An interesting look at the tech startup industry. A dark-humoured spoof. The first chapter was a little off-putting, but after that, it moved along quite well. There are reviews on Amazon that say it better than I can. ( )

Hardup is a story - or, more specifically, a comedy as the cover proclaims - about the tech world in San Francisco and the hardships startups have to go through to get funding and the people's attention. Jason and his friends have the idea of providing the world with a completely game-changing invention, a male masturbatory aid. In that respect, the title 'Hardup' invites two possible interpretations. First, and probably more likely, 'Hardup' might be a blend of hardship and startup, and second, it might refer to the actual product that is invented by the startup in the novel, helping the male population, well, to get hard.

Lucky to have been chosen as one of the first readers of this book and even getting it for free, I was actually really looking forward to reading Hardup. I was intrigued by the short plot summary and the cover of the book is actually very inviting and made me want to read the book. This feeling held on through the first chapters, but then it started getting weaker by the page. While the language striked me as fresh and original at the beginning, I started to become really annoyed towards the middle of the book. I did not expect this to be a fully edited copy as it has just been released and is probably self-published. However, I would have expected that it was at least (more or less) free of grammatical mistakes. There seems to be a real problem with homonyms (such as 'their' and 'there', 'who's' and 'whose' and the like) which forced me to read some sentences twice. While I do not generally have a problem with rereading sentences or even whole passages because I did not get them the first time, this only goes for complex sentences or unusual expressions. Grammatical mistakes is probably where I draw the line.

While the startup and tech scene is described quite well for readers who are completely new to the topic, I found descriptions a bit too much at times. Some of the characters are even employed to ask the questions readers might have. And this is done quite openly: 'As I'm not in the marketing business, what's an elevator pitch?' While I am admittedly just paraphrasing here, the actual version is not that much different. Oftentimes those questions are not asked and answered in a subtle way, but plainly and openly discussed. As a reader I had the feeling of being taken by the hand and led through the fantastically complex world of technology. I was actually quite disappointed and felt not taken seriously. This was the point where I started wondering about the intended readership (if there is ever such a thing) of a novel about startup companies. To my liking, more showing and less telling would have been a much better narrative strategy.

Eventually, I will have to say something about the plot. While I find the idea to write a comedy about startups quite refreshing, this novel exaggerates at too many points in the story. One might argue that this is due to it being intended as a comedy, but for a comedy I found there have not been that many funny parts. Right from the start there are two plot strands: one about the protagonist and his startup and the other about the protagonist's former company and one of their executives. While the connection is fairly obvious at the beginning, the next time those two plot strands cross each other is far from predictable. Usually, I find that a good thing in a story, but in Hardup it was again just too much for my taste. As I do not intend to give away the ending, let me just say that the second point at which both plot lines collide (pun intended for those who have read the book), it is way too exaggerated and simply not credible. The ending itself is also somewhat disappointing, which might be due to the fact that Hardup is intended as the first book in a series.

To give the author some credit, I very much liked his idea and there are also passages in the book that are actually very much to the point. However, on the whole, I was a little disappointed in the book. 2.5 stars. ( )