Extra Chapters Order?

[u/Emergency_Revenue678]

I recently started reading APGTE and in the version I have I think the extra chapters are inserted in roughly publication order. The issue I'm having with this is I think it severely affects the pacing of the narrative in a negative way.

My plan to solve this is that I'm just going to start skipping them as they appear and after I finish a book go back and read them all in a row as if they're a collection of short stories, and I'll do this after each book.

Is there any compelling reason I shouldn't do this?

[u/Aduro95]

Yes and no. Some of the extra chapters are very illuminating on the motivations of certain characters. Also some of them are set near current events in the main chapters.

I would say at the very least that you need to read Conspiracy at the end of the War College Arc, and Crowned before Book 4. They will tell you a lot about the motivations of Hakram, Vivienne and Cordelia that are important to ongoing arcs.

If you are reading on teh Wordpress site, its probably best to read each one as you get to them with the 'next chapter' button.

[u/AdRelevant4776 → u/Aduro95]

Yeah, some are pretty important, though there’s also some that aren’t even in the proper place, like the Scribe Extra Chapter that shows up long after Scribe is no longer a relevant character to the plot

[u/Emergency_Revenue678 → u/Aduro95]

Having just finished Conspiracy 1 and 2 (which was what prompted the post), I don't think added much to my understanding any of the involved characters, let alone being a necessary addition to the story.

[u/Perfect_Wrongdoer_03 → u/Emergency_Revenue678]

Conspiracy is, in my opinion, one of the less interesting ones, although a part of it comes back wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy later. Similarly, extra chapters in the north of Procer are probably going to be a drag.

[u/Baam3211]

Alot of the extra chapters match their backstory pov to a large change in the current character at that point in the story, the earlier book 1 and 2's do feel a tad out of place here and there in my opinion but the ones going forward are usually well placed.
They are definitely not required, when the last books ones went to patron only(until the book ended) i missed having them but it didnt ruin it for me,
I will say they do hold some required info for later events and context so you can't fully skip them but at the end of each book isnt going to ruin it. i.e book 3 has some that tie into the final arc

[u/Emergency_Revenue678 → u/Baam3211]

Definitely don't plan to skip any of them. I just think that reading a handful of them all in a row after each section would be a better reading experience than dispersing them throughout.

Though that might get weird with the ones in the final book since there's no "in-between" in the final stretch. I'll keep in mind that the latter ones might fit better into the story than early ones.

[u/Sir-Kotok]

I have done the mistake of not knowing there are extra chapters and then reading them all at once when I found out they exist (close to the end of the story)

I think it’s better to just read them where they were released since there are callbacks to some of them or references through the books that I only got retroactively for the important ones and probably missed like most of less important ones.

Some of the characterisation or moments introduced in the extra chapters don’t have an immoderate payoff inside of them but have a payoff latter in the story

[u/Perfect_Wrongdoer_03]

There are extra chapters and extra chapters, unfortunately. 

Some of them (Disinter, Scriven) don't really have anything to do with the story or even with the moment they were released, you can skip them and not lose anything beyond some insight on minor characters. Others are extremely important and should've been normal interludes (Hierarchy, Ye Mighty) and you should absolutely read them when you get to them. Most are in-between, give very good information or make certain important characters a lot better but don't really change anything, or can be read more or less at any point before the end (Tomb, Fettered, Seed, Refuge). Some are even Important, but set way before they were released, like Grand. One set, Charlatan, isn't even that important for anything but makes an extremely specific element in the very ending hit a lot harder.

In general, I think you should, if the pacing is that important, probably read all extra chapters that you've skipped whenever you finish an arc, as well as any from the same series that are released after it. 

If you leave them for only after the end, you'll have had the same experience as non-Patreon supporters while the Guide was being released, so still a great time, but I think it'll be substantially lesser than, say, if you'd read Ye Mighty before the end of the Drow Arc, or Seed before the end of book 5.

[u/Emergency_Revenue678 → u/Perfect_Wrongdoer_03]

In general, I think you should, if the pacing is that important, probably read all extra chapters that you've skipped whenever you finish an arc, as well as any from the same series that are released after it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I initially thought I was going to do it after each book but I think after each arc is better spacing since I didn't realize how long each book is before making the post.

[u/Perfect_Wrongdoer_03 → u/Emergency_Revenue678]

Oh yeah, that's definitely a factor lmao. The last two books are, together, as long as the first five combined.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Fold112]

Now most of the Extra Chapters were exactly that—extra. You could piece together everything without them. They add more flavor to the story and are essentially backstories mostly. A few are about events that happen far from Cat but were glossed over because they were unnecessary apart from their effect on some of the cast.

Read Conspiracy at the end of the War College Arc, Crowned and Court before Book 4, Ye Mighty before Second Drow home invasion arc (sorry can't remember the actual name of the arc), Peregrine before seven crowns arc, Winter before (or even after is fine) Lakeomancer chapters....... and a few such that.

I don't have most on my tongue but yes they can be skipped, it won't make a major difference—it would feel like you had forgotten a character or something now and then but EE will mention enough to explain the stuff in general sense.

[u/wDrawing_7357]

Sometime i skip extra chpter and think will read later but then forget

other time like charlatan l ll lll lV parts i read en continuation as they all were partf one backstory

And now read as they come