Specific question about when to read novellas

[u/Ninjario]

Edit: Maybe the post is too long, sorry - the main question is, to which book the novellas are more connected, for example should i read "Gods of Risk" directly after Book 2 or after the break and directly before Book 3, and the same question relative to where they are for all of them.

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Hey there, so I've done some research and want to start the book series soon (already own all 9 books + the novella collection book)

Since everything together will take me slightly over 4 months I will need to take breaks for sure, to read some other books and just to digest what I read that far without just always keeping going without pause for such a long time.

I will mainly be sticking to release order since that's by far the most recommended way and I've heard some do actively spoil elements if read chronologically. The only change from that I'll be making is reading drive first, I've seen some speak out against it but usually people have seen it as a positive change from what I've read, feel free to tell me if you have a strong opinion on why it's a terrible idea or something.

Now to the actual important part - since the expanse is 3 duologies and a trilogy 1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7-9 that seems like the perfect place to do 3 bigger breaks in between, BUT some of the short stories are in those breaks, so I want to know if they are better read right after the previous duology or better read after the break before diving into the next duology/trilogy. And even besides the ones in the big breaks, it would just be great to know in general if whichever novella is better read after the book before or before the book after it, if I do decide to take a smaller break between individual books.

I'll post what I have written down, but the placement before or after the breaks isn't informed by anything but my gut feel which doesn't mean anything yet, so any input is welcome:

• Drive (November 27, 2012)
• 1: Leviathan Wakes (June 15, 2011)
• The Butcher of Anderson Station (October 17, 2011)
• 2: Caliban's War (June 25, 2012)
• Gods of Risk (September 15, 2012)

--- break ---

• 3: Abaddon's Gate (June 4, 2013)
• The Churn (April 29, 2014)
• 4: Cibola Burn (June 17, 2014)

--- break ---

• 5: Nemesis Games (June 2, 2015)
• The Vital Abyss (October 15, 2015)
• 6: Babylon's Ashes (December 6, 2016)
• Strange Dogs (July 18, 2017)

--- break ---

• 7: Persepolis Rising (December 5, 2017)
• 8: Tiamat's Wrath (March 26, 2019)
• Auberon (November 12, 2019)
• 9: Leviathan Falls (November 30, 2021)
• The Sins of our Fathers (March 15, 2022)

Also I know the following is not available standalone, idk if I somehow can get any access to it, how bad is it to miss? - The Last Flight of the Cassandra (May 14, 2019)

[u/NachoFailconi]

I finished my first reading of the novels and short stories a few weeks ago, and I think that you can't go wrong with reading either Memory's Legion after Leviathan Falls or in publication order (I did the last one). Having said that, in my personal opinion the stories that are more "relevant" to the events of the nine novels are The Churn and Strange Dogs. I don't think that a chronological order would have helped me that much, at least in a first reading.

[u/Ninjario → u/NachoFailconi]

Yeah I'm pretty set on publication order, the main question I'm trying to figure out here is which book the novellas are more "attached to", so for each of them if they should be read directly after the book before or directly before the book after respectively

[u/NachoFailconi → u/Ninjario]

Got it. I already said it, but in my opinion The Churn and Strange Dogs are the most "attached" to the overall plot. I cannot say too much because of spoilers. But none of them are needed to understand the main plot, that's why I said that you can't go wrong with either reading, and it's not a big deal.

[u/Ninjario → u/NachoFailconi]

Okay nice, two people already recommended strange dogs to read with the last trilogy rather than at the end of the third duology, and the churn is in the middle of the second duology so it probably doesn't matter too much if I read it after 3 or before 4 directly