On the HahaFiction shelf
Year Zero
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.
From the publisher’s blurb
“Thankfully, this unlikely galaxy-hopping hero does know a thing or two about copyright law.”Read the full description at Penguin Random House publisher description
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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.
A few distinguishing details
- Music piracy on an intergalactic scale
- Aliens who hire the wrong Nick Carter
More funny first contact & aliens
Sources & further reading
- Chapter one excerpt
Reading sample
- Publishers Weekly review
Review
- Publisher
Publisher
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