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Though David Mitchell's novels differ wildly in style and substance, all occur within the same universe, with links between them - some subtle, some very central.

I don't think the books are meant to be read as a series, in one particular sequence. But, are there any books which will spoil other books, or books which won't make sense without something that's been established in a previous book?

Can I read the books in any order I like, or are there combinations or sequences that I should avoid?

Standback
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    @Standback I've read three of his books so far, and I find that the reading order really is not that important. The links between them that I've spotted are mostly cameos that aren't essential to the story. This can happen in either reading order, because sometimes he makes an important character from one book show up in another, and sometimes he turns a minor character into an important character in another. If in doubt, you can never go wrong with publishing order. ;) (I won't make an answer though, because I've also just read a fraction of his works.) – Martin Ender Jan 25 '17 at 16:57
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    Having just finished Slade House, I can add to my previous comment that this one should definitely be read after Bone Clocks (unsurprisingly since the former is sort of a minor companion work to the latter). The ending of SH might work better without knowing BC, but it's not worth spoiling parts of BC by reading SH first. – Martin Ender Feb 18 '17 at 13:29
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    +1 for asking a reading order question I don't want to close – Matrim Cauthon Feb 23 '17 at 18:26
  • @MatrimCauthon I've been itching to close it myself for the past month :P The conversation on Meta and in chat has been immensely helpful in figuring out what works well in reading-order, and Martin Ender pointed out that this was a better framing. I'm very pleased with the result :) – Standback Feb 23 '17 at 19:35
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    I think that the character of Dr. Marinus in Utopia Avenue makes much more sense if you read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet first. (Utopia Avenue wasn't published at the time this question was asked) – Jos May 10 '21 at 11:03

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