Book Review: Git Commit Murder - Michael Warren Lucas

This is a peculiar murder mystery novel. In truth, the murder mystery takes second-place to the internal monologue of a protagonist who is viscerally disgusted with his corporeal body. The majority of the book is about the protagonist's neuroses, self-loathing, and contempt for both himself and others.

The central schtick is great - can a hacker solve a murder at a tech conference? - but there's very little in the way of detective work. The central mystery is mostly solved by hacking the mainframe and a little social engineering. What it lacks in dramatic tension, it more than makes up for in an expert level of detail about tech conferences.

Everything is perfectly captured - including the way people mistype on the terminal and use arrow keys to correct themselves, the trouble exiting VI, and the crappy behaviour from some participants. At times it feels like fan-service for real life. There's the merest hint of technobabble, but it is hidden deep within disturbingly accurate observations of real-life.

The main character does veer towards the stereotypical sometimes. A fat nerd with ADHD and social awkwardness isn't exactly a subtle rendition of your typical attendee. I found his hyper-fixation on the disgust he feels for his body to be both troubling and distracting.

If you've ever been to a tech conference, you'll recognise every character in the book. You'll probably recognise yourself in there as well. Hopefully you aren't driven into a homicidal rage by the bad coffee and even worse interpersonal-politics! It's a well observed critique of a culture that likes to think of itself above petty-human concerns but, frequently, eschews the technical for the personal.

Well written, expertly observed, but with a central character who is so unlikeable that it was hard for me to enjoy inhabiting his world. The whodunnit aspect is Sayre's Law write large - the stakes couldn't be lower, which makes for a slightly unsatisfying conclusion.