Reviews - git commit murder

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.

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/book-review-git-commit-murder-michael-warren-lucas/

saintdismas's review against another edition

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4.0

As a computer geek, the book had me from the title. The reason I gave it four stars is because there are a number of times where I thought "okay, we get it" when the author mentioned the main character sweating through another shirt or being nervous with another human interaction. That said, the story moves quickly and kept me engaged. I enjoyed the story!

The printing could use some spelling corrections though. There are a number of typos in the beginning, they seem to go away near the middle, then near the end pick up again.

iou's review against another edition

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4.0

Review at https://stuff.graves.cl/posts/2024-07-27_08_50-book-review-git-commit-murder

joshu's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

2.0

undeadbill's review

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emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I'm normally not into reading murder mysteries, but this book really drew me in. All of the characters are well developed with real flaws and idiosyncrasies. The plot was easy to follow, but not easy to guess the outcome.

botanicals's review against another edition

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adventurous relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked the book, but all the diet culture bullshit really took me out of it.

sprite's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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