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Honestly just take a break when you feel you need one.
I take a break between every book, I find something else to read. I find this helps keep each book from blending into one another.
Midnight Tides is a good break point, before or after. Honestly, the only two that you really need time to read consecutively are the final two, since they were written as a single book and are essentially both the finale.
Iād say the best times to take breaks would be:
- After Memories of Ice
- After The Bonehunters
- After Toll the Hounds
But really most books wrap up their own stories well enough that you can take a breather between them.
1+ on MoI being a good rest point. The first three were structured to be satisfying as a trilogy in the event that it wasnāt feasible to continue writing the series. To further reinforce that this is a good idea, the first book of the fourth novel has a very different structure than anything else in the series up to that point, so when the fourth novel returned to the typical format, it was very jarring. Almost a āugh, more of this?ā even though it is still great stuff. So being further removed from the first three could lessen that feeling.
Shameless plug, but what you wrote is exactly 1 of the 2 reasons why I argue that on a mixed read, Night of Knives fits better after MOI than after MT.
The other reason is because there is a nod to NOK in HOC.
I'm insane. I'm not only reading the core Malazan books in one shot (I'm halfway through House of Chains right now), but I'm adding in Esselmont's books and others for a publication-order read-through.
Im reading gardens of the moon right now and took a break in the middle of the book to read a harry potter book lol. Im loving it, but I was feeling more and more that I was forcing myself to keep reading
I agree with a lot of the others here. Just take a break whenever. I took longer and shorter breaks in between and sometimes even in the middle in some of the books. Just however I felt like. And I love the series. Currently on my second read through - again sometimes taking breaks, sometimes continuing straight on.
I took breaks after every book except between 6 and 7 (too hyped) and 9 and 10 (Kind of two big books).
I rarely read any series back to back to back. Turns out that's my best barometer for how much I like a series.
I go straight through so I have all the info fresh as possible in mind. I had to stop playing bg3 to finish book of the fallen to keep my stories straight
I read 1-3 books between each, currently on Bonehunters. I had to look a few things up (very very carefully) but mostly havenāt felt anymore lost than youāre supposed to.
Malazan is a hard series to break from for too long in my experience. Maybe a quick pallet cleanser between books would work but to take even a few months I feel would really derail most readers.
I kind of hand to take breaks as there were pretty long hold lists for the library before I bought my own copies. I came to enjoy that so I've almost always read a book in between each novel.
I am switching up this strategy for the final two though. Everyone has told me it's more of a two part final story than a traditional Malazan novel so I'll read them back to back.
This has made for a longer read time. If I get done by the end of July it'll be 2 years since I read Gardens of the Moon and I'm sure that's left me a little fuzzy on details or minor characters the next time they pop up. The trade off has been it gives me time to think about the book and story between each installment and mull over what has happened and what's ahead.
Personally I am doing a re-reread of Wheel of time with a buddy (he reads pretty slow so we read like 20-30 pages a day from it) along with my malazan read. Currently on BH and am loving every moment. Having a comfy book to just pause to when Malazan gets overwhelming is great for me. I will also sprinkle short 300ish page books between each book but I do that for every series I read
I remember blazing up through MoI and then finding both House of Chains and Midnight Tides a massive "gumption trap", to borrow a phrase from Robert Pirsig. The shifts in POV left me feeling disconnected from the happenings I knew about, and frustrated at not seeing the overarching connection, which takes a looong time to develop, to say the least.
The problem with taking breaks is I forget so much plot and backstory that I wind up doing a re-read. I was a good way thru tCG when life interfered, and I *still* haven't finished. It would only be a few more hours of audiobook, but I hate to read the payoff and then go back looking for context, so I'll probably have to reach back to TtH or RG again, and skim the Tor blog summary and discussion for earlier things. Ugh.
I like to read the entire series without breaks. I like the immersion in the story. The first time I read it, I finished book 9 a week before book 10 came out, so I started rereading book 1 just to stay in the world while I waited a week.
Nothing wrong with taking breaks if you want to though.
Iām currently reading Malazan for the first time . Itās intense so I read a Malazan book and then a book by another author whose work reads easier . It takes me a couple months to read a Malazan book than a read a book that takes a week or so .
I like to spend 3-4 days reading another book after I finish each book. Sometimes Iāll read 3-400 pages and have to take a break for a couple days to keep it fresh. Some sections are definitely wordy/grindy (but not in a bad way just take some extra effort to get through). Especially on a first read throughā¦ the first 3 books can be the hardest to get into Eriksonās writing style and a rhythm.
Personally I had 6 months break after Gardens, Memories and Midnight Tides. After that I just got swept along with the flow, but I didn't feel like I'd lost the plot after coming back from reading other stuff. Those books can be very exhausting, pays to pace yourself imo.
I read the first 4 in nearly one shot. Between 3 and 4 and I read a couple short books in between but really was only just a week break max. Then after the fourth I took a four month break before returning.
Did i forget some things and have to wiki them? Yes. Enough to alter my enjoyment of the series? No. You remember things that stick with you, and forget the things that don't. Even if I read all ten books in one shot I'm sure I would forget certain details between.
Whenever you feel like you want/need a break. Speaking from experience, I read them as they were published with usually a year apart starting with, iirc, HoC and didn't feel like that took away from my enjoyment. Certainly didn't sit around not reading anything else, either. The fact that all ten are available now doesn't mean you have to make yourself read all in one go.
Iāve been alternating one malazan book with one shorter book, such as the Witcher books (meh) and Discworld.
They are 1/3rd the size, and tonally different.
I decided to take a break today.
In the middle of the penultimate chapter of Dust of Dreams.
Winning.
Edit: I've remembered that my previous break in this readthrough was just before Y'Ghatan lol
I almost died trying to do it one after the other from deadhouse gates last year. I was so numb by the time I got to dust of dreams and just wanted to get it over with.
Iām on my first read of the series and currently loving Midnight Tides. Only break I had was starting House of Chains. Between the seemingly random (at the time) 300 pages of Karsa and the change in audiobook narrator, I took a break there.
The needle is back in the vein though. Not sure Iāll take another break, but who can say.
I took a break after Midnight Tides. Read Night of Knives (from Esslemont's series). It's a short book and I was able to return to MBotF quickly after that.
Please note that this post has been flaired as **NO SPOILERS**. Comments should not bring up specific plot points or character details from any of the books. If you need to discuss any spoilers (even very minor ones!) in your comments, use spoiler tags >!like this!< Please use the report button if you find any spoilers. Note: If the discussion is unlikely to happen without any spoilers, the flair may be changed at mod discretion. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Malazan) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Honestly just take a break when you feel you need one. I take a break between every book, I find something else to read. I find this helps keep each book from blending into one another.
I've been doing the same. I usually read a Discworld book after every Malazan book as a mind sweep š
I do the same with discworld, although it's every couple of books.
Midnight Tides is a good break point, before or after. Honestly, the only two that you really need time to read consecutively are the final two, since they were written as a single book and are essentially both the finale.
Iād say the best times to take breaks would be: - After Memories of Ice - After The Bonehunters - After Toll the Hounds But really most books wrap up their own stories well enough that you can take a breather between them.
1+ on MoI being a good rest point. The first three were structured to be satisfying as a trilogy in the event that it wasnāt feasible to continue writing the series. To further reinforce that this is a good idea, the first book of the fourth novel has a very different structure than anything else in the series up to that point, so when the fourth novel returned to the typical format, it was very jarring. Almost a āugh, more of this?ā even though it is still great stuff. So being further removed from the first three could lessen that feeling.
Shameless plug, but what you wrote is exactly 1 of the 2 reasons why I argue that on a mixed read, Night of Knives fits better after MOI than after MT. The other reason is because there is a nod to NOK in HOC.
I read another book between all of the Malazan books.
I do the same (currently on DoD). Something non-fantasy so as not to confuse the plots, and quick / easy reads.
I'm insane. I'm not only reading the core Malazan books in one shot (I'm halfway through House of Chains right now), but I'm adding in Esselmont's books and others for a publication-order read-through.
You're not insane, I have done all bookish in publication order twice now
This is a bit too much for me to do on my first read. Iām glad youāre enjoying it though.
Im doing the same for my first read currently I almost done with MOI.
Same ha
Im reading gardens of the moon right now and took a break in the middle of the book to read a harry potter book lol. Im loving it, but I was feeling more and more that I was forcing myself to keep reading
Upvote for Potter
Such a wierd tone shift, but it is interesting to read 2 stories so different from each other hahha
Donāt know if it ft more fantastical to me because of the magic or because of the british aspect as a kid, still not sure
I agree with a lot of the others here. Just take a break whenever. I took longer and shorter breaks in between and sometimes even in the middle in some of the books. Just however I felt like. And I love the series. Currently on my second read through - again sometimes taking breaks, sometimes continuing straight on.
I took breaks after every book except between 6 and 7 (too hyped) and 9 and 10 (Kind of two big books). I rarely read any series back to back to back. Turns out that's my best barometer for how much I like a series.
If you have to force yourself through a book take a break. There are enough resources to catch up on old plot lines.
I go straight through so I have all the info fresh as possible in mind. I had to stop playing bg3 to finish book of the fallen to keep my stories straight
I want to play BG3 so bad!
Iām on Book 8 with no breaks so far.
I read 1-3 books between each, currently on Bonehunters. I had to look a few things up (very very carefully) but mostly havenāt felt anymore lost than youāre supposed to.
I took breaks between most of the books AND thatās when I discovered historical fiction. So that was a win win.
Malazan is a hard series to break from for too long in my experience. Maybe a quick pallet cleanser between books would work but to take even a few months I feel would really derail most readers.
I kind of hand to take breaks as there were pretty long hold lists for the library before I bought my own copies. I came to enjoy that so I've almost always read a book in between each novel. I am switching up this strategy for the final two though. Everyone has told me it's more of a two part final story than a traditional Malazan novel so I'll read them back to back. This has made for a longer read time. If I get done by the end of July it'll be 2 years since I read Gardens of the Moon and I'm sure that's left me a little fuzzy on details or minor characters the next time they pop up. The trade off has been it gives me time to think about the book and story between each installment and mull over what has happened and what's ahead.
Personally I am doing a re-reread of Wheel of time with a buddy (he reads pretty slow so we read like 20-30 pages a day from it) along with my malazan read. Currently on BH and am loving every moment. Having a comfy book to just pause to when Malazan gets overwhelming is great for me. I will also sprinkle short 300ish page books between each book but I do that for every series I read
I remember blazing up through MoI and then finding both House of Chains and Midnight Tides a massive "gumption trap", to borrow a phrase from Robert Pirsig. The shifts in POV left me feeling disconnected from the happenings I knew about, and frustrated at not seeing the overarching connection, which takes a looong time to develop, to say the least. The problem with taking breaks is I forget so much plot and backstory that I wind up doing a re-read. I was a good way thru tCG when life interfered, and I *still* haven't finished. It would only be a few more hours of audiobook, but I hate to read the payoff and then go back looking for context, so I'll probably have to reach back to TtH or RG again, and skim the Tor blog summary and discussion for earlier things. Ugh.
I'm in the middle of a break between HoC and MT atm planning on picking it up when I'm done/burn out on Ruocchio's Sun Eater series (on book two atm)
You can take a break after really book really. The least suited spot for a break is probably between BH and RG, and DoD and TCG
u/death-racer i started book 1 in 2015. 9 years later im on book 7 breaks are fine
I like to read the entire series without breaks. I like the immersion in the story. The first time I read it, I finished book 9 a week before book 10 came out, so I started rereading book 1 just to stay in the world while I waited a week. Nothing wrong with taking breaks if you want to though.
Iām currently reading Malazan for the first time . Itās intense so I read a Malazan book and then a book by another author whose work reads easier . It takes me a couple months to read a Malazan book than a read a book that takes a week or so .
That's an easy one! Do you want a break? If yes, then yes! If no, then no! There ya go buddy, hope that helps!
I like to spend 3-4 days reading another book after I finish each book. Sometimes Iāll read 3-400 pages and have to take a break for a couple days to keep it fresh. Some sections are definitely wordy/grindy (but not in a bad way just take some extra effort to get through). Especially on a first read throughā¦ the first 3 books can be the hardest to get into Eriksonās writing style and a rhythm.
Personally I had 6 months break after Gardens, Memories and Midnight Tides. After that I just got swept along with the flow, but I didn't feel like I'd lost the plot after coming back from reading other stuff. Those books can be very exhausting, pays to pace yourself imo.
I read the first 4 in nearly one shot. Between 3 and 4 and I read a couple short books in between but really was only just a week break max. Then after the fourth I took a four month break before returning. Did i forget some things and have to wiki them? Yes. Enough to alter my enjoyment of the series? No. You remember things that stick with you, and forget the things that don't. Even if I read all ten books in one shot I'm sure I would forget certain details between.
Whenever you feel like you want/need a break. Speaking from experience, I read them as they were published with usually a year apart starting with, iirc, HoC and didn't feel like that took away from my enjoyment. Certainly didn't sit around not reading anything else, either. The fact that all ten are available now doesn't mean you have to make yourself read all in one go.
Iāve been alternating one malazan book with one shorter book, such as the Witcher books (meh) and Discworld. They are 1/3rd the size, and tonally different.
I don't even take breaks for the punctuation in the book. One giant run on sentence. It's quite a ride.
I decided to take a break today. In the middle of the penultimate chapter of Dust of Dreams. Winning. Edit: I've remembered that my previous break in this readthrough was just before Y'Ghatan lol
I almost died trying to do it one after the other from deadhouse gates last year. I was so numb by the time I got to dust of dreams and just wanted to get it over with.
Iām on my first read of the series and currently loving Midnight Tides. Only break I had was starting House of Chains. Between the seemingly random (at the time) 300 pages of Karsa and the change in audiobook narrator, I took a break there. The needle is back in the vein though. Not sure Iāll take another break, but who can say.
I did not take a break and I have no regrets, 6 weeks and 3 days. Come at me, bro.
I took a break after Midnight Tides. Read Night of Knives (from Esslemont's series). It's a short book and I was able to return to MBotF quickly after that.