Fractals The Definitive Guide

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

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 index and cross-references are surprisingly good, which matters for a book I will come back to. I appreciated the honesty about what the book does not cover — it saved me from expecting things that were not there. Three stars feels about right. It will stay on my shelf, but it will not be the first one I reach for.

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

I had been on the fence about this one for a while, and I should have bought it sooner. The code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The author avoids over-explaining, which keeps the pace up but means you need to pay attention. An easy five stars from me. I look forward to whatever the author writes next.

A superb guide. The examples are small but complete.

I was looking for something that would bridge the gap between tutorials and proper reference material, and this does that well. Some terminology is introduced without much ceremony; I had to look a few things up along the way. The progression from chapter to chapter is well thought out; nothing feels out of order. The chapters on mathematics are the strongest — the examples are stripped down but complete, and I could follow along without constant guessing. If you have the prerequisites, this is an easy recommendation. I will be keeping it on my desk rather than the shelf.