(urth) Gummed-Up Works or Got Lives?

[António Pedro Marques]

Daniel Petersen wrote (14-12-2011 12:20):
> 2011/12/14 António Pedro Marques:  I think tIoDDaOSaOS or SftOH would be
> the best places to start, because you have smaller bits to chew before
> you go into a 12 (500 pages) volume series. But the 12 (500 pages) volume
> series should come next, and I honestly think the 'canonical' order is
> the right one.
>
> Yes, you are probably right about all that.  It was actually reading
> Innocents Aboard that really got me super-intrigued about Wolfe (after
> unsuccessfully reading through New Sun some years before).  Only then did
> I happen onto Wizard-Knight and devoured it and became hooked.  Then OBW.
> And /finally /at that point I got wise and went right back to New Sun and
> read straight through all 12 volumes of the solar cycle.  A weird path
> but I enjoyed it.  However, I shouldn't try to make my experience a weird
> lab experiment to recommend others to try.  You're surely right that
> everyone should go 'canonical' with the solar cycle after some more
> digestible introductory text (I would add FHoC to your recommendations).

Well, I don't really think there is a Correct Way to read GW, of course. 
Everyone's experience will be different and rich in its own way.
But since you've mentioned it, I think tFHoC should come after the Sun books 
- I read it before and somewhat regret that - as it is a difficult work imo, 
having the GW complexity in almost its pure state. I have yet to read a lot 
of GW, but my impression is that tFHoC is the one book in which there is no 
'simple' reading to find solace in while you're not yet able to get the rest.