Malazan Empire: Spoiler-free Read Order Thread - Malazan Empire

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Spoiler-free Read Order Thread A thread for new members to learn what order to read the books in

#21 User is offline   Gorefest 

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Posted 08 January 2015 - 03:20 PM

View PostD, on 08 January 2015 - 02:32 PM, said:

So the best order is probably still DoD -> OST -> TCG in my opinion, and any combination of these 3 should still be fine as long as DoD is before TCG.


So any combination of the three is fine apart from 50% of them? :)
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#22 User is offline   D'rek 

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Posted 08 January 2015 - 03:42 PM

View PostGorefest, on 08 January 2015 - 03:20 PM, said:

View PostD, on 08 January 2015 - 02:32 PM, said:

So the best order is probably still DoD -> OST -> TCG in my opinion, and any combination of these 3 should still be fine as long as DoD is before TCG.


So any combination of the three is fine apart from 50% of them? :)



Right! 3 out of 6 combinations, but you only have to remember one rule!

View Postworrywort, on 14 September 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

I kinda love it when D'rek unleashes her nerd wrath, as I knew she would here. Sorry innocent bystanders, but someone's gotta be the kindling.
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#23 User is offline   Gorefest 

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Posted 08 January 2015 - 03:49 PM

Well, if it worked for 'I before E except after C'...
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#24 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 08 January 2015 - 07:59 PM

View PostGorefest, on 08 January 2015 - 03:49 PM, said:

Well, if it worked for 'I before E except after C'...


Always thought that was weird.
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#25 User is offline   Anomander 72 

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Posted 14 April 2015 - 06:35 PM

Hi everyone, Im new in the forum. I´ve been reading you since a lot of time, but never decided to sign in... until now. So, Ąhi everyone!

Im a spanish guy, and in Spain the last books published was Esslemont´s SW and Erikson´s RG. Next mont will be published OST and this autumn, TtH.

Now, I must decide wether to read SW before TtH, or to wait until this autumn. According to D´rek Reading Order (thanks a lot, D´rek.. you are helping many people!) is better to wait, but actually I´m not very concern about spoilers, unless it was a very big big spoiler.

I know is a difficult question, maybe a stupid question, I know the red arrow is BIG SPOILER, I know SW spoilers TtH.... but żspoilers a lot? żthere is only one spoiler or there are a lot of spoilers in SW about TtH? żthese spoilers will ruine my TtH reading experience?

Thanks a lot and sorry for my english.
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#26 User is offline   D'rek 

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Posted 17 April 2015 - 07:30 PM

View PostAnomander 72, on 14 April 2015 - 06:35 PM, said:

Hi everyone, Im new in the forum. I´ve been reading you since a lot of time, but never decided to sign in... until now. So, Ąhi everyone!

Im a spanish guy, and in Spain the last books published was Esslemont´s SW and Erikson´s RG. Next mont will be published OST and this autumn, TtH.

Now, I must decide wether to read SW before TtH, or to wait until this autumn. According to D´rek Reading Order (thanks a lot, D´rek.. you are helping many people!) is better to wait, but actually I´m not very concern about spoilers, unless it was a very big big spoiler.

I know is a difficult question, maybe a stupid question, I know the red arrow is BIG SPOILER, I know SW spoilers TtH.... but żspoilers a lot? żthere is only one spoiler or there are a lot of spoilers in SW about TtH? żthese spoilers will ruine my TtH reading experience?

Thanks a lot and sorry for my english.


Depends on how carefully you read. SW before TtH is not as bad as some other major spoilers, but if you pick up on the right hints it can still be pretty bad. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

View Postworrywort, on 14 September 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

I kinda love it when D'rek unleashes her nerd wrath, as I knew she would here. Sorry innocent bystanders, but someone's gotta be the kindling.
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#27 User is offline   Anomander 72 

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Posted 06 May 2015 - 10:17 AM

OK.. After reading your answer, I´ve decided to wait.

Thanks!!
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#28 User is offline   ssaabbuu 

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Posted 04 July 2015 - 10:17 AM

Thank you so much for this graph, it os really helpful. I am foççowing your order right now and so far it all makes sense.

Cheers!
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#29 User is offline   theocean 

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Posted 21 July 2015 - 06:25 PM

So i just reread the main series well im about to wrap up TCG. Any suggestions of where to start with the others? I did the erikson books, the first ten i guess. Any reason to jump around from here on or should i just back to TROTCG and follow the ICE books inorder?
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#30 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 21 July 2015 - 06:33 PM

ICE books in order (why would you do them out of order?), but RotCG isn't the first one, NoK is.
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#31 User is offline   Esa1996 

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 12:55 PM

View PostD, on 28 October 2014 - 01:50 PM, said:

View PostWhisperzzzzzzz, on 28 October 2014 - 04:48 AM, said:

How come there's no arrow from DG to MoI?


Because there aren't any storylines which go directly from DG to MoI.

It is still recommended to read DG before MoI, as that is the proper MBotF series order and publishing order (as denoted by DG being leftwards of MoI) but there aren't really any ill effects from reading MoI first (as some people on these forums who did so have attested).


SPOILERS FOR MOI





BE WARNED





Spoiler

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#32 User is offline   theocean 

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 01:56 PM

View Postworry, on 21 July 2015 - 06:33 PM, said:

ICE books in order (why would you do them out of order?), but RotCG isn't the first one, NoK is.


Just making sure, i forgot if they ran in a straight line or not. I read NOK to start the series again. Forgot to throw that in.
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#33 User is offline   D'rek 

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 03:07 PM

View PostEsa1996, on 22 July 2015 - 12:55 PM, said:

View PostD, on 28 October 2014 - 01:50 PM, said:

View PostWhisperzzzzzzz, on 28 October 2014 - 04:48 AM, said:

How come there's no arrow from DG to MoI?


Because there aren't any storylines which go directly from DG to MoI.

It is still recommended to read DG before MoI, as that is the proper MBotF series order and publishing order (as denoted by DG being leftwards of MoI) but there aren't really any ill effects from reading MoI first (as some people on these forums who did so have attested).


SPOILERS FOR MOI





BE WARNED





Spoiler



IMO, no. There are not enough details in that scene to really spoil anything but the broadest strokes, which happens all the time throughout the series anyways. If read in that order it would function just like framing device for the narrative.

View Postworrywort, on 14 September 2012 - 08:07 PM, said:

I kinda love it when D'rek unleashes her nerd wrath, as I knew she would here. Sorry innocent bystanders, but someone's gotta be the kindling.
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#34 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 22 July 2015 - 09:22 PM

View Posttheocean, on 22 July 2015 - 01:56 PM, said:

View Postworry, on 21 July 2015 - 06:33 PM, said:

ICE books in order (why would you do them out of order?), but RotCG isn't the first one, NoK is.


Just making sure, i forgot if they ran in a straight line or not. I read NOK to start the series again. Forgot to throw that in.


Ahh. Rumors of ICE's books being disjointed one-off stories are greatly exaggerated. It's a disjointed series.
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#35 User is offline   Salt-Man Z 

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 04:43 AM

View Postworry, on 22 July 2015 - 09:22 PM, said:

Ahh. Rumors of ICE's books being disjointed one-off stories are greatly exaggerated. It's a disjointed series.

NoK is only tangentially related to the rest, plot-wise, though it introduces characters who appear in bigger roles later on. And does OST even have any ties to the rest of the Empire books? (A certain bard, I suppose...) But yeah, the other four books have a clear progression to them.
"Here is light. You will say that it is not a living entity, but you miss the point that it is more, not less. Without occupying space, it fills the universe. It nourishes everything, yet itself feeds upon destruction. We claim to control it, but does it not perhaps cultivate us as a source of food? May it not be that all wood grows so that it can be set ablaze, and that men and women are born to kindle fires?"
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#36 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 04:57 AM

OST finishes one of those stories started in NoK.
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#37 User is offline   theocean 

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Posted 23 July 2015 - 05:23 PM

I hate blood and bone, im hoping one of the other books comes out before i get back around to that one.
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#38 User is offline   Lepht 

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Posted 11 September 2015 - 08:53 AM

This is a super cool graph but can anyone recommend the best way to read these novels? I am halfway through GotM and currently I am confused and intrigued at the same time.

I would love to know the whole scope of the story but what is the best/easiest/most understandable way to read the series?

Thanks a ton for your help!
-Lepht
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#39 User is offline   worry 

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Posted 11 September 2015 - 08:58 AM

Above the graph there is clear reading order advice.
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#40 User is offline   Puck 

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Posted 11 September 2015 - 01:09 PM

View PostLepht, on 11 September 2015 - 08:53 AM, said:

This is a super cool graph but can anyone recommend the best way to read these novels? I am halfway through GotM and currently I am confused and intrigued at the same time.

I would love to know the whole scope of the story but what is the best/easiest/most understandable way to read the series?

Thanks a ton for your help!
-Lepht


There is no easier intro into the series than GotM, because GotM is the first book and it's the first for a reason, and it's confusing on purpose. If you're reading one of the newer editions, you've also probably read SE's foreword where he clearly says he'd considered writing some kind of into to ease readers into the malazan setting, but decided against it. The book's swim-or-sink on purpose.

You could, of course, read NoK first. Or DG. Or strangle yourself with that graph. Or just keep reading like so many other people have done before, and we're still around and feeling like we totally got what was going on eventually.

It's my personal opinion, but I think the best way to read those books is to just go and read them, and accept that the events can occasionally be so interconnected that revelations take their time.

This post has been edited by Puckstein: 11 September 2015 - 01:09 PM

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