Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
Never ever listen to someone who said books in a series are standalone. Just read them in either published order, chronological order, or author preferred order (if such exists). But do not just take one at random and read it.
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As much as I would consider this to be general words of wisdom, I'd like to cite a counter-example. The books and stories in Mike Resnick's "Birthright" universe truly can be read in any order at all. Even the ones that are clearly sequential internally within the ouvre (Santiago, Widowmaker, Soothsayer/Oracle/Prophet as "miniseries". Maybe the three Eros books make more sense in order, but that's about it.) each book provides enough individual background that not only to they
work as stand-alones, they can also make the earlier books more intriguing ("how did Penelope survive before this?")
For me, it was great fun to stumble across a favorite character from a previous book, and it really doesn't matter if the adventure you're reading comes before or after one you've read before.