Ranking Brandon Sanderson's Books (Best To Worst)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- My Merch: merphy-napier-shop.fourthwall.com
My second channel: / @merphynapierreviews
WHERE TO FIND ME:
► My Patreon: / merphynapier
► Reading Spreadsheet: docs.google.co...
► Instagram: / merphynapier
► E-mail: merphynapier@gmail.com
World Building Spoilers (related to the tier list)
I'm a dummy, there are sixteen shards, the 17th shard is the organization 😪🤦♀
💐🌹🥀🌺🌷🌸💮🏵️🌻🌼🍄
Somebody tell me the info I need to know from SA 2.5 Edgedancer. I don't know if a want to read it😅
I wanna jump directly to Oathbringer
I feel kind of … late to starting this series. 😬😬😬 Ouch
@@carlosdanielcalderonmontoy3723 i don't remember it being too important, it was fun tho
Please do this type of video on more amazing authors please prayers and thoughts for you and your beautiful and amazing family stay safe and enjoy your reading love your family friend John ❤❤❤
I am flabbergasted at the placement of warbreaker. I've actually never watched any reviews or read anything about it, I just loved it. It's top tier for me. It's actually one of the books I consider having people read first of Brandon Sanderson.
Warbreaker is the only one I spent the money on a leatherbound version 👍🏼
@@destro6971 For sure! I've had the same thoughts on which I would buy leather-bound editon.
Agreed! Warbreaker is the book I recommend most for people to get into Sanderson's books.
I’ve read 6 Brandy Sandy’s so far and Warbreaker is def my fav
Man the twist in Warbreaker is so good
I know Words of Radiance is spectacular but there is really nothing like The Way of Kings for me. The Kaladin story arc is just phenomenal
Idk why I was a fan of that the least. I felt like he nailed it but kept going for like a 1000 extra pages. I marathoned his books and way of kings just felt longer than the next three books. With the exception of Dalinar pov the rest were very slow. Which I understand he wanted to sync them but I was bored with the others. In words of radiance onwards they were all 10/10 beautiful. Shallan maybe a bit when it's about her.... Veiled activities were....a bit too split from the events for my taste.
@@vincentlefevre7188 Oh wow that's almost the complete opposite of my experience! I couldn't put way of kings down. The Kaladin story had me literally jumping in my seat multiple times. The next three have been really good as well don't get me wrong, but except for the Dalinar flashbacks which were absolutely sensational, they haven't quite lived up to the first one in my opinion. Still 8.5/10 for all of them tho!
But I guess it just really goes to show how subjective art is!
For me it’s Dalinar in Oathbringer. His moment was just such a buildup and had such a huge payoff.
@@noone-ld7pt interesting, for kaladin story I felt it was auch longer than it should. I was more interested in the world than his backstory. On the other hand Dalinar back story and end had sooo much build up as part of the world and I was looking forward to it a lot.
@@vincentlefevre7188 I do agree that Dalinars backstory was even better, but I still really enjoyed the entirety of Kaladins arc in the first book and how it tied so well together with his past and I think it had some of the best payoffs I've experienced since the last book of the Wheel of time!
Hot take, Warbreaker is one of my favorite books! My wife and I wrote our wedding vows in each other’s favorite books and hers are written in my copy of Warbreaker.
That is great. And I love Warbreaker. My favorite of the stand alone books for sure.
That's so cute 🥰
hehe, my flower bouquet for the wedding was made out of specific Elantris pages :). I also liked Warbreaker :D
The Emperor's Soul is such a tightly knit story, with even the magic system directly playing into the themes of the book. Easily my favorite of the novellas.
Agreed.
@@Straigo The Emperor's Soul is S-Tier easy. My favorite story... and I'm always coming back to it when I need something quick to listen. It's well paced... Shai is an amazing character.
Not only does it have some of my favourite character tropes, but I also appreciate how much depth and world-building there is for such a short novel-- how the colonialism and casual racism play into the story, the socio-economics and politics of being the "right" kind of artist for who's in power at the time, the clever mind games and the pettiness...
It's easily my favourite Sanderson.
I like the list in general, but putting Starsight over Emperor's Soul is straight-up incomprehensible to me haha
@@MateusAntonioBittencourt Same. One of my favorite books by Sanderson, period.
Warbreaker is one of the few stories where I love all of the main characters. Lightsong is my favorite character, his sass reminds me of Tyrion (ASoIaF). Susebron is so adorable. Vasher is cool and epic. And the two sisters are so opposite yet I see myself so much in them.
I completely agree! Definitely blew me away after putting off for so long
Warbreaker is in my top tier. I loved the story and the use of colors. I see some of the flaws, but it doesn't hinder the book much for me. Love the characters and how they deal with things. And seeing how the sisters deal with being forced into the predetermined 'role' of the other was very enjoyable. And Lightsong. Love his snark.
@@rriggs6547 Lightsong is my fav sanderson character for sure.
I LOVE WARBREAKER! Such a great novel. Like you said, all the characters hit for me. Lightsong started as my least favourite but became my favourite by the end! The sisters, the God-king, the mysteries, the build-up. I really love it.
Warbreaker is so effortlessly re-readable. Its completely standalone, not too long and fun from start to end. I've read it more than any of his other books (even if its not the 'best' one)
Not only is Warbreaker a fantastic book, but it has Lightsong, Sanderson’s greatest character.
Lightsong is top tier
Yes, my favorite
Mistborn vs Stormlight is hard. They are both great, but so different that I think they are basically opposites in story telling.
The entire point of Stormlight is a Hero's Journey, whereas Mistborn is basically a heist with no lead up. Vin just has her powers instantly. That one scene where she gets the mistcloak and she says, "Oh, I thought I had to earn this," and Kelsier goes, "Why would you have to earn it, you're a Mistborn." That made me laugh so hard coming off of Stormlight.
Poor Kaladin goes through hell to earn a sliver of power and Vin is just badass right away. So funny. Also how the crew is introduced is hilarious. "Here's all of them, here's what they can do, now on to the story!"
@@legostuds680 Well, except that they fail, but I take your meaning
I think that’s part of what makes Mistborn so good. It was the first Sanderson series I read, and I haven’t had as much fun reading a book ever since
The Way of Kings will always be my best Sanderson book. It's hard to describe how awesome it felt to read it for the first time. I think, as time goes by, it will be considered a fantasy classic.
I’m about 300 pages in so far. I’ve loved everything else Sanderson so I’m trusting the process but it hasn’t hooked me like Mistborn did.
I have yet to re-read the Stormlight books. They were my introduction to Sanderson, and I will be honest: I almost didn't finish The Way of Kings. The plot was interesting, but the pacing and scope were so-- leisurely? slow? galactic?--that I wished the book were maybe 10k words shorter. Of course, the plot really sucked me in, Andrew I have read all of the Cosmere novels. I loved most of the Mistborn novels and Warbreaker. With them, I found myself wishing for more details. Maybe I will like TWoK more the second time; maybe I will be a but more patient with the pacing and will enjoy parts of the worldnuildibg I didn't notice the first time around.
it is a fantasy classic....................imo
@@rosssims7224 finish it and the ending of the book is an incredible experience
@@Krazyerd I started being invested about 700 in, only about 150 pages left now!
While I personally prefer oathbringer, Way of Kings holds a special place in my heart. The chapter called Droplets holds a special place in my heart because it was so, so beautifully written, causing me to cry and cheer for Syl finally starting to crack Kal's more deppressive persona. It's the beggining of Kaladinn becoming Stormblessed once more, and the first small win in Kal's tumultous journey. And all it took was a small spren naively carrying a poison leaf in hopes of brightening a man's world when said man is at their lowest point.
Man that scene is so great. Syl bringing Kal a poison leaf to cheer him up while he’s on the verge of suicide is such a perfect use of irony. His resolution to give it “one more try” is also great. The chapter that gets me is 67: words. Kal’s dilemma and eventual decision to go back for Dalinar is the most inspiring thing I’ve ever read.
Both of these chapters burned themselves into my mind when I read them. I usually forget a lot of specific events and just remember the overall plot, but those two just stick.
I haven’t read a lot of Sanderson (Warbreaker and Mistborn only) but Hero of Ages made me cry like a baby. The only book in my life that made me cry so it’s a definite S-Tier for me
Hero of Ages was a religious experience. Both literally and figuratively.
I’d definitely recommend Stormlight, if you’d be interested in crying while reading. I’m reading it right now, and I’ve cried 5 times between the first two… though, it’s not *that* uncommon for me to cry 😂
I’ve only just started reading my first Sanderson book, The Final Empire. I’m only about 120 pages in, but really enjoying it so far! I’m excited to start getting into the Cosmere
Do yourself a favor & don't read the third mistborn book. Merph was nice about it, but IMO, no ending at all is better then the one that happened.
@@Rowan_A_Boat Holy cow is the above bad advice. If you're gonna have that opinion you should say to skip the whole Mistborn series. You certainly can't understand anything _after_ it without having read it. And you'd miss the end of all the plot threads from book 2. At best, if you're gonna feel that way, you should advise stopping after book 1.
@@DampeS8N well yes, obviously it's better to skip era 1, since it has scant few redeeming qualities, all of which are heavily overshadowed by how poorly the ending is handled... but I liked everything leading up to that ending, & I can't very well say "stop reading when vin goes sicko mode & starts fighting satan 1 on 1"
I am halfway through the The Final Empire, my first Sanderson book. It gets better! Loving it so far 😍
@@Rowan_A_Boat To each their own. I personally loved the ending and felt it just made sense in a cathartic way.
Emperor’s Soul is definitely S-tier for me! I love the magic system and the execution of storytelling is phenomenal. And it’s refreshing to read a Sanderson story that’s less than 600 pages 🙂
Elantris is getting two sequels; Brandon has said who the protag will be and what the premise is of the first sequel. In the past he has said that by necessity both sequels need to be released before Mistborn Era 3, so if that's still true, they'll be out after Stormlight 5.
Mistborn Era 3 is to be written in the gap between 5 and 6, so Elantris sequels will probably be between the first few Stormlight back 5 books.
That's original Era 3, which is now Era 4. Unless he decides to add the Era 3.5 he teased at Draginsteel. So, probably during stormlight 6-10. Era 3 (formerly 2) is the one that will come out after stormlight 5. It will be the one set in the 80s tech wise.
From what he said he is planning on writing them with Era 3 in the gap between stormlight 5 and 6
The Emperor's Soul is great because it's a self contained story that takes place on the same world of Elantris (different continent IIRC) with its own magic system apart from the continent that Elantris takes place on which I thought was just "cool"
I listened to Sanderson speaking at this year's dragonsteel conference. He stated that the core of the Cosmere is based on a trilogy of Elantris, the 3 era's of mistborn (~10 books) and Stormlight Archive (10 books). Other books are adding to the Cosmere.
Where was that conference? Sounds awesome!
@@britneynicole8903 It is a Conference organized by Sanderson's own team that happens yearly at Salt Lake City.
@@bakablack12 Ahhh that is awesome!!! Sounds fun!!
Just finished the lost metal last night. I didn't really get all of the cosmere references since I'm newer to it, but it was a super fun book for me!
You're gonna have a ton of fun rereading it after you read more of the Cosmere.
One good thing about the lost metal is all the references were seen through the lens of POV characters. Either it was explained for them or explained away as they would understand. To the second point that works for people who have only read Mistborn but would have so much meaning for people who have read more
To avoid spoilers I will warn you now not to continue reading this comment
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
When Steris saw people fly off to sink the ships she assumed they were allomancers but based on how it was done it appears to have been skybreakers. That would make a lot of sense if their third oath was to the ghostbloods. Less likely but still possible would be windrunners. Afterall what would a wind runner found seperate from the POV characters say if they were asked "hey want to help us protect a whole world?"
@@tomraineofmagigor3499 wasn't there something like surgebinders can't leave roshar
@@justsomeone3962 it's not that they can't leave Roshar. The issue was transferring stormlight
I personally loved all the Steelheart and would put them in S tier while still putting Elantris in Cognitive Shadow. Maybe its because I got into Sanderson through the Reckoners series.
Honestly, Elantris is one of my favorite books of his. You can see the younger inexperienced version of his wringing for sure. It just has such good story telling and surprising moments that I can't help but love it. High B for me. Loved the video 😀
I'll say it right now, I like it better than the first two Mistborn books. Not sure why. Maybe because I read it first? I liked the slow pace and the way everything unfolded about how this world worked and how it was was before.
Personally, I love the trope of someone being put into a bad position and making the most of it. That's why I love Kaladin's arc so much, and why I love Elantris (and Warbreaker to some extent).
kinda weird how he beat around the bush about potential future plot with the murderous monks or whatever
110 pages in through Elantris and I'm loving it so far. And I do agree, he is a great storyteller. Can't wait to get to the Mistborn trilogy
Funny, I am at a similar situation while watching this video right now. Currently I am on page 170. Did you finish Elantris? How did you like it?.
If this is supposed to be one of Sanderson’s weaker books I can’t wait to read the „good ones“, definitely enjoying it a lot.
Although it takes quite a bit longer for me to read since English is not my first language. It’s actually the first book I decided to read in English instead of the translated version.
Warbreaker is the first book I ever read from Brandon Sanderson and no other book I've read from him has even come close to how much I loved warbreaker! I hate reading and I find it difficult to picture the characters and scenery but for warbreaker I vividly pictured everything. I can still imagine the characters and opening scene. it'd one of my favourite books of all time lol
I will never understand people that don't like Warbreaker. It is my #1 Sanderson, hands down. Loved how the Sanderson Avalanche worked out in this particular book, loved the characters, loved the twists, LOVED the magic.
I guess there's no accounting for taste. I didn't like the magic system or the setting. I think I might have liked one of the characters, but it wasn't enough to save the book for me. Glad other people enjoy it... I feel like I "have" to reread it sometime because the magic is leaking out into other books, but I'm not looking forward to it.
@@crushervenThat’s interesting. The setting wasn’t amazing, but I loved the magic system and thought it was very creative. Also, if you don’t want to reread Warbreaker, I highly recommend visiting the Coppermind wiki. It has everything, and I mean everything, related to Sanderson. Just look up what you want to know and it will have everything :)
I had to read Skyward Flight for me to really appreciate Cytonic. It made it 110% better and totally worth it. Can't wait for the next one.
I've never read a Sanderson book. Should I confess this to a priest? Kidding! I enjoyed the video anyway. Sorry I can't contribute more today. But I hope everyone has a beautiful day!
If you are up to it, read Mistborn: The Final Empire. IMO it's the best introduction to his work. It's a part of a trilogy while at the same time being a self contained story and is a good introduction to his MCU style "cosmere".
I read many and loved loved them. I tried reading KKC and the blade itself after and I couldn't enjoy them. They felt empty in comparison to Sanderson's books and they were kinda were. Same with many books these days.
Uh, well you should try a few!
Mistborn, Warbreaker, The Emperor’s Soul are all good places to start
@@vincentlefevre7188 Wow, that is high praise for Sanderson! I want to try Abercrombie too, because I recently watched Merphy's interview with him and he impressed me. Maybe I should read him first so Sanderson doesn't spoil me. :)
@@vincentlefevre7188 that's so funny because I have the opposite - I read Abercrombie first, and trying to read mistborn (read the first one, stalled part way through the second) felt empty in comparison to Abercrombie. I couldn't get into most of the dialogue and prose because it was such a stylistic shift (and I'm more partial to Abercrombie in those aspect). I'll try sanderson again at some point though.
I'm seeing a trend here where the second book of the series is (usually) better than the first book.
That also goes for the Reckoners series (Steelheart), which was my first go at Sanderson and I did enjoy them a lot!
That was my first go at Sanderson too! Loved those books.
I remember telling you I had an unpopular Cosmere opinion and that’s how highly I rank Elantris 😅 part of it is nostalgia cause it was the book that got me into reading again in 2005 but also I have read it 4 times and it always holds up for me even with the flaws 😆
I LOVE ELANTRIS! SARENE
@@safarjunaid6828 SARENE 💜💜💜
Final empire is basically Elantris 2.0 , so for me personally is S Tier just next to the final empire. Despite its flaws.
Elantris was the most surprising Sanderson book for me. Everyone was so negative about it online, so when I read it I was very pleasantly surprised at how solid it is. It's just a really really nice story, the pov characters are extremely likeable, and the Sanderlanche was as good as any.
yeah me too, I love Elantris... I even had my flower bouquet at the wedding made of specific pages of the book :) It's still in my house as a reminder.
I was so happy to hear you start to defend Warbreaker for you to then still only put it in b-tier 😢. Which is fine of course, I just thought the Warbreaker is GREAT club was getting a new member
I love the Stormlight Archives, but I NEVER liked Shallan. I appreciate what she brings to the story (super important character), but she happens to hit my literary funny bone and leaves me annoyed. I wouldn't remove her from the story, but because Words of Radiance dives into her character so much, I can't help but drop that book to my least favorite of the Stormlight Archives.
(Spoiler) I would say Rhythm of War is my favorite Sanderson book overall, only second to Words of Radiance, and that is because Kaladin’s arc was finally completed. His acceptance of his inability to save everyone and the Words that he spoke after failing at the gate in Oathbringer was the highest I have ever felt in a book. And then the scene IMMEDIATELY after he was basically granted the ability to protect everyone with his Shardplate. Absolutely phenomenal writing in my opinion. And the Taravangian/Odium scene was probably one of the most shocking and effective plot twists I’ve ever seen. Odium was really starting to feel like an ineffective force because of how many times his plans failed in the story, and now he is absolutely terrifying again.
The problem is everything else other than kaladin.
@@arjunnadkarni3095 Nah I think it was good in other parts too. The only slow parts were with Shallan’s crew, only cause that could’ve been shortened to like 3 chapters, and Navani and Raboniel’s bits could’ve been shortened the same.
Rhythm of War was hard for me to read. I loved the ending, but having two POV characters dealing with major mental health issues was difficult to read. Shallan was my favorite in books 1 & 2, but as she has become disconnected from her self, I've kinda disconnected with her as well.
@@ethansmith7305For some reason, I loooooved the Navani + Raboniel chapters. I thought that revealing anti-Investiture was written so well into these chapters. Also, the scenes you mentioned literally sent chills down my spine. Rhythm of War is a 10/10, Words of Radiance is 11.
Hahahaha the rankings names are just next level nerd I love it 🤣. "Words of Radiance" is hands down adonalsium for me!
Haha 🫢📚🤣
Fully agree with Warbreaker! I read it after Mistborn Era 1 and had lower hopes as a friend said it wasn’t as good. But I really liked. So many great characters.
Warbreaker was great
I really enjoyed it. Lightsong is my fav character
@@bp3177 Broke my heart that did. So good.
@@bp3177 Lightsong >
The first two Stormlights are my least favorite, and felt like a slog to get through before Oathbringer and Rhythm of War! So funny (and cool) seeing how different people connect with stories!
Here is my list after reading everything twice (Only once for TLM)
S Tier:
Rhythm of War
The Way of Kings
Oathbringer
The Final Empire
Secret History
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Words of Radiance
A Tier:
Dawnshard
Warbreaker
Hero of Ages
The Lost Metal
Well of Ascension
The Emperor’s Soul
Bands of Mourning
Shadows of Self
B Tier:
Sixth of the Dusk
Alloy of Law
The Eleventh Metal
Edgedancer
C Tier:
Elantris
Whitesand Vol. 1
Whitesand Vol. 3
D Tier:
Whitesand Vol. 2
Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania
The Hope of Elantris
This is a very interesting take. But I do wonder why SFSITFOH is in S tier. How did It connect with you?
Way of Kings is still my favourite book of all time. The way 2 main character story arcs came together at the end and the choices they made was the biggest positive emotional pay off I can remember in any story of any medium. Usually only shockingly horrific or sad moments impact me in such a way.
Would you describe that scene as... priceless?
When he pulled out the Blade in front of Sadeas, I literally stood up in my seat and yelled "NO FUCKING WAY!" I was grinning from ear to ear. Sanderson is the only writer who ever made me do that. But God DAMN, at this point, he's done it a lot.
Tbh, it’s my second favorite. I agree with your reasons, but I like WoR more because of how perfectly it builds upon WoK.
For me, Emperor's Soul is the best. It wasn't on first reading, but after going back, it is a perfect book for me. It balances everything perfectly and has an intriguing discussion of what makes up people and what is art. It's also the perfect length. Usually I'm fine with big books, but a longer book wouldn't have fit this story.
And when he really lets loose with the magic system at the end, didn't see it coming yet it makes so much sense.
I’d love to see your take on Legion. They’re real quick reads, all three stories are an afternoon’s reading, so easy to fill in, but the concept is interesting.
Great list! I definitely have some differences - huge RoW fan personally (only book to make me cry), and am currently reading Lost Metal but haven't finished yet
S: Rhythym of War, Word of Radiance, Mistborn, Warbreaker, Hero of Ages
A: Way of Kings, Skyward, Bands of Mourning, Dawnshard, Oathbringer, Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self
B: Edgedancer, Starsight, Well of Ascension, The Emperor's Soul
C: Cytonic, Elantris, Steelheart
Arcanum Unbounded has a lot of good stuff as well - I'd probably rank Shadows for Silence in the forests of hell as an A tier and Sixth of the Dusk as a C tier
Read the Sword of Kaigan if you want to cry. Seriously that book is astounding. And sad fyi but amazing
@@jatzi1526 I have owned it for like a year now! Need to read it soon for sure
@@emperorznb I actually just started rereading some sections right as I sent that lol. I think it's part of a loose series, disconnected stories in the same world. I need to read them
Idk why some hate hero of ages. For me is definitely S tier aswell
As of now, I have only read Way of Kings, and am starting Warbreaker soon (I was told to swap to that book before continuing stormlight archive). But I will say that Way of Kings is one of my favourite books.
My biggest issues with Stormlight 3 and 4, are basically all of Shadesmar, and the imbalance of stories. Those two just feel the heaviest weight of being attached to a plotted out series that just has to fit things in to a timeline.
3 was my favorite of the series honestly
As the books have gone on, they just seemed to contain so many words, yet end up having not nearly enough actually going on. I can't point to any particular thing, but it's just like Sanderson has a word count in mind and feels like he has to make these huge tomes, even if the material doesn't really justify it. In his mind, this is his "huge book" series, like WoT. And I'm not one of those people where everything has to be plot related -- I like spending time with characters and/or the world, so that it feels real (WoT never drags for me, for example). But it just feels like the books could be half the length with all the same content, just edited down.
@@cuthbertallgood7781 I agree with you partly. With RoW, I felt in the end like not much happened. While reading I enjoyed almost every minute of it and I feel like it accomplished things but at the same time everything happened in a quite short timeframe, and that might be the reason why I felt like not much happened for such a huge book. But I've read the stormlight books only once and I read them after another in a one big "marathon", so my mind on what happened in which book might be a bit muddled.
@@eve7373 I can see what you mean. Definitely RoW seemed very much like one giant expositional dump about the mechanics of the stormlight magic system. Which is not something that would appeal to everyone for sure. Kaladin's arc in the book was it's strongest, I feel Kaladin is really the best character in the whole series, and the Odium thing at the end was something that took me by surprise and definitely made me feel some dread for stormlight 5. As such I liked it quite a lot. But yeah not a lot happened in the book
Book 3 and 4 of a 5 book series are the ones that are going to get what second books of a trilogy gets. Middle book syndrome is a real thing. It's nearly impossible to keep proper pacing and solid storytelling when you're required to set up everything for a good concluding novel. That's what I get from Oathbringer and Rhythm of War: Sanderson struggling to tell a good story while setting all of the chess pieces in place for a good endgame.
I don't know who says Warbreaker is a weak story, but they are allowed to have a wrong opinion. Lmao, it's my favorite stand alone novel from him, it's so goood.
I do love the story, my only issues with it are I found Vivenna so damn annoying in how smugly condescending she was about everything. Wwhich I get is intended and supposed to be a flaw she works through, but I just really hate people like that in the first place and her arc didn't really fix enough of her core issues for me. And just how abrupt the ending was.
True, Vivenna was annoying to me too in the first half, but because it was intended, I have no problem with it. It"s much worse when the character isn't supposed to be that way and as a consequence, never changes.
My biggest problem with warbreaker isn't even Vivenna, but with the climax just...peters off. We get the awesome moment with Lightsong but when they go to Vasher, and hes like "oh, we can solve the problems of the armies eaiisly" and than it just cuts to the aftermath, it comes off as...kind of anticlimatic.
@@stevenhedge2850 Yeah the conclusion is a real letdown.
@@stevenhedge2850 Yeah, on my last reread, I was kind of surprised because I thought there was a little more at the end. Must have imagined it. Like one more Siri chapter is needed. Still S-tier though.
Warbreaker is my favourite Sanderson novel. I really, really love it. Such a compelling mystery, great character work, top notch worldbuilding, great reveals, an explosive ending. I think it deserves much more respect than it seems to get!
Here would be my tiers:
Adonalsium - Warbreaker, Hero of Ages, Final Empire, Well of Ascension
Shards - Shadows of Self, Allow of Law, Way of Kings
Spren - Bands of Mourning, Steelheart, The Original (a co-written audiobook), Fireflight, Skyward, Starsight
Cognitive Shadow - The Secret History, Calamity
Currently reading Words of Radiance and planning to continue in the Stormbreaker Archives until I'm caught up and then get to more Cosmere!
My top 3 are WoK, Final Empire and to be completely honest, Dawnshard. Ive been disabled my whole life, and lost my legs 2 years ago. So I really connected with Rysn. I agree with your ranking of it though.
Love the names of the categories 🤣 Don’t have time right now for a proper tier ranking, but Words of Radiance is also my favourite
I feel like I'm a minority in really enjoying Elantris. I liked how real the characters felt, the setting was both believable and mystic and the story was melancholic and satisfying.
Maybe I just really enjoy those kinds of stories :P.
I agree that Warbreaker is underrated, so after that little speech in its deference, I was shocked to see it put so low. I’d put it in my S tier with WoR, WoK, and The Final Empire.
I have a deep love for the Reckoners trilogy (even though I haven’t read book 3 yet). I think it’s one of Sanderson’s most underrated series.
I've recently gotten into Brandon Sanderson and right now I'm going through The Way of Kings after going through the whole Mistborn Saga so far and I'm loving every second of it Mistborn above all else so far lol
My list would be
S- words of radiance, way of kings
A- well of ascension, final empire, hero of ages, oathbringer
B- rhythm of war, warbreaker
C- elantris, edgedancer
Cant wait for all the books next year!
Funny. Steelheart is what made me a Branderson fan. I read Mistborn first, liked it a lot, but then I read the Steelheart trilogy and was like WOW, I need to read all of his books now.
I also think Warbreaker was AWESOME and one of his best.
The Way of Kings is the first Sanderson book that I ever read, and it is my favorite from the stormlight archive. Each book in the storm light archive has its epic moments, however a the way of kings has a special place in my heart because it was so good that motivated me to invest time in exploring the cosmere and introduced me to the work of Sanderson. I really hope this book becomes movies and tv shows at some point.
I found this channel through One Piece (GLR) and now I see you also have videos of my favorite fantasy author.
I would subscribe to your channel twice if I could.
Emperor's Soul was for me by far the best I've read from Brandon in terms of the rather unique magic-system and consistency! Plus - the story seemed so complete despite much of the action happening within closed doors, and that too within a period of - what - 60 days? Just pure gold! 🧡😊
Merph! I was surprised when you put Words of Radiance as your favorite Sanderson book. I completely agree. Honestly, Words of Radiance may be my favorite book of all time. I just think it is simply amazing. I love all three main story lines of this story, plus we get multiple epic moments in one book, instead of having to wait until the very end for our Sanderlanch.
This was great to be able to see! I'm looking forward to your lost metal review!
Adonalsium: Rhythm of War, Mistborn Final Empire, The Way of Kings, Warbreaker
Shards: Shadows of Self, Oathbringer, The Lost Metal, Bands of Mourning, Emperor's Soul, Words of Radiance
Spren: Elantris, Hero of Ages, Dawnshard, Alloy of Law, Skyward, Starsight, Cytonic
Cognitive Shadow: Well of Ascension, Edgedancer, Steelheart
This was hard, because I love all of these books, but this captures some big things like Final Empire > Era 2 but Era 2 > Final Empire sequels in my opinion.
I love Stormlight Archive. I am a close personal friend of Syl and Pattern.
Sanderson tier list. Merph you're excellent at softening the blow of a Monday morning
I will be forever grateful to the friend that suggested Sanderson books to me. It was my re-introduction to reading/fantasy, like Merphy mentioned. Many of these stories got me through the loneliest times of my life, and each one is so special. Rereading Oathbringer now in preparation for finally reading Rhythm of War, and it’s so weird experiencing the story again in its own merit, while also being a little thrown back to the place in my life that I was in the first time I read it.
"Oh what a good tierlist, I do not agree with everything 100% percent but I understand the reasoning"
*Cue Emperor's Soul getting put in Spren Tier
"Where's my pitchfork?"
As a die hard "Die Hard" Fan Stormlight 4 is my absolute favorite.
I'd only put The Final Empire in Adonalsium. Books 2 and 3, while good, dragged in parts and there was a disconnect at the end of book 3. Didn't get cleaned up until the secret history.
Stormlight 1,2,4 all Adonalsium, 3 in Shard. There are parts of Oathbringer dragged.
Here goes!!
Adonalsium:
The Final Empire, Hero of Ages, The Way of Kings
Shards:
The Emperors Soul, Well of Ascension, Words of Radiance
Spren:
Elantris, Warbreaker, Edgedancer, Oathbringer, Dawnshard, Shadows of Self, Bands of Mourning
Cognitive Shadow:
Rhythm of War
Crem:
Alloy of Law
Discord (did not read ((yet!!))):
Skyward series, Reckoners series
Trell (currently reading):
The Lost Metal, and really, enjoying it! The ERA2 setting and overarching story have never really gelled with me, but the characters have really grown on me over the years. I think I might have a better opinion of it after a reread someday. :)
Well, I've only read Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy. So far I enjoyed a lot of these books, so my expectations for Stormlight and Era 2 are huge. At the moment, favorite book is The Final Empire.
I moved over to audiobooks years ago - I loved the way of kings so much that i got the graphic audio version of the whole Stormlight saga - the experience was fantastic
I mostly agree with you, but I'd put Warbreaker in S, it's top tier stuff for sure, I've read it probably 5 times since it came out and every time I love it as much as the first time, and it's the perfect blend of sciency magic with magicy magic. Edgedancer in A, it really sold me on Lift as a character and that ending was great. I'd put Bands of Mourning and Lost Metal in B, I think they both could have used more editing and revisions, they don't feel finished. And Emperor's Soul, I wish Sanderson put out this quality in everything, S for sure.
I personally enjoyed Aloy of Law more than the Mistborn series, but that’s probably just me. Cowboys with Magneto powers? Yes please!
Also I just really liked Wayne as a character and his usage of street smarts vs Wax’s more traditional methods is always fun to me.
Judging by the comments, I clearly have an unpopular opinion here in that I think The Way of Kings might be my least favorite in the Stormlight series. I loved it and agree that the character arcs were all great and resolved in a satisfying way. But from a plot perspective, it really felt like half a book to me. Like Sanderson was trying to write Words of Radiance, realized he was 1,000 pages deep, then decided he'd hit a good stopping point and started printing. The vast majority of plot points and conflicts in WoK are set up to be resolved in WoR. Wheareas, I felt like all of the following books had more satisfactory conclusions.
I intend to go through them all a second time, but based on first impressions, I think I've personally enjoyed each volume of Stormlight more than the previous. Maybe that will change upon a 2nd read.
My favorite thing about Warbreaker was how I hated Vivenna at the beginning buy loved her at the end. I love it when books change my mind about someone.
What about white sand?
Totally agree with your take on Words of Radiance. I’m not a huge fan of Shallan but that book is incredible and displays Brandon at his best
His standalone stories are honestly my favourite ones. Warbreaker, Emperor's Soul, Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell, and Sixth of Dusk are all easy S tiers for me.
I'm with you on all of those. And now I'd add Yumi and the Nightmare Painter too.
my introduction to sanderson books is the reckoners trilogy and since im more like a YA reader at that time. I really enjoyed steelheart and loved sanderson writing, after that i searched for his other books and saw mistborn though none of my friends read any high fantasy and they got intimidated with mistborn, i still tried reading it and im glad i did because its my all time fave now!
My ranking would be very close to reverse publication order. He's getting better with time.
Warbreaker is Adonalsium for me. Mistborn Era 2 (except for Alloy of Law) are all Adonalsium. Era 1 is Shard and Well of Ascension is a Cognitive Shadow for sure!
Elantris one of those seemingly hopeless books that takes the reader down a dismal future, but offers hope to those who are brave enough to act on what they believe to be true and in the end, is affirming. Dystopia finally overcome. I didn’t like it at first, but kept reading anyway despite my initial discomfort. Glad I did. It stays with me even now.
My list is very similar, with one big exception - I put Emperor’s Soul at the bottom of S tier. I absolutely loved seeing the protagonist wrestle with a morally complex and *magic based* academic problem, and its shortness worked perfectly with the concept. I think Sanderson’s description of it as the spice of the Cosmere encapsulates why I love it.
My full list:
Adonalsium: Words of Radiance, Well of Ascension, The Emperor’s Soul
Shards: The Final Empire, Way of Kings, Hero of Ages, Oathbringer
Spren: Warbreaker, Edgedancer
Cognitive Shadows: Elantris
Crem:
Give the Reckoners another chance before you read Mistborn #1 for a fourth time. The trilogy gets a stronger as it goes - I really enjoyed Firefight and Calamity. There are great build ups and payoffs. I agree with a lot of the rest of what you said.
I’m a big of Phillip Pullman and would love to hear your opinion of his work!
My list is fairly close, but here are the four main changes from your list:
1. All three Mistborn (Era 1) S tier
2. All Mistborn (Era 2) B or C tier
3. Emperors Soul A tier.
4. Elantris would be B tier
* I still haven’t read Warbreaker
Skyward is the first Brandon Sanderson novel I finished and I absolutely loved it. Spensa is by far one of my favorite protagonists I've read. Excited to continue the series
Here's my tier list of Brando Sando books I've read so far:
Adonalsium: Warbreaker, The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance
Shards: Oathbringer, The Lost Metal, Rhythm of War, Mistborn: The Final Empire, A Memory of Light, Legion, The Well of Ascension
Spren: The Emperor's Soul, The Hero of Ages, , The Alloy of Law, Mistborn: Secret History, Elantris, Towers of Midnight
Cognitive Shadow: The Gathering Storm, Edgedancer
Warbreaker is my favorite Sanderson book and the first book I tell people to read. I would put all the Wax and Wane books at Crem and Cognitive Shadow tier and rank all the Mistborn books as Spren. Funny thing is most of my favorite books are Westerns so you think I'd love a Sanderson Western but I prefer the grittier anti western sub genre like No Country for Old Men or Lonesome Dove, one of my all time favorite books.
The way we have had important warbreaker and elantris related events happen in more recent books, it would not surprise me if he does write the sequals to both after book 5 is done. It would be a refreshing change of pace
My tier list (as requested), not really ordered within the tiers:
Tier 1 (best books I've ever read, period, except maybe Lord of the Rings): Mistborn 1 (Final Empire), Wax and Wayne 1 (Alloy of Law), Warbreaker, Stormlight 3 (Oathbringer)
Tier 2 (fantastically awesome, on a par with great fantasy from the other best fantasy authors): Wax and Wayne 3 and 4 (3 slightly ahead), Stormlight 1 and 2, Emperor's Soul, Edgedancer, Skyward 1
Tier 3 (still great, but not the best I've ever read): Wax and Wayne 2, Stormlight 4, Rithmatist, all Alcatraz books, all Steelheart books, Dawnshard.
Tier 4 (just ok): Skyward 2
Not ranked: Skyward 3 (haven't finished), Elantris (don't remember it well enough to rank)
Some comments: I have Oathbringer so high because the ending is the best of all the books other than Mistborn 1. That ending by itself launches it into the stratosphere -- of course, it is the Dalinar storyline more than anything else that sets up the ending, which you mentioned was great. But Kaladin, Szeth, Lyft, Jasnah, Renolin, Adolin are all great in the ending too. The other books in the top tier have similarly amazing scenes (Kelsier's death scene, Vin's defeat of the Lord Ruler, Wax's last fight and the mid-book dinner fight, etc.)
I think I don't like the Kaladin-focused books quite as much because of how good a job he does of writing depression -- I really feel the depression when I read it, which makes it less enjoyable for me. Not a criticism, just a note on what sort of experience I'm looking for when I read. Dalinar's tragedy doesn't drag me down as much, as I actually enjoy tragedy.
For me, Wax and Wayne is all about the fun, buddy-cop, Western romp. And the first book does that the best of the whole series, the third book second best. The fight scene in the dining room might be my favorite Sanderson scene in all his books. The second book is a totally different sort of thing -- as you mentioned! -- but that is less fun, in my view.
I love Warbreaker too. The character arc of the main god is so amazing.
The series have been intimidating to me when it came to starting. I think I am different here being someone who didn't start with Mistborn but rather The Rithmatist and Warbreaker honestly were so appealing to me, maybe just as an artist but also the fact that they are not gigantic as someone newer to Sanderson. Since then, I have enjoyed Way of Kings and Mistborn and I love the Skyward series. I did not know he didn't write it though.
He wrote the three main books of Skyward. He didn't write the recently released Skyward novellas.
Great Job as always Merphy!
My list, relatively in order:
S - The Way of Kings, Oathbringer, Elantris, Warbreaker
A - Firefight, Steelheart, Words of Radiance
B - Starsight, Rhythm of War, Skyward
C - Calamity, The Hero of Ages, The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension
Girl!! I am thrilled to hear your thoughts on Lost Metal!! The excitement is contagious!
Somebody tell me the info I need to know from SA 2.5 Edgedancer. I don't know if a want to read it😅
I wanna jump directly to Oathbringer
Will you be madly reading Lost Metal all night tonight for tomorrow's discussion video, lol? I can't keep up with ya'll, but I love your passion!
@@Dougeb7 I get off early today, so I am thinking of getting it on my NOOK and reading it for the rest of the day! I can admit that Merphy’s dancing video put that first seed of excitement in me about starting this book!
@@britneynicole8903 Ha-ha!
Elantris is one of my most favourite Sanderson books. You can tell his writing style is not yet as polished but the world-building, magic system, characters are so incredibly fresh, original and inspiring.
Kolo?
Sanderson has stated multiple times there will be Elantris sequel(s). Just read his State of the Sanderson each year. He is not starting it until after Stormlight 5, but it will eventually be a trilogy. The 2019 State of the Sanderson had his current cosmere sequence plans. See below. This also does not include novellas.
Elantris 1
Elantris 2
Elantris 3
Mistborn Era 1: Book One
Mistborn Era 1: Book Two
Mistborn Era 1: Book Three
Stormlight One
Stormlight Two
Stormlight Three
Stormlight Four
Stormlight Five
Mistborn Era 2: Book One
Mistborn Era 2: Book Two
Mistborn Era 2: Book Three
Mistborn Era 2: Book Four
Warbreaker 1
Warbreaker 2
Mistborn Era 3: Book One
Mistborn Era 3: Book Two
Mistborn Era 3: Book Three
Stormlight Six
Stormlight Seven
Stormlight Eight
Stormlight Nine
Stormlight Ten
Dragonsteel Book One
Dragonsteel Book Two
Dragonsteel Book Three
Untitled Threnody Novel
Untitled Aether Book One
Untitled Aether Book Two
Untitled Aether Book Three
Mistborn Era 4: Book One
Mistborn Era 4: Book Two
Mistborn Era 4: Book Three
Honestly Warbreaker is the BEST Sanderson book, hands down
I understand why you thought Alloy of Law was mid tier but I am personally a real sucker for steampunk and combinging magic with tech so I enjoy era 2 even more than era 1 personally.
So far I’ve only read Skyward and part of the first Mistborn novel (had to put it aside because I wasn’t feeling distopia/fantasy at the time, but I’m about to get back to it). Your video got me hyped to read more Sanderson though, 2023 is to be dubbed the year of Sanderson and mark my words, I will be a COSMERE GEEK by this time next year 😄
For me so far:
N/A (not consumed in any way but on this tier list): all non-Cosmere stuff, Dawnshard, RoW
S- Words of Radiance, Final Empire, Hero of Ages, Way of Kings, Lost Metal, Emperor’s Soul
A- Well of Ascension, Shadows of Self, Bands of Mourning, Warbreaker, Elantris
B- Edgedancer
Perhaps I’m too light on these but this is how I feel…
Tier adonal: wor, oath bringer, final empire, skyward, towers of midnight.
Shard: gathering storm, way of kings, emperors soul, shadows of self, warbreaker.
Next tier:
Well if ascension, alloy of law, edge dancer, elantris, 6th of the dusk, shadows for silence, rithmatist
next tier:
starsight, rhythm of war, a memory of light, cytonic.
Crem: bands of mourning, secret history, hero of ages.
(spoilers for the stormlight archive)
I loved Shallan up until midway through Oathbringer, or whenever Veil was introduced. Kaladin was always my favorite, obviously (maybe there's some people who connect more with other characters, but Way of Kings solidified Kaladin as the best for all the people i know, at least), but Shallan was always quick with a joke or a comeback, and that sorta seemed to stop after Radiant and Veil.
Dalinar is amazing, and his backstory is always the most hard-hitting for me, the big reveals that happen regarding his wife were totally unexpected the first time i read them.
Adolin is awesome, and i think he is part of the reason Rhythm of War was such a good book, personally. his scene in Shadesmar is so cinematic and it gives me chills.
Navani was given so much more depth in Oathbringer and Rhythm of War, which i really loved. Being able to see that Gavilar wasn't the saint Dalinar saw him as added a touch of reality to his fantastical portrayal in previous books.
Honestly if i made a character ranking it might go something like: Kaladin, Wit, Dalinar, Adolin, Lopen, Shallan, and Navani. (theres a cool video idea for you, actually)
Adonalsium - TWOA, Oathbringer, TWOK, WOR,
Shards - TFE, HOA, Warbreaker, ROW
Spren - BOM, TES, Elantris, SOS, SH
Cognitive Shadow - AOL, Dawnshard, Edgedancer
The great thing about Brandon Sanderson books is that every book is good. Some are great. All the stories appeal differently to every person. They also appeal differently to the same person depending on what is happening in your current life events. Sanderson will go down as a great novelist possibly become an author that is talked about in history books.
I'm a bit curious what you think of his actual short stories, like Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Sixth of the Dusk, 'cause I think they're so good, it's so amazing that he can keep the quality and worldbuilding on such short stories!
It’s funny cause two of the least favorites (elantris and warbreaker) are the first two by him I read. And I loved them both.