Human Software: A Life in I.T. - A Novel

By Richard W. Bown

A dark, intelligent corporate thriller. For readers of William Shaw and Ian McEwan.

Beth Walters has kept Gerbach's crumbling IT systems alive through skill, stubbornness and too many sleepless nights. She knows where the bodies are buried - technically speaking.

Then Christine Hegarty flies in from New York with a mandate, a deadline, and no patience for sentiment. She's done this before. She thinks she knows how it ends.

When a fatal data breach rocks the declining port town of Sandport, Beth's name is on the wrong piece of code. What follows is a fight for her job, her team, and her reputation against a company that has already decided who it's going to sacrifice.

Set in a decaying corner of coastal Kent, Human Software is a novel about corporate rot, institutional failure, and the people the system is designed to grind down. It's a dark read. It earns what hope it has.

"Freaked me out more than any Stephen King novel" JEREMY MARKEY - Rands Slack Book Reviewer

"Vivid world-building and well-rounded characters. I found myself completely hooked." RUSSELL MCLEAN - Emmy and BAFTA Award-Winning Producer

"A proper page turner, part thriller, part whodunnit and a fine dystopian parable" CHARLES HUMBLE - Tech Consultant & Journalist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FSK1QTCS
• ISBN13: 9789083469225
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: First Edition
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"