# Year Zero

By Rob Reid

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/year-zero-bca47e28/

The universe has fallen for human pop music and copied it without permission. Faced with copyright penalties large enough to bankrupt alien civilization, two visitors recruit entertainment lawyer Nick Carter to find a solution that leaves Earth intact.

## What makes it funny?

Nick’s alien clients have mistaken him for a Backstreet Boy. His assistant, meanwhile, resents the first contact with extraterrestrial life because it has arrived after quitting time.

### The comedy at work

Reid gives beings with astonishing technology a problem they need a junior lawyer to explain. Nick’s sarcastic account treats alien panic as an especially awkward consultation about music licensing.

### Try this if…

Readers who enjoy music fandom and legal bureaucracy as targets for science-fiction comedy will have plenty to follow. The jokes draw heavily on pop culture and consumer technology.

### Good to know

Expect footnotes, strong language and religious caricature. Publishers Weekly noted that some technology jokes already seemed dated when the book appeared in 2012.

## What to expect

- Genre: Science fiction
- On the shelf: First contact & aliens
- Kind of humor: Absurdism · Banter · Satire
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Format: Novel
- Published: 2012

## A few distinguishing details

- Music piracy on an intergalactic scale
- Aliens who hire the wrong Nick Carter

## Sources & further reading

- Reading sample: [Chapter one excerpt](https://www.techdirt.com/2012/07/10/excerpt-rob-reids-year-zero-plus-chance-to-win-book)
- Review: [Publishers Weekly review](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780345534415)
- Publisher: [Publisher](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/217834/year-zero-by-rob-reid)