Story Order

[Toa Atukam]

Hey guys, I'm fairly new to BZP. 

 

Even though being a fan of Bionicle for the past 15 years, up until recently I had no idea that there was an expanded universe, not to mention many more books than just the ones based off of the movies.

There's a lot that I have to read through, so in what order should I read the stories? What's the difference between the Chronicles and the Legends scholastic books? And with all of these side stories I've seen pop up, how do I know which ones are canon?  

Any help would be awesome. Thanks!   

[Irrie]

There aren't entire books that are considered to be non-canon, however there are minor details that are sometimes omitted. All of them are amazing books and I would highly recommend them.

 

Chronicles is the first book series, detailing the exploits of the Toa Mata and Toa Nuva. The writing isn't very good but they're still nice stories nonetheless. 

 

Adventures are flashback books about the Turaga's stories while they were the Toa Metru and Toa Hordika. Adventures is by far my favorite series. In my opinion, three of the best ones are The Darkness Below, Challenge of the Hordika, and Time Trap. 

 

Legends is the series that follows the final story arc before the scene is changed in 2009. It does a really good job of illustrating the high intensity of the final moments before the climax of the story. 

Edited January 28, 2016 by Irrie

[The 1st Shadow]

In addition to the books, there are a number of serials. I believe joev14 created an excellent timeline over in S&T that details the proper reading order for the books and serials, both chronologically and in terms of release order. For a newcomer to the expanded universe like yourself, this handy-dandy topic shall be your guide to the canon.

[Toa Atukam]

You guys rule, thanks! And keep pounding, Irrie! I'm from Charlotte.

[J46 Nui]

I'd recommend release order over the chronological order, since it leads to more big reveals that would have otherwise been spoiled.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

I'd recommend release order over the chronological order, since it leads to more big reveals that would have otherwise been spoiled.

 

Seconded, there is little benefit to reading a story in chrono order, especially if it's got as many chronological "reveals" as Bionicle does. it's messy. :T

[Erasmus Graves]

When you reach 2009, make it a point to read Raid on Vulcanus (novel) and the comics and listen to Riddle of the Great Beings (podcast) before you read (or re-read) the The Legend Reborn novelisation (which is better than the film).

I read Raid and the comics before I saw The Legend Reborn. That's why 2009 is one of my favourite years. Bara Magna is a complex world unfolding in the space of a few hundred pages. There's this cynicism about the Agori which the Matoran lacked.