(no subject)

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

I was just reading MWT's official website, and I found this bit about what she says about in which order to read the books:

On the other hand, I think The Thief spoils The King of Attolia. So there are pluses and minuses to any order you choose.

Anyone agree with her? And why? Because I can't think of any reason why The Thief could possibly spoil The King of Attolia. (Or is she just joking around?)

(I guess there will be possible spoilers in the comments.)

Comments

[ilonaotus.livejournal.com]

Well, in a way I think it does. Or maybe spoil isn't quite the right word. But think about if you read KoA first. There's this Costis person who's obviously the main character and you root for him and then there's this awful whiny incompetent king who he must serve. If you read KoA first you'll learn more things about Gen at the same time as Costis learns them. And you'll be just as surprised.

If you've read the Thief and QoA first you know Gen's in love with Irene and you know Gen's a cunning and twisted piece of awesome thief and you can pretty much guess he's just acting up all the way through KoA. So in a way I'd say The Thief spoils some of the biggest surprises you don't even know you're missing if you've read the Thief, since you're already expecting them. :D

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yeah, that's true, although I imagine that reading "Queen" would wreck that image of Gen as well.

I guess in a way too if one reads "Thief" it can also make the reader hostile towards Costis when he appears.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

confession: I read TT and QoA first, and I spent over half of KoA wondering if Gen was feeling okay or not.

of course, I read QoA first-first, and spent the entirety of TT thinking that it would turn out that Gen had amnesia, so uh, my judgment skills aren't always the best. :-b

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

confession: I read TT and QoA first, and I spent over half of KoA wondering if Gen was feeling okay or not.

I never thought Eugenides was even faking being a buffoon well, which I guess was influenced by the first two books. I just thought the Attolians would have contempt for him no matter what he did.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

It's obvious: Eugenides never does or seems to be what he really is doing or seems. I knew from the beginning of the story that Costis was not really a pawn but a useful tool to some end. Exactly how and why he was being used was a mystery to me almost until the end. The entire ride was exciting, though, even knowing that Eugenides' true purpose would be revealed in due time.

I loved the seemingly extraneous things Turner threw in to the KoA narrative as well: Eddis's worry over Sophos' fate and the prospect of Eugenedes truly taking the throne of Attolia and what that would mean for their two countries; Eugenides' impotent fury at the faraway Mede, for reasons both political and personal; the spectre of Eugenides' "ill health" and "weakness" (I'm not sure if these are real or more feints).

In other words, the story was still so rich and surprising that being aware of Eugenides' true nature beforehand did nothing to lessen the pleasure of reading the book.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

I knew from the beginning of the story that Costis was not really a pawn but a useful tool to some end.

When I first read the book it never occured to me that Gen had planned on using Costis all along; I only figured that he decided to use him AFTER Costis hit him.

In other words, the story was still so rich and surprising that being aware of Eugenides' true nature beforehand did nothing to lessen the pleasure of reading the book.

I agree, which is why I was wondering why MTW said that. I like to know characters' secrets beforehand though (not least because I suck at foretelling twists. :) )

[finding-further.livejournal.com]

I think the sword fighting scene at the end of KoA is spoiled by TT. If you hadn't read about Gen's swordly prowess in TT, you would be completely surprised by his mad skillz at the end of KoA.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

That's true, especially since the reader doesn't know that Gen was a good swordsman even when he had both hands.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Agreeing with everyone else here, reading KoA first puts you at the same level of knowledge as Costis - absolutely nada. If you read the books in the order that they were published, you're in on the secret, and you can laugh at Costis because you know Gen is just messing with him.

Depending on the order you choose, the books are a different experience. That is mostly what Mrs. Tuner is trying to say.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

Depending on the order you choose, the books are a different experience. That is mostly what Mrs. Tuner is trying to say.

I was feeling anxious about it because I advised someone that they could start off with "Queen" and was wondering if that was a mistake or not!

you can laugh at Costis because you know Gen is just messing with him.

Aw, Costis! I never laughed at him, only with him. :)

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

QT is a series that you can read in which every order you'd like. So I wouldn't say you can make a mistake with the order you choose to read them in.

Of course... Who would laugh at sweet, naive Costis? Certainly not me...

*whistles innocently*

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

It's a difficult thing, advising when order to read the books. But if you're easily flummoxed, then I think it's safe to say you can start with Thief and work your way up. I never knew anything in any of the books until the very end. I'm glad I started with the Thief, because the mystery in that is he's actually Eddisian...and yes, I didn't know that until Eddis said "Eugenides." A bit sad, but if I wasn't like that then the books wouldn't be so enjoyable I suppose...

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

I did advise ultimately to start with the Thief if they could but the problem was they could only get QoA and CoK from their library. I said if they had to wait too long they could read QoA first (which I did) but if they could hold on to read The Thief first. While I liked The Thief I do agree it probably would have been better if I had been surprised, but on the other hand it would have been harder for me to let go of Eugenides' first person POV if I had started with TT.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

I really hope we get first person Gen back, even if just for a paragraph.

[aged-crone.livejournal.com]

I wish I had told my mother to read them in the order I did - KoA, then TT, then QoA. As it was, she read TT, then QoA right to the part where Attolia orders that Eugenides' wound be cauterized. And she refuses to read any more.

[ulkis.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think if I read TT first I would not have been prepared not only for the amputation, but because of the whole darker style of it all. (The moment when Attolia kinda almost crosses a line for me is when she grabs his hair and twists later on in the book.)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm going to have to disagree
I made my sister read koa and she liked the book but didn't understand gen and irenes relationship, lke the whole time she was lke why would he marry her if she cut off his hand? She didn't think the cute scenes were cute bc she didn't understand there relationship or irenes character and there QoA is a hugely important transition that should not be missed

[claire-mirkwood.livejournal.com]

So, so, so.I read the books in the order they were published. When I read the King of Attolia, I was worried that Gen's spirit had been broken by kingship and trying to be respectable, especially after the staring-out-the-window bit. I almost stopped reading it, but pressed on...and literally shrieked with joy when it hit me that he was acting. That got some odd looks, particularly since I was reading it at a family Christmas gathering.
I think The Thief might have spoiled that suspense for me, had I read it right before I read KoA. But I read TT when I was twelve and KoA when I was fourteen, so I had forgotten about both Gen's acting skills and his awesome swordplay.