[Yustach]

Hey guys,

I just bought Orb, Sceptre, Throne from Novels of the Malazan Empire. I was interested in starting the series as I've heard great things, and Coles only had this one and "Stonewielder" in stock.

Which leads me to my question: Can I start anywhere in the Malazan series? Or is there an order of books that I should be following to get the most out of the series?

Thanks in advance.

[worry]

You definitely cannot start anywhere if you want the richest experience. Erikson's series is one long ten-book story, and while Esslemont's series is fairly independent from it, they do interact (including spoilers and consequences of previous books by both authors). There are a couple variations on preferred book order, but the top-to-bottom order you see on this forum is the most standard and for good reason. The two books you note are particularly tough ones to start with, as they tell stories well far along in the overall story (they're books 3 and 4 in Esslemont's series, let alone deep within Erikson's chronology). Personally, I would urge you to be patient and read them more or less forum order, for best effect and maximum impact.

Sorry to be the one to tell you that, if you're excited and raring to go. All I can say is I think it's worth it.

This post has been edited by sorrysort: 08 May 2013 - 02:23 AM

[HoosierDaddy]

Where do you start?

At the beginning of course!

Like Worrywort said, forum order is most recommended for first time reads. If you are having problems progressing through a book, probably best to ask at that point if it's something you can come back to after reading the next book.

[Defiance]

If you have a credit/debit card of your own, I would use Amazon.com.

As others have said, read the books in order. There are a few variations to this.

You could read Erikson's series first, Esslemont's second. This is the easiest order to remember, and won't require you to shift between authors which can be jarring for some.

Or, and this is probably what I would recommend, you can read Erikson's series and spread Esslemont's books throughout (as mentioned, in publication order). There is one exception to this, which is Night of Knives - although it was published after The Bonehunters, I think it's better to read it beforehand. As a result, reading order would look something like this:

Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates
Memories of Ice
House of Chains
Midnight Tides
Night of Knives (Esslemont 1)
The Bonehunters
Reaper's Gale
Return of the Crimson Guard (Esslemont 2)
Toll the Hounds
Dust of Dreams
Stonewielder (Esslemont 3)
The Crippled God
Orb, Sceptre, Throne (Esslemont 4)
Forge of Darkness (Kharkanas trilogy 1)
Blood and Bone (Esslemont 5)


This order is definitely up for debate. However, given publication order and various reveals within the books, I believe this works best. The one exception is Dust of Dreams and The Crippled God - if you want to get straight to the finale after Dust (which is essentially the first half of the final book), you can save Stonewielder for afterward.

[Tehol the Only]

HoosierDaddy, on 08 May 2013 - 02:25 AM, said:

Like Worrywort Sorrysort said,

Ost is entirely dependent on books from the main series, and while Stonewielder could be read as stand-alone, it would be a really, REALLY confusing book.

I read Erikson 1-10 first, then Esselmont.

No matter which reading order you decide for, you should start with Gardens of the moon, then Deadhouse gates, then Memories of ice. (you could swap them a bit, but i wouldn't recommend it)
And if you have any question, you can ask us anytime!

Edit: be aware that reading OST beforehand will give you HUGE, and i mean HUGE like really really HUGE spoilers on the main series.

This post has been edited by Tehol the Only: 08 May 2013 - 10:29 AM

[Kanese S's]

It's like Defiance said.


Begin with Gardens of the Moon, then read Deadhouse Gates. And so on.