I thought the books matched the atmosphere and quality of the games very well. They didn't read to me at all like merchandising, but rather as an expression of the same artistic vision in another medium. I remember reading one as a teenager, and was deeply taken with the message that as an artist and an engineer (and those are deeply related), a commitment to beauty and proper function, indeed the integrity of honoring what you are and what your creations properly ought to be, demands doing things right, which in turn demands deep study and doing the homework. It is a philosophy that was formative for me, and which still heavily influences me today. I hadn't thought about that in years...!