I've had so many friends recommend Sanderson to me haha I've got like four of his books I just haven't made the time to start them. But I really enjoyed this, it got me excited to give one a go!
I have pretty much the journey. I started with Lost Stars. I did not think books were for me but somehow that book did it. But... like you said for yourself, I had that safety blanket. I didn't venture. Then, came Mistborn in 2022. And the rest is history. I think you and I would be great friends haha. Love the content! Maybe there could be a Youtini booth at Dragonsteel Nexus one day??
As a starwars fan and already an avid saderson reader and even content creator around his work I had to watch this video simply because the premise. Thanks for this!
I went through something really similar actually. I was a big reader in elementary and middle school only to fall off as I found myself not having the time nor drive to read for fun. Around COVID once my time cleared up, I decided to reread Percy Jackson, a favorite from my childhood. That was the first of many dominos to fall which eventually led me to getting into Star Wars books with the release of Light of the Jedi in 2021. 30 Star Wars books later and after having watched Game of Thrones, I was craving some classic fantasy books. That's where I found Brandon Sanderson (and Malazan, but that's a totally different discussion), and my life hasn't been the same since.
I did not expect this video Eric, but I am totally not complaining. :D The Cosmere is probably my favorite literary fictional universe outside of Star Wars
Love the personal story, and strong agree. As a long time Sanderson and even longer Star Wars fan, its fun seeing some one else whose pie charts of love over laps with my own. On the surface the two don't seem like they should necessarily over lap, but I feel like a big reason why is too many people view star wars a sci fi, while its really more of a space fanatasy. Sanderson has his sci fi books, but his core fantasy story has a lot of overlaps in what makes them great with star wars. I also feel like the nature of the cosmere and the expanded universe are similar in how you don't need to read them in any specific order outside of their own series, but each book series connects, even if subtly, with other books, expanding the lore and your understanding for all the books. As an aside, Mistborn was by far my least favorite Sanderson book series. I loved book 3 of its original trilogy, Heroe of Ages, but found The Final Empire meh and The Well of Ascension actually kind of bad. But man oh man, most of his other works are terrific and the storm light archive is my favorite book series of any series of any genre. I have soooo many favorite star wars books, but none are quite as good as the Storm Light Archive books.
For me, as far as where to start I always recommend The Emperor's Soul, its a short story so very little commitment, but gives you a good feel for Sanderson's style, and is just in general a really solid story. War Breaker isn't one of his best, but is also a solid story for some one who doesn't have access to a library and doesn't want to pay anything, as Sanderson released the entire book completely free. It' also got important cosmere lore in it, so worth reading eventually regardless. I started with The Way of Kings, so that's a good start too, though it has a Light of the Jedi like start, which is to say, starts with a bunch of point of views and a lot of set up that can be tough, but your patience will be rewarded ten times over. I know people who started with Mistborn and were so under whelmed by it that it tooks years for me to get them to give Sanderson another chance, so I'd never recommend starting with it, but that said, there are people who start with it and like it, so your mileage may vary. Tress of the Emerald see is also a fine starting point, as its a single story one off, but its a little different then his other books, a sort of homage to the princess bride, so not AS reflective of his usual writing style. I occasionally hear people recommend Elantris as its his first work, but while I actually enjoyed Elantris quite a bit (more then most if the internet is to be believed), like Mistborn it... shows how far Sanderson has come as an author when compared to his later works, as he makes a lot of beginner writing mistakes and you can feel it was written before he became successful enough to have lots of beta readers and top dollar editors, so like Mistborn, I feel its better to come back to it after your a Sanderson fan, then start with it, or you might be put off a bit.
What an epic Sanderson journey!! Yeah the entry point is always an interesting choice, isn't it? My mom started with Tress then just finished Mistborn Era 1, so I'll see where she goes from there. I tried Way of Kings like two or three times before I really got addicted, and now Stormlight is my favorite series of all time. Definitely needed an easier start for my reading style.
@@Youtini Yeah while I started with Stormlight, its not what I'd generally recommend as a starting point, kind of a overwhelming beginning and its a huge commitment for an author you don't even know if you'll like yet. Obviously worked out for me, but I'd only recommend it to some one whose really committed to finishing the whole thing, not some one trying to gauge if they like his style. My wife got put off by mistborn, but after several years of asking her to give him another chance, I got her to read Emperor's Soul and she loved it enough to give some of his other works another chance, and at this point she's a bigger Sanderson fan then me, so as you say, there doesn't seem to be a single best starting point for everyone, but I've yet to have some one who didn't like at least one of his recommended starters, and many of them ended up liking even the books they didn't like on first read way more after coming back to them years later with most other cosmere books under their belt, which I think is the beauty of the interconnected nature of the cosmere.
Eric anytime you ask why you should read the Percy Jackson universe, I'm just gonna point you back to this video because literally all the same points apply.
I dont understand how you can say Star Wars fans are the most accepting. Star wars fandom has always been rife with gatekeeping, negativity towards women, and awful nostalgia goggles that have contributed (along with Disney) to the sorry state its in now. Cosmere and Sanderson doesnt have that type of fandom and i would assume they wont until theres an easily consumable adaption. The benefit of trying Brandons books now is that hes publishing new ones constantly and just his books can be your whole media diet. But these arent just for star wars fans , the themes and types of genres of books really cover a specrum that honestly can suit anyones taste and are digestable for anyone. I would recommend Warbreaker, Tress of the Emerald Sea , and Emperors Soul as the best places to start, instead of Mistborn and Stormlight. These are shorter novels that still give the vibe of his writing without having to commit to a larger story.
They're absolutely digestible for anyone, and that's one of the best parts about them! This video specifically focused on Star Wars fans that yearn for positivity and acceptance, because that's the community we've fostered over the years. Giving them another outlet for great stories!
I've had so many friends recommend Sanderson to me haha I've got like four of his books I just haven't made the time to start them. But I really enjoyed this, it got me excited to give one a go!
Mission accomplished then! haha. You'll have to keep me posted!
omg Alex I've been thinking for YEARS that you would love the Cosmere and that in some alternate reality you would be CosmereExplained haha
The Cosmere is amazing.
I've never been a fan of the Star wars books, but I am a massive fan of Sanderson. This is a really well put together video
Thanks so much! Two of my favorite things in the world
love this video! ❤
I have pretty much the journey. I started with Lost Stars. I did not think books were for me but somehow that book did it. But... like you said for yourself, I had that safety blanket. I didn't venture. Then, came Mistborn in 2022. And the rest is history. I think you and I would be great friends haha.
Love the content! Maybe there could be a Youtini booth at Dragonsteel Nexus one day??
Now THAT’S a manifestation we need!!
Another time I've been recommended Brando Sando. I really got to read more 😅 🧡
As a starwars fan and already an avid saderson reader and even content creator around his work I had to watch this video simply because the premise. Thanks for this!
I went through something really similar actually. I was a big reader in elementary and middle school only to fall off as I found myself not having the time nor drive to read for fun. Around COVID once my time cleared up, I decided to reread Percy Jackson, a favorite from my childhood. That was the first of many dominos to fall which eventually led me to getting into Star Wars books with the release of Light of the Jedi in 2021. 30 Star Wars books later and after having watched Game of Thrones, I was craving some classic fantasy books. That's where I found Brandon Sanderson (and Malazan, but that's a totally different discussion), and my life hasn't been the same since.
I did not expect this video Eric, but I am totally not complaining. :D The Cosmere is probably my favorite literary fictional universe outside of Star Wars
I’ve been a fan of the cosmere for about a couple of years. It’s my favorite shared universe besides Star Wars. I look forward to every book!
This was fascinating. I didn't know this about the Cosmere Universe. Sounds intriguing!
Love the personal story, and strong agree. As a long time Sanderson and even longer Star Wars fan, its fun seeing some one else whose pie charts of love over laps with my own. On the surface the two don't seem like they should necessarily over lap, but I feel like a big reason why is too many people view star wars a sci fi, while its really more of a space fanatasy. Sanderson has his sci fi books, but his core fantasy story has a lot of overlaps in what makes them great with star wars. I also feel like the nature of the cosmere and the expanded universe are similar in how you don't need to read them in any specific order outside of their own series, but each book series connects, even if subtly, with other books, expanding the lore and your understanding for all the books.
As an aside, Mistborn was by far my least favorite Sanderson book series. I loved book 3 of its original trilogy, Heroe of Ages, but found The Final Empire meh and The Well of Ascension actually kind of bad. But man oh man, most of his other works are terrific and the storm light archive is my favorite book series of any series of any genre. I have soooo many favorite star wars books, but none are quite as good as the Storm Light Archive books.
For me, as far as where to start I always recommend The Emperor's Soul, its a short story so very little commitment, but gives you a good feel for Sanderson's style, and is just in general a really solid story.
War Breaker isn't one of his best, but is also a solid story for some one who doesn't have access to a library and doesn't want to pay anything, as Sanderson released the entire book completely free. It' also got important cosmere lore in it, so worth reading eventually regardless.
I started with The Way of Kings, so that's a good start too, though it has a Light of the Jedi like start, which is to say, starts with a bunch of point of views and a lot of set up that can be tough, but your patience will be rewarded ten times over.
I know people who started with Mistborn and were so under whelmed by it that it tooks years for me to get them to give Sanderson another chance, so I'd never recommend starting with it, but that said, there are people who start with it and like it, so your mileage may vary.
Tress of the Emerald see is also a fine starting point, as its a single story one off, but its a little different then his other books, a sort of homage to the princess bride, so not AS reflective of his usual writing style.
I occasionally hear people recommend Elantris as its his first work, but while I actually enjoyed Elantris quite a bit (more then most if the internet is to be believed), like Mistborn it... shows how far Sanderson has come as an author when compared to his later works, as he makes a lot of beginner writing mistakes and you can feel it was written before he became successful enough to have lots of beta readers and top dollar editors, so like Mistborn, I feel its better to come back to it after your a Sanderson fan, then start with it, or you might be put off a bit.
What an epic Sanderson journey!! Yeah the entry point is always an interesting choice, isn't it? My mom started with Tress then just finished Mistborn Era 1, so I'll see where she goes from there.
I tried Way of Kings like two or three times before I really got addicted, and now Stormlight is my favorite series of all time. Definitely needed an easier start for my reading style.
Awesome video I've been thinking of reading Sanderson and this video got me really interested in reading mistborn.
@@Youtini Yeah while I started with Stormlight, its not what I'd generally recommend as a starting point, kind of a overwhelming beginning and its a huge commitment for an author you don't even know if you'll like yet. Obviously worked out for me, but I'd only recommend it to some one whose really committed to finishing the whole thing, not some one trying to gauge if they like his style.
My wife got put off by mistborn, but after several years of asking her to give him another chance, I got her to read Emperor's Soul and she loved it enough to give some of his other works another chance, and at this point she's a bigger Sanderson fan then me, so as you say, there doesn't seem to be a single best starting point for everyone, but I've yet to have some one who didn't like at least one of his recommended starters, and many of them ended up liking even the books they didn't like on first read way more after coming back to them years later with most other cosmere books under their belt, which I think is the beauty of the interconnected nature of the cosmere.
Havent read them but I have read books outside of Star Wars thanks to Extra Sci-Fis series this on my readlist for sure
Taln Did Not Break, Radiant!
Also: I’d argue that the Knights Radiant are, in a vital sense, a rethinking of the Jedi.
Ohhhhhhhhh I LIKE that
Eric anytime you ask why you should read the Percy Jackson universe, I'm just gonna point you back to this video because literally all the same points apply.
I wholeheartedly accept this.
I dont understand how you can say Star Wars fans are the most accepting. Star wars fandom has always been rife with gatekeeping, negativity towards women, and awful nostalgia goggles that have contributed (along with Disney) to the sorry state its in now. Cosmere and Sanderson doesnt have that type of fandom and i would assume they wont until theres an easily consumable adaption. The benefit of trying Brandons books now is that hes publishing new ones constantly and just his books can be your whole media diet. But these arent just for star wars fans , the themes and types of genres of books really cover a specrum that honestly can suit anyones taste and are digestable for anyone. I would recommend Warbreaker, Tress of the Emerald Sea , and Emperors Soul as the best places to start, instead of Mistborn and Stormlight. These are shorter novels that still give the vibe of his writing without having to commit to a larger story.
They're absolutely digestible for anyone, and that's one of the best parts about them! This video specifically focused on Star Wars fans that yearn for positivity and acceptance, because that's the community we've fostered over the years. Giving them another outlet for great stories!