Reading order [SPOILERS ALL]
I have read the first two books in The Age of Madness trilogy, and when I purchased A Little Hatred I didn’t realize there was a full trilogy of books set before the events of this one. Nevertheless, I’ve really enjoyed both books immensely, and I only had to do some very minimal research when I came across people or references that felt like they were alluding to earlier plotlines.
That said, there are still a few mentions of events, concepts, and characters that I feel a bit behind on. For example, who exactly is Bayaz? (I get the general idea, but I feel like I’m missing some important context.) There are also references to things like “Eaters” and something about people with very white teeth, which I assume are connected, but I’m not fully sure how.
So far, none of this has really affected my enjoyment of the first two books—I’ve generally been able to follow the gist even when I’m missing some background. My question is mainly about reading order: now that I only have The Wisdom of Crowds left, would it be better to go back and read the original First Law trilogy first, or is it fine to continue as I am and just accept that some of these elements remain vague background history?
I kind of got the idea for this question from discussions about the best order to watch Star Wars. I’ve seen people suggest watching Episodes IV and V first, then the prequel trilogy, and finishing with Episode VI. That made me wonder if something similar might apply here.
TL;DR: Should I read The First Law trilogy before finishing The Age of Madness, or is it fine to continue without it for now?
P.S. I saw the pinned comment on reading order halfway writing this post, but I’m still wondering if it would be better to switch to the other trilogy at this point, or just finish The Age of Madness first.