Year Zero

by Robert Reid and Rob Reid

[clq]

I love it when I read the first chapter of a book and just know that I am going to love it. Year Zero was one of those books.
Despite the promises given by so many cover-blurbs, it is rare for a book to make me laugh out loud. Year Zero did. Especially the first half of the book had me involuntary burst out into chuckles and beyond more often than I care to admit. Jokes are delivered in an effortless, Douglas Adams'y, way. Absurdity is taken right up to the line of the ridiculous, but never crosses it. Silliness is well-measured, and never seems misplaced.
The premise is brilliant. It is laid out in the first chapter, which can be read for free on Amazon (Go read it!). In short, aliens have been pirating human music for decades, and just realised that they owe us an unfathomable amount of money in copyright infringement fees.
The plot is more than good enough for a book of this genre, and it does exactly what it needs to do. It explores the premise, the characters, and the ideas this book is full of. These things are done superbly. The plot is somewhat loose, but easy to follow, and its casual and irreverent nature is probably what opens for some really funny, and some genuinely surprising, twists.

Basically, read the first chapter. If you enjoy it, you will enjoy the book. I really can't see why anyone wouldn't. It's just a bunch of really, really good fun.