Reader reviews

It does the job, though it took some patience to get through.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The chapters on uncanny valley are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

Disappointing. The description oversold what is actually inside.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. The chapters on game engineering are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Two stars. The subject deserves a better treatment than this.

A genuinely enjoyable read that also taught me a great deal.

I read this over a couple of weekends alongside a small side project, which turned out to be the ideal way to approach it. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

Almost excellent. A second edition could easily push it to five stars.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

Finally, a book that treats javascript with the care it deserves.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.