IT characters in good fiction writing -- Help Me LJ Brain Trust

[smiep]

A co-worker of mine really wants to expand his reading lists.  He likes Twain and the Patrick O'Brien series, but what he really wants to read are stories about people in the IT field; possibly with authors who can correctly write about coding/ protocols and his daily real-life job issues.  Any thoughts on where I should point him?
Thanks!

Comments

[chargirlgenius]

Er, do people write about the IT field for fun? I read to get *away* from my job.

I don't know how accurate or enjoyable this book is, but the main character in it was based on one of my former co-workers:

http://www.amazon.com/Headcrash-Bruce-Bethke/dp/0446673145

[smiep]

cool--i'll check it out. At the least it's a place to start. Thanks.

[ichseke]

Don't know how IT-specific your co-worker wants to be, but Neal Stephenson has a couple of good quasi-SF books about (1) future use/misuse of interactive/AI coding (The Diamond Age) and (2) codebreaking (Cryptonomicon). Both star interesting, complex geeks. I find most of Kim Stanley Robinson's books fascinating for their presentation of the inner worlds of very smart people. Try the Mars trilogy, or Antarctica, or the "Science in the Capital" series (starts with "Forty Signs of Rain").