[Vintrastorm]

I have an extra copy of this book and was thinking about giving it away. Is it feasible to read this as a stand alone book? None of my friends are interested in the Malaan series yet and I haven't read it yet (reading Memories of Ice right now)

[Abyss]

i dunno... not knowing who Laseen is, or Hood, would probably throw a reader at the beginning... or Traveller's identity.... the Kallor scene seriously doesn't work if you don't know who Kallor is from earlier books...... does the end work at all if you already don't know who Tayschrenn is?

...i guess i'm doubtful.

[HoosierDaddy]

You could do it, but it'd be a pretty painful read with no background.

[Elzhi]

My first Malazan book was "Night of Knives"... I was utterly lost, but the story hooked me. From that one I ended up at GotM..

I mean, it's possible. Keep it and read it later.

[Vintrastorm]

Maybe I can find some kind of use for it then. There's no point in throwing it away.

(As for saving it for later, I have 2 of them so I'm set for the future anyway)

[Vintrastorm]

Thank you for your answers!

[Abyss]

Elzhi, on 17 September 2013 - 07:27 PM, said:

My first Malazan book was "Night of Knives"... I was utterly lost, but the story hooked me. From that one I ended up at GotM..
...

For the most part i think NoK would actually make for a very solid intro to the entire series. Sure there are elements from the earlier books to when it was written (GotM to MT), but overall everything is introduced and explained enough that you can follow the story without the sheer 'wtf?' a reader might have if starting Malazan with RCG and getting to Kallor's scene.

Obviously, Vinta', what you must do is acquire extra copies of all the books that preceded RCG and gift the entire set to someone. Money is secondary, these are Malazfans were creating here!!!!

[Kanese S's]

I don't think the scene at the end with Laseen would really have the same impact without knowing who she is.

[Silencer]

Or why Cowl vs Topper, or even who either of them are, is cool or interesting. Or what the fuck Cowl does at the end of the book.

It would be wholly confusing; far more so, I think, that what some people find with Gardens. In theory it is viable, and it would be *very* interesting to know what an unattached reader made of it all, but I think on the whole it is a bad idea in practice.

[Kanese S's]

Night of Knives I think would be a much easier stand-alone book.

Or Midnight Tides, actually.

[Abyss]

At least reading NoK first would give context for most of what goes on, but it's still a stretch.

RCG is more or less book 7 in a sixteen book series, or book 2 in a six book series if we narrow the field to just ICE's books.