[WhiskeyPhil]

Hi guys'n'gals,

Like quite a few peeps I'm sure, I found reading MBotF a little 'heavy-going' to say the least. So after having read the 1st three and halfway thru' HoC, I gave up (for the 3rd time!).
Not wanting to feel totally defeated, I then discovered SE's 'Recommended Reading Order'! I thought 'Brilliant idea!', only to find that 'Forge of Darkness' has no Glossary of any description.
How are 'new' readers expected to know what a 'Jaghut' or 'soletaken' etc., etc. is?? …

Am I alone in this or what?

[Coltaine -]

The reading order suggested by the authors is mostly listing the books in order of the timeline in the world. But I really wouldn't suggest to start with Fall of Darkness. While I enjoyed it, I have to admit that it wasn't an easy read for me and neither was Fall of Light. I don't know if I would have finished them without knowing a good portion of the characters already from previous books and my interest in their backstories and the backstory of the world.

For a lighter introduction you could maybe start with Dancer's Lament and Deadhouse Landing. Esslemont's writing style here is quite different from the other Malazan books. Like he is focusing on fewer point of view characters.

[Gorefest]

SE never actually seriously recommended it. He just said something along the lines of seeing FoD as a potential alternative stepping stone into the Malazan universe. Which it isn't. It's probably one of those things authors say to push sales. Starting with FoD will just get you thoroughly lost and confused. It is definitely not a more 'light-hearted' read, either. If anything, it is way more dense and philosophical than the Malazan books. Regarding HoC, if it helps, in the second half of the book you 'return' to more known ground with characters from previous books.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 29 October 2018 - 12:44 PM

[WhiskeyPhil]

Thank you Coltaine. I'll bear your Esslelemont suggestions in mind.

[WhiskeyPhil]

Thank you Gorefest!.will continue with HoC. and give FoG a miss for now. Cheers!

This post has been edited by WhiskeyPhil: 29 October 2018 - 03:47 PM

[ArchieVist]

Yeah, I believe you are referring to this Tor.com article. That appears to be more of a marketing thing than an actual author recommendation. There was a thread on /r/malazan where a redditor claimed to have talked to Erikson about this article, and Erikson said:

Quote

I spoke with Ian about this. It seems that a few years back we worked out a sequential timeline for the Malazan history we were exploring. This is that list, supplied to Tor.com by Ian. That said, I don't think it applies as an actual reading order. Rather, it was the two of us hashing stuff out. Both Ian and I would recommend the basic publication order.

Erikson himself has recommended reading the books in the order they were published in this interview (scroll to the bottom for the English translation).

Quote

I have seen a number of projected orders. For myself, I would take it in the basic order of publication dates. Why? Well, thematically, the internal timeline is less important than the meta-reality of when we, as writers, wrote the books. Even in our flashback works, we cannot help but be aware of what we've written before, and how the two forces resonate with one another. It would, in my humble opinion, be a mistake to ignore that element."

You can see a number of different suggested reading orders, including the published reading order, here on the wiki.

[WhiskeyPhil]

Thank you for that ArchieVist! Ah well! back to going around in circles I guess. Cheers mate!

[Abyss]

Yeah, at the end of the day, UK/NorAm publication order is the way to go for the first read, i think.



....with the sole exception of reading RCG before TtH, because i believe that's what the authors intended and there was a thing with the publish/print/send side, not the authors.

[Gorefest]

Yeah, ideally RotCG before TtH indeed. GotM, DG, MoI, HoC, MT, NoK (ess), tBH, RG, RotCG (ess), TtH, SW (ess), DoD, tCG, OST (ess), BnB (ess), Assail (ess). That still is the most logical order in my opinion.

[WhiskeyPhil]

Thank you Abyss!

[WhiskeyPhil]

Thanks for your help everyone!! Much obliged.

[worry]

You're welcome, glad I could help.

[Abyss]

worry, on 29 October 2018 - 06:02 PM, said:

You're welcome, glad I could help.

This isn't the animated panda porn thread worry.

[Nevyn]

WhiskeyPhil, on 29 October 2018 - 09:44 AM, said:

Hi guys'n'gals,

Like quite a few peeps I'm sure, I found reading MBotF a little 'heavy-going' to say the least. So after having read the 1st three and halfway thru' HoC, I gave up (for the 3rd time!).
Not wanting to feel totally defeated, I then discovered SE's 'Recommended Reading Order'! I thought 'Brilliant idea!', only to find that 'Forge of Darkness' has no Glossary of any description.
How are 'new' readers expected to know what a 'Jaghut' or 'soletaken' etc., etc. is?? …

Am I alone in this or what?

If you start with Forge of Darkness, you'll stop reading or just end it all long before you come to the good books.

Read the main series. Then read Ice's new books. Then read his old ones as much as you can stand. And then if you absolutely love everything and must know more, read Forge of Darkness.

[worry]

Abyss, on 29 October 2018 - 07:15 PM, said:

worry, on 29 October 2018 - 06:02 PM, said:

You're welcome, glad I could help.

This isn't the animated panda porn thread worry.

It could be. They all could be.

[Puck]

Nevyn, on 29 October 2018 - 07:16 PM, said:

WhiskeyPhil, on 29 October 2018 - 09:44 AM, said:

Hi guys'n'gals,

Like quite a few peeps I'm sure, I found reading MBotF a little 'heavy-going' to say the least. So after having read the 1st three and halfway thru' HoC, I gave up (for the 3rd time!).
Not wanting to feel totally defeated, I then discovered SE's 'Recommended Reading Order'! I thought 'Brilliant idea!', only to find that 'Forge of Darkness' has no Glossary of any description.
How are 'new' readers expected to know what a 'Jaghut' or 'soletaken' etc., etc. is?? …

Am I alone in this or what?

If you start with Forge of Darkness, you'll stop reading or just end it all long before you come to the good books.

Read the main series. Then read Ice's new books. Then read his old ones as much as you can stand. And then if you absolutely love everything and must know more, read Forge of Darkness.

As much as I adore Forge of Darkness, I have to agree with this. It's an acquiered taste. Do not read FoD first. If you already struggle with how dense the first few books in the main series are, you will want to hang yourself reading FoD. Then probably drown yourself for good measure upon touching Fall of Light.

...man, I can't wait for WiS. I want it NOW, so much.

This post has been edited by Puck: 30 October 2018 - 09:46 PM