Good Evening-
I have read a ton of epic fantasy and after a DEEP search for my next read I came across Janny’s works.
I’m looking forward to diving in but wanted to know what the best reading order is that encompasses any of the short stories and standalone books that make the most sense.
I haven’t been able to find a good list.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Welcome, Coldfire! I read the main series in publication order, and then went back to the short stories. I didn’t read the latter in any particular order. They range from so many different time periods that it doesn’t matter which is read first.
I hope this made sense 
Welcome, Coldfire!
Outside of the Wars of Light and Shadow series, Cycle of Fire trilogy, Sorcerer’s Legacy, and Master of Whitestorm are more traditional start-to-finish narratives with their own Janny Wurts spins. They’re a good starting point if you’re not familiar with any of her works (or you’re coming from her collaboration on the Empire trilogy with Raymond Feist).
The standalone, To Ride Hells Chasm, is still a fairly traditional story but most like the prose of Wars of Light and Shadow. Janny often recommends this as a stepping stone between her earlier works and the depth of her magnum opus.
Once you’re ready for the Wars of Light and Shadow (which is NOT a simple, through-composed story), of course read the main volumes (1-10, 11 coming soon) in order. Janny has also suggested a reading order for the short stories:
Thank you Brian! Looking forward to diving in. Just noticed there are no audibooks out for this series yet. Kind of a bummer but will have to do!
There is an audio book coming out for Curse of the Mistwraith in April of this year, pre-orders are up now.
Hi Janny.
I have a direct question: did you design the dog logo for Meisha Merlin books?
I don’t know where else to post this because a lot of the old topics have been closed to new posts. If you’ve answered it before, I didn’t find an answer with a search, but perhaps didn’t use the correct keywords.
Thanks in advance…
The last question was in draft state for a long time. I saw I’d left it unfinished when preparing to ask this question:
If someone were to see Song of the Mysteries while browsing in a store or on a new book shelf and read it without having read the rest of the series,…
how does the book flow on a standalone basis?
While reading in order is best, that doesn’t always happen with random discoveries.
While I feel sorry for anyone who starts with Song of the Mysteries – so much depth would escape that reader – I hope that someone who picks up that book would be inspired to seek out the rest of the series.
I wouldn’t know, until I stumble over a reader who tried it. I have seen readers start at Ships of Merior, Peril’s Gate, and Traitor’s Knot, and manage to navigate successfully.
I started in Grand Conspiracy, for what it’s worth. That was a bit of a trip.
The one definite piece of advice I have is to read Sundering Star… probably right after reading Initiate’s Trial, or just before as a second choice. It clarifies some things and reading it too soon might potentially spoil some things or at least give more hints than you might want. I think the other short stories can be read after Mistwraith with no problems. - EDIT, just remembered Black Bargain. I’d read that one right after Traitor’s Knot at the earliest or after Stormed Fortress to minimize hints.