the Galactic League. But before they can, they must make up for all the music they have pirated since then.
And given the virtually limitless scale of the piracy, every being in the universe currently owes the Earth countless dollars. And some would rather just destroy the Earth rather than bankrupt the universe. And our "hero", a peon in a copyright law office, is trying to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
This is a pretty funny book, replete with some hilarious footnotes. Every chapter has at least one laugh out loud part. And it …
Year Zero tells the remarkable story of a universe-wide piracy scheme, where the entire universe is enthralled with our music, ever since coming across a beamed version of Welcome Back Kotter (which they call The Kotter Moment). Now that they are all thrilled with our music, they want to let us into the Galactic League. But before they can, they must make up for all the music they have pirated since then.
And given the virtually limitless scale of the piracy, every being in the universe currently owes the Earth countless dollars. And some would rather just destroy the Earth rather than bankrupt the universe. And our "hero", a peon in a copyright law office, is trying to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy.
This is a pretty funny book, replete with some hilarious footnotes. Every chapter has at least one laugh out loud part. And it is all very imaginative.
Too imaginative really. There were just some attempts at explaining the universe that just felt flat and too hard to picture. He would write paragraphs about some details that not only did I not care about, it really had nothing to do with the plot.
And the ending just dragged out. Just when I thought it was coming, there would be another "twist", much like a song that repeats a lyric just a little too often. I enjoyed the main character, even if he was a bit of a dweeb. So all in all, it was a fun read but I wish it had just moved along a little snappier.
An irreverent and entertaining science fiction plot that does not even thinly disguise a complete lampooning of the music and copyright industries. Our hero, a young copyright lawyer, discovers that for years aliens have been pirating earth music and now owe so much in copyright fines that the entire universe would go broke trying to pay them ... and the rest of the book is spent trying to find a way to persuade certain factions that destruction of the planet would not, in fact, be the better option. Silly plot, silly characters, and a lot of very real barbs thrown at the legal system, government, music copyright, and even Microsoft. It's somewhat reminiscent of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in its tone and irreverence, but the humour isn't really quite the same. Still, an entertaining and amusing read that is quick and fun.
Maybe I picked up this book at the wrong time. Maybe the comparison to Hitchhiker's set the bar too high. Whatever the reason, I didn't find the first few chapters entertaining enough to keep reading.
