How to read the Cosmere (2024)
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- I'm not gonna say you're doing it wrong reading in a different order. You're just not doing it right.
Full updated reading order below:
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The RAFOO:
1 - Elantris
2 - The Hope of Elantris
3 - The Emperor’s Soul
4 - White Sand Omnibus
5 - Mistborn: The Final Empire
6 - The Well of Ascension
7 - The Hero of Ages
8 - The Eleventh Metal
9 - Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
10 - Sixth of the Dusk
11 - Warbreaker
12 - The Way of Kings
13 - The Alloy of Law
14 - Words of Radiance
15 - Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania
16 - Shadows of Self
17 - Edgedancer
18 - Oathbringer
19 - The Bands of Mourning
20 - Mistborn: Secret History
21 - Dawnshard
22 - Rhythm of War
23 - The Lost Metal
24 - Tress of the Emerald Sea
25 - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
26 - The Sunlit Man 
Развлечения
Hi, Someone who read Sunlit Man before Stormlight here. I would like to preface I was in the middle of reading Mistborn Era 1 after finishing Wheel Of Time and thinking to myself, "Man this Brandon Sanderson guy killed the ending of WoT, I wonder if he's any good." I bought Mistborn and then shortly after the 10thish chapter I bought the other two. When I saw that he was doing a Secret Project and that he was going to publish 4 books in super nice additions I went ahead and bought them because I was that big of a fan of his writing. Anyway when Sunlit Man came out I had mayber read 5 chapters of Way of Kings, and let me tell you what, having no idea what Aux was, having no idea who Nomad was, and not realizing that the book took place in the future of the Cosmere as a whole until the Scadrians we're brought up was INSANE. I honestly think that due to Sunlit man i am just more excited to read Stormlight, but need to finish Era 2 first. In short, I told my wife it was like the first scene in a movie that shows you the future before going to the past, and I'm keeping to that thought as I go to start Way of Kings over again.
That’s such an interesting perspective! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your reading, mate.
That’s the strangest way I’ve ever seen anyone start the cosmere. Makes me wonder what abominations of reading orders we’re gonna see once it goes full on the sci-fi angle.
Anyways welcome to the club airsick lowlander. Get your tissues, go to the storm shelter, take a deep Breath, and enjoy painting Nightmares with Hoid. Oh, and be careful when you lie. It attracts the humming weirdos
Very cool! Although I might suggest waiting for mistborn era 2 ( at least just the final book ) until you've read some stormlight. Since that final book goes hard on the connections haha! But it's not 100% necessary
@@0Arman0 I appreciate the heads up lol.
People are way to obsessed with trying to make people have the optimal reading order to get the most out of the connections
I came into it completely blind. I randomly picked the Way of Kings, I had never heard of Brandon Sanderson and I had never seen any social media about the Cosmere... I completed the whole Cosmere in three months I was hooked.
Nice work!
You could make a case for Tress of the Emerald Sea being an introduction to the Cosmere since it's just such a great standalone story. You can read Tress FIRST then go through all of the Cosmere, then read Tress AGAIN and just smile at all the easter eggs you didn't even realize you missed the first time.
Absolutely.
I'm late to the party and have only read Tress of the Emerald Sea so far.
The Princess Bride is an all time favorite so I was told to read Tress and I adored it.
Doing a book swap with a friend, gave them Tress to hopefully entice them in to the Cosmere. I agree its a good starting point although probably feels weird if you don't have any context for who Hoid is, since he is narrating it as someone familiar to you.
I live in Utah, and, if you can believe it, I had never heard of this Sandreson guy (I was more of a syfy reader). Walked into a Barns&Nobel near his home town where there is a freaking Wall of Sanderson books. Decided to read his first book to see what the hype was all about. Soon after reading Elantris I went out and bought the entire Cosmere catalog. I found your video and will be doing the RAFOO.
Excellent! I'd love to hear how the order works for you!
much like your curiosity about "person who read sunlit man before stormlight", i'm the Fool who read Alloy of Law before Mistborn Era 1.
It was fantastic; Brandon did a great job explaining allomancy again without going into the nitty-gritty details unless it was new information, so i still got to enjoy stuff being revealed when i went back to Era 1, like Duralumin with a mistborn.
Also if you watch the book club for Sunlit Man, on the panel the audiobook narrator had never read any cosmere books. It's about as funny as you would expect.
I second this! The guy is awesome but he looked lost a bit in the second part of that book club.😅
@@Arezoo298195 I felt so bad for him when they got into the weeds about something. 😂 “so is investiture a thing? Because I had to say that A LOT” this poor man 😂
*FASCINATING*
Specifically I like:
1) Secret History immediately after Hero of Ages. Because I typically also read Mistborn Era 2 AFTER Stormlight the big reveal spoiled doesn't matter much because it sorta comes up in Stormlight.
2)I always recommend Warbreaker between WoK and WoR, again, I read Mistborn Era 2 after the Stormlight Archive. So Warbreaker gives me something to break up the first 2 SLA books while also preparing you for more than one point in WoR where Warbreaker matters - one very obvious and one that is less obvious but I caught pretty immediately because I had JUST read Warbreaker.
3) I read Emperor's Soul between The Bands of Mourning and The Lost Metal. It maximizes the impact of certain things in The Lost Metal.
Nice, putting the set-ups for the big reveals closer. Not a terrible idea.
It was great meeting you at Dragonsteel this year. I did a reading order in which I stayed on planets until the stories wrapped up (Sel, Taldain, Scadrial, you know the drill). Included the three unpublished projects fans can get access to (White Sand Prose, Aether of Night and tWoK Prime)
Now that I am done, would like to try this order, but insert secret history as it happens
You gotta see if you can get your hands on Mistborn Prime. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Sir. I wanted to thank you again for this video. I jumped into the Cosmere at the end of last year (after finishing WoT) and have followed your suggestion to a t. I have enjoyed every minute of reading. I am a little over a third of the way there (through Part One of The Way of Kings) and there is no turning back.
That makes me so happy to hear!!!
You should give the Sunlit Man Book Club episodes a watch if you haven't - they feature the voice actor for the audio book and he had never read Sanderson before. They often ask his unique opinion and it's exactly what you were looking for!
I'll for sure watch them!
As always, I recommend: If you are a plot-driven reader, start with Mistborn; if you are a character-driven reader, start with Elantris, Warbreaker, Tress, Yumi, or Emperor's Soul
Great advice.
Elantris takes a loooooooong time to start getting you invested in the characters at all
@@electricant55 You're definitely in the minority on that opinion. The first 2 chapters have a) main character dies and gets shipped to the city of the dead, but he's not really dead? Instant interest and investment in the character. and b) pov changes to a woman who finds out her betrothed prince she has never met has died and she's inheriting his station... except we know he isn't dead! instant investment for both characters. My wife, who struggled to get into Mistborn because the character development takes like 3/4 of a book to even start getting interesting, immediately was invested in Elantris by chapter 2, and she's a very very character focused reader.
Only Hrathen takes a while to get invested in since we don't really know why we're supposed to care about his character except as a foil to Sarene - until he starts to develop into one of the best characters in the whole cosmere.
But it's all subjective
@@Akatsuu I’m usually in the minority but hey, maybe I’m not the only one. It also took me a very long time to get over my dislike for Vin. For what it’s worth Sarene is great and definitely carried the book early on for me
Haven’t read everything yet but this is my approach: the MCU phases approach (minor spoilers to explain my wider cosmere narrative reasoning):
Phase 1: Getting to know key characters and the different worlds without actually understanding what’s going on yet.
- Final Empire,
- Elantris,
- Warbreaker,
- Eleventh Metal,
- WoK. Stormlight closes the phase because it’s the best series and with the most crossover material. Sort of how I view the Avengers movies.
Phase 2: this is when more Easter eggs start to appear and the series actually start developing more. Although you don’t yet know exactly what the Cosmere mechanics are in total but you learn more about what shards are (especially after getting a reveal that one is dead at the end of WoK and Elantris, and starting with the other two Mistborn books in era 1 actually helps you to understand more of those but still keeps the surprise of ‘Oh shit, there’s some bad guy out there slaying these gods!):
- WoA,
- HoA, (difficult to split the two, but Final Empire worked well enough as a standalone)
- Hope of Elantris, (so we don’t forget about them)
- Emp Soul, (introduces clearer concepts about the cosmere with the different realms)
- Whitesand, (introduces Kriss)
- WoR (Avengers like, great ‘post credits scene crossover stingers),
- the arcanum essays by Kriss for Scadrial, Sel, Taldain and lastly Roshar, leading directly into…
- Edgedancer as a pallet cleanser (similar to Antman)
Phase 3: Here’s when things actually start making more sens and the cosmere wide narrative starts becoming more of the forefront but not yet. This is basically the beginning of the second act of the cosmere in my opinion.
- Mistborn Secret History (stand in for the first trilogy since that is over now but era 2 should come later)
- Tress (haven’t read it but by what people have said, seems to be a good place to put it that’s not at the very end, and serves as a buffer between two very heavy reads.)
- Oathbringer
- Either Sixth of the dusk or Shadows for silence. Idk which since I haven’t read them
- Dawnshard
- Rhythm of War (have not read yet but seems like it would fit)
- Allow of Law
- Allomancer Jack (both set in Era 2 of Mistborn and sort of a buffer/pallet cleanser, but reading Secret History before keeps the cosmere intrigue in the back of your mind)
Phase 4: Getting to the cosmere midpoint, so this might be the most bombastic one. As of now Stormlight 5 hasn’t been released, but knowing Mistborn era 2 occurs after it makes me wanna do something like this:
- Stormlight 5 (opening with a bang!)
- Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning back to back)
- Shadows or Sixth, whichever one wasn’t read before, and the one later in the timeline)
- Lost Metal (also haven’t read it but assume there’s big stuff in it)
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
- Sunlit Man (last in the timeline from what I’ve heard and fits the bookend pattern that each of my phases had, also sets up the next releases the best, since it’s also the last published one with the exception of Stormlight 5)
Phase 6: The back half of the cosmere, and for this I’d probably follow release order
I really like that approach actually! Breaking it up into phases is a cool idea!
@@TheCosmerenaut Thanks! I had the idea since I started reading each series' first book first and doing that got me excited for the cosmere as a whole rather than as individual series. Plus I think WoK is one of the best so having it early on but not too early works best for me.
I started with Mistborn, then went into Warbreaker and Stormlight. The short stories and other eras had been sprinkled around those. My monthly reread is usually close to your RAFOO order , Steve!
You reread the cosmere *every month???*
@@TheCosmerenaut Well... monthly is perhaps an exaggeration. But in 2023 I reread the entirety of the Cosmere with each subsequent release of the Secret Project Novels. I've relistened to Stormlight more than any other person i know. I may or may not have a problem. It's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine here.
I've started with mistborn, and I'm in the middle of the well of ascention and warbreaker, but I think I like your reading order best because of how you go between long series and short stories 😊
Howdy. My mom, who hasn't read Sanderson before the secret projects, wanted to read Sunlit Man despite my warnings. She was very confused but still enjoyed it for the action.
I mean, it's a good book regardless! The confusion is warranted.
So... I just finished my first full read. I picked up your bookmark at Dragonsteel. I have a plan for an art project using it. I want to start at the beginning, and do an illustration for every chapter of every book. I'll keep you posted.
Woah, that sounds amazing! I'd love to see it!
I started with Stormlight, read all 4 including the novellas. Then I read Elantris, but then I deviated from the Cosmere to read other things. With Wind and Truth upon us, I am going to start the Cosmere over, doing this reading order. I feel like I've missed a lot not reading Mistborn yet, but I am going to rectify that while also doing a re-read of my favorite series ever as well (Stormlight).
Man, I feel like I've been reading in a messy haphazard order and I feel overwhelmed, but after wacthing this video is feels like a slightly more organized kind of overwhelmed? And I wanted to read Sunlit Man before the end of the year, but because I'm so far behind in the Stormlight Archives and haven't read any of those novellas, I think i'm going to wait. Thanks.
There's always another book.
Though honestly, if you're super jazzed about reading Sunlit Man, don't let someone else's prescribed order stand in your way. Read what you want!
@@TheCosmerenaut Thanks! But it's good to know I might get a bit more out of it if I wait. I found most of the last Era 2 Mistborn book kind fo confusing. I think it had a lot of Cosmere stuff I hadn't encountered yet.
I first read his first two Wheel Of Time books (when they came out) then was curious what his own epic fantasy would look like and waited for the paperback of Way of Kings (I kick myself now for not buying the hardcover as I have hardcovers for the subsequent Stormlight books). After that I went back and read everything else he had published (except Alcatraz which I got to later). So my order is Way of Kings, Elantris, The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero Of Ages, Warbreaker, and then publication order after than (as soon as I could get my hands on them).
With a year to go before Stormlight 5 comes out, I am contemplating a re-read of the Cosmere. But, as I usually read about 24 books per year, re-reading those would mean not making any kind of dent in my TBR pile. But I feel like a re-read is needed so that I can see the connections as I read future books. Hmmm.
Thanks for your, as always entertaining, thoughts and especially for the RAFOOO!
You can always just watch my Cosmere Connections series! Rhythm of War should be coming soon; I (finally) finished my reread a couple days ago.
I read "Shadows for Silence" first, the the first "Mistborn" trilogy. Now I'm gonna read "Tress" and "Warbreaker". I don't know what I'm doing, but it's been nice so far.
Ooh, Shadows for Silence is a bold place to start! Have fun!
Interesting, my only real gripe with this order is that I'm a big proponent for reading Secret History right after you finish Era 1. It works great as a capstone on everything you just experienced. That's what I did when I first read Era 1, and it was definitely to by benefit. It also helped me better understand the greater workings of the cosmere, especially when combined with what we learn in The Emperor's Soul.
With all the comments saying that (which are totally valid), I think I'll do a video with an "All of Era 1 at once" reading order.
Yeah, personally I think it should be read before Bands at least. I know it came out after Bands so people who were current in the Cosmere got it later, but for me at least I don't think the reveal at the end of Bands would have landed well if I hadn't already read Secret History. Sure it's less surprising with Secret History first, but I think it being dropped with basically no forshadowing would have been too jarring and unbelievable for me.
My Cosmere intro was the original Mistborn trilogy! Was hooked pretty immediately, and worked up to current before Alloy of Law came out :D
That's how I first started too!
you know, I preferer man carrying thing's reading order.
Warbreaker Order. *shudder*
What is Warbreaker Order?
I just jumped into the deep end and started with stormlight. Im on oathbringer now and i havent even touched any of the novelas or other series. However im thinking after oathbringer ill start branching out
It's in Oathbringer that things really start to connect, so I'd recommend that.
By way of an introduction, while the name Brandon Sanderson is familiar to me (mainly from that ridiculously huge Kickstarter campaign of his a few years ago, which I followed, but ended up not backing), I haven't read any of his stuff before. Then this morning, one of his recent videos randomly popped up in my YT feed, where he's introducing and talking about his just launched Backerkit campaign.
That of course led to another video of his, where he introduces HIS suggested reading order. And now your video appears in my list, with yet another take on this.
Anyway: I find it wild that the dude's written so many interconnected books that you need a spreadsheet to keep track of the timeline, and that people actually have in-depth discussions (including from the author himself!) on the correct order of reading them, of which no two seem to agree.
Yeah, maybe it's time I jumped on the bandwagon. The list of unread books on my Kindle has fallen below 50 for the first time in probably a decade or more, so I'll need a new batch soon anyway 🙂
(I'll probably keep to Brandons suggested reading order though, no offense. He should be the expert here, after all)
Brandon's reading order is a lot more loosey goosey than what I propose in this video, but there's no bad way to get into the cosmere! He also included some of his non-cosmere work (other fiction outside of the big interconnected universe), which I also totally recommend. Good luck!
I went with Sanderson’s recommended reading order and started with Mistborn era 1. Now I might go with your reading order after finishing it, but I’m so confused 😅😮💨 I’m usually careful to follow a proper timeline/reading order.
This order is not my "convice someone to read Sanderson" reading order; this one is my "so you know you want to read the whole thing, but don't know where to start" reading order. For those who aren't sure, I usually recommend Mistborn as a good jumping off point.
Just discovered you today. Now subscribed. Love this.
Welcome aboard!
I thoroughly enjoyed Sanderson's Steelheart series and started his Cytoverse series shortly after. Unfortunately the free reading service I was using only had the first two books, and due to other factors I ended up not reading much of anything since (about 2 years ago). Once I finish the Cytoverse I will definitely check out the Cosmere series. I tend to prefer Sci-fi but I'm certain I would enjoy a well-done fantasy in Sanderson's style
I only recently read "Tress...", my first Sanderson work. I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to read more. I may utilize this suggested order. Thanks.
Tress is GREAT. Top 5 Sanderson for me.
The actual correct reading order is whatever you want. Reading something "out of order" for a series just means you'll pick up on stuff that you read previously that you didn't notice on the initial read through.
Absolutely right. This is my recommended order to pick up most of those connections the first time through.
I think I'd move Secret history to right after the original trilogy. I read it way later, and I'd forgotten some of the plotpoints we were now seeing from a different POV. That was a damper on my reading experience for sure
That's the one potential modification I would make; I just love the Bands of Mourning reveal.
I started with Mistborn. They weee the first books of Brandon’s I was introduced to. And it was mostly by accident. A friend took the book out of the library because he wanted a book to read.
This is when stormlight was still in its infancy. I read mistborn 1-3, alloy of law, and WoK then. WoR shortly thereafter. Then Elantris, warbreaker, and white sand all around the same time a few years later. (Do not recall which order specifically.) then I pretty much read everything else on publication order. Except the secret projects. Have only read Yumi thus far. But will be getting to the rest hopefully soon.
TRESS IS SO GOOD.
I jumped straight into Stormlight right off the heels of finishing Wheel of Time. Before doing my reread I’m reading some more of Brandon’s books to get all the references
There are MANY references, particularly once you hit Rhythm of War.
Mistborn era 1
Warbreaker
Elantris
Stormlight 1-2(read edge dancer after 2)
Mistborn era 2
Aracnum Unbounded(All the short stories)
Stormlight 3-4(read dawnshard after 3)
Secret Projects
Simple and easy, no need to stretch the video in order to have a long runtime.
If only longer videos actually did as well.
I started with the way of kings. That's where I tell everyone to start because... it's awesome
Can't argue with that.
>there's no wrong place to start reading the cosmere
got it, I'll start with Knights of Wind And Truth when that comes out. Thanks a lot!
I TAKE IT BACK!
As i hate jumping beetween series, the only point i differ is reading the entire Stormlight archive saga right after warbreaker, and then Mistborn era 2 after that. That way i read It in chronological order in the cosmere, and i leave Lost metal to read last and be able to fully understand and enjoy It.
That's what I initially toyed with, but eventually landed on interspersing them for the Thaidakar reveals.
I got the audio book Mistborn 1, with a couple of fantasy books that I was planning on going through, got hooked. Went through all of Mistborn era 1 and 2, then picked up Stormlight without going to the other series I got with Mistborn yet.
Nice! Sounds like you're enjoying the journey!
As someone who is loving Steve's Timeline, Reading Order and Cosmere Connections, I have been going down memory lane when I started reading Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere. The following is what I did to begin with, mixed with newer knowledge:
1 - The Emperor's Soul (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
2 - Elantris
3 - Hope of Elantris (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
4 - White Sand Omnibus
5 - The Eleventh Metal (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
6 - Mistborn: The Final Empire
7 - Mistborn: Well of Ascension
8 - Mistborn: Hero of Ages
9 - Mistborn: Secret History (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
10 - Warbreaker
11 - Stormlight: The Way of Kings
12 - Mistborn: The Alloy of Law
13 - Allomancer Jak & the Pits of Eltania (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
14 - Stormlight: Words of Radiance
15 - Edgedancer (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
16 - Mistborn: Shadows of Self
17 - Stormlight: Oathbringer
18 - Mistborn: Bands of Mourning
19 - Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
20 - Dawnshard
21 - Sixth of the Dusk (*Included in Arcanum Unbounded)
22 - Stormlight: Rhythm of War
23 - Mistborn: The Lost Metal
24 - Stormlight: Knights of Wind & Truth {Release Date: December 06th, 2024}
25 - Tress of the Emerald Sea
26 - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
27 - The Sunlit Man
Based on what we know of the future Cosmere Installments:
- The Night Brigade (Will need to be read before The Sunlit Man and after Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell)
- Kingmaker (Will need to be read after Sixth of the Dusk)
- Nightblood (Will need to be read between Stormlight: The Way of Kings and Stormlight: Words of Radiance)
- Elantris 2 & 3 (Will need to be read after The Hope of Elantris and before Mistborn Era 3)
- Mistborn 8, 9 & 10 (Will need to be read after Elantris 2 & 3)
- Horneater (Will need to be read after Stormlight: Oathbringer and before Stormlight: Rhythm of War)
- Mistborn 11, 12 & 13 (Will need to be read after The Sunlit Man)
- Book of Nails (Will need to be read after Mistborn: The Alloy of Law and before Mistborn: Bands of Mourning)
- Untitled Lopen Novella (Will need to be read between Stormlight: The Way of Kings and Stormlight: Words of Radiance)
- Stormlight 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 (Will need to be read after Elantris 2 & 3 and Mistborn 8, 9 & 10)
- Dragonsteel 1, 2 & 3 (Will need to be read before The Emperor's Soul)
- Aether of Night (Will need to be read either before Mistborn: The Lost Metal)
- The Silence Divine (Will need to be read between Stormlight 8 & 9)
Of course, there is so much more, but these are what I would say are the Cosmere Installments, we know that Brandon has teased over the years.
Dang, you did your research! That's an impressive compilation!
I did this literally off by memory as I was on a road trip and didn’t even need to open up my Cosmere Notebook that holds all of my research since 2018.
Hot Take: I kinda think that reading Secret History after you read Mistborn Era One is the way to go.
Yeah I know it kinda spoils a big reveal, but Secret History ties in so well with Era One and I found the first time I read secret history after reading Bands of Mourning I had a hard time remembering what order things happened in during Era One.
But when I started the cosmere I read in publication order (though I saved Stormlight for last because it was the one I was most excited to read and then read all of them back to back).
TLDR; I kinda believe that you wont catch all the easter eggs and things on a first read anyway so a reader should just read in whatever order they want/ are most comfortable with
Totally valid, I remember having the same trouble. The Bands of Mourning reveal is just *so good.*
I get why people put it later. But I think people should read Mistborn secret history directly after era one
I get why people put it earlier. I just know when I finished Bands of Mourning I was *ravenous* to dive in to Secret History.
Let's gooo I was hoping for an updated reading order
I got it just for you!
NICE. This is pretty much how I'm recommending it to my friends/family that don't read quite as much. It's nice to break up the BEEF of Stormlight for them.
Stormlight is huge and overwhelming for the uninvested.
I started reading Brandon's work this year. My friend recommended The Emperor's Soul as a "microcosm" of his work [it was fantastic!].
After that, I read Tress of the Emerald Sea, which was great too. I'm skipping Mistborn [I'm not keen on heist stories] and heading straight to Stormlight later this year. I'm sure it'll be epic🎉
I got my brother started on Emperor's Soul and just barely lent it to another one of my friends. It's a great starting point!
Great stuff! But I feel like should mention that I don't think Tress and the Emerald Sea would be a good place to start, only because there is a big spoiler for the first Mistborn Trilogy, although I'm not sure how much someone would understand if they hadn't read the trilogy. It involves a name drop of one of the characters. Other than that, I totally would think that Tress is a fun starting point.
Totally fair point. I figured starting there that name drop would be a one-off that would be unlikely to be remembered.
Another fantastic video! Thank you!
Thank you! And you're welcome!
I started on way of kings, and now on rythem of war before realizing just how big this universe is. Now I have *a lot* of books to go through
There's always another (cosmere novel).
I started with Stormlight because I heard the Feast scene in an audiobook. I couldn't get the idea of such a unique power system out of my head, and bought the 3 paperback set from Amazon. Tore through them abnormally quick, then got into Mistborn. Finished Era 1, read Warbreaker, then Mistborn Era 2.
Nice! Keep going!
I don’t get why people say read secret history after BoM. The only ‘surprise’ shouldn’t be a surprise because there’s already stuff in alloy of law about it and secret history has far more impact when read directly after era 1.
It's the most controversial thing in the entire reading order conversation.
Very interesting how you combine Mistborn II and Stormlight. I'm now finishing Rythm of War and then I'll go fot The Lost Metal.
The order I've followed has been:
Mistborn I
Secret History (I don't regret reading it here, but I don't recommend it, for the plot)
Mistborn II
Elantris
The hope of Elantris
Emperor's Soul
Warbraker (my favorite)
The way of kings
Words of radiance
Edgedancer
Oathbringer
Dawnshard
(here I did the rereading of Secret History)
Rythm of war
Ooh Lost Metal gets *connectedy.* Enjoy!
I read the cosmere in its intended way. One page at a time.
What's the most important page?
@@TheCosmerenaut the next one.
I love that you have a patreon supporter named Doug
He was my first one too! And then Brandon out shout-outed my shout-outs.
Kudos on saying that first word xD I started on Mistborn but I probably would have been fine on SA. The RAFOO is a great suggestion though, and I'll probably use it for my kiddos.
This definitely isn't my "convince someone to read the Cosmere" order, but if they already know they want to dive in for the whole thing, this one's good.
I got this weird preview book at my bookstore that was half stormlight, half Mistborn. I went from Mistborn to stormlight and then started gathering up books as I found out about them.
I've got one of those! Glad it served its purpose for you!
as helpful as all of these guides are, i would recommend just starting where you feel is right (keeping in mind you’re not starting in the middle of a series obviously). the rest would come to you naturally.
i picked up the way of kings randomly and i didnt know anything about the cosmere. i completed the stormlight archive in 2 months, just reading warbreaker in between. dont be freaked out by the size of things or if people tell you that it’s a huge commitment. the books are very easy to read so it doesnt matter where you start.
i wouldnt change anything about reading the way of kings first. it showed me the peak of sanderson’s writing and the best reading experience of my life. noticing connections is not nearly as important as enjoying the story. i went on and i’m currently about 50% done with the rest of the cosmere and i’m still enjoying it!
Totally agree. The best place to start is with the book that interests you the most.
I am still going through stuff (haven’t read the secret projects, RoW or Lost Metal, and currently going through the stuff on Arcanum Unbounded).
My reading order when I read it (out of convenience and what I was interested in following was):
Final Empire/Mistborn
Elantris
The Way of Kings
Warbreaker
Words of Radiance
Well of Ascension
Hero of Ages
Edgedancer
Oathbringer
Allow of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning
Secret History
Emperor’s Soul
Dawnshard
The Hope of Elantris
Eleventh Metal
Allomancer Jack
Currently have started White Sand and plan on going through the rest of the Arcanum Novellas if I have time before getting my hands on Rhythm of War. Then I plan on reading Yumi since I own it, Lost Metal, Tress and Sunlit man.
My reading order was very much focused on variety rather than reading a full series all at once. I took the MCU approach where I let myself become Invested on each planet and characters separately and gradually started making connections between the stories that way. Although idk if I’d actually recommend reading it that way
Reading based on interest is totally a valid way to go! This wouldn't be what I recommend to get someone into the cosmere, only what I'd say if they knew they already wanted to read everything.
I started The Way of Kings on Audible after looking up highly reviewed fantasy, then WOR, then Mistborn Era 1, then maybe Elantris and Warbreaker. I think I got Oathbringer upon publication.
You caught up!
I read Stormlight 1&2
Warbreaker
Edgedancer
Oathbringer
Dawnshard
Rhythm of War
Mistborn 1-3
Everything in Ars Arcanum except Allomancer Jak, Elantris stuff, and White Sand
Mistborn 4
Allomancer Jak
Mistborn 5-7
Elantris
Elantris Essay and Hope of Elantris
Tress
White Sand
Yumi
Sunlit
I started with The way of kings till Oathbringer and then i jumped to the rest of the cosmere waiting for the Rythm of war hehehhe
At least my problem starting with SA and then Mistborn was that i was already too invested (pun intended) with everything happening on Roshar for mistborn to hook me as it deserved 🤷♀ I love Sazed tho
Silence and Emperor souls are one of my fav too haha ,
You dove into the deep end and dog paddled back to the shallows! (While also somehow going deeper? I dunno, this metaphor fell apart fairly quickly.)
I really want emperor's soul to be a movie
It wouldn't be that tough! Most of it happens in one room!
I was given a "well-read" TWOK book by a friend and told, "You will like this". However, the book sat for two years on my shelf because the back-cover blurb did not entice me. Then, after watching The Wheel of Time TV adaptation, I wanted to read the novel instead. However, I didn't want an ebook but rather a physical book. Then, serendipity struck when Sanderson's name popped up when searching for Robert Jordan. At that moment, I turned and looked at my shelf, saw the TWOK book sitting there, and decided to give it a shot. I cannot begin to explain the emotions when the Sanderlanche came and I was officially hooked. I am now caught up with Stormlight, Warbreaker, Mistborn Era 1, and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. Currently speeding through Mistborn Era 2 after a lukewarm start at the end of Era 1.
Welcome to the fandom!
Decided to jump on the Sanderson band wagon some 5-10 years ago, after how well he finished WoT. I believe I first read mistborn, then Elantris, then Warbreaker (and Reckoners). After that I felt ready to tackle Stormlight, and have been following in publication order mostly. Still waiting for the secret project to be release in pocket form over here.
Where's over here?
@@TheCosmerenautSweden. But I'm reading all his work in English, so it's mostly a matter of when bookstores here manage to bring them in.
Ah, that would definitely make it more difficult.
I read in this order
1. Mistborn era1
2. Elantria + hope of elantris
3. Emperor's soul
4. Way of the kings
5. Warbreaker
6. Words of Radiance
7. Edgedancer
8. Sixth of the dusk (currently)
9. Oathbringer (next)
Is this order ok! Or am i missing something?
Start with Whitesand!
*Hard Mode Selected*
I read Elantris, then The Emperor's Soul, then Mistborn era 1 and then Tress of the Emerald Sea and maybe i'm dumb but i didn't knew Hoid until Tress...
Hoid was significantly more background until Stormlight, and never as main a character as he was in Tress. You're fine.
Using TFE as a standalone is just fantastic, I love it xdd
It can totally function that way, with the promise of more if you want it.
My sister recently finished Sunlit Man, she has never read the Stormlight Archive (or any Cosmere books for that matter). I have yet to ask for her review, but it was good enough that she took my recommendation to read Mistborn.
Nice! Let me know her thoughts!
Her review of Sunlit Man goes like this: "I wasn't confused, but I went in knowing there was more there. Nomad was a good character and had a full arch in the book, but again I knew there was more out there." She would not recommend as a starting point to anyone who is intimidated by the size of the Cosmere (her way to subtly flex about what a big reader she is).@@TheCosmerenaut
Omg i love your shirt❤❤
And i bought way of kings im just struggling with what seems to be an abundance of bug type creatures in that world 😢 i have mistborn too im just struggling which to really start with honesty
Between the two, I'd recommend starting with Mistborn. The learning curve for Way of Kings is *steep.*
I started with Mistborn, then went into the stormlight archives
Right into the deep end!
My preferred reading order is by Goodreads ranking order.
Ascending or Descending? Either way, you've got some wackiness happening with different series.
"*Heightening* the upsides" - I see what you did there, lol
I chose that word intentionally. Nice catch!
So far, I've read mistborn eras 1 and 2 and nothing else. I already bought the full storm light archive, so it will be next. NGL, im a little intimidated by how thick the stormlight books are.
They're thick, yes, but they are also good. ALL SO GOOD.
I too would be interested to hear someone's thoughts on Sun Lit Man if they had never read Stormlight. I think they would still enjoy the story, but it will not hit the same way.
Not at all.
We've got someone who did just that! Check out the pinned comment.
I've been introducing the Cosmere to friends with this reading order if they have no preference between a "short" trilogy, or a big epic fantasy series. The list is built to reduce breaks between books of the same series because to me it kills a lot of people's momentum when reading. That's why when Stormlight 5 comes out, it will probably go straight after Stormlight 4 in my reading order.
I guess the main point of contention would be "When do I read Mistborn Secret History ?", and I went with the same rule as above for that: group up what relates to the same series. To me it's also the perfect epilogue for Era 1 as it introduces a lot of concepts while being vague enough that new readers won't make the connections when those elements appear down the line, and I'm of the opinion that the spoiler for Era 2 in this short story isn't a big deal.
One other thing to note is that White Sand is absent because none of my friends are graphic novel enthusiasts, and I'm not either so I haven't read it yet.
MAIN COSMERE TIMELINE:
Mistborn Era 1: The Final Empire
Mistborn Era 1: The Well of Ascension
Mistborn Era 1: The Hero of Ages
Mistborn: Secret History
Warbreaker
Stormlight Archive 1: The Way of Kings
Stormlight Archive 2: Words of Radiance
Edgedancer
Stormlight Archive 3: Oathbringer
Dawnshard
Stormlight Archive 4: Rhythm of War
Elantris (+ Hope of Elantris)
The Emperor's Soul
Mistborn Era 2: The Alloy of Law
Mistborn Era 2: Shadows of Self
Mistborn Era 2: The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn Era 2: The Lost Metal
STANDALONES:
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell => Whenever
Sixth of the Dusk => Whenever
Tress of the Emerald Sea => Whenever, but better after Elantris (and The Lost Metal to a lesser extent)
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter => Whenever, but better after Stormlight 3
The Sunlit Man => Whenever, but better after Stormlight 4 and Warbreaker
Solid! I'll be making an alternate reading order video to address the Secret History placement. It's absolutely the most divisive book for reading orders.
My recommended reading order is: Look at the blurbs and read what sounds the most interesting to you (just don't start with Shadows of Self or with The Way of Kings Part 2)
Honestly this is probably the best answer. The way to hook is to play to the interests. 🤷♀️ just plain truth.
That's exactly what Brandon says.
War breaker order is the only order that will ever make sense to me
I legally cannot prevent you from reading that way. So I've been told.
@@TheCosmerenaut haha
Twas I who rounded up the thumbs ups to 500 hundred ! You are welcome.
My hero!
i went through the sandoverse kinda eraticly
1 the rithmatist
2 elantris
3 emperors soul
4 alcatraz
5 the entire stormlight archive + novelas
6 tress of the emerald sea
7 white sands
8 mistborn era 1
9 wax and wyne 1
currently reading the second
as well as
snapshot and secret histories
yumi is on hold
I got really messed up but...
'the most important book is the next one'
Always the next one.
this is the one i made and will follwo in any read throughs i do
The emperor’s soul
Tress of the emerald sea
Elantris
Mistborn 1
Eleventh metal
Mistborn 2
Mistborn 3
White sand
sixth of dusk
Shadows for silence in the forests of hell (
Stormlight 1
Mistborn era2 1
Allomancer Jak
Stormlight 2
Mistborn era2 2
Yumi and the Nightmare painter
Stormlight 2.5
Stormlight 3
Mistborn era2 3
Stormlight 3.5
Stormlight 4
Secret history
Mistborn era2 4
Stormlight 5
Sun lit man any suggestions?
Mine was pretty weird i think -
Elantris
Way of Kings
Mistborn Era 1
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer
Oathbringer
Arcanum Unbounded
Tress
Alloy of Law
Rhythm of War
End of Mistborn era 2
Yumi
Sunlit man
Woo, that's jumping around a bit. You gotta read Warbreaker now!
Did i miss it or did you forget mistborn secret history because.... like i feel thats required reeding before the lost metal and stormlight 5
I put Secret History directly after Bands of Mourning, because that reveal is too delicious to spoil earlier.
Hello random Internet man. I'll trust your order and begin finally. Hopefully I'll be done by Stormlight 5
I'm glad my role as a random internet mad holds so much clout.
would the Reckoners trilogy fall in there anywhere or would it just be its own? That's how I found out about his works.
Reckoners is not in the cosmere, so you can read it whenever you'd like. Have you read Mitosis, the short story?
This is basicly the reading order i rechamend to people I suspect will become obsessed.
For non obsessed people I focus more on themes and gradually opening their eyes to the cosmere instead of steam rolling them. At least not to much. baslicly the only difference is to read mistborn era 2 and stormlight as complete units instead of mixing them together and reading tress early and yumi shortly after stormlight.
At some point I need to create a data base of books where each book has all the books you should read before you read that one and after you create that one and determine the number of possible valid reading orders
Yeah, this isn't my "convince someone to read the cosmere" order. This is the "so you already know you want to read the whole cosmere" order.
there is a wrong way, and its strict reverse publication order
There was something lurking in my nightmares. I didn't know what it was until I read this comment.
Already read Mistborn era 1 and making my way through Elantris now, do I have to reread anything from Mistborn later
Nah, you should be fine. The first trilogy was when the different series were fairly insular, and anything you miss would likely be reviewed by Secret History or Era 2.
Honestly, I think Warbreaker after WoK but before WoR. Those 2 SA books are good with a break, and allows you to pull the obscure WoR references a bit easier.
Agreed. Though alternatively, for someone looking to jump right into meatiness of SA first but want a taste before the commitment, WB fits nicely as a first read but still close enough to WoR to pick up the references.
This is the right order, but it's not the only right order.
In Sanderson's navigating the cosmere 2024 he suggests that Sunlit Man is meant to be read before Wind and Truth. Thoughts on this?
Put simply: I'm terrified for Stormlight 5.
Today I found out we’ve got 26 stories in the Cosmere already. Good god we’re getting up there huh?
There's always another *cosmere story.
Should I read Wax and Wayne right after the Mistborn trilogy if I don’t care about how long the Stormlight archive is? I can’t seem to get a consistent answer to this.
Sure! Fundamentally, read it where you want to. If you're really enjoying the setting of Mistborn, continuing on the same planet is a great idea. In fact, that's how I suggested reading it before this order. And in fact, my most recent reading order tweak.
I like Stormlight way better than Mistborn. If i "read" Mistborn first I may not have searched out the cosmere. Now I did like mistborn book 1 and I liked how the series ended and the following series, but I remember greatly disliking mistborn book 2 and almost quit the series. It is probably my least favorite book in the cosmere though the Reckoners is my least favorite Sanderson series in general (though i no longer remember much about it)
Btw I got hooked on Sanderson simply by picking Way of Kings as my free audible trial due to its length and the quick preview.😉
i started with stormlight which i have no issues with however i wonder if i should go back and relisten to them so i can try to grab more of the nod to the other stories. do you think it would be worth doing i feel like for some easter eggs i might be better just looking them up 😅
I mean, I always recommend a re-read. Though if that's too much, check out my Cosmere Connections series! I go pretty in depth on the Stormlight Archive.
@@TheCosmerenaut I’ll have to check it out. Im sure I’ll end up diving back into the series anyway because without being too dramatic it was life altering in a way
100%
Is steelheart not in the cosmere universe? 🤔 where does that go if it is…
It is not. That's in its own separate universe.
I’ve only read Mistborn Era 1 and heard of Hoid before, but can’t recall it anywhere in Mistborn. If it really knocks you on the head then I’m an idiot. I planned on SA for a read along up to SA 5 and probably wouldn’t have time for Era 2 between them. Would you recommend them before or after reading SA?
Hoid is on screen only briefly in the original Mistborn as an informant, so he's easy to miss. I'd say you're find to read Era 2 after Stormlight. You'll have a significant reveal sort of spoiled for you, but it's nothing people don't argue for anyway.
What do you guys think about this reading order?
Mistborn 1
Arcanum Unbounded - 11th metal
Mistborn 2
Mistborn 3
Elantris
Arcanum Unbounded - The Hope of Elantris
Arcanum Unbounded - The Emperor Soul
White Sand Vol 1
White Sand Vol 2
White Sand Vol 3
Stormlight archive 1
Warbreaker (there will be a sequel but right now it is a standalone novel)
Arcanum Unbounded - Shadow’s for silence in the forests of hell
Stormlight archive 2
Arcanum Unbounded - Edgedancer
Stormlight archive 3
Arcanum Unbounded - Sixth of the Dusk
Dawnshard
Stormlight archive 4
Mistborn 4
Mistborn 5
Arcanum Unbounded - Allomancer Jak and the pits of Eltania
Mistborn 6
Arcanum Unbounded - Mistborn Secret History
Mistborn 7
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Sunit Man
Not bad! You could probably move Allomancer Jak earlier, and I prefer to have Sixth of the Dusk before Oathbringer so you know what Mraize's chicken is.
Unfortunately I could read so far only the ones who's translate to hebrew, which is - mistborn era 1, era 2 but not yet the lost metal, way of kings til Rhythm of war, Aalentris, and some of the secret projects - the 11 metal, allowancer jak, secret history. Unfortunately the rest hasn't been translate yet😭...
Way of Kings and Words of Radiance had been translated to hebrew at least 6 years ago, so you should be able to get them!
My son n law gave me way of kings. ( first book. )
And now he's fully accepted into the family.
@TheCosmerenaut it caused my newest and happiest addiction. I'm in tremonton ut. You are in slc
Sorry the (?) Didn't appear at the end of the sentence. Do you live in SLC?
Haha, I just thought that was a declarative statement!
@TheCosmerenaut np. Sorry dude.
Alright, I'll engage. I did a reading order for my lovely SO, and it's going pretty well so far. My priorities going in were keeping series together, using natural breakpoints to vary and pace the overall experience, and trying to maximize the ability to connect things on the first go when it doesn't contradict the others. I also decided grouping things into two major halves (Scadrial/Sel and Roshar/everything else (which Era 3 will probably complicate, but that's a later problem)) helps with limiting how much you're committing to at any given time. Anyway, without further ado:
1 - Mistborn Era 1, all of it
2 - Elantris
3 - The Eleventh Metal, to ramp you into
4 - Mistborn Secret History (having era 1 fresh is more important than saving til after Bands of Mourning imo)
5 - Emperor's Soul
6 - Mistborn Era 2, all of it
7 - Tress, the secret projects are too fun to save for the end, but this is the only one I can justify moving up sooner
8 - Way of Kings
9 - Shadows for Silence
10 - Warbreaker
11 - Words of Radiance
12 - Sixth of the Dusk
13 - Edgedancer
14 - Oathbringer
15 - White Sand or White Sand
16 - Dawnshard
17 - Rhythm of War
18 - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
19 - Sunlit Man
20 - Horneater, hopefully
21 - Winds and Truth
That's a solid order! I'm intrigued by the Eleventh Metal/Secret History pairing.
i´m doing it all wrong :(
I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I actually think Tress makes a terrible first entry to the Cosmere. Like 95% of the story works that way wonderfully, but for people like me the ending will fall completely flat if you haven't read Elantris. I know people frequently say that since it's got such a fairy tale vibe it's easy to just accept the weird powers of the Sorceress, but I disagree. More so than any book in the Cosmere except RoW and maybe Sunlit Man, Tress treats it's magic as a science and engineering. We have extended scenes of Tress figuring out how the spores work, how to use them to her advantage, etc. Having such a grounded magic system sets up an expectation that the Sorceress's magic can likewise be understood. And it can be... if you've read Elantris. Sure it's still wildly more advanced that what we see in Elantris but at least that gives enough of the fundamentals that you can accept that someone sufficiently knowledgeable and powerful can do what she does.
That's fair. I feel like in Tress, the Sorceress functions as the soft magic system foil to the hard magic of the spores. And then there's the promise of being able to learn more, as you find out there's more cosmere out there. But honestly, I just love the story so I think it's a good entry point to get someone hooked.