This book was free for a day, so I picked it up on a whim.

After reading it, I have an idea why they gave it away: It seems like a thinly veiled advertisement for one of their other (non-fiction) books. At the end of the book, there is an excerpt of it, and it even gets referenced in the novel itself.

But I enjoyed it regardless. It was a refreshing take on a topic (DevOps) that can be pretty dry. I liked the portrayal of office politics and how everybody is thinking that they are saving the day, while really only making other people miserable and getting in the way. The main lesson I took away is to avoid unplanned work or at least to make it visible to everybody involved. And also to finish projects instead of having hundreds of half baked things flying around!

Unfortunately, the authors seemed to have lost their patience towards the end. I felt like the prose got worse and some of the already pretty over the top characters slid into the unbelievable.

It’s also pretty telling when you take a look at what they are leaving out:

1.) The protagonist is accepting a promotion without even talking once about salary.

2.) The workers are pulling endless all-nighters and working weekends and holidays without ever someone quitting or complaining.

Yes, work yourself to the bone, and you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams, I promise! Pretty much all of the successful characters have a military background, so also join the Army, please?