No, seriously they are new books, how do you expect comparative reviews already?

And if they were published one after the other, what would have been the difference?

What if you (most probably) only read the first and the "best" was the last?

Additionally that's very personal, for instance my favorite intro to Perl 5 is in a chapter of a Damian Conway book which is out of print in Germany. (Even not mentioning the Panther book)

how would you filter which one to get first, considering that they all address the same target group, that is beginners to Perl6? would you weight the author's name more? the number of pages? the index? the publisher?
this is where timing gets critical,because if you were looking to get started with perl6 at a a time where just one title was accessible,you wouldn't have to think twice.
but now it gets complicated, for both publisher and potential reader audience.

> where just one title was accessible

Well the first printed Perl6 book I saw was 15 years ago. (no joke, I had it in my hands =)

> the number of pages? the index?

Personally?

• I'd look at the index and read the free online chapter and potential reviews.
• Than I'll decide which style I prefer and where my priorities are.
• Than I'd chose one or two.
• If you are still lost take the cheapest or toss a coin.
BTW: IIRC is O'Reilly sending free trials to Perlmonger groups, if they promise to write a review. (dunno about apress)

My book store would allow me to order them all and investigating them there before I choose.

Or probably you'll find send back options at online stores too.

(

If that's not enough, sorry it really highly depends on taste...

• some prefer a good academic structure and cross referencing ,
• others want plenty of simple hand on examples to copy the code,
• others want an entertaining language with jokes and anecdotes
• ...
)

HTH! :)

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language and ☆☆☆☆ :)
Je suis Charlie!}

If I were in the market, I would buy them all. I had 30ish Perl Books on my shelf until I had to downsize my book collection 90% or so in a move. Price of a book is a pittance compared to an hour of training, etc.