Steven Erikson's Malazon Book of the Fallen Series

[Razmatus]

ASOIAF tells you in BIG LETTERS that life is a bitch and you got to deal with it... as for crying? hm... i almost did when jon snow became lord commander... as for his maybe death, not really... it was sooner or later

but back to the malazans, cant wait... I think I will apply same approach as with the ASOIAF series... before reading the book itself, a brief read of character and such lists, glossary and careful first brief study of the maps to get at least a dim hint of wth lol... then reading the book itself, and I will apply this to every single book in the series... it has worked for me splendidly so far :P

[Robert]

I haven't read all the comments in this thread so as to avoid any inadvertent spoilers.

I have books 1 & 2 on my to-be-read pile, but also picked up Night of Knives at a bargain price in ebook.

My question: will reading this companion book after the first 2, but before I move on to later books, spoil or confuse anything?

P.S. Can people please remember to tag part or all of their comments as spoilers (when they contain them), unless the thread is clearly marked as containing spoilers already? Thanks. I really didn't expect to find a spoiler of ASoIaF in this thread. But good to know Jon Snow survives past the first book, at least. ;-)

[Amelia]

Robert wrote: "I haven't read all the comments in this thread so as to avoid any inadvertent spoilers.

I have books 1 & 2 on my to-be-read pile, but also picked up Night of Knives at a bargain price in ebook.

M..."

Threads do get sidetracked at times, don't they?

As to your question: You can read Night of Knives after the second book and not get spoiled. The rest of Esslemont's book have more spoilery stuff in them. I'd say you need to have read through book 5-6 before reading Return of the Crimson Guard. This one is a little subjective as to where it goes exactly. The story has only a few things that would directly relate back to Erikson's storyline. Don't read Stonewielder until you've finished book 8 at least. This one has definite spoilers in it. The last one Orb Sceptre Throne, you shouldn't read until after The Crippled God.

[Robert]

I can probably sit on Esslemont's books. I just got a great deal on it ($2.99) so I have it and not 3+ in the main Erikson series.

Usually I don't gripe about pricing of ebooks, but they really need to make this series cheaper. They know I'm going to want them all, and at $9.99 a pop, that ain't cheap.

[Amelia]

That is a good price for Night of Knives ebook. It does end up adding up when you want them all.

You can read Night of Knives after reading the first one. It's a prequel of sorts and could help you understand a few things better. It takes place in the matter of just one day. I don't know if you've read the first at all, so that's all I'll say about it.

[Razmatus]

Erikson wrote the main series in a way, I read somewhere, that it is pretty much self-contained... you can read the main series and then read Esslemont's books to fill some gaps and bring new info, which is what I will do :)))

anyway, I'm on The Bonehunters, and it is really awesome, cant wait for the rest of stuff in there and looking forward to the rest of the series :P

[Robert]

I started book 1 in paperback. And in my usual fashion put it down while something new and shiny flew by. Then I lent it to my daughter (luckily we share similar taste in books). That and the 2nd one in paperback went home with her for awhile. Then I got an ebook deal on the first one. Now the 2nd and the other one.

These three, along with so many others in my to-be-read (or re-read) pile should keep me busy till I gather more pennies together. Maybe by then they'll have sales on books 3+.

[Razmatus]

found out a Czech publisher FANTOM Print used the cover artwork for Gardens of the moon LTD edition as cover image for Robert Jordan - Wheel of time book 2 (Velké hledání) :D and now they also used the Prince of Fools by Lawrence artwork for Robert Jordan - New Spring (Nové jaro) :D cant put images directly in here, thats why I mentioned Czech titles of those books so you can google the artworks and see for yourself :)

such a disgrace lol

[Alissa]

My hubby has read them all, me the first two. They are beautifully written, but so very dense. So many characters and stories. I haven't continued reading them because I can't immerse myself like I'd like to.

[Benjamin]

Its definitely one of the best series out there. Ive read the whole thing, including the side novels by Esslemont 3 times already. I make it a point to read the series once a year. You learn something new each time :)

You have to remember with this series, its not about any particular character or characters, its about the world.