Reader reviews

Genuinely excellent — I finished it in a week and immediately started again.

This is the third book I have read on game programming this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

Exactly the book I needed. Straight to the point and genuinely useful.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. A good addition to a technical library, as long as you know what you are buying.

A useful guide. The examples assume a particular environment, but that is fixable.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. Worth picking up if you already have the basics. Set realistic expectations and you will get a lot out of it.

I have read a lot of books on this subject and this is the clearest.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. One of those books that pays for itself within the first few chapters. Highly recommended.

Excellent from start to finish. No filler, no padding.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The early chapters move quickly through material I already knew, but the later sections were genuinely new to me. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with simulation.