Good timing. I read Mistborn about 5 years ago, went to 30+ Terry Brooks Shannara books and into Wheel of Time with the intention to take on the Cosmere next. I've just got Sanderson's last two books in Wheel to read, so I can prepare.
Really like this reading order. It's pretty close to what I did the last time I did a Cosmere read through. Reading Warbreaker right before Oathbringer made one particular scene in Oathbringer so much more epic than the first time I read it. It just had so much more punch.
Really appreciated this video. Several channels give you so many options to start its confusing. Your order and reasoning really makes sense. Never read a BS book. Looking forward to starting, thank you.
1. Hero of ages 2. The secret history 3. Elantris 4. The Alloy of law (series) 6. Warbreaker Arcanum unbinded 7. The way of kings (Storm light archive) Words of radiance
Completely agree with all of these especially your recommendation of Mistborn Secret History after Hero of Ages! And yes, taking a break Between Mistborn Era 1 and 2 is strongly advised as they are so different. I unfortunately read straight through - Hero of Ages to Alloy Of Law and was let down because of it. Great video xoxo.
I was so glad that I took a break between era 1 and 2. Purely unintentional, but I went to Elantris, and Warbreaker in the middle which worked well enough to break it up. On Secret History, I know a lot of people have strong opinions on where that should go. So glad you agree.
@@AllBookedUp I would read some of the short stories from Arcanum Unbounded and maybe Elantris before moving on to Secret History. I read Secret History after I`ve only read Mistborn Era 1 and The Alloy of Law and was utterly confused most of the time. A little more Cosmere awareness might help there (Elantris doesn't help much there, but it doesn't hurt either). Some of the confusion is intended though, I`d guess. (If anyone is interested why I read Secret History after Alloy of Law, while most suggest to read at least Shadows of Self before: I didn't know that and Secret History was released while I was reading Alloy of Law, and I knew that Secret History was set between Era 1 and Era 2).
That's a really interesting thought that secret history would be improved with a little more cosmere awareness. It's not something I've heard people say before, but I think you are probably right!
Im saving Stormlight for last of the stuff that is out so far... Mistborn Secret History seems to be the hardest story to place because of its publication order... I have read Mistborn Era 1 and Elantris now Im going into Warbreaker and Mistborn Era 2, been having a blas with it so far 🔥
I would absolutely agree with this reading order at the time of its release. But the 7th mistborn book changes quite a lot. And I would consider reading mistborn era 2 after words of radiance as well.
I started Stormlight after a reread of ASOIAF because I wanted another high fantasy series with a long page count.. the bookstore in my college town high recommended the way of kings. It’s been rewarding exploring the rest of Samderson’s world as I’m working my way through Stormlight. Even if my reading order of these books was unconventional.
I would consider reading Elantris before Secret History. There is a bit of wider Cosmere information in Secret History that you won't catch unless you have read Elantris.
Strong disagree with starting with Mistborn. Started my wife there and she did not care for it, she read all of the first book and half of the second before letting me know she just didn't like his style stopped reading and it put her off of Sanderson for a long time despite my efforts to give him a second chance. I finally got her to give Emperor's Soul a chance much later, however, and she loved it. It still took me another couple of years to get her to give Stormlight Archive a chance because of how much she was put off by Mistborn, but finally she did, and she read through the first 3 books in like 2 weeks because of how much she loved them, at the time of this writing she's about to start the 4th. All of which is to say, I personally think the best 'taste of Sanderson" is Emperor's Soul, the best "I'm willing to dive into a long series" starting point is Way of Kings. If you like those you can go back and read Mistborn and see if you jive with that, but Brandon grew significantly as an author between when he wrote Mistborn: The Final Empire and those works, and it'd be a shame for others to only check out Mistborn, be underwhelmed like my wife was, and just assume Sanderson wasn't for them, when it simply isn't representative of how good his more recent works are. Also, to be clear, neither I or even my wife, think Mistborn is bad, just very mediocre compared to his later works which are some of the best fiction I've ever read. Personally I started with stormlight, so when I went to Mistborn, while I felt the lower quality writing, Brandon had already won me over with SA, so it put me off less then my wife, and I suspect this would be true for most people, if you know you like his other works, you're probably more willing to endure some of Brandon's early growing pains.
I will add, that once your hooked by Sanderson and committed to moving forward, I think this list is a fine one, especially with how important the rest of the cosmere became in book 4 of SA, but considering what a huge time investment the cosmere is at this point, its important to start off with Brandon's best foot forward (again for me that would be either Emperor's Soul, or the only largely stand alone (as in few easter eggs from other books) SA which is Way of Kings though I think Warbreaker is a fine choice too if its premise appeals more to you), so you recognize it really will be worth the effort (or if you dont' like those, that its probably not worth pushing through).
That's an ambitious goal, but I like it. If you manage that I'll be impressed, but you can always leave stormlight till after the lost metal if needed.
Have you considered doing this order with Warbreaker in between Way of Kings and Words of Radiance? That’s how I read them my first time round and I really enjoyed it plus it helped me pick up on those points that connect in Words of Radiance that several of my friends missed their first time through.
I did consider that. I was trying to keep series together if I could, but I know lots of people who have slotted warbreaker in there. When that order has been suggested I've seen new readers ignore it because they just want to keep going with stormlight. So I was trying to minimise that also.
For the Stormlight Archive, one thing that I have noticed is that people are consistently pretty low in their opinion of Oathbringer compared to The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance lol which makes me a sad boy like Kaladin because that is my favorite in the series. I have no way to prove this, but my guess is that because the books are so huge, there is a sense of fatigue by the time they get to Oathbringer, especially if people are binging straight through S.A. I have a coworker who is working on reading the Cosmere right now. She has already read Misborn era 1, Elantris, and Warbreaker. Right now I am having her read the first two Stormlight books then squeezing in Mistborn era 2 and Arcanum Unbounded before she gets to Oathbringer. My hope is that spending so much time away from Stormlight will make her miss Roshar so that way she will be super excited to get back to that world after finishing Mistborn era 2 and the short stories. The fact that Arcanum Unbounded ends with Edgedancer also works to the advantage of easing back into things lol My desired outcome in doing it this way is that she, rather than going into Oathbringer with a negative attitude of being fatigued after reading two giant books, she will be super positive and excited to just be back and it will improve the experience of reading even the tedious parts of Oathbringer that seem to grate on so many people
That's such an interesting way of doing it. I do agree that of you try to binge SA it could be too much. Oathbringer is interesting. I think it has some of the best moments but doesn't hang together quite as well the previous two, which might be why people are slightly less positive on it.
@@AllBookedUp yup! I haven't read war breaker or Elantris either or the short stories you mentioned so if I read all that then when I do my re-read of stormlight next year I will get more out of it like u said
I haven't. I would very much recommend it after the rest of the stormlight archive of you want to read it. It is very much an alternate history and not canon. I'm not sure I'm gonna read it anytime soon as it is just so different.
I have read it! Don't even worry about it until you are fully caught up on the cosmere. If you absolutely fall in love with Brandon then it is fun to find out his earlier ideas. I actually found it quite difficult to get through haha. It is not considered as "cannon" though.
Thank you for all the information!! ... what do you think of this order? is there any issue/problem wiht it? as an initial preliminary plan, since I've not read anything from Sanderson, this is my order: -Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006) -Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2007) -Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (2008) -Elantris (2005) -The Hope of Elantris (2007) -Warbreaker (2009) -The Emperor's Soul (2012) -Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011) -Mistborn: Shadows of Self (2015) -Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning (2016) -Mistborn: Secret History (2016) ... If I don't like The Final Empire (2006), I will jump to The Emperor's Soul (2012) and see if I like that one better.
That sounds like a very reasonable order if it appeals to you. Nothing there is going to give you anything out of order, and it gives a nice break between mistborn era 1 and mistborn era 2 which I think is great.
![COSMERE READING ORDER || Where to start with Sanderson || March 2022 [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EeTt5tSJiSo/mqdefault.jpg)
I just got into Brandon Sanderson and I started with Mistborn myself! Can definitely say it's a wonderful place to start! Doesn't disappoint!
Good timing. I read Mistborn about 5 years ago, went to 30+ Terry Brooks Shannara books and into Wheel of Time with the intention to take on the Cosmere next. I've just got Sanderson's last two books in Wheel to read, so I can prepare.
Really like this reading order. It's pretty close to what I did the last time I did a Cosmere read through. Reading Warbreaker right before Oathbringer made one particular scene in Oathbringer so much more epic than the first time I read it. It just had so much more punch.
Really appreciated this video. Several channels give you so many options to start its confusing. Your order and reasoning really makes sense. Never read a BS book. Looking forward to starting, thank you.
1. Hero of ages
2. The secret history
3. Elantris
4. The Alloy of law (series)
6. Warbreaker
Arcanum unbinded
7. The way of kings (Storm light archive)
Words of radiance
Person it and next it to the double
Thank you. Going to order Mistborn book 1 right now!
Completely agree with all of these especially your recommendation of Mistborn Secret History after Hero of Ages! And yes, taking a break Between Mistborn Era 1 and 2 is strongly advised as they are so different. I unfortunately read straight through - Hero of Ages to Alloy Of Law and was let down because of it. Great video xoxo.
I was so glad that I took a break between era 1 and 2. Purely unintentional, but I went to Elantris, and Warbreaker in the middle which worked well enough to break it up.
On Secret History, I know a lot of people have strong opinions on where that should go. So glad you agree.
@@AllBookedUp I would read some of the short stories from Arcanum Unbounded and maybe Elantris before moving on to Secret History. I read Secret History after I`ve only read Mistborn Era 1 and The Alloy of Law and was utterly confused most of the time. A little more Cosmere awareness might help there (Elantris doesn't help much there, but it doesn't hurt either). Some of the confusion is intended though, I`d guess.
(If anyone is interested why I read Secret History after Alloy of Law, while most suggest to read at least Shadows of Self before: I didn't know that and Secret History was released while I was reading Alloy of Law, and I knew that Secret History was set between Era 1 and Era 2).
That's a really interesting thought that secret history would be improved with a little more cosmere awareness. It's not something I've heard people say before, but I think you are probably right!
I started with the way of kings. I am now on rhythm of war. Love it
Im saving Stormlight for last of the stuff that is out so far... Mistborn Secret History seems to be the hardest story to place because of its publication order...
I have read Mistborn Era 1 and Elantris now Im going into Warbreaker and Mistborn Era 2, been having a blas with it so far 🔥
Secret history is definitely the most debated. I love warbreaker hope you enjoy.
I would absolutely agree with this reading order at the time of its release. But the 7th mistborn book changes quite a lot. And I would consider reading mistborn era 2 after words of radiance as well.
I started with stormlight then did mistborn era 1 then era 2 then just did everything else in a month and I wished I did it this way
I started Stormlight after a reread of ASOIAF because I wanted another high fantasy series with a long page count.. the bookstore in my college town high recommended the way of kings. It’s been rewarding exploring the rest of Samderson’s world as I’m working my way through Stormlight. Even if my reading order of these books was unconventional.
I would consider reading Elantris before Secret History. There is a bit of wider Cosmere information in Secret History that you won't catch unless you have read Elantris.
Can you update this? I believe there’s a few new instalments now. At least 1 or 2?!
Strong disagree with starting with Mistborn. Started my wife there and she did not care for it, she read all of the first book and half of the second before letting me know she just didn't like his style stopped reading and it put her off of Sanderson for a long time despite my efforts to give him a second chance. I finally got her to give Emperor's Soul a chance much later, however, and she loved it. It still took me another couple of years to get her to give Stormlight Archive a chance because of how much she was put off by Mistborn, but finally she did, and she read through the first 3 books in like 2 weeks because of how much she loved them, at the time of this writing she's about to start the 4th.
All of which is to say, I personally think the best 'taste of Sanderson" is Emperor's Soul, the best "I'm willing to dive into a long series" starting point is Way of Kings. If you like those you can go back and read Mistborn and see if you jive with that, but Brandon grew significantly as an author between when he wrote Mistborn: The Final Empire and those works, and it'd be a shame for others to only check out Mistborn, be underwhelmed like my wife was, and just assume Sanderson wasn't for them, when it simply isn't representative of how good his more recent works are.
Also, to be clear, neither I or even my wife, think Mistborn is bad, just very mediocre compared to his later works which are some of the best fiction I've ever read. Personally I started with stormlight, so when I went to Mistborn, while I felt the lower quality writing, Brandon had already won me over with SA, so it put me off less then my wife, and I suspect this would be true for most people, if you know you like his other works, you're probably more willing to endure some of Brandon's early growing pains.
I will add, that once your hooked by Sanderson and committed to moving forward, I think this list is a fine one, especially with how important the rest of the cosmere became in book 4 of SA, but considering what a huge time investment the cosmere is at this point, its important to start off with Brandon's best foot forward (again for me that would be either Emperor's Soul, or the only largely stand alone (as in few easter eggs from other books) SA which is Way of Kings though I think Warbreaker is a fine choice too if its premise appeals more to you), so you recognize it really will be worth the effort (or if you dont' like those, that its probably not worth pushing through).
I read The Final Empire earlier this year. One of my goals for next year is to catch up on the cosmere before The Lost Metal comes out. 😳😳
That's an ambitious goal, but I like it. If you manage that I'll be impressed, but you can always leave stormlight till after the lost metal if needed.
Have you considered doing this order with Warbreaker in between Way of Kings and Words of Radiance? That’s how I read them my first time round and I really enjoyed it plus it helped me pick up on those points that connect in Words of Radiance that several of my friends missed their first time through.
I did consider that. I was trying to keep series together if I could, but I know lots of people who have slotted warbreaker in there.
When that order has been suggested I've seen new readers ignore it because they just want to keep going with stormlight. So I was trying to minimise that also.
For the Stormlight Archive, one thing that I have noticed is that people are consistently pretty low in their opinion of Oathbringer compared to The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance lol which makes me a sad boy like Kaladin because that is my favorite in the series. I have no way to prove this, but my guess is that because the books are so huge, there is a sense of fatigue by the time they get to Oathbringer, especially if people are binging straight through S.A.
I have a coworker who is working on reading the Cosmere right now. She has already read Misborn era 1, Elantris, and Warbreaker. Right now I am having her read the first two Stormlight books then squeezing in Mistborn era 2 and Arcanum Unbounded before she gets to Oathbringer. My hope is that spending so much time away from Stormlight will make her miss Roshar so that way she will be super excited to get back to that world after finishing Mistborn era 2 and the short stories. The fact that Arcanum Unbounded ends with Edgedancer also works to the advantage of easing back into things lol
My desired outcome in doing it this way is that she, rather than going into Oathbringer with a negative attitude of being fatigued after reading two giant books, she will be super positive and excited to just be back and it will improve the experience of reading even the tedious parts of Oathbringer that seem to grate on so many people
That's such an interesting way of doing it. I do agree that of you try to binge SA it could be too much.
Oathbringer is interesting. I think it has some of the best moments but doesn't hang together quite as well the previous two, which might be why people are slightly less positive on it.
I've read the 4 stormlight books but really want to read all the mistborn before the new one comes out
You'll pick lots of little things from mistborn that might help you understand bits of stormlight even better.
@@AllBookedUp yup! I haven't read war breaker or Elantris either or the short stories you mentioned so if I read all that then when I do my re-read of stormlight next year I will get more out of it like u said
Have you read Way of Kings Prime? When is the best time to read that? 🤨🤨
I haven't. I would very much recommend it after the rest of the stormlight archive of you want to read it. It is very much an alternate history and not canon. I'm not sure I'm gonna read it anytime soon as it is just so different.
I have read it! Don't even worry about it until you are fully caught up on the cosmere. If you absolutely fall in love with Brandon then it is fun to find out his earlier ideas. I actually found it quite difficult to get through haha. It is not considered as "cannon" though.
Thank you for all the information!!
...
what do you think of this order? is there any issue/problem wiht it?
as an initial preliminary plan, since I've not read anything from Sanderson, this is my order:
-Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006)
-Mistborn: The Well of Ascension (2007)
-Mistborn: The Hero of Ages (2008)
-Elantris (2005)
-The Hope of Elantris (2007)
-Warbreaker (2009)
-The Emperor's Soul (2012)
-Mistborn: The Alloy of Law (2011)
-Mistborn: Shadows of Self (2015)
-Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning (2016)
-Mistborn: Secret History (2016)
...
If I don't like The Final Empire (2006), I will jump to The Emperor's Soul (2012) and see if I like that one better.
That sounds like a very reasonable order if it appeals to you. Nothing there is going to give you anything out of order, and it gives a nice break between mistborn era 1 and mistborn era 2 which I think is great.
@@AllBookedUp Awesome!
Thank you very much for the reply! :)