Book Review: When IT Hits The Fan

As a writer, Wes Herschberger is a pretty good IT guy. But what possessed him to couch two-thirds of his book, "When IT Hits The Fan," in a fictional account of computer derring-do at a Michigan manufacturer is anyone's guess.

He makes every novice's mistakes--flitting between third-person and omniscient points of view, padding with reams of useless detail and failing to deliver meaningful dialogue.

Even an author who spent the better part of his career in the tech business couldn't resist painting the most trite, stereotypical portrait of his IT admin character, Bill, right down to the rumpled clothes, messy hair and Star Trek ringtone.

The novella part of the book is a bore. And, by the way, the network in the story has a virus! The reader knows that by the third page of the prologue. So why suffer for 76 pages before anyone in Herschberger's world figures that out?

Herschberger redeems himself with a summary, where he spells out the impediments to profitable technology use, then urges readers to "find a trusted local company that can assess and fill your needs." If we can add a bit of our own advice: Save yourself some eye-rolling and start at page 130.