roseandheather wrote:tiber1978 wrote:So here is a dumb follow up:
Will reading the books in the order they were published just happen to feed me chronologically too?
I only just found out there were spinoffs, including one written by the immortal Zahn, about 1-2 books ago, but was too preoccupied wanting to see Highridge die in a fire and see how the Harrington/Alexander rollercoaster went to deviate and start reading them.
But if switching to side lines will give me relevant information that will complement A Rising Thunder, I guess I just need to decide if I am going all the way back to the beginning (all the way back to Basilisk) or if I should settle for going back to More Than Honor. Thoughts?
Second stupid/semi-unrelated question:
Does anyone have a good resource for tracking the development of the graphic novels I saw io9 forecasting a few months ago...?
I would go back to
Changer of Worlds and read the "spinoffs" (which they're not, really, they're essential parts of the main story but just take place in a different area of space) from there. I'll probably be punched for this, but the only short stories you
really need to read are, in my opinion, "From the Highlands" (from
Changer of Worlds), and "Fanatic" and "The Service of the Sword" (from
The Service of the Sword) if you want to understand the ongoing mainline arc.
The Stephanie Harrington books (which I adore) and the Travis Long books (written by Zahn) take place several centuries before Honor's time and while quite interesting in their own right don't have much essential bearing on the current goings-on. "A Whiff of Grapeshot" and "Nightfall" are useful for understanding the Havenite side of the plot, particularly Esther McQueen's career, but not necessary; "Queen's Gambit", "What Price Dreams?", "The Hard Way Home", "Ms Midshipwoman Harrington", "Changer of Worlds", "Let's Dance", "Beauty and the Beast", and "Obligated Service" all provide useful background and are excellent reads but can wait until you've watched High Ridge go down in flames. (It's just as satisfying as it sounds.)
From there:
Changer of Worlds (Mar 01) (Anthology)
->
War of Honor fits here
The Service of the Sword (Apr 03) (Anthology)
Crown of Slaves (Sep03)
The Shadow of Saganami (Oct 04)
->
At All Costs fits here
Storm from the Shadows (Mar 09)
Torch of Freedom (Nov 09)
->
Mission of Honor fits here
Shadow of Freedom (Mar 13) (post-ART)
Cauldron of Ghosts (Apr 14)
The rest of the anthologies aren't essential (but still worth reading!!).
Welcome to the madness. I'm Rose, resident Cupid and Havenite fangirl. Nice to meet you!