[worry]

They spoil the origins of various characters.

[Abyss]

Bonehunters, on 25 September 2019 - 08:29 AM, said:

So how spoilerish is the prequels?

If you mean how much will Esslemont's Path to Ascension series spoil you for the Malazan Books of the Fallen or Malazan Empire series, I recommend reading the books in published order, but i don't think reading PtA first will ruin MBF/ME for you. No events from MBF/ME books are spoiled in PtA, but you will get to know information about various characters that would otherwise be a mystery when you read MBF/ME for the first time, and consequently, when certain things happen, you may not be as surprised.

If you mean Erikson's Kharkanas books... i think reading those before MBF and ME may confuse more than inform, since the third book isn't out yet and things remain unresolved.

[Bonehunters]

Abyss, on 25 September 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

Bonehunters, on 25 September 2019 - 08:29 AM, said:

So how spoilerish is the prequels?

If you mean how much will Esslemont's Path to Ascension series spoil you for the Malazan Books of the Fallen or Malazan Empire series, I recommend reading the books in published order, but i don't think reading PtA first will ruin MBF/ME for you. No events from MBF/ME books are spoiled in PtA, but you will get to know information about various characters that would otherwise be a mystery when you read MBF/ME for the first time, and consequently, when certain things happen, you may not be as surprised.

If you mean Erikson's Kharkanas books... i think reading those before MBF and ME may confuse more than inform, since the third book isn't out yet and things remain unresolved.

Halfway through Dancer Lament and Forge of Darkness I find it easy reading. So I've decided too finish the prquels then move onto tCG and Ian remaining 3 Novels.

This post has been edited by Bonehunters: 03 December 2019 - 10:58 AM

[Abyss]

Bonehunters, on 03 December 2019 - 08:55 AM, said:

Abyss, on 25 September 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

Bonehunters, on 25 September 2019 - 08:29 AM, said:

So how spoilerish is the prequels?

If you mean how much will Esslemont's Path to Ascension series spoil you for the Malazan Books of the Fallen or Malazan Empire series, I recommend reading the books in published order, but i don't think reading PtA first will ruin MBF/ME for you. No events from MBF/ME books are spoiled in PtA, but you will get to know information about various characters that would otherwise be a mystery when you read MBF/ME for the first time, and consequently, when certain things happen, you may not be as surprised.

If you mean Erikson's Kharkanas books... i think reading those before MBF and ME may confuse more than inform, since the third book isn't out yet and things remain unresolved.

Halfway through Dancer Lament and Forge of Darkness I find it easy reading. So I've decided too finish the prquels then move onto tCG and Ian remaining 3 Novels.

So you're reading all the prequel series before finishing the main series(es).

I can't see a down-side. Would be interesting when you're done TCG to know if anything you read in the prequels really impacted how you saw events in TCG.

[Bonehunters]

Abyss, on 03 December 2019 - 03:11 PM, said:

Bonehunters, on 03 December 2019 - 08:55 AM, said:

Abyss, on 25 September 2019 - 07:12 PM, said:

Bonehunters, on 25 September 2019 - 08:29 AM, said:

So how spoilerish is the prequels?

If you mean how much will Esslemont's Path to Ascension series spoil you for the Malazan Books of the Fallen or Malazan Empire series, I recommend reading the books in published order, but i don't think reading PtA first will ruin MBF/ME for you. No events from MBF/ME books are spoiled in PtA, but you will get to know information about various characters that would otherwise be a mystery when you read MBF/ME for the first time, and consequently, when certain things happen, you may not be as surprised.

If you mean Erikson's Kharkanas books... i think reading those before MBF and ME may confuse more than inform, since the third book isn't out yet and things remain unresolved.

Halfway through Dancer Lament and Forge of Darkness I find it easy reading. So I've decided too finish the prquels then move onto tCG and Ian remaining 3 Novels.

So you're reading all the prequel series before finishing the main series(es).

I can't see a down-side. Would be interesting when you're done TCG to know if anything you read in the prequels really impacted how you saw events in TCG.

Yeah finished FoD and DC. About halfway through DL and just started reading FoL last night.

This post has been edited by Bonehunters: 25 December 2019 - 01:16 PM

[Shalmanat]

Many years since I finished TCG, and never read any of the "side series".
I have now started my first re-read. And this time I decided to read all available prequels first. I have finished FoD and FoL, and am well into the PoA-series. Only sad thing is the missing book in the Kharkanas series. I will also be reading the side series according to the flow chart here.
I am extremely glad i decided to start this way....it gives so much background information on several main characters, way back to where things actually began. I feel very differently about them this time around, and expect to enjoy my re-read much more than I did my first readthrough. I love meeting "old" characters anew, and am not overly worried about a few vague spoilers here and there.

This post has been edited by Shalmanat: 07 March 2020 - 04:26 PM

[Bonehunters]

I haven't been able to read it since December so decided to re-read them.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

When I first started reading the series I did so in the order they were published, and I personally found it to be a jarring experience, particularly in regards to the first five books (six if Night of Knives is taken into account), with the constant back and forth between timeline and continents.

If I could recommend a reading order for first time readers who want an easier time and a more manageable narrative flow my suggested order would be this one:

1. Gardens of the Moon
2. Memories of Ice
3. Deadhouse Gates
4. Midnight Tides
5. House of Chains
6. The Bonehunters
7. Reaper's Gale
8. Return of the Crimson Guard
9. Toll the Hounds
10. Dust of Dreams
11. The Crippled God
12. Stonewielder
13. Blood and Bone
14. Orb Sceptre Throne
15. Assail

I left NoK out because IMO it works best as a coda to Path to Ascendancy. If I could I would have sent this reading order to my past self.

[HoosierDaddy]

The Midnight Tides/House of Chains flip is interesting. Not sure I'd recommend it, but interesting.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

The reason I suggested MT before HoC is because MT ties up nicely with the prologue of HoC.

[Abyss]

ContrarianMalazanReader, on 13 October 2020 - 04:05 AM, said:

The reason I suggested MT before HoC is because MT ties up nicely with the prologue of HoC.

True, but the author's intent was to intro the character, engage you with them, then go back in time to tell you how they got there. Also introducing certain mysteries in HoC which explained in MT.

Doing the reverse is, interestingly, like reading the end before the beginning, only by doing the opposite of that... hee.

[ContrarianMalazanReader]

Abyss, on 13 October 2020 - 06:01 PM, said:

ContrarianMalazanReader, on 13 October 2020 - 04:05 AM, said:

The reason I suggested MT before HoC is because MT ties up nicely with the prologue of HoC.

True, but the author's intent was to intro the character, engage you with them, then go back in time to tell you how they got there. Also introducing certain mysteries in HoC which explained in MT.

Doing the reverse is, interestingly, like reading the end before the beginning, only by doing the opposite of that... hee.

In that case Erikson's intent failed with me, because the HoC>MT sequence left me feeling disrupted. On my second read-through I felt much more engaged in the story when I did the switch.

[Abyss]

ContrarianMalazanReader, on 14 October 2020 - 05:37 AM, said:

Abyss, on 13 October 2020 - 06:01 PM, said:

ContrarianMalazanReader, on 13 October 2020 - 04:05 AM, said:

The reason I suggested MT before HoC is because MT ties up nicely with the prologue of HoC.

True, but the author's intent was to intro the character, engage you with them, then go back in time to tell you how they got there. Also introducing certain mysteries in HoC which explained in MT.

Doing the reverse is, interestingly, like reading the end before the beginning, only by doing the opposite of that... hee.

In that case Erikson's intent failed with me, because the HoC>MT sequence left me feeling disrupted. On my second read-through I felt much more engaged in the story when I did the switch.

And you are far from the only person who felt that way.

For me, it worked. Hell, MBF first grabbed me specifically because it throws us into the middle of the story. In that vein, the beginning of HoC and the shift in MT is more of the same and I loved it.