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Houston, We Have A Problem: A Fictional Tale of Software Systems, and the People They Break
An unplanned outage. A ticking clock. A team of misfits with egos, secrets, and Slack addictions.
Welcome to the war room.
When a critical production system goes down, all hell should break loose—but in this company, chaos is a daily ritual. What starts as a mild-mannered bug quickly spirals into a full-blown catastrophe, pulling in everyone from the smug Vice President who can’t code to the love-struck developer distracted by the Queen Bee of the team.
As hours turn into days, caffeine into currency, and tempers into time bombs, each character is forced to confront more than just the bug. They face their own delusions, betrayals, and the brutal reality of working in modern tech—where titles are inflated, roles are blurred, and documentation is a myth.
Told with biting humor and painfully accurate satire, Houston, We Have a Problem dives deep into the dysfunctional heart of a software team at its breaking point. It’s a love letter to all the engineers, designers, managers, interns, and HR specialists who’ve ever survived a postmortem that turned into emotional shrapnel.
Part sitcom, part therapy session—this book will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even message your favorite ex-teammate.
Welcome to the war room.
When a critical production system goes down, all hell should break loose—but in this company, chaos is a daily ritual. What starts as a mild-mannered bug quickly spirals into a full-blown catastrophe, pulling in everyone from the smug Vice President who can’t code to the love-struck developer distracted by the Queen Bee of the team.
As hours turn into days, caffeine into currency, and tempers into time bombs, each character is forced to confront more than just the bug. They face their own delusions, betrayals, and the brutal reality of working in modern tech—where titles are inflated, roles are blurred, and documentation is a myth.
Told with biting humor and painfully accurate satire, Houston, We Have a Problem dives deep into the dysfunctional heart of a software team at its breaking point. It’s a love letter to all the engineers, designers, managers, interns, and HR specialists who’ve ever survived a postmortem that turned into emotional shrapnel.
Part sitcom, part therapy session—this book will make you laugh, cringe, and maybe even message your favorite ex-teammate.
117 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2025
765 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 21, 2025
Fun, surprisingly insightful & nuanced ride
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway (the kind you enter at 5am on a whim while you wait for your meds to kick in and promptly forget exists until the next time you dig through your 2000+ book want-to-read shelf) and genuinely didn't know what to expect from it. I was pleasantly surprised by what i did get-- a heartfelt, delightfully genuine workplace dramedy about human nature and the patterns & systems that lead to burnout & disaster.
I only have a passing understanding of most of the technical jargon, but the plot was easy enough to follow through context clues, and the glossary in the back was worded clearly enough for a layman to understand. All in all I'm giving this 4.5 stars rounded up for an enjoyable read.
I won a copy of this book in a goodreads giveaway (the kind you enter at 5am on a whim while you wait for your meds to kick in and promptly forget exists until the next time you dig through your 2000+ book want-to-read shelf) and genuinely didn't know what to expect from it. I was pleasantly surprised by what i did get-- a heartfelt, delightfully genuine workplace dramedy about human nature and the patterns & systems that lead to burnout & disaster.
I only have a passing understanding of most of the technical jargon, but the plot was easy enough to follow through context clues, and the glossary in the back was worded clearly enough for a layman to understand. All in all I'm giving this 4.5 stars rounded up for an enjoyable read.
June 21, 2025
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for choosing me.
Did I understand every technical term? Nope. Did I still enjoy reading? Yes. The glossary at the back assisted the journey quite a bit.
It was interesting, and the way it was broken up made it easy to follow the story from beginning to end.
It's probably not meant to be everyone's cup of tea (no book ever is), but anyone who comes upon this book would probably find something to like about it.
Did I understand every technical term? Nope. Did I still enjoy reading? Yes. The glossary at the back assisted the journey quite a bit.
It was interesting, and the way it was broken up made it easy to follow the story from beginning to end.
It's probably not meant to be everyone's cup of tea (no book ever is), but anyone who comes upon this book would probably find something to like about it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews