How are the novels connected?

[Wiggum]

I just finished Gardens, and while I was baffled for the first 1/2 of it I ended up really enjoying it.

Just curious before I continue on in the series. Are the novels a traditional fantasy series, of all the novels being connected with a similar cast of characters and overarching storyline, or do they tend to be unique books in and of themselves, or somewhere inbetween?

Just asking from reading the threads in here that wouldn't spoil anything for me and not really being able to tell.

[Rane Longfox]

The second book in the series, Deadhouse Gates, is set chronologically just after the first, but on a completely different continent, and has only 3 or 4 of the characters who were in Gardens. The storyline is mostly unrelated though, and is often even read as the first book of the series (though I certainly wouldn't recommend that).

Memories of Ice, the third book, overlaps Deadhouse Gates chronologically, but is set back on Genabackis with a similar cast to GotM. House of Chains is then back to the same continent as DhG (Seven Cities) and Midnight Tides Introduces a completely new continent, character list, magic system, everything...

So no, it's not your typical series in that sense, it certainly jumps around alot, and not bad for reading as stand-alone novels.

[nixie]

Well, in Deadhouse you meet a whole new cast of characters with a few familiar faces, then MOI brings you back to the original cast with a few additions, HOC brings you back to the characters in Deadhouse, MT brings in a whole new cast.Bonehunters starts to pull it all together. The books are linked might not seem like it at times but they all tie in.

[Wiggum]

So does the next one follow Sorry and her band of militant miscreants?

But overall, basically two stories that eventually converge as events transpire?

[nixie]

Well Sorry is in next book but she's now Asplar. The stories do converge as the journey goes on.

[Wiggum]

I knew I was going to get called on naming her "Sorry" after I posted that, lol.

[Rane Longfox]

There are three main storylines, really. The first four books just have two in them though, then MT introduces the third, Bonehunters ties them together... and who knows what'll happen next!

[Green]

Some kind of T'lan Imass musical, if I'm not mistaken.

[Wiggum]

Am I going to have to spend another 250 pages trying to figure out what the heck is going on again?

Gardens of the Moon was kind of like a Jackson Pollack painting. Splashes of interest everywhere, a messy almagamtion of color and focal points that after careful consideration and rumination make up a lovely whole. But, even as a fearless veteran of the fantasy genre, I'd be lying if I said it didn't almost loose me in the first half.

[Karsa Orlong]

GotM is the most difficult to follow - the more you learn about the world, the clearer everything becomes. Of course, this means that DHG is the second most difficult...

[hedgeknight]

I'm plodding through DHG right now - voraciously read the first 500 pages, but have stalled since then - there's too much **** to keep up with. But, I got Memories of Ice in the mail yesterday, so I'm determined to finish DHG soon and see if the series "clears up" a little bit - if not, I'm probably not gonna read any further.
-g-

[Rane Longfox]

I've always said people shouldn't judge the series until they've read MoI - it's a masterpiece. Of course, if people don't like the first two, it's very hard to persuade them to read the third as well

[Werthead]

Chronologically, the series works like this:

Prologue of Gardens of the Moon
Night of Knives (Ian Cameron Esslemont's first Malaz novel)
Blood Follows (short story)
The Lees of Laughters End (short story)
Midnight Tides
Book I of House of Chains
Gardens of the Moon
Deadhouse Gates/Memories of Ice (occur simultaneously)
The Healthy Dead (short story)
Books II-IV of House of Chains
The Bonehunters
Return of the Crimson Guard (ICE's second book, out in 2008)

The order of the short stories is also problematic. Blood Follows shows the first meeting of Emancipor Reese with Bauchelain and Korbal Broach and IIRC in Memories it's said he's served them for ten years. The Healthy Dead I haven't read, but I believe contains references to Memories and is dated 1164 or 1165 Burn's Sleep, placing it not long after that book (if it's 1165, that places it after House of Chains and The Bonehunters as well). The forthcoming third short story, The Lees of Laughter's End, is supposed to be set shortly after Blood Follows.

[Jason_Taverner]

you should get yourself a copy of Healthy Dead it is so funny

[Werthead]

Actually, I thought I'd insert what we know of Reaper's Gale into the list as well, via spoiler format:

Prologue of Gardens of the Moon
Night of Knives(Ian Cameron Esslemont's first Malaz novel)
Blood Follows (short story)
The Lees of Laughters End (short story)
Midnight TidesPart 1 of Reaper's Gale
Book I of House of ChainsGardens of the MoonDeadhouse Gates/Memories of Ice (occur simultaneously)
The Healthy Dead (short story)
Books II-IV of House of Chains
The BonehuntersReturn of the Crimson Guard (ICE's second book, out in 2008)
Part 2 of Reaper's Gale
We know that Reaper's Gale both picks up on the three storylines left hanging at the end of Midnight Tides, namely how Trull Sengar got from where he was at the end of MT to getting hung on the wall in the Nascent in HoC; Fear Sengar's adventures; and Silchas Ruin's antics after returning to life. However, it also features the resolution of the Icarium/Karsa storyline from The Bonehunters and probably addresses the 14th Army and where they are headed as well. My guess is that the two storylines are seperated by a fairly large chunk of time.