Vanguard Reading Order

[chrinFinity]

Never read Vanguard, want to get into it now.

Can I read "Declassified" before "Harbinger" and the rest, or shouldn't I? Will it be spoilery?

Thanks

 

[DimesDan]

Well you can read the Declassified stories set before Harbinger, but I would highly suggest you don't and read Vanguard in the order it was published.

 

[chrinFinity]

And the reason being? Because there are Spoilers?

 

[DimesDan]

Because that's how they were published and you will get more enjoyment out of them.

Why is the reading order of something as self contained as Vanguard even an issue?

 

[WarsTrek1993]

And the reason being? Because there are Spoilers?

They're meant to be read in publication order, if you read Declassified first, you could spoil an important subplot from Harbinger, etc.

This is how I look at it: it's like the Metal Gear Solid games; you wouldn't want to play 3: Snake Eater (which, chronologically, is first) before Sons of Liberty, as that gives away a key plot point first mentioned at the end of SoL.

 

[chrinFinity]

Okay, fair enough. Thanks.

 

[Christopher]

The reason is because that's when Declassified was written, so its writers were informed by what had been established in the previous books, and that means that's the most natural place for it to go. Also because its installments that take place before Harbinger don't work as the beginning of the series. They're glimpses back into the lives of characters the audience has already gotten to know.