Reader reviews

Worth every page. I have already recommended it to two colleagues.

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 chapters on game development are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.

Some sections were excellent and others felt like filler.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. I found myself making notes in the margins, which is always a good sign. Borrow it first if you can, or at least check the table of contents carefully before buying.

I got a lot out of this, even if a few sections felt rushed.

A colleague recommended this and I can see why. It does something that few technical books manage: it respects the reader's time. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

Better than I expected. Rare to find a technical book this well judged.

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 exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The chapters on higher education are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. Worth the money and the reading time, without hesitation.

This is the one to get if you are serious about uncanny valley.

There is a particular kind of technical book that is dense without being difficult, and this is one of them. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. It is denser than the page count suggests, and I found myself slowing down around the middle. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with uncanny valley.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. Some of the material is available elsewhere, but rarely presented this clearly. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The balance between theory and practice is well judged; neither side dominates. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.