The Art of Thief (Book Review)

The Art of Thief is a new publication from Titan Books that takes a look at some of highly detailed environments and characters that make up the dreary world in the new Square Enix release Thief. We noted that Thief was an excellent looking game on both next generation consoles and high end PC rigs in our recent review of the game, but with The Art of Thief, players can get a glimpse of the game in its highest quality without the need to worry about how many frames per second the game is currently running at. The Thief series has come a long way from its initial introduction to PC gamers back in 1998, and the game is one that fans will likely want to pick up and try for themselves soon, if they haven't already.

The Art of Thief features over 190 pages of content featuring many pieces of concept art, character development charts and more, so that fans can see just how the developers at Eidos Montreal brought the world of Thief to life for the new generation of gaming. There is exclusive content in the book from author Paul Davies, and fans can also find plenty of behind the scenes commentary from the developers behind the game, how they came up with some of the unique ideas that made it into the game and what inspirations from the rest of the Thief series were took into consideration when designing content for the new game. There is plenty of good information within the pages of the book, and of course, the beautiful artwork of the game is littered throughout the new work as well.

The Art of Thief is a high quality book that features a hardbound cover and slip case for added protection. The pages of the book are made from a thick paper with a glossy finish that feels great to the touch and should prevent any rips or tears when turning the pages of the book. Like the game and storyline it's based on, The Art of Thief is a no nonsense release that focuses on doing a single job and doing it well. Readers won't find any gimmicks or content that isn't related to the game in some way in the book, but there is plenty of high quality images and commentary that fans are sure to greatly enjoy.

One of the biggest deciding factors for fans deciding to pick up the new book with undoubtedly be the book's price. The Art of Thief typically retails right around $30, and considering the entire game has been on sale for less than that a couple of times since its release, it's definitely a luxury item. Fans are getting a lot of great content with the book though; most video game art books and special releases would only run an average of 100 pages or so, but fans get twice as much content when picking up a copy of The Art of Thief. Don't steal but instead purchase a copy of The Art of Thief from your favorite book retailer today and become a true master thief!


The Art of Thief is now available from most major retailers from Titan Books and can be purchased for $34.95. For more information on The Art of Thief, check out the official Titan Books website

Book Features:

• Publisher: Titan Books
• Author: Paul Davies
• Release Date: February 25, 2014
• Hardcover
• 192 Pages

Score: 8 out of 10