Little Black Book of Ray-Tracing and Path-Tracing (Paperback)

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

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 explanations are careful without being condescending, which is a difficult balance to strike. I particularly liked the way the author builds up from simple cases before introducing the harder material. The writing is direct and does not waste space on filler, which I value in a technical book. Recommended, with the caveat that it is not a gentle introduction.

Three stars feels about right. Useful, but not essential.

I bought this on a whim after seeing it mentioned in a forum thread, and I am glad I did. The exercises at the end of each chapter are worth doing — they caught a few misconceptions I did not know I had. The author is unusually honest about where the simplifications break down, which I appreciated. Useful as a reference, less so as a straight read from cover to cover.

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 code samples assume a particular environment, which took a bit of fiddling to get running properly. Some of the diagrams are dense and I had to reread a few sections, though that may just be me. Solid, and I would buy another book from this author without hesitation.