[garden_rake]

you certainly could read it as stand alone book, but you'd lose so much through lack of understanding id strongly advise against it.... besides the first two are just as good/better according to some people around here...

[fortyseven]

You should read Gardens but you don't need to read Deadhouse imo. I've read them all in order tho.

[Trotts]

id say its important to read gardens of the moon before memories of ice
and deadhouse gates before house of chains
(midnight tides is just special )

but you can read any of them as a stand alone, the problem is just that the deeper you get the more confusing itll be (and its already kinda confusing)

[Tiste Simeon]

Definitely read both Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates first. It will help you understand so much more... I would highly advise against reading any of the books by themselves - unless you have read the whole series first anyway... Even though DG isn't set on the same continent as MOI and GOTM, there are still linking characters in all the books. If you understand where the characters are coming from, it will help you understand decisions made, and other things like that. For example there is an incident which happens near the end of DG which has direct bearing on the events in MOI...

[Folken]

coming to a site where we worship these books and asking if it is neccesary to read them all, what sorta answer does one expect?
READ THEM ALL!

[Tenaka Khan]

I'd also advise you to read them in the proper order. I myself mistakenly started with DG, because I didn't notice that it is the second in a series. Boy had I a hard time getting into it! But it was definitely worth the trouble Just be prepared to re-read the books some times before things really start to fall into place, a lot of things I just really understood/linked on the second or third read. Yet that is the main strength of SE's work and what really sets it aprt from other authors out there.

Btw, you lucky bastard, having SE coming into town to do a signing... sometimes it sucks to live on the old continent

[Trotts]

really? i started on dg too, and then went to memories before i read gardens

[No-God]

Read them in order.

I'm sure you could read and enjoy Memories of Ice without a base in the other two previous novels, but Memories of Ice is one of my favorite books. And it's better if you read both Gardens of the Moon and Deadhouse Gates before it, because you understand it easier.

I'll be honest. I never liked Gardens of the Moon all that much, but it was book 1, so I plowed through it. Book 1 definately establishes the Malazan world and some of the characters (I love Kruppe!). I absolutely adore the rest of the series, though. A huge improvement.

[Abyss]

MoI can stand alone, but key development of many of the major characters in MoI takes place in GotM that really, REALLY helps the book make more sense.

You could easily read DG after MOI, however.

- Abyss, read them in order. Then read them again. Is about due for another once Bonehunters is released...

[tiam]

You could but reading MOI is difficult neway (imagine someone who has never read ne mbotf readong the prologue. i was confused and id read DG and GOTM around 4 times each). i suggest you buy GoTM but you could maybe avoid DG if you reallly have to

[Dolmen 2.0]

I advise that structure and order of reading should not be a priority. I started with Memories of Ice then Deadhouse then House of Chains and eventually got to Gardens of the Moon. I can say as long as you keep the other stories in mind order isn't as important as interest. You spoil nothing by reading ahead or behind.

Thats my impression anyways and I've read them all over in order so either way is good.

[tiam]

Well i admit i read them in order but if dolmen ses so then it must be ok

[Dolorous Menhir]

quote from dolmen - "I advise that structure and order of reading should not be a priority. I started with Memories of Ice then Deadhouse then House of Chains and eventually got to Gardens of the Moon. I can say as long as you keep the other stories in mind order isn't as important as interest. You spoil nothing by reading ahead or behind.

Thats my impression anyways and I've read them all over in order so either way is good."

I read the books in order, so I don't know if you're right, but I would've thought so much of the MoI would be lost on the uninitiated reader. The reader would have no idea of the history of Tattersail and Silverfox's other souls, and would lose all the poignancy of her relationship with the marines..."always an even exchange" was brought home on the plains outside Pale, for me.

They wouldn't know who Toc was, or Tool or Raest. The revelation of Artanthos's identity (and for me it was a revelation) would mean nothing to someone who hadn't read GotM. They'd just miss out on so much of the hidden meaning and oblique references.

True, new characters like Itkovian & the Grey Swords would be just as powerful, but surely so much of the context to other characters is lost if you read it the wrong way round? The new reader just won't know what was going on.

I would certainly recommend reading them in the correct order. Even doing that, I had to read them all twice to really grasp it. And I'm thinking about doing it again, I enjoyed it that much.