MALAZAN FANS: If you're starting the series for the first time it's OK if you're lost or confused, just go with the flow and things will make sense the more you read.

ALSO MALAZAN FANS: Nooooo you can't read the Kharkanas books first there's so much you won't understand

Basically I think that the whole point of Malazan is that you can use any of the series as an entry point, and it would be really interesting to see how people connect with the series if they read Kharkanas or Witness or the Esselmont novels first. Anyway, that's my hot take