Honestly, I tried. All through the summer I had “Dance With Dragons” as the default on my Kobo. I just couldn’t get into it. I’m just so tired of it droning on and on. So finally I abandon it.
So it was totally delightful to get into Year Zero by Rob Reid. it was a fun read. It was the kind of book that Christopher Moore should have written instead of that dumb novel about impressionist painters. (Sorry Chris. I love your books and am looking forward to the next one, -which I’m really hoping is a lot better than the last.)
Here’s a quick summary of the wacky plot. In the universe beyond the Earth art has become the principal passtime of enlightened species. They’re very good at it, except for music. When they hear radio and TV broadcasts from Earth, the music is so far advanced of their own that it actually causes psychological damage. The problem is that they have to respect the laws of the indigenous planets, and so find themselves in a situation where they are violating copyright and end up owing the Earth so much money that it could bankrupt the entire universe. If they can’t strike a deal with our copyright lawyers, they may have to destroy the Earth.
The satire and social commentary is pretty up front, but never overshadows the sheer fun of the story. The end of the book features an interview with Bill Gates where he claims to be an alien sent to Earth to slow down our technological progress (by producing crappy software) in order to lessen the chances that we might destroy ourselves There’s also play lists for each of the major characters, including the cat.
Wow, what a breath of fresh air after being mired in Game of Thrones. I would give this book an A-.
PW's Rants 