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Introducing Josh Riedel's adrenaline-packed debut novel about a dating app employee who discovers a glitch that transports him to other worlds. Once you sign an NDA it's good for life. Meaning legally, I shouldn't tell you this story. But I have to. A college grad with the six-figure debt to prove it, Ethan Block views San Francisco as the place to be. Yet his job at hot new dating app DateDate is a far cry from what he envisioned. Instead of making the world a better place, he reviews flagged photo queues, overworked and stressed out. But that's about to change. Reeling from a breakup, Ethan decides to view his algorithmically matched soulmate on DateDate. He overrides the system and clicks on the profile. Then, he disappears. One minute, he’s in a windowless office, and the next, he’s in a field of endless grass, gasping for air. When Ethan snaps back to DateDate HQ, he’s convinced a coding issue caused the blip. Except for anyone to believe him, he’ll need evidence. As Ethan embarks on a wild goose chase, moving from dingy startup think tanks to Silicon Valley’s dominant tech conglomerate, it becomes clear that there’s more to DateDate than meets the eye. With the stakes rising, and a new world at risk, Ethan must choose who—and what—he believes in. Adventurous and hypertimely, Please Report Your Bug Here is an inventive millennial coming-of-age story, a dark exploration of the corruption now synonymous with Big Tech, and, above all, a testament to the power of human connection in our digital era.
I found the main character, Ethan, to be a bit bland. He was relatable at times, but I felt like he lacked depth. The supporting characters were even more one-dimensional. I wish they had more development.
I'm a software engineer, so I enjoyed the tech details. It felt authentic and added to the atmosphere. With all that drawn from real life, it really makes me question what was going on at Instagram in the early days 👀 potential privacy violations and whatnot
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"Please Report Your Bug Here" by Josh Reidel offers a unique premise that blends the tech world with a mysterious plot, but it falls short in a few areas that kept me from fully enjoying the book. The story centers on Ethan Block, an engineer who starts working at a tech startup with an intriguing new app. The book does a good job of capturing the startup environment and the excitement of working on cutting-edge technology. Reidel's portrayal of the app's mysterious bugs and the ensuing investigation adds an interesting layer to the narrative, drawing readers into a world where reality and digital illusion blur. However, while the concept is fresh and intriguing, the execution sometimes feels uneven. The pacing can be inconsistent, with certain sections dragging on while others rush through key plot points. This made it challenging to stay fully engaged throughout the entire story. Additionally, some of the technical jargon, while authentic, can be overwhelming for readers who are not familiar with the tech industry, potentially detracting from the overall experience.