[chinadoog]

Hey guys.

Is it a bad idea to suggest someone to start the series with MT to get them hooked and then go back and read it from GotM onwards?

Some of my reasoning behind thinking this might be a good idea if you're recommending the book to friends.

- It's a lot better than GotM
- It's more accessible, is funnier, and the characters are developed much faster and better than the ones in GotM
- It happens before GotM (or at the same time)
- Doesn't really spoil anything about the other books, other than the Crippled God recruiting people (let me know if there are indeed spoilers I forgot about)
- Better idea than just skipping GotM, which some people do.

[Defiance]

I suppose if you think it'll get them hooked then you could go ahead and start with Midnight Tides. Personally, though, I would never suggest that someone start with anything other than Gardens of the Moon. But that's just because I'm a stickler for reading things in the order that they're published. Also, if your friend can read, understand, and enjoy Gardens of the Moon then that's a major plus. It doesn't ease you into the series at all which I think is a unique experience that people miss out on if they start with Deadhouse Gates or Midnight Tides.

Whenever I recommend the books to people, one of the things I always say is something along the lines of this: Even if you only find Gardens of the Moon to be okay, I really suggest you give Deadhouse Gates a try. If you're not hooked by the end of Deadhouse Gates, though, then go ahead and put down the series. I've never had anyone I've recommened the books to stop reading them.

But I'm rambling. Do what it takes to get another Malazan fan on board. If he does start with Midnight Tides, though, make sure he reads it again after he finishes House of Chains as there's a lot of stuff in the 5th book that he won't appreciate without knowledge of other events (for example, everything relating to Lether being a colony of the First Empire and the Errant not wanting the T'lan Imass to come kill everyone because of the Jheck and their god making new Soletaken empire isn't something you can appreciate unless you've read Deadhouse Gates).

[worry]

I would shun them like a leper.

[chinadoog]

Defiance, on 14 September 2012 - 02:48 AM, said:

(for example, everything relating to Lether being a colony of the First Empire and the Errant not wanting the T'lan Imass to come kill everyone because of the Jheck and their god making new Soletaken empire isn't something you can appreciate unless you've read Deadhouse Gates).

I don't think I picked up on that at all.

[Siergiej]

If You start with Midnight Tides You miss the sheer jaw-droppingness of 'I flooded a realm' fragment (sorry, don't know the exact english quote) by Hannan Mosag. And a few other interesting tidbits. Actually, I'd recommend anyone to stick with the publication order. If not, start with Deadhouse Gates. If not even that, then MT might actually be fine for the beginners.

[LinearPhilosopher]

I'd disagree entirely with the whole starting at book 1. I started with MOI (just like amph ^^). It's a trend i started a while ago, ultimately most series book 1 is rather weak and skippable due to the handholding the majority of authors do.

That being said i would say midnight tides while being my personal fav, is a bit late of a point to start as the "main" focus of the book starts with HoC,

Spoiler

the bonehunters

and to truly get the significance of Hoc you need to have read the books that came before. The plot set into motion in MT is not critical to the "main" plot till later in the series. Events set into motion by book 5 while having some impact on the previous 4, is minimal overall.

[Abyss]

There's no harm in it, tho I'd actually recommend NoK as a starting point over MT, since it leads into GotM better.

By starting with MT the reader won't see the same characters again until Trull in HoC and the Leth setting until RG.

Reading in order, sure there are characters you don't see for a book, but by starting with MT you're not back at Leth for SIX books (MBF 1-4 and 6 + NoK before anyone says i miscounted).

[Calistan]

chinadoog, on 14 September 2012 - 01:13 AM, said:

Hey guys.

Is it a bad idea to suggest someone to start the series with MT to get them hooked and then go back and read it from GotM onwards?

Some of my reasoning behind thinking this might be a good idea if you're recommending the book to friends.

- It's a lot better than GotM
- It's more accessible, is funnier, and the characters are developed much faster and better than the ones in GotM
- It happens before GotM (or at the same time)
- Doesn't really spoil anything about the other books, other than the Crippled God recruiting people (let me know if there are indeed spoilers I forgot about)
- Better idea than just skipping GotM, which some people do.

Stop this madness. Steven Erikson wrote the books in this order for a reason. One of his greatnesses lies in the timeline of history and Midnight Tide is a story to be read while you already know certain things from the earlier books. I suppose you can do as you wish but I think it´s silly.

[Minttunator]

I recently finished MT and I have to admit one of my first thoughts (right after "Hood's balls, that was awesome!") was "Hey, this could work pretty well as an introduction to the series!".

I think MT is better written than GotM and could conceivably do better in getting someone hooked. Having an overview of the setting does help, but there's also quite a bit of exposition in MT itself with regards to Warrens and such.

Still, I think that while this is an interesting idea and it could work, starting with GotM (or maybe NoK which is shorter and slightly easier to follow) would be best.

[Buke]

Well, MT is certainly a lot more forgiving in the way that it's structured. Whereas GotM drops you of at the deep end in the middle of an ongoing story that has been going on for at least a decade, MT follows a military conflict as it begins and shows us how it slowly progresses as the Edur slowly begin to gain power on Lether. Then again, there is a reason Erikson decided to tell the story in the order that hi did, so the safe bet is probably to just read the books in the order they were published. However, I know for a fact that when the time comes for me to do my reread, I will definitely start with MT.

[Kanese S's]

I think it might also depend if the person being introduced to the series is into fantasy series or not.