When people read the Jin Yong canon, is it better for them to read the stories in the order that they were were originally published, or is it better for them to read the stories in continuity order?
When people read the Jin Yong canon, is it better for them to read the stories in the order that they were were originally published, or is it better for them to read the stories in continuity order?
His stories got better as he wrote more. So if you go by the order of publication, you'll be reading his less interesting stories first, and I don't recommend that.
For me, I simply read whatever interested me, with no particular logical order.
Chronology doesn't really matter unless the stories are connected. In which case, the Condor Trilogy are already written in chronological order. The flying fox series kind of sandwiches the timeline, so you can read it either way. BXJ comes before DOMD even though the connections are minimal and the Book and Sword really doesn't have much relevence with the other Qing Dynasty stories. Plus, some stories may be better in reverse chronology. For example, even though DGSD comes before LOCH, you won't really appreciate the beggar clan martial arts as much without background knowledge of LOCH b/c JY doesn't go into detailed description of the XL18Z and Dog beating stick.
I would only read the Condor Trilogy in chronological order. The others don't really matter.
Does this mean...?