Rob Reid (1) (1966–)

This is a wry and funny book. Rob Reid was able to take all his bad experiences with lawyers, music industry executives, and the entertainment industry in general and distill them into this intelligent and amusing satire. I'm sure this novel was a therapeutic way to deal with the emotional backlash of spending over a decade dealing with the legal side of the entertainment industry during his time at Listen.com, Rhapsody, and RealNetworks.

If you take this novel as a soapbox, Reid can be seen show more as illuminating the goings on that happen behind the scenes in the music industry. His main character, a journeyman Entertainment Industry lawyer named Nick Carter (but no, he's not the guy from the Backstreet Boys) is singled out to be the contact person by some aliens who profess to want to save the Earth from destruction. Sure, this reminds one of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy---it's supposed to. Reid even has a piece of dialog ("...or barge in with a bulldozer") that gives homage to Douglas Adams when Nick Carter is citing law to an alien that bears a striking resemblance to a vacuum cleaner. Don't ask.

Don't think that the reference to Doug Adams is all by itself though. Much of the fun of this book comes from the numerous references, some obvious and many subtle, that are peppered all through this book. Reid has an ability to skewer pop culture in a very funny, readable, and endearing way. I'll remember this book with relish for a long time. One thing is for sure, Reid isn't a fan of Microsoft. show less

3 stars - with some qualifications. This is a good story, very geeky, and also very funny. Rob Reid is the guy who wrote Year Zero, so it has that same kind of humor. However, and this however may be relevant only to me, but it is relevant to me: in spite of the good story, and the incredible cast of narrators on the Audible version (who read like a list of the best geeks of all time), there are waaaaaaay too many F bombs in the story, and also far to much sex for me to enjoy the story. I'm show more not a prude, but the story seemed overwhelmed with both. If that kind of thing doesn't bother you, then i suspect you will truly enjoy this very quirky and fun story. The characters are all very unusual, their interactions are strange, but compelling. In essence, the story is about what the future will be like when companies/apps like google (who knows way too much about all of us), twitter, tinder and instagram all combine into one incredibly all-knowing, intelligent and intrusive intelligence. It's a wild ride, and so very plausible that it is scary. show less

This is a super-fun mashup: part satire of Silicon Valley start-up culture and Internet culture; part thriller; part think piece about the pluses and minuses of a greater-than-human-level artificial intelligence (don't let that put you off). All wrapped up in witty text and delightful characters. I've shelved this as "planning to re-read", so it will likely be upgraded to 5 stars when that happens.
[Audiobook note: I SUPER-HIGHLY recommend getting the audio book version. It is read primarily show more by two first-rate voices and backed up by a whos-who of Internet celebs.] show less

Most of humanity would argue that as a species, humans do pretty well for themselves when it comes to the arts. We have our highlights - Mozart, Monet, Michelangelo - and an entire group of artists we would prefer to pretend never happened. Yet, all in all, one could argue that humans know art. Then again, humans have not entered Rob Reid's wacky world of Year Zero.

Nick Carter is a man with absolutely nothing to lose. He is convinced he is going to lose his job at one of the most prestigious show more entertainment law firms in the country. He keeps trying to get the girl - to no avail, and his only real friend is his cousin, with whom he has a bit of a love-hate relationship. When two very unlikely aliens walk into his office and ask him for help, he takes it. What follows is an experience Nick never could have imagined if he tried.

Year Zero is not all humor though. Its portrayal of humans, especially of Americans, is spot-on satire. The inflated sense of self-worth, the ability to accept even the most improbable of scenarios if it means more money in one's pocket at the end of the day - Mr. Reid captures it all while wrapping it up with comedy to ease the sting.

John Hodgman did an excellent job narrating Nick Carter and the entire cast of characters, silly as they are. His voice has the right amount of self-deprecation necessary for Nick but can still pull off the Frampton's cluelessness and Carly's self-serving righteousness. While the story itself is fun, Mr. Hodgman's characterizations of the alien beings really does add to the gentle mockery, making Year Zero one of the more enjoyable audiobooks of the year.

Year Zero is as rollicking as one would expect of a story based around the entire premise that American music during the disco era was some of the best music in the entire universe. Even funnier is the idea that alien beings would concern themselves with copyright laws, especially given all of the issues the music industry has had with pirated music websites. Nick Carter is charmingly goofy in the most endearing of ways and plays into the silly premise perfectly. With brilliant wordplay and an incredibly good sense of humor, Mr. Reid eases the pain of his skewering of humanity's ever-growing sense of self-importance to create a story that is as entertaining as it is a biting social commentary. For the humor alone, Year Zero is well worth the time and effort. Let's face it - where else are you going to find a world in which Welcome Back, Kotter is considered the height of television? show less