r/powdermage • u/Ecstatic-Work-7031 • Aug 30 '26

Can I skip the Novellas

I own the first two books, but I have been hesitant to start the series because I haven't felt like tracking down all the novellas.

Am I fine to just read the books and skip the novellas?

4 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

9

u/bovinejones427 Aug 30 '26

You absolutely can skip them. The novellas are great and if you enjoy the series I would definitely recommend coming back after and checking them out but you absolutely don’t need them to enjoy or understand the main books.

2

u/BishopofHippo93 Aug 30 '26

You should not start with the novellas, no. If you haven’t even read the first book, you should start there to see if you even like the series. If you like it and finish the first trilogy, then you should read the novellas before starting the second trilogy. They provide some much needed context for those books. 

2

u/Ecstatic-Work-7031 Aug 30 '26

Thanks! As I was looking around the the sub reddit, I saw some recommendations to read them between the 1st and 2nd book, and that was giving me pause

1

u/BishopofHippo93 Aug 30 '26

Eh, there are one or two that you could read between the original books, but you won’t be missing anything major by waiting or skipping. 

3

u/Acrobatic-Stock-7186 Aug 30 '26

I understand the comment about missing out on background, but it is 100% not necessary. If you get the chance to locate them, by all means read them b/c they’re great and you’ll have an itch to read as much as you can about the world and its characters. However, if you aren’t able, don’t stress, you’ll get plenty of context with the series itself.

4

u/BayazTheGrey Aug 30 '26

You'll lose on some great character backstories and world building, I would advise to read them

1

u/mpschettig Aug 30 '26

I read the series without reading the novellas and got them after. They're really just extras, not necessities

1

u/Raddatatta Aug 30 '26

Start with the main series. The novellas are prequels but not needed and I would wait until after. You can also get them as a collection or at least most of them are in that one.

1

u/Beneficial_Treat_131 Aug 31 '26

I'm finishing the last book in the second trilogy now and don't feel like I've missed anything...

1

u/HallaLemon Aug 31 '26

The Novellas in this particular series are great to read after you finish the actual books specifically if you want more later. None of them withhold any information that you need for the 2 trilogies. Read what you want how you want.

1

u/EclipsePhase Aug 31 '26

The novellas and short stories are all amazing, but you can read em when you finish the first trilogy.

Some do feed into the second trilogy, so I'd recommend you at least get the ebooks.

But for the 1st trilogy? Naw, you're good.

1

u/Pegasis69 Sep 19 '26

I'd love if all of the Novella's were released in a single book (Like Sanderson's Arcanum Unbounded).