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I bought this before Christmas and it was delivered promptly in pristine condition.
First impressions are that you really do feel you're getting your money's worth - embossed glossy cover, glossy photo-filled colour pages throughout, glossy Bob Wakelin artwork section, glossy profiles of ex-Ocean staff with glossy photos of ageing, balding men.
It's largely typo-free, well-written and sensibly organised, with an interview-driven chronological history of the company occupying the first section, the remainder largely dedicated to anecdotal stuff from Ocean's various luminaries. It will take you several days to read. You'll enjoy the snippets of dark humour (typical of 1980s software development) scattered through the second section. For non-Retro Gamer readers and/or non-visitors to The Ocean Experience website/forum, you'll learn some new stuff.
All in all, it does the job required of it.
However, my main criticism is that, given the intention was presumably to provide a definitive tome, the book represents a missed opportunity as there is so much left unanswered. It's clearly a labour of love and is very detailed, but either the compilers shyed away from certain topics so as not to upset the contributors, or they were not well-informed to start with, relying upon interviewees to drive the narrative.
It's more of a "One Show" account of such a controversial company, rather than an intense "Newsnight" interrogation. I suppose the book is meant as a celebration of Ocean, so that's perhaps understandable. Still, I would have liked more depth.
Ultimately, it's fantastic to be able to own such a quality item, focused on such niche subject matter. What an age we live in! Yet, I suspect hardened nerds such as myself will be disappointed by the shallow yield of exclusive juicy gossip, due largely to the obsequious approach. On the other hand, if you're the sort of person who constantly marvels at those glossy £10 Retro Gamer Bookazines, you'll treasure this. Either way, but it!
"Absolutely Brilliant!!!!" - Gary Bracey
"Burn all your other books, this is the only one you need!" - A. Historian
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