Reader reviews

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

I came to this book already familiar with the basics, and it still had plenty to offer. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. The examples are small enough to type out and experiment with, which is exactly what I want from a book like this. Four stars, and I suspect a second edition could easily push it to five.

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

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. A couple of chapters felt like they could have been merged, but that is a minor complaint. There is a section near the end that ties several earlier ideas together in a way I had not seen before. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

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

I have been working with game development for a few years now and I still found plenty here that was new to me. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. The author clearly knows the subject deeply and has thought hard about how to teach it. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. This is the book I wish had existed when I started working with game development.

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

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. A few of the examples could be more realistic, but the underlying points come across clearly. The book rewards careful reading. Skimming it would be a mistake. I have already recommended it to two colleagues and will recommend it to more.

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

Well worth picking up if you already have the basics.

This is the third book I have read on javascript this year, and it is comfortably the best of them. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. 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.