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A review by angelicide
Year Zero by Rob Reid
4.0
This is a tough one to review. When the concept for the plot was laid out in the opening section, I thought, this is going to be one of the smartest and most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Turns out I was half right.
The idea is absolutely brilliant. And not just the main idea--this book is full of good ideas. Great ideas, even. It's funny and quirky. The writing is witty and snappy. I am in awe of the author's skill.
However, two things kept me from completely falling in love with it. One is that in between the great ideas, it was--well--kind of boring. Sure there were tense moments, but for the most part, it was just people talking. And talking. And talking. Long bouts of either explication or arguments.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. For example, in Robert Sheckley's Dimension of Miracles, the characters do much the same thing (the excessive talking, I mean). However, in that book they're engaging in deep metaphysical debates. Here, they're basically just arguing about copyright law. To some people, that may be quite fascinating, but that aspect just didn't capture my attention.
The second thing that prevented this from becoming one of my favorite books is that underneath all its intelligence, it's very preachy. It's basically just a big indictment of the music industry, the legal system as it applies to the music industry, reality shows, and the Windows OS (with a few conservative barbs thrown in for good measure). It isn't that I agree or disagree with these viewpoints (I agree with most of them, actually). It's just that I don't like to feel as though I have to buy into a particular agenda to enjoy a work of fiction. That's why I have such an issue with some of Stephen King's books. Once he gets on his high horse, it drains all the life out of the narrative. Unlike King though, there weren't just spots of preachiness here--it's woven throughout the entire narrative, which is why (for me at least), it never soared quite as high as it might have.
Now, despite my fairly significant issues, I still gave if four stars. I was seriously that impressed with the writer and his concepts. I am very much looking forward to his next book and keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have the same issues with it.
The idea is absolutely brilliant. And not just the main idea--this book is full of good ideas. Great ideas, even. It's funny and quirky. The writing is witty and snappy. I am in awe of the author's skill.
However, two things kept me from completely falling in love with it. One is that in between the great ideas, it was--well--kind of boring. Sure there were tense moments, but for the most part, it was just people talking. And talking. And talking. Long bouts of either explication or arguments.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. For example, in Robert Sheckley's Dimension of Miracles, the characters do much the same thing (the excessive talking, I mean). However, in that book they're engaging in deep metaphysical debates. Here, they're basically just arguing about copyright law. To some people, that may be quite fascinating, but that aspect just didn't capture my attention.
The second thing that prevented this from becoming one of my favorite books is that underneath all its intelligence, it's very preachy. It's basically just a big indictment of the music industry, the legal system as it applies to the music industry, reality shows, and the Windows OS (with a few conservative barbs thrown in for good measure). It isn't that I agree or disagree with these viewpoints (I agree with most of them, actually). It's just that I don't like to feel as though I have to buy into a particular agenda to enjoy a work of fiction. That's why I have such an issue with some of Stephen King's books. Once he gets on his high horse, it drains all the life out of the narrative. Unlike King though, there weren't just spots of preachiness here--it's woven throughout the entire narrative, which is why (for me at least), it never soared quite as high as it might have.
Now, despite my fairly significant issues, I still gave if four stars. I was seriously that impressed with the writer and his concepts. I am very much looking forward to his next book and keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have the same issues with it.