Loads of folks ask whether the books follow the same canon as the games, and the short truth is: they don't line up perfectly. The trilogy—'The Silver Eyes', '
the twisted ones', and 'The Fourth Closet'—and the later '
fazbear frights' stories are written as their own continuity. You get familiar names and settings, but character motivations, timelines, and even some explanations for what the animatronics are and why they act the way they do can be very different.
I love both versions for different reasons. The
novels read like a horror-mystery with more focus on human characters and a neat, contained plot, while the games build lore through mechanics, minigames, and cryptic messages that encourage piecing together a sprawling timeline. Scott Cawthon has said the books are a separate continuity, and although the games sometimes borrow imagery or ideas from the novels, treating them as alternate-universe takes lets you enjoy both without getting frustrated by contradictions. Personally, I flip between them depending on whether I want suspenseful reading or puzzley, interactive lore hunting.