I just gotta say, even though this is old and you'll never read this, that the ending of the mistborn trilogy is by far my favorite ending of any story. It was hauntingly beautiful, and made sense to where each character ended where they should have. No forced sad or happy ending, just beautiful
Had to give you a like and a comment. No spoiler, just in case, but I also like who the main character is. Really well done and it just made the whole trilogy make sense.
I just finished words of radiance and i don't know if it is because i am still in the honeymoon phase, but i would rank it higher than the way of kings. The adolin/kaladin arena battle was so intense! Shoutout to my main man Hoid for the best story of book 1 though!
I just reread the SA books again for the 3rd time and I would agree that Daniel has the orders reversed. I absolutely love the WoK, but there are 3 chapters at the end of that book (no spoilers here) that make you realize that this amazing book with these individual characters is just a small part of a much larger picture and the next 2 books just do not disappoint in that regard. Everything is much bigger, much more intense and the stakes just keep getting bigger and bigger. What’s amazing is that the main characters you grow to absolutely love in the WoK also begin to realize this throughout the next books.
In my opinion, Well of Ascension was the worst book in mistborn era 1 1)t introduced a very interesting character (Zane) 2)And then proceeded to use said character as a plot device to add some spice to a pretty boring romance(it didn't work) 3)Vin was given some pretty unnecessary angst which made me like her less.
I hated, and still hate that book. Though I thought the interesting characters it introduces were OreSeur and Tindwyl. So I was happy to get them. Zane was too Anakin Skywalker for me, as in, I kept imagining that actor and his I hate sand speech. I am not a fan of characters being unnecessarily emo. Kaladin in Stormlight pulls it off because he only goes there from time and steps up when he needs too. I thought this story regressed Vin too much for me to identify with.
Yeah, Well of Ascension was necessary to get us to Hero of the Ages, but it had issues none the less. Keep in mind though, the angst was likely Ruin to a degree.
Vin and Ten Soon have the best relationship in the Cosmere in my opinion. With Mistborn era two, people in thinking its going to be epic like era one, when in reality Sanderson just wanted to write a fun action -advent mystery romp. It is also going to be a quadrology, not a trilogy. But I see how you ranked them and agree pretty much the same.
The problem with era 2 is that B. Sanderson didn't think it through the way he usually does with his series. And the reason for that is simple. He wrote the Alloy of Law as a standalone story, not a book 1 of a trilogy or quadralogy and it shows. I personally still like era 2, but it is one level of awesomeness below era 1 (so far).
More than one. One more in that era. Then it move further into the future again. Last I read in his blog he was deciding between 80's themed or something else I can't remember
@@thestairguy There's an 80's themed one he's said follows a sort-of allomancy SWAT team tracking a serial killer (though that might have changed since then), and then era 4 is supposed to be straight cosmere sci-fi.
Warbreaker had my favorite magic system out of any book ever. I love the idea of using color in magic and how color itself was viewed within certain societies!
The Way of Kings was the first Brandon Sanderson book I picked up after finishing The Wheel of Time. I'm currently reading Words of Radiance. Outstanding!
My top 3. 1. The Words of Radiance 2. The Well of Ascension 3. The Ways of Kings I guess I just liked the ending to the shattered plains storyline than the beginning. Everything else I agree with and would rank the same.
11. Elantris; Much the same as you I enjoyed the story a lot but it just wasn't as good as the rest of the cosmere. 10. Final Empire; I love final empire it's a brilliant start to Mistborn it just doesn't measure up in quality of story to the rest. 9. Alloy of Law; In a lot of ways I enjoyed Era 2 more than than Era 1, I personally loved all the characters, I feel like you don't give Waxillium much credit, his history is fairly flushed out and interesting at least to me. I do love Wayne more but really only because I just find his character hilarious. And the fact he's deeper than people know. 8. Bands of Mourning; I loved this one, And I got emotional when Waxillium got *** and Wayne picked up ****** and had his badass moment and ******. Oops spoilers 😂 7. Shadows of Self; I got the most emotional in era 2 at the end of this. I felt so sad for Wax. 6. Well of Ascension; This was really good with all the character development and and the high tension I loved it. 5. Warbreaker; I deeeeply enough this book. I loved the world, the characters and the magic system was superbly done in my opinion. Felt for all the character. To a degree I put on par with my 4. 4. Hero of Ages; I personally thought this end of era 1 was brilliantly done. For me everything was steady yet fast. Everything was happening naturally in my mind but when I looked back so much had already happened. I personally found the ending fantastic. It was emotional and sad because we said goodbye to everyone era 1 but I thought it was well done. I thought the way Vin went was a worthy moment and I loved Sazed's conclusion. 3. Words of Radiance; plainly said I thought this book was good but not comparable to the others in it's series. 2. Way of Kings; Masterpiece 1. Oathbringer; Masterpiece plus focusing on my favorite character Dalinar, simply amazing.
Edgard Cephan Interestingly, I hated Dalinar at the beginning of Way of Kings, but he grew on me as the book went on. Though my favorite character will always be Shallan (assuming she's not usurped by unforeseen circumstances).
First of all, I love that you focus on the Cosmere alot! Although I really don't understand Well of Ascension being so high. I just felt like nothing happened for the first two hundred pages, and it felt like world building that we had to get through to get to Hero of Ages. I'd be really curious to hear your specific issues with the Hero of Ages ending. It's probably in my top five favorite endings ever (the other two are probably 1. A Memory of Light/Merrillor/However you'd define the "ending" of Wheel of Time, and 2. Battle of Thaylen Field from Oathrbinger, 3. The last half of the Return of the King movie, 4. Ending of Return of the Jedi (mostly the Palpatine/Vader/Luke stuff and the space battle). The ending of Avatar The Last Airbender would be up there, but I actually like the complexity of some of the stuff in the middle even more. Anyways... Here's my (loose) Cosmere order: 1. Words of Radiance 2. Oathbringer 3. Mistborn: The Final Empire 4. The Way of Kings 5. Mistborn: Hero of Ages 6. Mistborn: Bands of Moruning 7. Mistborn: Shadows of Self 8. Elantris 9. Mistborn: Alloy of Law 10. Warbreaker 11. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Great video as always, I just want to say one correction, bands of mourning will not be the last book of Mistborn era two. The fourth book of era two has been titled The Lost Metal. Apparently when Sanderson decided to add on to the Alloy of Law, he ended up creating a trilogy, he calls the Wax and Wayne trilogy, instead of the two books he intended. Last word I’ve seen on it, he said it will be out this year, but it will probably be pushed back due to his novel Skyward. I’m not sure what others think about this, but I’m glad there’s more, I thought the ending of BoM left a little too many loose ends.
Sanderson himself said it's supposed to come out in Fall 2019 Here's the link facebook.com/notes/brandon-sanderson/oathbringers-final-step/10154952001207219/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment_follow
1. Words of Radiance 2. Way of Kings 3. Hero of Ages 4. Oathbringer 5. Warbreaker 6. Well of Ascension 7. Final Empire 8. Shadows of self 9. Bands of Mourning 10. Alloy of Law 11. Elantris Btw I love all of em.
Taking a break after finishing the wheel of time, i am now reading warbreaker. Im absolutely loving the story and the characters. The fact that its a 500 page stand alone is perfect for me too now that ive just finished such a super long series as wot. I needed this break so much. Loving your videos!
I don't agree with Warbreaker's placement. In my opinion Oathbringer easily outclasses it. That "bridge four for life" comment got you a like from me though :D
On your era 2 placement for mistborn I would disagree. I didn't like it as much as era 1 but loved it. I think the wax and Wayne stuff, especially the third book really bring some fascinating and important world building to the magic system that will end up cosmere relevant. I think secret history helps make sense of that more.
I was confused by your ranking of Oathbringer. I remember your reviews of the Stormlight Archive, and you gave Oathbringer a 9/10, and Words of Radiance an 8/10. I mean, obviously, you are allowed to change your mind, but what made you do so?
Ah, ok. Oathbringer is still my favorite, and I've liked each one more than the last. My main issues with Oathbringer were in how it handled Hoid (I thought he was overused, and mysterious characters like him are better when they are used infrequently) and with the really jumbled conclusion. However, I thought that using Dalinar's flashbacks to create action for the reader to enjoy during the long, slow build-up to the "Sanderson Plot Avalanche" was masterfully done, and it makes it the best Stormlight Archive book in my mind. Also... "No Mating!" was one of the best lines in the series.
Oathbringer is stunning in the flashbacks, but what I found lacking was the short citations from Dalinar's book at the beginning of each chapter. They are mostly irrelevant, don't convey any information. Now looking at the Way of Kings, we have so much information spread out in those short texts.
Huh, that's true. Although I never followed the quotes for information so much as how interesting they were to read, and I liked how philosophical the ones in Oathbringer were. I also thought the twist at the end that it was Dalinar writing the book was fantastic.
I feel like like I must be missing something because I like WoR the best of the 3... but I would rank Way of Kings a 10 and WoR and 11 because I can't really give Way of Kings less than 10.. Oathbringer I haven't finished yet but I'd say 8
Never been much of a reader but now having an English teacher as a partner that's changing. Read the Witcher series and that lead me on to discover Brandon Sanderson. Read the mist bourne series's one and two and now reading war breaker. Looking at my shelf I have way of kings sitting there but I also have the wheel of time books. Can't decide which to start next.
I haven't read The Stormlight Archives books yet, nor have I read Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. But other than those, I find myself quite agreeing with the ranking you did. I thought The Well of Ascension was the best in the Mistborn Era I trilogy (so that would be at the top of my list, because I've yet to read The Stormlight Archives), and I thought Warbreaker was pretty good. The Alloy of Law would be at the bottom of my list too.
Ive read the first two storm light archive books and the first Mistborn Book. I’m hoping to read well of ascension soon! I want to read more of Sanderson for sure, but his long timelines keep me from being in a rush. I’m someone who prefers to binge series when I can lol. I’m glad the Mistborn ones are done!
My List as of the time of this video: 1. Way of Kings 2. Words of Radiance 3. Oathbringer 4. The Well of Ascension 5. The Hero of Ages 6. The Final Empire 7. Elantris 8. Warbreaker 9. Bands of Morning 10. Shadows of Self 11. Alloy of Law
Wow, Well of Ascension has always been my least favorite of the Mistborn books. Zane is just so insufferably edgy it really brings down my enjoyment of the whole book.
Once I finish my WoT reread I intend to start reading the books from the cosmere. Where should I start? Should I get the ones that aren't as good done with before the really good ones or what?
Honestly I think Hero of Ages is vastly underrated by the community. It, like the others, accomplished soooo much in such a beautiful and efficient way, and I thought the ending was fitting. The world was literally ending, the consequences were dire, and if it just ended peachy and perfect like the community wanted it wouldn't felt real cheesy IMO. Still not as good as WoA but close.
Hey Daniel! Have you heard of Red Rising by Pierce Brown? Would be keen to hear what you think about it. It is a trilogy with relatively short books (compared to the wheel of time) maybe put it on your reading list/ thanks.
Love your way of presenting! I've been following you for some time now... I'm currently reading Mistborn era 2, before jumping into 'The Stormlight Archive'. So excited for it! Just a tip: you should include '(spoiler-free)' in the title! Because I almost did not watch this video because I did not read all of the Cosmere books yet. Keep it up! :D
Unpopular opinion: I like Elantris way better than Stormbreaker. I really had to push me to enjoy stormbreaker, especially the first 100 pages or so. After that it got better, but I don't love the characters and I didn't really care for half the plot, I just wanted half the book to be over to get to the parts I enjoyed. In Elantris, every single perspective got me thrilled and I fell in love with each character. It really got me to think about it more even after finishing it.
Hey, what didn’t you like about The Hero of Ages ending? Is there a way you could give a spoiler warning? I wasn’t overly impressed either and wanted to read your thoughts!
Just so you know bands of mourning is not the final book for era 2 the fourth book is scheduled for late 2018 or in 2019 and it will be titled the lost metal
I am going to rank all of the cosmere literature I have read from worst to best: 12. Hope of Elantris -The book was pointless, and did not really add anything to the world of Sel. 11. White Sand Volume 2 -The first look at the world of Taldain was amazing, but after the initial hype wore off, I only thought it was ok. The cliffhanger at the end renewed the hype though. 10. White Sand Volume 1 -Pretty solid by my standards. It is really short, so it makes you want more immediately. 9. Elantris -Raoden was the only fun character to read. I tore through the book, sad that only one third of the book was as good as I was used to reading his works. 8. Well of ascension -A all around solid book, but to dark for my taste. Really it is my inner bias putting it this low, because it is very well written, it just didn't sit well, and wasn't really satisfying to read. 7. The eleventh metal -It has all of the qualities I like in Sanderson action, but is so short and adds so little, I had to really down rank it. 6. The final empire -It felt very satisfying to read, and I all around loved it. 5. Secret Histories -It was jam packed with info, and really could have been a full fledged book. It written poorly, but the incite into cosmere lore landed it this high. 4. The hero of ages -I liked it a lot. It has some glaring flaws, but I think it is the best mistborn book none the less. 3. The Emperor's Soup -It is short and sweet, giving lots of lore to the cosmere, but also being entertaining as a stand alone. I went into it thinking it was a Elantris sequel, and was only a little disappointed by how little they paralleled. After I read the Sellish systems page in the Arcanum thingy, I realized why there were no parallels, Sel is massive. So all in all, I loved it. 2. Shadows for silence in the forests of hell -The very best Sanderson work that I have ever read. Would have been number one if it would have left me with less questions. The way of kings -I just finished it and loved it. The only flaw I see is that the end isn't an end at all, but really the beginning to a massive series. That should be expected in a series though, so I thought it was amazing.
Just wondering, what did you not like about the ending of the Hero of Ages? I liked it, didn’t expect it, and it really moved me, and gave weight to the battle. Just wondering.
Where are sumerized reviews/ spoilers reviews of Elantris, Warbreaker, Edgedancer, Sixth of Tusk...?🤔 Also, Mistborn secret history, The Arcanum Unbounded?🤔 That's indeed more than necessary if ones really wants to get a full understanding of the Cosmere at large. There's quite a lot missing...
I like this idea for a video! I might have to do it myself, but include White Sand. I probably wouldn't include the short works in Arcanum Unbounded. The Alloy of Law or White Sand Vol. 2 would be at the bottom for me! I need to work on continuing to reread the original Mistborn trilogy.
To me Words of Radiance is the best Fantasy book of all time. The battle between Kaladin and the assassin at the end.. amazing. How Shallan finally comes into her own and everyone sees everyone else's secrets because they have to be honest if they are gonna win.. Adolin and what he does at the end once they reach the city. Dalinars progression over the story. Bridge 4 goes a long way during this book as well. It's just awesome
Finished Well of Ascension not long ago and can deny it has some of the most insane and intense battle scenes I've ever read, liked Vin and Elend in Final Empire, but in this book they shine.
Personally, Oathbringer is one of my favorite books of all time, though it really did have a few weird decisions here and there. The entire final battle had me on the edge of my seat and in literal tears, though, as it reached an emotional height and everything came together. Way of Kings I have a little lower on my personal ranking, as it had my favorite character disappear for a huge section of the book while focusing on Dalinar and Adolin, who I disliked at that point in the story (I started to really like them as the story progressed, but it took a while). I also put Bands of Mourning a little (though not too much) higher, as I found it to be a really fun time (also, it was a comedy gold mine). Interesting to see how someone else ranked them and why.
I kind of hate the phrase reviewers use when discussing books "I disagree with (the ending, the story choices etc.)" Just sounds so pretentious and entitled. I know it isn't meant that way, but it comes off sounding like they think they could do better, when frankly when discussing Sanderson books, I'm sorry you just can't.
In Mistborn: The Final Empire. I actually really enjoyed Kelsier but hated Vin, because she was boring me to death. Also My Ranking of the Cosmere books would have too be: 1) Oathbringer 2) Words of Radiance 3) Warbreaker 4) Alloy of Law 5) The Way of Kings 6) The Hero of Ages 7) Well of Ascension 8) Shadows of Self 9) Final Empire I haven't read Elantris or The Bands of Mourning yet. I have never gotten the hype for the Final Empire. It did have one of the best endings, of many books I've read. But the rest of the book, besides Kelsier, was boring as hell. Also Words of Radiance>>>>> Well of Ascension, as a sequel. Stuff actually happened in WoR, instead of bumming around with a city and two armies for a whole book. Not saying WoA was bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as WoR. Also Stormlight>>>> Mistborn as a whole, but I think everyone already knows this.
All your points are completely fair, I was just mainly saying that I prefer all the Stormlight books to Mistborn simply because I think the two MC's in Mistborn are boring to me. Also for the sequel thing I meant that I thought WoR was superior to WoK whereas WoA was inferior to tFE, therefore it makes a better sequel? if you catch my drift. This is all just my opinion though. Also I'm not hating on the Mistborn books, if it seemed that way. Sanderson is one of my favourite authors and Mistborn one of my favourite series, I just like Stormlight better. I reread my comment and it did kinda seem like I was hating on it. Whoops, lol.
I actually screamed when you revealed your top pick. I have seen WOR often ranked higher and I am like I love WOR but it just can't compare to the emotion abd turmoil and worldbuilding we saw in WOK.
I did like Well of Ascension but I do find the Siege of Luthadel weak, simply because it is a winnable battle. Were the heroes more competent at defence, they could have easily turned this into the Colossi's Stalingrad.
@@i_dont_know_who_i_am69 Tbh Way of Kings is the best start of a series besides WoT for me. The character work alone, as well as the pacing was such a breath of fresh air. I was immediately enthralled with everyone. Shallan is certainly my favourite character so far, though Wit is a close second.
I read White Sands, and it was pretty good and I rank it one step above what Elantris is (also in the same position you put it), however it was unreleased for a reason and the rewrite in the graphic novel form is a much better story and I advise you look into it at some point.
Mistborn era 1 book 2 is my least favorite book of all of the cosmere. When I re-listened to the series I had to double speed it. It made Vin a stupid little girl who was bizarrely attracted to an obvious sociopath. It's like "gee the girl likes the 'dangerous' guy" because we have a female character and thus must shoehorn in a love triangle . The level of contempt I hold that story in, and what they did to a previously strong female character, is immeasurable. Thankfully a couple side characters stepped up, I liked the "dogs" arc, and thankfully the last book saved the series. Initially I thought warbreaker was kind of boring but the ending really paid off and I thought about parts of that book for months. Oathbringer was better though, and certainly better than that garbage well of ascention.
I just finished the way of kings I’m about 20% through words of radiance. Definitely in a popular opinion but the way of kings was way too slow to begin for me. I think I need to read more fantasy to appreciate how the way of kings set everything up. It took me a while to get Into. But once it got going don’t get me wrong it steam rolled to one of my favorite books. I’ve always said well of ascension is the best book I’ve ever read. But I also had the same problem with the final empire it wasn’t until about 25 to 30% into the book that I really got hooked on it. I really almost gave up on it and I said let me finish this one chapter and at the end of the chapter the stakes got raised so high.
I think Elantris is incredibly under appreciated. In almost every way, I think it was better than Mistborn Era 2 (except for Wayne... Elantris doesn’t have a character half as good as Wayne). While Edgedancer was fucking brilliant, if you’re considering it as a 1-off novella (instead of as a part of the larger SA world building), I’d put Elantris slightly above Edgedancer.
Just getting back to reading other things than manga, started with stormlight archive and already rank it second right behind lotr, almost done with words of radiance and cant wait to finish it. That being said, after I am done with the three books, I am not sure if I should try mistborn series, I seriously dont know whether I am just such an innate sexist, but I never enjoy female characters, especially when they are the mc. Even Shallan is getting on my nerves, though it is mostly because I hate when I am done reading some epic part with Kaladin or Dalinar and her chapters come up so I have to muddle through them to get to the good stuff again :D
Mmm... If I'd have to ranking... 1) Elantris ... Maybe because it was the first book I read from the author 2) Oathbringer 3) The Way of Kings 4) The Final Empire 5) The Hero of Ages 6) Words of Radiance 7) Warbreaker 8) The Well of Ascension... I don't get it, the political plot isn't the most elaborate, intelligent and intriguing (although I didn't expect a political plot at the asoiaf level either), the romantic plot is too childish (with an attempt of love triangle, a subject that we'd see fail in Stormlight Archive, again). 9) Allow of Law... the reason why I don't continued reading Mistborn era 2(The characters did not finish attracting my attention, although to me it seems to be a constant with the Sanderson's female characters, a romance(or an attempt to romance?) that feels too forced, a plot that starts well and then fails everywhere as a consequence of the problems I just mentioned)
I agree with your stormlight order of WoK>WoR>Oathbringer, but holy cow I could not disagree more with your Mistborn era 1 analysis. The Hero of Ages has the best ending of all time IMO. Instead of the standard Harry Potter type of ending where you know from the first book that the ending will be Harry kills Voldy, Mistborn has a beautiful ending with the culmination of so much subtle foreshadowing with Sazed. I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but I almost pity you for not getting to experience the same emotional response from the Mistborn ending as I did. Enjoyed the video overall though!
I know it's not in the cosmere, but Calamity is the worst book he has written. I struggle to recommend the Reckoners because of it. Steelheart was great. It was a new world and i liked all the charaters. The plot was basic, kill evil ruler, but well done. The plot twist was exellent. The powers and weaknesses were fun. Firefight was not quite as good as Steelheart but was still really good. The new city was interesting. Plot twist was superb, i did not see it coming and it laid out a cliff hanger for book 3. Calamity did not deliver. The charaters were lacking. The twist failed and made the world worse because of it. The only good thing about it was the city, but it was not as good as the ones from the other books.
Where are your sumerized reviews/ spoilers reviews of Elantris, Warbreaker, Edgedancer, Sixth of Tusk...?🤔 Also, Mistborn secret history, The Arcanum Unbounded?🤔
I have not read Oathbringer as of yet. That's on the agenda in the next week or two. However, I would gladly rank the other 10. 10. Bands of Mourning. 5/10. 9. Shadows of Self, 5/10. These two can be flipped, as I view them about equal. There was never much momentum with the Wax and Wayne series, and I found Wayne to be a bit too much of a Matt Cauthon rip off (who happens to be my favorite fantasy character of all time). 8. Alloy of Law. 5.5/10 This at least gives us the new world build and the new magic system. I do like the idea of a steampunk/Wild West era of fantasy, but for the most part I found myself wondering just how a main character who was supposed to be a legendary investigator be such a blind idiot. I get that the heroes should have some form of shortcoming, but how could Wax have possibly survived the Wilds if he stumbled around so blindly as he does in these three books? Too predictable, too tame, and at times a bit boring... especially compared to the first trilogy. Still, good works but the trilogy as a whole was a big let down from the original trilogy, and I think it dropped the ball in terms of what it could have been. 7. The Hero of Ages, 7/10. Strong overall, but it does become quite predictable. Like you, I really hate the ending. This might have made it into the top 5 with a better ending. 6. Elantris, 7/10 This is an exceptionally unique book within the fantasy genre, at least as far as I've been able to find. People who were perceived as gods, who were set low by an odd illness and treated like plague victims by the very people who worshiped them. Seriously, how many people could have come up with that idea... then make it work? Considering that this was Brandon's first published book, it big time sets the tone of his future works (though some were already in process when he began writing this). The ending is a bit of a let down, as it feels more like setting up a sequel rather than ending the tale. I agree that it's not the best technically written book, but in my opinion, that's secondary to the story itself. 5.Final Empire, 8.5/10, Strong world building, exceptional magic system that I believe confuses people, great characters in a reasonably realistic setting (well, as close as you can come in a fantasy novel). Sets up the rest of the trilogy perfectly. 4. Way of Kings, 9.5/10 It has everything you could want from a fantasy book, but in my opinion it doesn't live up to the next 3. It sets up the sequel perfectly, and the reason why I rank Words of Radiance higher is because that book builds on top of this one. 3. Warbreaker, 9.5/10 While the world building was not great, and it seemed so simple in the beginning... it became one heck of a complex web as it continued on and on with the deep personal view points, and possibly the best plot twist ending I've yet to read from Sanderson. It's basically 4 small personal stories interwoven into one big novel and done remarkably well. Like Elantris, Warbreaker makes me want more from this articular setting in the Cosmere. 2. Well of Ascension, 9.5/10 It does drag on in some places, but that's expected. The action is great, nice plot twists... though Brandon does kind of give away chapters ahead. The real art to this book is how it begins to slowly, subtly shift the focus onto Sazed as the true hero in the background, while still keeping most of the spotlight on Vin and Elend. 1. Words of Radiance, 10/10 This takes what Way of Kings began... and builds upon it. It's a stronger book than the series opener due to this. momentum builds relentlessly with few let downs or breaks. It leaves off with a strong enough finish to provide satisfaction for that book... but makes you want to dive directly into the next offering even more than Way of Kings lead into this book. Oathbringer here I come!
Has he ever gone into more detail about what he didn't like? There's something in the ending I don't like, and I wonder if it's the same thing. *spoiler* *spoiler* *spoiler* *spoiler* I don't like that apparently there is an afterlife? Sazed mentions that he "talked to" some dead characters and they're happy where they are. Especially coming so late in the story and just as a passing mention, it felt really out of place and religious, rather than part of the world that the books built up to that point. Also very disappointing to me because it makes it canon in the cosmere, at least in some form.
With the Stormlight series I always thought Words of Radiance was the best book. Seemed to me that so much happened and it didn’t feel rushed and it introduced so much plus I love Kaladin/Shallan angle. The Way of Kings was really good, probably about equal with Words of Radiance. Oathbringer just had a little too much god stuff in it. Too many gods and phantom figures and stuff
I have watched all of Brandon Sanderson lectures multiply time & listen to Writing excuses (his writing advice podcast) So I know all the best ways to give good constructive critique for a writer. Also I read a lot of fantasy novels.
Huh? The Final Empire was your least favourite of era one? Wtf. Edit: I disagree completely with putting Well of Ascension above books 1 or 3. Definitely felt like the weakest in era one. Especially the thing between Vin and Zane. That relationship reeaaaly didn't work at all and felt really pointless. The only thing in book 2 I really liked was a proper introduction to the Kandra tbh.
1 warbreaker 2 way of kings 3 words of radiance 4 mistborn the final empire 5 Oathbringer 6 mistborn well of ascension 7 mistborn the hero of ages 8 bands of mourning 9 alloy of law 10 shadow of self 11 elentris.
It's one of his novellas like Mistborn: Secret History and Edgedancer, not a full novel. I love these, such great world building. Arcanum Unbounded is a must read.
I know its your opinion but i felt offended when you said wax and wayne were bland and that you didnt like kelsier. Wayne is my second favorite mistborn character. Kelsier is awesome and i will always be sad be we didnt get more of him. Wax is awesome, he goes through more later but i loved his personality and his powers were awesome
I havent read many of the cosmere books. Elantris, warbreaker, and the final empire but i dont agree with the placement of elantris and warbreaker. Warbreaker was a good read but i felt the magic system to be bland and unimaginative. Not saying it is not original, just not very well put together. The twists were good though. Elantris on the other hand was very well put together for politics, character development and feeling for the characters. Hrathen's twist with Serene was kind of a ball drop at the end and the magic wasnt fleshed out and twisted bodies morphed to be tougher needed more explanation but I felt it to be a better written story than Warbreaker.
I just gotta say, even though this is old and you'll never read this, that the ending of the mistborn trilogy is by far my favorite ending of any story. It was hauntingly beautiful, and made sense to where each character ended where they should have. No forced sad or happy ending, just beautiful
Had to give you a like and a comment. No spoiler, just in case, but I also like who the main character is. Really well done and it just made the whole trilogy make sense.
Agreed. Every loose end was tied up as well and even the smallest details from earlier books had a fulfilling ending and explanation.
I agree this was an amazing ending
I just finished words of radiance and i don't know if it is because i am still in the honeymoon phase, but i would rank it higher than the way of kings. The adolin/kaladin arena battle was so intense! Shoutout to my main man Hoid for the best story of book 1 though!
I agree. I rank the Stormlight books in reverse order of release (so 3 being the best, then 2, then 1).
When he said 'Honor is dead, but I'll see what I can do.' this book immediately became my favorite Cosmere book... Then I finished Oathbringer. Lol
I just reread the SA books again for the 3rd time and I would agree that Daniel has the orders reversed. I absolutely love the WoK, but there are 3 chapters at the end of that book (no spoilers here) that make you realize that this amazing book with these individual characters is just a small part of a much larger picture and the next 2 books just do not disappoint in that regard. Everything is much bigger, much more intense and the stakes just keep getting bigger and bigger. What’s amazing is that the main characters you grow to absolutely love in the WoK also begin to realize this throughout the next books.
In my opinion, Well of Ascension was the worst book in mistborn era 1
1)t introduced a very interesting character (Zane)
2)And then proceeded to use said character as a plot device to add some spice to a pretty boring romance(it didn't work)
3)Vin was given some pretty unnecessary angst which made me like her less.
I hated, and still hate that book. Though I thought the interesting characters it introduces were OreSeur and Tindwyl. So I was happy to get them. Zane was too Anakin Skywalker for me, as in, I kept imagining that actor and his I hate sand speech.
I am not a fan of characters being unnecessarily emo. Kaladin in Stormlight pulls it off because he only goes there from time and steps up when he needs too. I thought this story regressed Vin too much for me to identify with.
Yeah, books 1 and 3 were definitely better.
Yeah, Well of Ascension was necessary to get us to Hero of the Ages, but it had issues none the less. Keep in mind though, the angst was likely Ruin to a degree.
Same!!
Vin and Ten Soon have the best relationship in the Cosmere in my opinion. With Mistborn era two, people in thinking its going to be epic like era one, when in reality Sanderson just wanted to write a fun action -advent mystery romp. It is also going to be a quadrology, not a trilogy.
But I see how you ranked them and agree pretty much the same.
Actually I didn't really like Shadows of Self. Don't know why.
The problem with era 2 is that B. Sanderson didn't think it through the way he usually does with his series. And the reason for that is simple. He wrote the Alloy of Law as a standalone story, not a book 1 of a trilogy or quadralogy and it shows. I personally still like era 2, but it is one level of awesomeness below era 1 (so far).
Bands of mourning is not final book of mistborn era 2. we have one more coming.
More than one. One more in that era. Then it move further into the future again. Last I read in his blog he was deciding between 80's themed or something else I can't remember
@@thestairguy That won't be era 2 though.
@@VoidLantadd Oh, yeah, I see what you're saying
DMD it is, is called the eleventh metal
@@thestairguy There's an 80's themed one he's said follows a sort-of allomancy SWAT team tracking a serial killer (though that might have changed since then), and then era 4 is supposed to be straight cosmere sci-fi.
Warbreaker had my favorite magic system out of any book ever. I love the idea of using color in magic and how color itself was viewed within certain societies!
I'm torn between BioChromia and Forgery (though Forgery is technically from a short story).
The Way of Kings was the first Brandon Sanderson book I picked up after finishing The Wheel of Time. I'm currently reading Words of Radiance. Outstanding!
Bridge Four 4 life!!!!
Do a Top 20 characters from cosmere, but excluding Hoid (we all know he'll sneak in anyway)
My top 3.
1. The Words of Radiance
2. The Well of Ascension
3. The Ways of Kings
I guess I just liked the ending to the shattered plains storyline than the beginning. Everything else I agree with and would rank the same.
Warbreaker was great. I'd say it would be a good intro to Brandon Sanderson.
Loved your thought on that
It was my intro. I was so surprised to hear people didn't like it because it was so enjoyable.
I agree but the mistborn trilogy are the best cosmere books warbreaker is 2
Well of Ascension is my favorite of the trilogy as well!!! So good.
I've only read Stormlight, but I think Words of Radiance is probably better than Way of Kings
If you haven't then I'll say it isn't as good as a rule but it's ok
I agree but like it’s a super minuscule difference in my ranking. WoR is just a tiny bit better in my opinion
11. Elantris; Much the same as you I enjoyed the story a lot but it just wasn't as good as the rest of the cosmere.
10. Final Empire; I love final empire it's a brilliant start to Mistborn it just doesn't measure up in quality of story to the rest.
9. Alloy of Law; In a lot of ways I enjoyed Era 2 more than than Era 1, I personally loved all the characters, I feel like you don't give Waxillium much credit, his history is fairly flushed out and interesting at least to me. I do love Wayne more but really only because I just find his character hilarious. And the fact he's deeper than people know.
8. Bands of Mourning; I loved this one, And I got emotional when Waxillium got *** and Wayne picked up ****** and had his badass moment and ******. Oops spoilers 😂
7. Shadows of Self; I got the most emotional in era 2 at the end of this. I felt so sad for Wax.
6. Well of Ascension; This was really good with all the character development and and the high tension I loved it.
5. Warbreaker; I deeeeply enough this book. I loved the world, the characters and the magic system was superbly done in my opinion. Felt for all the character. To a degree I put on par with my 4.
4. Hero of Ages; I personally thought this end of era 1 was brilliantly done. For me everything was steady yet fast. Everything was happening naturally in my mind but when I looked back so much had already happened. I personally found the ending fantastic. It was emotional and sad because we said goodbye to everyone era 1 but I thought it was well done. I thought the way Vin went was a worthy moment and I loved Sazed's conclusion.
3. Words of Radiance; plainly said I thought this book was good but not comparable to the others in it's series.
2. Way of Kings; Masterpiece
1. Oathbringer; Masterpiece plus focusing on my favorite character Dalinar, simply amazing.
Edgard Cephan Interestingly, I hated Dalinar at the beginning of Way of Kings, but he grew on me as the book went on.
Though my favorite character will always be Shallan (assuming she's not usurped by unforeseen circumstances).
I haven’t read bands of mourning, but now I’m peeved that I know that Waxillium gets *
First of all, I love that you focus on the Cosmere alot! Although I really don't understand Well of Ascension being so high. I just felt like nothing happened for the first two hundred pages, and it felt like world building that we had to get through to get to Hero of Ages. I'd be really curious to hear your specific issues with the Hero of Ages ending. It's probably in my top five favorite endings ever (the other two are probably 1. A Memory of Light/Merrillor/However you'd define the "ending" of Wheel of Time, and 2. Battle of Thaylen Field from Oathrbinger, 3. The last half of the Return of the King movie, 4. Ending of Return of the Jedi (mostly the Palpatine/Vader/Luke stuff and the space battle). The ending of Avatar The Last Airbender would be up there, but I actually like the complexity of some of the stuff in the middle even more. Anyways...
Here's my (loose) Cosmere order:
1. Words of Radiance
2. Oathbringer
3. Mistborn: The Final Empire
4. The Way of Kings
5. Mistborn: Hero of Ages
6. Mistborn: Bands of Moruning
7. Mistborn: Shadows of Self
8. Elantris
9. Mistborn: Alloy of Law
10. Warbreaker
11. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
Incredible. That's pretty much my exact order. Stay classy out there, stranger.
Great video as always, I just want to say one correction, bands of mourning will not be the last book of Mistborn era two. The fourth book of era two has been titled The Lost Metal. Apparently when Sanderson decided to add on to the Alloy of Law, he ended up creating a trilogy, he calls the Wax and Wayne trilogy, instead of the two books he intended. Last word I’ve seen on it, he said it will be out this year, but it will probably be pushed back due to his novel Skyward.
I’m not sure what others think about this, but I’m glad there’s more, I thought the ending of BoM left a little too many loose ends.
It really did, I am glad he did a whole series from the Alloy of Law.
The Last Metal is supposed to come out in Fall 2019.
Captainwilhelm96 That’s what people are guessing due to it’s push back, but there’s been no official word confirming that.
Sanderson himself said it's supposed to come out in Fall 2019 Here's the link facebook.com/notes/brandon-sanderson/oathbringers-final-step/10154952001207219/?ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment_follow
Captainwilhelm96 On his website that isn’t tagged with The Lost Metal, so I missed that. Thanks for informing me.
1. Words of Radiance
2. Way of Kings
3. Hero of Ages
4. Oathbringer
5. Warbreaker
6. Well of Ascension
7. Final Empire
8. Shadows of self
9. Bands of Mourning
10. Alloy of Law
11. Elantris
Btw I love all of em.
Taking a break after finishing the wheel of time, i am now reading warbreaker. Im absolutely loving the story and the characters. The fact that its a 500 page stand alone is perfect for me too now that ive just finished such a super long series as wot. I needed this break so much. Loving your videos!
I'll just say that my #1 is Words of Radiance
I still think it reads the fastest and is just so packed with action. Plus, I loved the middle with Shallan and...Tin maybe (was that her name?)
I don't agree with Warbreaker's placement. In my opinion Oathbringer easily outclasses it. That "bridge four for life" comment got you a like from me though :D
For me, Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Warbreaker, Elantris, Well of Ascension are my top 5 in order. BRIDGE 4!
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who likes Well of Ascension more than the other Mistborn books.
On your era 2 placement for mistborn I would disagree. I didn't like it as much as era 1 but loved it. I think the wax and Wayne stuff, especially the third book really bring some fascinating and important world building to the magic system that will end up cosmere relevant. I think secret history helps make sense of that more.
A very good idea for a video series Daniel - would love to see more of this!
Great work
Im so happy somone else liked warbreaker. I just loved the characters.
I was confused by your ranking of Oathbringer. I remember your reviews of the Stormlight Archive, and you gave Oathbringer a 9/10, and Words of Radiance an 8/10. I mean, obviously, you are allowed to change your mind, but what made you do so?
Just reflecting on what happened in the story, rereading bits, and reevaluating what characters did and how it fit with their established traits.
Ah, ok. Oathbringer is still my favorite, and I've liked each one more than the last. My main issues with Oathbringer were in how it handled Hoid (I thought he was overused, and mysterious characters like him are better when they are used infrequently) and with the really jumbled conclusion. However, I thought that using Dalinar's flashbacks to create action for the reader to enjoy during the long, slow build-up to the "Sanderson Plot Avalanche" was masterfully done, and it makes it the best Stormlight Archive book in my mind.
Also... "No Mating!" was one of the best lines in the series.
Oathbringer is stunning in the flashbacks, but what I found lacking was the short citations from Dalinar's book at the beginning of each chapter. They are mostly irrelevant, don't convey any information. Now looking at the Way of Kings, we have so much information spread out in those short texts.
Huh, that's true. Although I never followed the quotes for information so much as how interesting they were to read, and I liked how philosophical the ones in Oathbringer were. I also thought the twist at the end that it was Dalinar writing the book was fantastic.
I feel like like I must be missing something because I like WoR the best of the 3... but I would rank Way of Kings a 10 and WoR and 11 because I can't really give Way of Kings less than 10.. Oathbringer I haven't finished yet but I'd say 8
Elantris was actually my second favorite cosmere book. After The Final Empire
My ranking
1-Oathbringer
2-Way of Kings
3-Well of Ascension
4-Final Empire
5-Warbreaker
6-Bands of Morning
What exactly does the mistborn era 1 ending do that you dont like? Just curious of course, i didnt love it either but i cant figure out why. lol
1. Way of Kings
2. Final Empire
3. Elantris
(That's all I've read so far)
Do you have or can you do an overview of the Cosmere? Like reading order, what books are currently available, and somewhat of a summary of them.
Never been much of a reader but now having an English teacher as a partner that's changing. Read the Witcher series and that lead me on to discover Brandon Sanderson. Read the mist bourne series's one and two and now reading war breaker. Looking at my shelf I have way of kings sitting there but I also have the wheel of time books. Can't decide which to start next.
I haven't read The Stormlight Archives books yet, nor have I read Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning. But other than those, I find myself quite agreeing with the ranking you did. I thought The Well of Ascension was the best in the Mistborn Era I trilogy (so that would be at the top of my list, because I've yet to read The Stormlight Archives), and I thought Warbreaker was pretty good. The Alloy of Law would be at the bottom of my list too.
The Bands of Mourning isnt the last book in mistborn era 2. The last book in era 2 The Lost Metal is expected to be released 2020.
We need a bookshelf tour!
Ive read the first two storm light archive books and the first Mistborn Book. I’m hoping to read well of ascension soon! I want to read more of Sanderson for sure, but his long timelines keep me from being in a rush. I’m someone who prefers to binge series when I can lol. I’m glad the Mistborn ones are done!
My List as of the time of this video:
1. Way of Kings
2. Words of Radiance
3. Oathbringer
4. The Well of Ascension
5. The Hero of Ages
6. The Final Empire
7. Elantris
8. Warbreaker
9. Bands of Morning
10. Shadows of Self
11. Alloy of Law
Wow, Well of Ascension has always been my least favorite of the Mistborn books. Zane is just so insufferably edgy it really brings down my enjoyment of the whole book.
I almost commented “you havnt read warbreaker?!?” Before finishing this video then realized it was closer to the top of the list 😝
I don't agree with the list for the most part, but I respect your opinions. You earned yourself a subscriber, sir.
Once I finish my WoT reread I intend to start reading the books from the cosmere. Where should I start? Should I get the ones that aren't as good done with before the really good ones or what?
Honestly I think Hero of Ages is vastly underrated by the community. It, like the others, accomplished soooo much in such a beautiful and efficient way, and I thought the ending was fitting. The world was literally ending, the consequences were dire, and if it just ended peachy and perfect like the community wanted it wouldn't felt real cheesy IMO. Still not as good as WoA but close.
Hey Daniel!
Have you heard of Red Rising by Pierce Brown?
Would be keen to hear what you think about it.
It is a trilogy with relatively short books (compared to the wheel of time)
maybe put it on your reading list/
thanks.
It's great. It's like Hunger Games in space, but the stuff after the "Games" is actually awesome instead of awful haha.
Love your way of presenting! I've been following you for some time now... I'm currently reading Mistborn era 2, before jumping into 'The Stormlight Archive'. So excited for it! Just a tip: you should include '(spoiler-free)' in the title! Because I almost did not watch this video because I did not read all of the Cosmere books yet. Keep it up! :D
Unpopular opinion: I like Elantris way better than Stormbreaker. I really had to push me to enjoy stormbreaker, especially the first 100 pages or so. After that it got better, but I don't love the characters and I didn't really care for half the plot, I just wanted half the book to be over to get to the parts I enjoyed. In Elantris, every single perspective got me thrilled and I fell in love with each character. It really got me to think about it more even after finishing it.
Hey, what didn’t you like about The Hero of Ages ending? Is there a way you could give a spoiler warning? I wasn’t overly impressed either and wanted to read your thoughts!
Just so you know bands of mourning is not the final book for era 2 the fourth book is scheduled for late 2018 or in 2019 and it will be titled the lost metal
Stormlight Archive is Sanderson's best work !! (In my opinion)
I am going to rank all of the cosmere literature I have read from worst to best:
12. Hope of Elantris -The book was pointless, and did not really add anything to the world of Sel.
11. White Sand Volume 2 -The first look at the world of Taldain was amazing, but after the initial hype wore off, I only thought it was ok. The cliffhanger at the end renewed the hype though.
10. White Sand Volume 1 -Pretty solid by my standards. It is really short, so it makes you want more immediately.
9. Elantris -Raoden was the only fun character to read. I tore through the book, sad that only one third of the book was as good as I was used to reading his works.
8. Well of ascension -A all around solid book, but to dark for my taste. Really it is my inner bias putting it this low, because it is very well written, it just didn't sit well, and wasn't really satisfying to read.
7. The eleventh metal -It has all of the qualities I like in Sanderson action, but is so short and adds so little, I had to really down rank it.
6. The final empire -It felt very satisfying to read, and I all around loved it.
5. Secret Histories -It was jam packed with info, and really could have been a full fledged book. It written poorly, but the incite into cosmere lore landed it this high.
4. The hero of ages -I liked it a lot. It has some glaring flaws, but I think it is the best mistborn book none the less.
3. The Emperor's Soup -It is short and sweet, giving lots of lore to the cosmere, but also being entertaining as a stand alone. I went into it thinking it was a Elantris sequel, and was only a little disappointed by how little they paralleled. After I read the Sellish systems page in the Arcanum thingy, I realized why there were no parallels, Sel is massive. So all in all, I loved it.
2. Shadows for silence in the forests of hell -The very best Sanderson work that I have ever read. Would have been number one if it would have left me with less questions.
The way of kings -I just finished it and loved it. The only flaw I see is that the end isn't an end at all, but really the beginning to a massive series. That should be expected in a series though, so I thought it was amazing.
Please don't mind my spelling errors. The way of kings is number 1 though. Also it is the emperors soul not soup.
@@danielburow8538 i was sure that was a Lift reference :( No doubt, she would enjoy the emperor's soup.
Yes ! Almost no forgot White Sands and Emperor's soul!
I was fixated on the lack of Edgedancer and Arcanum.
Just wondering, what did you not like about the ending of the Hero of Ages? I liked it, didn’t expect it, and it really moved me, and gave weight to the battle. Just wondering.
Nope sorry, can't do a list without Secret Histories. It plays too big of a part for potential cosmere events in the future.
Where are sumerized reviews/ spoilers reviews of Elantris, Warbreaker, Edgedancer, Sixth of Tusk...?🤔
Also, Mistborn secret history, The Arcanum Unbounded?🤔 That's indeed more than necessary if ones really wants to get a full understanding of the Cosmere at large.
There's quite a lot missing...
I like this idea for a video! I might have to do it myself, but include White Sand. I probably wouldn't include the short works in Arcanum Unbounded. The Alloy of Law or White Sand Vol. 2 would be at the bottom for me! I need to work on continuing to reread the original Mistborn trilogy.
To me Words of Radiance is the best Fantasy book of all time. The battle between Kaladin and the assassin at the end.. amazing. How Shallan finally comes into her own and everyone sees everyone else's secrets because they have to be honest if they are gonna win.. Adolin and what he does at the end once they reach the city. Dalinars progression over the story. Bridge 4 goes a long way during this book as well. It's just awesome
Great video! Bands of mourning isn't the end of Era 2 though, the conclusion to Era 2; The Lost Metal will be released somewhere in 2019.
Finished Well of Ascension not long ago and can deny it has some of the most insane and intense battle scenes I've ever read, liked Vin and Elend in Final Empire, but in this book they shine.
The middle of here of ages was slightly hard for me, but I LOVE the ending
Personally, Oathbringer is one of my favorite books of all time, though it really did have a few weird decisions here and there. The entire final battle had me on the edge of my seat and in literal tears, though, as it reached an emotional height and everything came together. Way of Kings I have a little lower on my personal ranking, as it had my favorite character disappear for a huge section of the book while focusing on Dalinar and Adolin, who I disliked at that point in the story (I started to really like them as the story progressed, but it took a while). I also put Bands of Mourning a little (though not too much) higher, as I found it to be a really fun time (also, it was a comedy gold mine).
Interesting to see how someone else ranked them and why.
I kind of hate the phrase reviewers use when discussing books "I disagree with (the ending, the story choices etc.)" Just sounds so pretentious and entitled. I know it isn't meant that way, but it comes off sounding like they think they could do better, when frankly when discussing Sanderson books, I'm sorry you just can't.
In Mistborn: The Final Empire. I actually really enjoyed Kelsier but hated Vin, because she was boring me to death. Also My Ranking of the Cosmere books would have too be:
1) Oathbringer
2) Words of Radiance
3) Warbreaker
4) Alloy of Law
5) The Way of Kings
6) The Hero of Ages
7) Well of Ascension
8) Shadows of Self
9) Final Empire
I haven't read Elantris or The Bands of Mourning yet.
I have never gotten the hype for the Final Empire. It did have one of the best endings, of many books I've read. But the rest of the book, besides Kelsier, was boring as hell.
Also Words of Radiance>>>>> Well of Ascension, as a sequel. Stuff actually happened in WoR, instead of bumming around with a city and two armies for a whole book. Not saying WoA was bad, but it wasn't nearly as good as WoR. Also Stormlight>>>> Mistborn as a whole, but I think everyone already knows this.
All your points are completely fair, I was just mainly saying that I prefer all the Stormlight books to Mistborn simply because I think the two MC's in Mistborn are boring to me. Also for the sequel thing I meant that I thought WoR was superior to WoK whereas WoA was inferior to tFE, therefore it makes a better sequel? if you catch my drift. This is all just my opinion though.
Also I'm not hating on the Mistborn books, if it seemed that way. Sanderson is one of my favourite authors and Mistborn one of my favourite series, I just like Stormlight better. I reread my comment and it did kinda seem like I was hating on it. Whoops, lol.
Dude, Kaladin's arc broke my heart. Such a great book.
Can you tell me why you did not like the ending of the Mistborn: hero of ages? By the way, nice video as always.
I recommend watching his video on The Hero of Ages
Thanks!
I actually screamed when you revealed your top pick. I have seen WOR often ranked higher and I am like I love WOR but it just can't compare to the emotion abd turmoil and worldbuilding we saw in WOK.
02:12 "INVESTED in them" a great word to use in a video about cosmere
I did like Well of Ascension but I do find the Siege of Luthadel weak, simply because it is a winnable battle. Were the heroes more competent at defence, they could have easily turned this into the Colossi's Stalingrad.
i liked words of radiance way more then way of kings
bridge 4 for life!
Just started Stormlight Archive, so I wanted to come back for some OG intro and knowledge.
Please don't get discouraged by the slow start, it'll be worth it.
@@i_dont_know_who_i_am69 Tbh Way of Kings is the best start of a series besides WoT for me. The character work alone, as well as the pacing was such a breath of fresh air. I was immediately enthralled with everyone. Shallan is certainly my favourite character so far, though Wit is a close second.
I love brandon sanderson
Have you read Mistborn Secret History yet? I’d be keen to know your thoughts on it.
This is like trying to rate your children
Imo kelsier isn't there for you to like he is there to make you feel awe
Just wondering why is there no love for the reckoners or emperors soul? There are quite a few more stories in the cosmere than what you listed here.
I read White Sands, and it was pretty good and I rank it one step above what Elantris is (also in the same position you put it), however it was unreleased for a reason and the rewrite in the graphic novel form is a much better story and I advise you look into it at some point.
Mistborn era 1 book 2 is my least favorite book of all of the cosmere. When I re-listened to the series I had to double speed it. It made Vin a stupid little girl who was bizarrely attracted to an obvious sociopath. It's like "gee the girl likes the 'dangerous' guy" because we have a female character and thus must shoehorn in a love triangle . The level of contempt I hold that story in, and what they did to a previously strong female character, is immeasurable. Thankfully a couple side characters stepped up, I liked the "dogs" arc, and thankfully the last book saved the series.
Initially I thought warbreaker was kind of boring but the ending really paid off and I thought about parts of that book for months. Oathbringer was better though, and certainly better than that garbage well of ascention.
I just finished the way of kings I’m about 20% through words of radiance. Definitely in a popular opinion but the way of kings was way too slow to begin for me. I think I need to read more fantasy to appreciate how the way of kings set everything up. It took me a while to get Into. But once it got going don’t get me wrong it steam rolled to one of my favorite books. I’ve always said well of ascension is the best book I’ve ever read. But I also had the same problem with the final empire it wasn’t until about 25 to 30% into the book that I really got hooked on it. I really almost gave up on it and I said let me finish this one chapter and at the end of the chapter the stakes got raised so high.
I think Elantris is incredibly under appreciated. In almost every way, I think it was better than Mistborn Era 2 (except for Wayne... Elantris doesn’t have a character half as good as Wayne).
While Edgedancer was fucking brilliant, if you’re considering it as a 1-off novella (instead of as a part of the larger SA world building), I’d put Elantris slightly above Edgedancer.
Unpopular opinion: I thought Elantris was better than Warbreaker.
I don't think you gave Mistborn enough credit. Mistborn, both era 1 and 2 were some of my favorite cosmere books.
i think he would like secret history
Just getting back to reading other things than manga, started with stormlight archive and already rank it second right behind lotr, almost done with words of radiance and cant wait to finish it. That being said, after I am done with the three books, I am not sure if I should try mistborn series, I seriously dont know whether I am just such an innate sexist, but I never enjoy female characters, especially when they are the mc. Even Shallan is getting on my nerves, though it is mostly because I hate when I am done reading some epic part with Kaladin or Dalinar and her chapters come up so I have to muddle through them to get to the good stuff again :D
Mmm... If I'd have to ranking...
1) Elantris ... Maybe because it was the first book I read from the author
2) Oathbringer
3) The Way of Kings
4) The Final Empire
5) The Hero of Ages
6) Words of Radiance
7) Warbreaker
8) The Well of Ascension...
I don't get it, the political plot isn't the most elaborate, intelligent and intriguing (although I didn't expect a political plot at the asoiaf level either), the romantic plot is too childish (with an attempt of love triangle, a subject that we'd see fail in Stormlight Archive, again).
9) Allow of Law... the reason why I don't continued reading Mistborn era 2(The characters did not finish attracting my attention, although to me it seems to be a constant with the Sanderson's female characters, a romance(or an attempt to romance?) that feels too forced, a plot that starts well and then fails everywhere as a consequence of the problems I just mentioned)
Have you read “emperor’s soul” by Sanderson? Won a lot of awards (really good)
I agree with your stormlight order of WoK>WoR>Oathbringer, but holy cow I could not disagree more with your Mistborn era 1 analysis. The Hero of Ages has the best ending of all time IMO. Instead of the standard Harry Potter type of ending where you know from the first book that the ending will be Harry kills Voldy, Mistborn has a beautiful ending with the culmination of so much subtle foreshadowing with Sazed. I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but I almost pity you for not getting to experience the same emotional response from the Mistborn ending as I did.
Enjoyed the video overall though!
I know it's not in the cosmere, but Calamity is the worst book he has written. I struggle to recommend the Reckoners because of it.
Steelheart was great. It was a new world and i liked all the charaters. The plot was basic, kill evil ruler, but well done. The plot twist was exellent. The powers and weaknesses were fun.
Firefight was not quite as good as Steelheart but was still really good. The new city was interesting. Plot twist was superb, i did not see it coming and it laid out a cliff hanger for book 3.
Calamity did not deliver. The charaters were lacking. The twist failed and made the world worse because of it. The only good thing about it was the city, but it was not as good as the ones from the other books.
Where are your sumerized reviews/ spoilers reviews of Elantris, Warbreaker, Edgedancer, Sixth of Tusk...?🤔
Also, Mistborn secret history, The Arcanum Unbounded?🤔
I have not read Oathbringer as of yet. That's on the agenda in the next week or two. However, I would gladly rank the other 10.
10. Bands of Mourning. 5/10.
9. Shadows of Self, 5/10.
These two can be flipped, as I view them about equal. There was never much momentum with the Wax and Wayne series, and I found Wayne to be a bit too much of a Matt Cauthon rip off (who happens to be my favorite fantasy character of all time).
8. Alloy of Law. 5.5/10 This at least gives us the new world build and the new magic system. I do like the idea of a steampunk/Wild West era of fantasy, but for the most part I found myself wondering just how a main character who was supposed to be a legendary investigator be such a blind idiot. I get that the heroes should have some form of shortcoming, but how could Wax have possibly survived the Wilds if he stumbled around so blindly as he does in these three books? Too predictable, too tame, and at times a bit boring... especially compared to the first trilogy. Still, good works but the trilogy as a whole was a big let down from the original trilogy, and I think it dropped the ball in terms of what it could have been.
7. The Hero of Ages, 7/10. Strong overall, but it does become quite predictable. Like you, I really hate the ending. This might have made it into the top 5 with a better ending.
6. Elantris, 7/10 This is an exceptionally unique book within the fantasy genre, at least as far as I've been able to find. People who were perceived as gods, who were set low by an odd illness and treated like plague victims by the very people who worshiped them. Seriously, how many people could have come up with that idea... then make it work? Considering that this was Brandon's first published book, it big time sets the tone of his future works (though some were already in process when he began writing this). The ending is a bit of a let down, as it feels more like setting up a sequel rather than ending the tale. I agree that it's not the best technically written book, but in my opinion, that's secondary to the story itself.
5.Final Empire, 8.5/10, Strong world building, exceptional magic system that I believe confuses people, great characters in a reasonably realistic setting (well, as close as you can come in a fantasy novel). Sets up the rest of the trilogy perfectly.
4. Way of Kings, 9.5/10 It has everything you could want from a fantasy book, but in my opinion it doesn't live up to the next 3. It sets up the sequel perfectly, and the reason why I rank Words of Radiance higher is because that book builds on top of this one.
3. Warbreaker, 9.5/10 While the world building was not great, and it seemed so simple in the beginning... it became one heck of a complex web as it continued on and on with the deep personal view points, and possibly the best plot twist ending I've yet to read from Sanderson. It's basically 4 small personal stories interwoven into one big novel and done remarkably well. Like Elantris, Warbreaker makes me want more from this articular setting in the Cosmere.
2. Well of Ascension, 9.5/10 It does drag on in some places, but that's expected. The action is great, nice plot twists... though Brandon does kind of give away chapters ahead. The real art to this book is how it begins to slowly, subtly shift the focus onto Sazed as the true hero in the background, while still keeping most of the spotlight on Vin and Elend.
1. Words of Radiance, 10/10 This takes what Way of Kings began... and builds upon it. It's a stronger book than the series opener due to this. momentum builds relentlessly with few let downs or breaks. It leaves off with a strong enough finish to provide satisfaction for that book... but makes you want to dive directly into the next offering even more than Way of Kings lead into this book.
Oathbringer here I come!
I've never heard of anyone before this claim that the ending of Hero of Ages was a problem of the book I'm honestly shocked.
Has he ever gone into more detail about what he didn't like? There's something in the ending I don't like, and I wonder if it's the same thing.
*spoiler*
*spoiler*
*spoiler*
*spoiler*
I don't like that apparently there is an afterlife? Sazed mentions that he "talked to" some dead characters and they're happy where they are. Especially coming so late in the story and just as a passing mention, it felt really out of place and religious, rather than part of the world that the books built up to that point. Also very disappointing to me because it makes it canon in the cosmere, at least in some form.
@@rubymills2698 but the cosmere is all about religious
Ahh, the good ol' intro
With the Stormlight series I always thought Words of Radiance was the best book. Seemed to me that so much happened and it didn’t feel rushed and it introduced so much plus I love Kaladin/Shallan angle. The Way of Kings was really good, probably about equal with Words of Radiance. Oathbringer just had a little too much god stuff in it. Too many gods and phantom figures and stuff
the ending to hero of ages is just WOW
Good video. I can’t wait to hear all about your own fantasy work. I’d be more than happy to offer to be a beta reader.
I have watched all of Brandon Sanderson lectures multiply time & listen to Writing excuses (his writing advice podcast)
So I know all the best ways to give good constructive critique for a writer.
Also I read a lot of fantasy novels.
you should do a video ranking all of the cosmere short stories.
Bridge 4 for life. Hell yeah!
Huh? The Final Empire was your least favourite of era one? Wtf.
Edit: I disagree completely with putting Well of Ascension above books 1 or 3. Definitely felt like the weakest in era one. Especially the thing between Vin and Zane. That relationship reeaaaly didn't work at all and felt really pointless. The only thing in book 2 I really liked was a proper introduction to the Kandra tbh.
How could you not like Sterris? Her character is awesome.
I adored the ending of hero of ages, but each to their own.
1 warbreaker 2 way of kings 3 words of radiance 4 mistborn the final empire 5 Oathbringer 6 mistborn well of ascension 7 mistborn the hero of ages 8 bands of mourning 9 alloy of law 10 shadow of self 11 elentris.
Agree with your placement of warbreaker, really underated book, also what about emperors soul, pretty sure that's a cosmere book
Jason Mounce It's a short story.
It's one of his novellas like Mistborn: Secret History and Edgedancer, not a full novel. I love these, such great world building. Arcanum Unbounded is a must read.
Bro. The wax and wayne series is one of the best ever. Liked it more than era one
I know its your opinion but i felt offended when you said wax and wayne were bland and that you didnt like kelsier. Wayne is my second favorite mistborn character. Kelsier is awesome and i will always be sad be we didnt get more of him. Wax is awesome, he goes through more later but i loved his personality and his powers were awesome
I havent read many of the cosmere books. Elantris, warbreaker, and the final empire but i dont agree with the placement of elantris and warbreaker. Warbreaker was a good read but i felt the magic system to be bland and unimaginative. Not saying it is not original, just not very well put together. The twists were good though. Elantris on the other hand was very well put together for politics, character development and feeling for the characters. Hrathen's twist with Serene was kind of a ball drop at the end and the magic wasnt fleshed out and twisted bodies morphed to be tougher needed more explanation but I felt it to be a better written story than Warbreaker.
Words of radiance is the best Sanderson book of all time for me
Bridge four!