am I the only one who truly loved Elantris?😯 loved the characters, the story, dynamics, magic system, all of it! And I love that the world building was not as intense as it gets in the other cosmere books..
Right? Like I just want a series of Lopen/Wayne going around to random Cosmere planets on special missions for Hoid. It's a perfect idea without any flaws.
Since you don't like novellas, I'm curious how you feel about The emperor's soul. I think many people, myself included, absolutely love it. But please roast it if you don't like it. I want the pain 😂
I just have to say, your eye makeup is amazing. Also, my ranking (of everything I've read so far) is: 1: way of kings 2: rhythm of war 3. Elantris (just read it, so it's fresh in my head, and I LOVED it) 4. Words or radiance 5. Mistborn series era 1( lumping em all together bc it's been a while. These are probably better than I remember, but I legit don't remember) 6. Warbreaker 7. Oathbringer (had an amazingly strong ending, but I like slightly more fast paced) 8. Edgedancer Mostly just ranking these based on how enjoyable these were to read for me.
Okay I’m so glad I saved this video. Had such a long/exhausting day today and this video made me burst into laughter multiple times (“can you be a real person??” 😂) totally disagree with you about Lift and Wayne everything you said about them was hilarious. I do agree with you about Oathbringer - definitely my least favorite. Thanks for turning my day around, ready to chill and do some reading now ❤️
I so TOTALLY get you about the dull and awesome moments of the cosmere!!!! I call them the epic scenes and I squeal soooo bad whenever they come. Sanderson BUILDS up to those moments and I eat them up!!
Here's my Cosmere ranking! Favorite to least. Words of Radiance The Way of Kings The Hero of Ages Rhythm of War Well of Ascension The Emperors Soul Bands of Mourning Warbreaker Sixth of the Dusk Edgedancer Elantris The Alloy of Law Oathbringer Dawnshard Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell Shadows of Self The Final Empire Secret History
1) Words of Radiance (guess I’m basic 😆) 2) The Final Empire (I just loved The Final Empire so much ngl) 3) The Way of Kings (I agree that ending was amazing and I wanted to stand up and cheer during it. It does take a long time to get there though) 4) Warbreaker (This book just does so many things well that are normally weak points for Sanderson imo) 5) Rhythm of War (I’m also a science nerd so I personally really enjoyed the science-magic sections 😆) 6) Hero of Ages 7) Oathbreaker 8) Well of Ascension 9) Alloy of Law 10) Secret History 11) Elantris 12) The other MB era 2 books (they kinda blend together for me) 13) Dawnshard 14) Edgedancer (I just felt like I had to get through the novellas and didn’t care much for them)
Girrrll that witcher inspired eye makeup😍, i wonder what a cosmere look 🖌 Looks like. I havent read ME2 im still on that mood where i miss Eland and Vin and dont want to move on.Way of kings its my favorite because Thats when kal got released and i feel in love with the story
Loved this ranking video! I’ll watch any Brandon Sanderson related video by you! Thanks for dedicating your time to entertain with book talk :) I’m currently reading‘warbreaker’ and I’m adoring it! I’ve read ‘the emperor’s soul’ and enjoyed it too, what would u rank it? (If you’ve read it ofc)
The Final Empire was the first cosmere book I read and after reading the rest of era 1, mistborn era 2, and warbreaker, nothing beat it. Then I read The Way of Kings and it finally beat TFE and then I read Words of Radiance which so far is my favorite cosmere book. After that I read Elantris which was so boring and it's definitely the worst cosmere book. Now I'm on Oathbringer and I'm only enjoying Dalinar's chapters.
I feel so left out not reading Stormlight Archive😫 and I am gifted the graphic audio for the first book too! I just hate to wait for the next book! P.S : I LOVED the editing lol😂😂
Personal Top 10 1. Emperor's Soul (Personally believe this is a non debatable) 2. Way of Kings 3. Words of Radiance 4. Hero of Ages 5. Final Empire 6. Warbreaker 7. Dawnshard 8. Rhythm of War 9. Alloy of Law 10. Oathbringer
My ranking: 1. Words of Radiance 2. Wall of Ascension 3. Oathbringer 4. The Final Empire 5. The Way of Kings 6. Rhythm of War 7. Hero of Ages 8. Warbreaker 9. Edgedancer 10. Dawnshard
The Stormlight Novelas i feel are pretty much Whipped Cream on ones Sunday. Some people love delving as deep as they possibly can within the Canon of a particular story, and will consume even the tiniest additions[ I am in this group,🤪] while others aren't. Some people are content with a delicious bowl of Ice-cream, no accoutrement needed
I do not like Lift as well... and finally someone agrees that the well of ascencion is one of the top tier cosmere books! I don't understand ppl's hate for WoA!
Reading the comments I’m realizing how unpopular my opinion on Warbreaker is. I mean, it was fine, but it definitely is my least favorite piece of fiction written by Brandon Sanderson. 😅
Of what I’ve read so far: - [1] Well of ascension - [1] Warbreaker - [3] Final empire - [4] Hero of ages - [5] Elantris - [6] Emperors soul Emperors soul down the bottom for the same reasons, not because it’s bad by any means it just didn’t grab me. Hero of ages nots up the top, I didn’t love the ending (didn’t hate it either) but warbreaker and well of ascension up the top! I think I love the slower build, the intrigue, the tension, and all the character exploration.
@@proseandcons7730 I’ve read The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance now (reading Oathbringer atm). I think I’d put Words of Radiance at the top now, with Way of Kings equal or under Warbreaker.
I’m mildly frustrated by your vagueness with the bands of mourning because I don’t remember it either so I have no clue what trope you’re talking about Also I’m reading Warbreaker right now and I’m loving it. The magic is so beautiful. Spoilers . . . . . . . . Rhythm of War was so fun. It was comfortable, “intimate” was a good term for it. I loved the relationship between Navani and the Lady of Wishes.
I honestly am not the biggest of any of Lift, Lopen or Wayne. Only comic relief characters I like from Sanderson off the top of my head are Nightblood and Lightsong if you even count them as such 😂
Well of Ascension is my favorite non-Stormlight book. Love it. I find it to be the strongest certainly of the Era 1 books. Book 1 would make a great movie, but by book 2 i didn't really care about Vin as much or the magic system. I loved all the political tension being built throughout. Loved Hero of Ages next.
1. Emperor's Soul 2. Warbreaker 3. Oathbringer 4. Well of Ascension 5. Words of Radiance 6. Hero of Ages 7. Elantris (I really liked the setting) 8. Way of Kings 9. Rhythm of War 10. Final Empire 11. Bands of mourning 12. Dawnshard 13. Shadows of Self 14. Alloy of Law 15. Mistborn secret History 16. Edgedancer For me the worst book is Edgedancer which is still a 7/10
I disliked Era 2 A LOT. For me it's my least favorite Sanderson book. Elantris is miles better in my opinion and I never understand people who hate on Elantris and then like Era 2. 😆 Hower, I like the second more than the first and the third more than the second. So the exact other way than you. I feel like in each sequel there is more Era 1 influence and I loved Era 1 so that's why I guess. I honestly think Wayne is the most annoying character I've ever read... I'm reading Stormlight Archive in 2022 and am really looking forward to it!
I think Dawnshard got a boost since the main release was with a kickstarter, and it's still not out on audible. So lots of more casual stormlight fans who might be more likely to give books a 3 or 4 rating haven't read Dawnshard, where the big fans who would find out about and back the kickstarter got Dawnshard.
BTW, how come wave never seen Brandon on your channel? He's done other youtubers who in my opinion aren't as big of a fan as you are, and hasn't given as much exposure to his work then you have... I think this would be an amazing get, and would give a huge boost to your already steadily growing Channel. All that being said, im not sure how much of a good job id do at interviewing one of my favorite Authors, so i would totally understand if that just isn't your cup of tea.
[ POSSIBLE VAGUE SPOILER ]12:58 I Wept during a sequence of scenes toward the end. Wept! I felt it was masterfully done, Sanderson pulled back that Hammer for 8-900 pages and builds up the tension, and emotionality, then hits you with a couple big blows before finally dropping the hammer. While panful, it was probably the best 100 pages of a story ive ever read.
I usually agree with you on most of your opinions but my ranking for all the Cosmere books looks very different from yours. Ranked from 'worst' to 'best' (I've got to add that I like all of these books. I don't even dislike the 'worst' book on this list but I just like it the least out of all of them): The Well of Ascension (This one's probably gonna hurt. I'm so sorry haha.) The Alloy of Law Shadows of Self Secret History The Hero of Ages Edgedancer The Bands of Mourning The Final Empire Warbreaker Dawnshard Elantris (This one honestly might be a huge surprise to most people but I really just don't get why everyone seems to dislike this book) Oathbringer/ Rhythm of War (I really don't know which one I prefer. I'd need to re-read Oathbringer to be able to compare them more accurately) The Way of Kings/ Words of Radiance (You cannot make me choose. I just love both of them so much. Obviously, I have a hard time ranking SA :D ) Of course, this ranking might change once I re-read some of these books in the future. So far, though, - after only reading Warbreaker twice & everything else once - this is how I personally feel about them.
Just finished Words of Radiance and it's so much better than Way of Kings. That book is rough especially if you don't like Kaladin much. But I agree with you about the last 200pages.👌 Also Final Empire below Warbreaker. Those need to be swapped... Maybe
Lift is one of my favorite characters. And Wayne is the reason why I've only read 2nd era Mistborn once. Don't know why he's so popular with everyone. For me, The Hero of Ages was so good that if I stop to think about the ending I could cry right now.
My ranking, no novellas cause I didn't read them: 13)The Alloy of Law: What a pointless book. If Shadows of Self had like ten additional chapters, it would work as the first book in era 2 and that's a bad sign. It's the only cosmere book where at the end I though: ''this was meh''. 12)Elantris: It started amazing but the ending had so many deus ex machina moments and the resolution was so unsatisfying. 11)Warbreaker: A bit like Elantris, starts well, has an incredibly strong middle, but the ending feels rushed. 10)The Lost Metal: This one puts more emphasis than any other on characters from other worlds traveling and stuff like that, and one that doesn't interest me, two they barely did anything. Besides that it was pretty good. 9)The Way of Kings: I just really didn't care that much about Kalandin's arc in book 1, sorry. Considering that's a huge part of the book it really brings it down. 8)Shadows of Self: The pacing is slow and I wasn't really interested in the politics of this book, but there's a great mystery and a god tier pay-off. The last scene between Bleeder and Wax brought me to literal tears. 7)Bands of Mourning: Wax and Steris's relationship is super cute, easily my favorite romantic pairing in the series. It's fast-paced and exciting all the way. 6)Oathbringer: Shallan's storyline is real let down in this one, same for the whole spren world part of the story, but Dalinar and Kalandin are really solid in this one. I love that the singers are so, well, humanized, for lack of a better word. It would have been so much easier for Sanderson to make everyone mind-controlled monsters that the heroes can slaughter without a thought, and Words of Radiance made it look like this was gonna happen, but thankfully he made the conflict so much more interesting by letting both sides have morally justifiable motivations and goals. 5)Words of Radiance: Starts a bit slow, but it keeps getting more and more awesome until that fantastic and epic ending. 4)Rhythm of War: Humanized the singers even further(Raboniel is my favorite non-pov character in the cosmere I think), introduces some cool new concepts for magic, Navani is a welcome addition, and Kalandin finally has a different character arc. The only downside is that the book spends a third of the book leaving you on a cliffhanger for Shallan's storyline, and then it gives you the most boring answers possible to all the mysteries around her and Pattern. 1, 2 and 3) Mistborn era 1, yes it's a tie between them to me. I've never read a trilogy of books in my life where I was so unable to decide which one I prefer. Unlike every other book in this list, I've actually re-read these once already, and it didn't help me make my choice. l love (almost) all of the characters, I love (almost) all of their arcs, I love the ending of all three books so much(each one blew my mind) and there's almost never a point where I'm bored, they manage to consistently entertain me. Those were the first Cosmere books that I read, and if the rest of it was so good to me, Sanderson would easily have become my favorite writer.
Yeah, I have similar ratings, definitely putting Way of Kings first followed by Hero of Ages, then Rhythm of War and then Warbreaker. Not a big fan of either Oathbringer or Words of Radiance.
i started reading the stormlight archive in july and i got to oathbringer mid-august and i put it down. it wasn't gripping me like the other books. i'm debating whether i should continue reading now or wait and reread/finish the books before the 5th book. i'm leaning towards the first one because it's gonna be years since the next installment and because i want to join in on the stormlight discourse/fandom/whatever and be in on all the things djdsfk the struggle
My problem with ranking all of these books is that there are so many and they are so long that I can't remember all of them and if I start rereading them then I forget the other books. It all just can't stay in my head. How it all came out of Sanderson's head is a miracle. Loved your analysis of the rankings. P.S. please stop adjusting your shirt, that was distracting...
the high rating for Dawnshard is simply " SHINY NEW TOY "syndrome. Not to mention The lopen getting his standalone moment. If The Hero of Ages was just released it would of scored much higher.
So with oath bringer I here your criticism but isn't what that one character was doing kinda of one of the main points of the story and needed? I hear you it was a lot but neccasary?
Quick unpopular Cosmere opinion: The only good characters in Mistborn Era 1 are Dockson, Sazed, and Ham. I want to like Elend and Vin, but I find them both so exasperating in too many moments that I’m often taken out of the story. Ranking: 1. Oathbringer As a nearly 48 yo amab human struggling with imbalanced masculine nonsense I’ve been socialized by within this wackado patriarchal society, I found the main story in this one too painfully relatable to be able to rank it anywhere else. 2. My tie: Way of Kings and Words of Radiance As someone who’s had lifelong mental health struggles… see above. 3. Rhythm of War As a professional philosopher and non-scientist who tends to be annoyed with the scientific / materialist / psychological reductionism of mysticism in the real world, I’m also usually frustrated by it in fantasy. However, the way it was handled in this book-as a point of view, a way into understanding magic that does not insist that it’s the only or even the best way to understand it-was flat out brilliant. Would that similar discussions in our world had such humility! 4. Tess of the Emerald Sea Finding out that Hoid’s name when he lived in our world was “Terry Pratchett” was nothing but pure delight. 5. Warbreaker I can’t figure out how anyone could rank this lower. The only reason it’s this low for me is that Stormlight and Tess are so profoundly brilliant that it can’t go any higher. (The rest without (much) commentary) 5.5 Dawnshard 5.75 Edgedancer I decided to do the novellas as fractions since they’re fractions of a book! And these two are fun and, by virtue of being Stormlight, hold my attention well. But yeah. 6. The Lost Metal 6.5 Secret History I’m not a fan of Kelsier and characters like him. I mean, I found Han Solo super annoying when I first saw A New Hope as a child, and find him impossibly ridiculous, stupid, and miserably boring as an adult. The only versions of the dashing-criminal-with-a-heart-of-gold character I’ve ever liked are Mal (Firefly) and Sea Hawk (in the new She-Ra). End of list. But, I really loved all of the world-building stuff in this book. Like, LOVED it. So here we are. 7. The Hero of Ages 7.5 Sixth of the Dusk 8. Elantris 8.5 The Emperor’s Soul 9. Bands of Mourning 10. Shadow of Self 11. Well of Ascension 12. The Alloy of Law 12.5 Shadows for Silence 13. The Final Empire I know, I know. I like it-I like all Cosmere-but, for me, it’s definitely the weakest of the Cosmere books by a long shot. I’d probably go ahead and rank it like 50 or something, leaving lots of open slots for future books as I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay my least favorite. But, like with Fugazi records, even the worst one is still better than most others. Finally, I haven’t read White Sands, so it’s not on the list.
My number two is Way of Kings and my number 1 is Rhythm of War... Because lady scientists and focus on mutual aid/mental health. The themes In Rhythm of War are just *chef's kiss*. Everything feels personal to the characters, the events directly affect how they feel, they're forced to come to terms with their baggage and I loved it. Also lady scientists though... 10/10
I don't know how I'd rate all of the cosmere, but I'd rate just stormlight like this. Words of radiance Oathbringer Rhythm of war Way of kings Novellas - I'm not a fan of novellas either
AWe poor Lift! I love her but have only read Edgedancer so far so feelings may change... Wait, do we actually disagree on things? I can't help but love Wayne too haha, he is that annoying friend I can't help but like yet still want to slap in the back of the head some days. Though I am not one to be shy about my personal unpopular Stormlight opinion, *cough Adolin is the worst cough* I am starting Oathbringer soon though so MAYBE that will change, IDK though I really dislike him haha
Someone actually said "imagine hating Lift?" That person must not know too many other Cosmere fans, because half the fandom (myself included) can't stand Lift. She's soooo damn annoying.
am I the only one who truly loved Elantris?😯 loved the characters, the story, dynamics, magic system, all of it! And I love that the world building was not as intense as it gets in the other cosmere books..
You are not the only one, Elantris is one of my favourites as well ;)
You’re not alone, Elantris is also up there for me.
Elantra is what got me into Brandon Sanderson. I found the book and read the prologue and instant hook
Honestly changed me
I love Elantris. It was fantastic
I loved Raoden's part, the rebuilding of Elantris and all was so much fun, but the other POV's never really clicked with me.. at all.
**”Imagine hating Lift”**
“I don’t have to”
Omg hahaha help I’m crying 😭
Lmao that gollum sounding "I love you" just caught me by surprise 😂😂🤣🤣 super cute and funny 😂😂♥️♥️
I laughed out loud!😂
Agreed, the last 200 pages to The Way of Kings is some of the best written stuff in the entire genre! That is how you write stakes!
Warbreaker is a masterpiece how is it not higherrrrr
Also this video was so fun and funny!!
Mark my words, Lopen and Wayne become worldhoppers together eventually.
I will remember you
Consider them marked
Screenshotted. Your words are marked
Bro, Sanderson needs to get on this! A Lopen and Wayne buddy cop story would be quite possibly the best thing ever
Right? Like I just want a series of Lopen/Wayne going around to random Cosmere planets on special missions for Hoid. It's a perfect idea without any flaws.
You should have included The Emperor’s Soul! My favorite Cosmere story of all!
Since you don't like novellas, I'm curious how you feel about The emperor's soul. I think many people, myself included, absolutely love it. But please roast it if you don't like it. I want the pain 😂
I just have to say, your eye makeup is amazing. Also, my ranking (of everything I've read so far) is:
1: way of kings
2: rhythm of war
3. Elantris (just read it, so it's fresh in my head, and I LOVED it)
4. Words or radiance
5. Mistborn series era 1( lumping em all together bc it's been a while. These are probably better than I remember, but I legit don't remember)
6. Warbreaker
7. Oathbringer (had an amazingly strong ending, but I like slightly more fast paced)
8. Edgedancer
Mostly just ranking these based on how enjoyable these were to read for me.
Okay I’m so glad I saved this video. Had such a long/exhausting day today and this video made me burst into laughter multiple times (“can you be a real person??” 😂) totally disagree with you about Lift and Wayne everything you said about them was hilarious. I do agree with you about Oathbringer - definitely my least favorite. Thanks for turning my day around, ready to chill and do some reading now ❤️
Also the editing of this video is perfect
I so TOTALLY get you about the dull and awesome moments of the cosmere!!!! I call them the epic scenes and I squeal soooo bad whenever they come. Sanderson BUILDS up to those moments and I eat them up!!
Omg hero of ages is an EASY #1 for me over way of kings it's such a perfect ending
I'm not big fan of Mistborn, but Warbreaker and Stormlight archive is so good
The editing of this video 🤣🤣🤣 I love it
Here's my Cosmere ranking! Favorite to least.
Words of Radiance
The Way of Kings
The Hero of Ages
Rhythm of War
Well of Ascension
The Emperors Soul
Bands of Mourning
Warbreaker
Sixth of the Dusk
Edgedancer
Elantris
The Alloy of Law
Oathbringer
Dawnshard
Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell
Shadows of Self
The Final Empire
Secret History
1) Words of Radiance (guess I’m basic 😆)
2) The Final Empire (I just loved The Final Empire so much ngl)
3) The Way of Kings (I agree that ending was amazing and I wanted to stand up and cheer during it. It does take a long time to get there though)
4) Warbreaker (This book just does so many things well that are normally weak points for Sanderson imo)
5) Rhythm of War (I’m also a science nerd so I personally really enjoyed the science-magic sections 😆)
6) Hero of Ages
7) Oathbreaker
8) Well of Ascension
9) Alloy of Law
10) Secret History
11) Elantris
12) The other MB era 2 books (they kinda blend together for me)
13) Dawnshard
14) Edgedancer (I just felt like I had to get through the novellas and didn’t care much for them)
As a fellow science nerd, the magic/science segment was amazing!
The most correct take is that, of the full length novels (not including secret projects), Warbreaker is bottom followed by the Final Empire
Girrrll that witcher inspired eye makeup😍, i wonder what a cosmere look 🖌 Looks like. I havent read ME2 im still on that mood where i miss Eland and Vin and dont want to move on.Way of kings its my favorite because Thats when kal got released and i feel in love with the story
Those effects had me giggling 🤣🤣
Those loud alerts made me jump🤣🤣 great video as per El 💖
Loved this ranking video! I’ll watch any Brandon Sanderson related video by you!
Thanks for dedicating your time to entertain with book talk :)
I’m currently reading‘warbreaker’ and I’m adoring it!
I’ve read ‘the emperor’s soul’ and enjoyed it too, what would u rank it? (If you’ve read it ofc)
@Prose and Cons Random and not related to the video at all but I love your name on here 😂
@@Zahra-ii4ux thanks girl :) appreciate it ;)
The Final Empire was the first cosmere book I read and after reading the rest of era 1, mistborn era 2, and warbreaker, nothing beat it. Then I read The Way of Kings and it finally beat TFE and then I read Words of Radiance which so far is my favorite cosmere book. After that I read Elantris which was so boring and it's definitely the worst cosmere book. Now I'm on Oathbringer and I'm only enjoying Dalinar's chapters.
I feel so left out not reading Stormlight Archive😫 and I am gifted the graphic audio for the first book too! I just hate to wait for the next book!
P.S : I LOVED the editing lol😂😂
Personal Top 10
1. Emperor's Soul (Personally believe this is a non debatable)
2. Way of Kings
3. Words of Radiance
4. Hero of Ages
5. Final Empire
6. Warbreaker
7. Dawnshard
8. Rhythm of War
9. Alloy of Law
10. Oathbringer
I love the editing in this 😂
That "I love you" 😂😂😂
side note i loove your makeup today
Words of radiance is #1.
OMG YES A COSMERE VID !
So beautiful. But yeah DawnShard over hero of ages is insane
I always love your insights!!! Your retention of what you read is so impressive! (So is having a partner who also reads the same book genres! 💞)
The way of kings is, for me, the ultimate modern fantasy book
ooph...
I wonder where she would have placed Skyward and Starsight
5:30 you nailed that... perfect comparison and i think you may be right.
My ranking:
1. Words of Radiance
2. Wall of Ascension
3. Oathbringer
4. The Final Empire
5. The Way of Kings
6. Rhythm of War
7. Hero of Ages
8. Warbreaker
9. Edgedancer
10. Dawnshard
The Stormlight Novelas i feel are pretty much Whipped Cream on ones Sunday. Some people love delving as deep as they possibly can within the Canon of a particular story, and will consume even the tiniest additions[ I am in this group,🤪] while others aren't. Some people are content with a delicious bowl of Ice-cream, no accoutrement needed
I do not like Lift as well... and finally someone agrees that the well of ascencion is one of the top tier cosmere books! I don't understand ppl's hate for WoA!
Reading the comments I’m realizing how unpopular my opinion on Warbreaker is. I mean, it was fine, but it definitely is my least favorite piece of fiction written by Brandon Sanderson. 😅
You're not alone! We hard DNF'd it and we LOOOOVE the Cosmere. Have read all Mistborn and just starting Stormlight archive now.
Not alone! I almost DNF'd because I could not for the life of me stand Vivenna. Lightsong broke his back carrying that book.
@@Allenro711 true lightsong was the only character that I remember vividly. He had a good arc too, overall a very avg book
Of what I’ve read so far:
- [1] Well of ascension
- [1] Warbreaker
- [3] Final empire
- [4] Hero of ages
- [5] Elantris
- [6] Emperors soul
Emperors soul down the bottom for the same reasons, not because it’s bad by any means it just didn’t grab me. Hero of ages nots up the top, I didn’t love the ending (didn’t hate it either) but warbreaker and well of ascension up the top! I think I love the slower build, the intrigue, the tension, and all the character exploration.
I love ur ranking! And I’ve almost read the ones u have! Have u read any other cosmere books ?
@@proseandcons7730 I’ve read The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance now (reading Oathbringer atm). I think I’d put Words of Radiance at the top now, with Way of Kings equal or under Warbreaker.
15:07 I'm wearing headphones and let me tell ya that was an alarming experience
Ranking these books is an intimidating feat! I agree with your placement of a lot of them!
Warbreaker is my #1!
Secret History is probably my number one.
Ooo i love this, wud u consider doing this with all his books? Or all his non-cosmere books?
I’m mildly frustrated by your vagueness with the bands of mourning because I don’t remember it either so I have no clue what trope you’re talking about
Also I’m reading Warbreaker right now and I’m loving it. The magic is so beautiful.
Spoilers
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Rhythm of War was so fun. It was comfortable, “intimate” was a good term for it. I loved the relationship between Navani and the Lady of Wishes.
My current top 5: (this will be so unpopular)
1. Way of Kings
2. Rhythm of War
3. Warbreaker
4. The Emperor's Soul
5. The Final Empire
I honestly am not the biggest of any of Lift, Lopen or Wayne. Only comic relief characters I like from Sanderson off the top of my head are Nightblood and Lightsong if you even count them as such 😂
It's actually great that you're able to even rank them. Ask me to and I'll just give them all the number 1 spot. 😂😂
I agree with you on "Oathbringer". I also feel WoR could have been trimmed down....I didn't need all that Shallan traveling stuff.
What did The Emperor's Soul do to you?!
Well of Ascension is my favorite non-Stormlight book. Love it. I find it to be the strongest certainly of the Era 1 books. Book 1 would make a great movie, but by book 2 i didn't really care about Vin as much or the magic system. I loved all the political tension being built throughout. Loved Hero of Ages next.
Have you read/did you like the Emperor's Soul? It's the novella set in the Elantris world but in another nation 😊
I have! It was a very well done novella!
1. Emperor's Soul
2. Warbreaker
3. Oathbringer
4. Well of Ascension
5. Words of Radiance
6. Hero of Ages
7. Elantris (I really liked the setting)
8. Way of Kings
9. Rhythm of War
10. Final Empire
11. Bands of mourning
12. Dawnshard
13. Shadows of Self
14. Alloy of Law
15. Mistborn secret History
16. Edgedancer
For me the worst book is Edgedancer which is still a 7/10
I disliked Era 2 A LOT. For me it's my least favorite Sanderson book. Elantris is miles better in my opinion and I never understand people who hate on Elantris and then like Era 2. 😆 Hower, I like the second more than the first and the third more than the second. So the exact other way than you. I feel like in each sequel there is more Era 1 influence and I loved Era 1 so that's why I guess. I honestly think Wayne is the most annoying character I've ever read...
I'm reading Stormlight Archive in 2022 and am really looking forward to it!
I think Dawnshard got a boost since the main release was with a kickstarter, and it's still not out on audible. So lots of more casual stormlight fans who might be more likely to give books a 3 or 4 rating haven't read Dawnshard, where the big fans who would find out about and back the kickstarter got Dawnshard.
BTW, how come wave never seen Brandon on your channel? He's done other youtubers who in my opinion aren't as big of a fan as you are, and hasn't given as much exposure to his work then you have... I think this would be an amazing get, and would give a huge boost to your already steadily growing Channel.
All that being said, im not sure how much of a good job id do at interviewing one of my favorite Authors, so i would totally understand if that just isn't your cup of tea.
Way of Kings, Warbreaker, Well of Ascension, and Elantris for me. Then Shadows of Self and Words of Radiance.
[ POSSIBLE VAGUE SPOILER ]12:58 I Wept during a sequence of scenes toward the end. Wept! I felt it was masterfully done, Sanderson pulled back that Hammer for 8-900 pages and builds up the tension, and emotionality, then hits you with a couple big blows before finally dropping the hammer. While panful, it was probably the best 100 pages of a story ive ever read.
Way of Kings is the best Stormlight book for sure
I usually agree with you on most of your opinions but my ranking for all the Cosmere books looks very different from yours.
Ranked from 'worst' to 'best' (I've got to add that I like all of these books. I don't even dislike the 'worst' book on this list but I just like it the least out of all of them):
The Well of Ascension (This one's probably gonna hurt. I'm so sorry haha.)
The Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Secret History
The Hero of Ages
Edgedancer
The Bands of Mourning
The Final Empire
Warbreaker
Dawnshard
Elantris (This one honestly might be a huge surprise to most people but I really just don't get why everyone seems to dislike this book)
Oathbringer/ Rhythm of War (I really don't know which one I prefer. I'd need to re-read Oathbringer to be able to compare them more accurately)
The Way of Kings/ Words of Radiance (You cannot make me choose. I just love both of them so much. Obviously, I have a hard time ranking SA :D )
Of course, this ranking might change once I re-read some of these books in the future. So far, though, - after only reading Warbreaker twice & everything else once - this is how I personally feel about them.
Just finished Words of Radiance and it's so much better than Way of Kings. That book is rough especially if you don't like Kaladin much. But I agree with you about the last 200pages.👌
Also Final Empire below Warbreaker. Those need to be swapped... Maybe
Lift is one of my favorite characters. And Wayne is the reason why I've only read 2nd era Mistborn once. Don't know why he's so popular with everyone. For me, The Hero of Ages was so good that if I stop to think about the ending I could cry right now.
Same...Secret History was...ugh...and hot take...Kelsier is just annoying.
My ranking, no novellas cause I didn't read them:
13)The Alloy of Law: What a pointless book. If Shadows of Self had like ten additional chapters, it would work as the first book in era 2 and that's a bad sign. It's the only cosmere book where at the end I though: ''this was meh''.
12)Elantris: It started amazing but the ending had so many deus ex machina moments and the resolution was so unsatisfying.
11)Warbreaker: A bit like Elantris, starts well, has an incredibly strong middle, but the ending feels rushed.
10)The Lost Metal: This one puts more emphasis than any other on characters from other worlds traveling and stuff like that, and one that doesn't interest me, two they barely did anything. Besides that it was pretty good.
9)The Way of Kings: I just really didn't care that much about Kalandin's arc in book 1, sorry. Considering that's a huge part of the book it really brings it down.
8)Shadows of Self: The pacing is slow and I wasn't really interested in the politics of this book, but there's a great mystery and a god tier pay-off. The last scene between Bleeder and Wax brought me to literal tears.
7)Bands of Mourning: Wax and Steris's relationship is super cute, easily my favorite romantic pairing in the series. It's fast-paced and exciting all the way.
6)Oathbringer: Shallan's storyline is real let down in this one, same for the whole spren world part of the story, but Dalinar and Kalandin are really solid in this one. I love that the singers are so, well, humanized, for lack of a better word. It would have been so much easier for Sanderson to make everyone mind-controlled monsters that the heroes can slaughter without a thought, and Words of Radiance made it look like this was gonna happen, but thankfully he made the conflict so much more interesting by letting both sides have morally justifiable motivations and goals.
5)Words of Radiance: Starts a bit slow, but it keeps getting more and more awesome until that fantastic and epic ending.
4)Rhythm of War: Humanized the singers even further(Raboniel is my favorite non-pov character in the cosmere I think), introduces some cool new concepts for magic, Navani is a welcome addition, and Kalandin finally has a different character arc. The only downside is that the book spends a third of the book leaving you on a cliffhanger for Shallan's storyline, and then it gives you the most boring answers possible to all the mysteries around her and Pattern.
1, 2 and 3) Mistborn era 1, yes it's a tie between them to me. I've never read a trilogy of books in my life where I was so unable to decide which one I prefer. Unlike every other book in this list, I've actually re-read these once already, and it didn't help me make my choice. l love (almost) all of the characters, I love (almost) all of their arcs, I love the ending of all three books so much(each one blew my mind) and there's almost never a point where I'm bored, they manage to consistently entertain me. Those were the first Cosmere books that I read, and if the rest of it was so good to me, Sanderson would easily have become my favorite writer.
I adored Warbreaker - I'd actually probably rank it even higher! :)
Words of Radiance would be my least favorite so far, because Jasnah is my favorite character.
Yeah, I have similar ratings, definitely putting Way of Kings first followed by Hero of Ages, then Rhythm of War and then Warbreaker. Not a big fan of either Oathbringer or Words of Radiance.
i started reading the stormlight archive in july and i got to oathbringer mid-august and i put it down. it wasn't gripping me like the other books. i'm debating whether i should continue reading now or wait and reread/finish the books before the 5th book. i'm leaning towards the first one because it's gonna be years since the next installment and because i want to join in on the stormlight discourse/fandom/whatever and be in on all the things djdsfk the struggle
I would catch up to book 4 just from the sheer terror of being spoiled lol.
My problem with ranking all of these books is that there are so many and they are so long that I can't remember all of them and if I start rereading them then I forget the other books. It all just can't stay in my head. How it all came out of Sanderson's head is a miracle.
Loved your analysis of the rankings.
P.S. please stop adjusting your shirt, that was distracting...
As someone, who likes Mistborn 2 era way more than 1(I know, I know 🙈), I can say, that I strongly disagree with all of you 😂
I'm not saying I agree, but I get it...
Mistborn era 1 is my favorite.. I need more Vin!
Can any Cosmere book even be considered a standalone anymore?
-T
the high rating for Dawnshard is simply " SHINY NEW TOY "syndrome. Not to mention The lopen getting his standalone moment. If The Hero of Ages was just released it would of scored much higher.
I liked Oathbringer the most though. Hm.
I’m gonna star w war breaker I hope that’s a good place to stsrt
Interesting take. I agree with you with Oathbringer. However I like it better than Rhythm of War. Anyway those 2 books need editor 😎.
All of his books go through multiple hands.
So with oath bringer I here your criticism but isn't what that one character was doing kinda of one of the main points of the story and needed? I hear you it was a lot but neccasary?
I agree it was necessary, and I don't know how he could have trimmed it down, but for me, it was just less enjoyable than the rest of the books...
Quick unpopular Cosmere opinion: The only good characters in Mistborn Era 1 are Dockson, Sazed, and Ham. I want to like Elend and Vin, but I find them both so exasperating in too many moments that I’m often taken out of the story.
Ranking:
1. Oathbringer
As a nearly 48 yo amab human struggling with imbalanced masculine nonsense I’ve been socialized by within this wackado patriarchal society, I found the main story in this one too painfully relatable to be able to rank it anywhere else.
2. My tie: Way of Kings and Words of Radiance
As someone who’s had lifelong mental health struggles… see above.
3. Rhythm of War
As a professional philosopher and non-scientist who tends to be annoyed with the scientific / materialist / psychological reductionism of mysticism in the real world, I’m also usually frustrated by it in fantasy. However, the way it was handled in this book-as a point of view, a way into understanding magic that does not insist that it’s the only or even the best way to understand it-was flat out brilliant. Would that similar discussions in our world had such humility!
4. Tess of the Emerald Sea
Finding out that Hoid’s name when he lived in our world was “Terry Pratchett” was nothing but pure delight.
5. Warbreaker
I can’t figure out how anyone could rank this lower. The only reason it’s this low for me is that Stormlight and Tess are so profoundly brilliant that it can’t go any higher.
(The rest without (much) commentary)
5.5 Dawnshard
5.75 Edgedancer
I decided to do the novellas as fractions since they’re fractions of a book! And these two are fun and, by virtue of being Stormlight, hold my attention well. But yeah.
6. The Lost Metal
6.5 Secret History
I’m not a fan of Kelsier and characters like him. I mean, I found Han Solo super annoying when I first saw A New Hope as a child, and find him impossibly ridiculous, stupid, and miserably boring as an adult. The only versions of the dashing-criminal-with-a-heart-of-gold character I’ve ever liked are Mal (Firefly) and Sea Hawk (in the new She-Ra). End of list. But, I really loved all of the world-building stuff in this book. Like, LOVED it. So here we are.
7. The Hero of Ages
7.5 Sixth of the Dusk
8. Elantris
8.5 The Emperor’s Soul
9. Bands of Mourning
10. Shadow of Self
11. Well of Ascension
12. The Alloy of Law
12.5 Shadows for Silence
13. The Final Empire
I know, I know. I like it-I like all Cosmere-but, for me, it’s definitely the weakest of the Cosmere books by a long shot. I’d probably go ahead and rank it like 50 or something, leaving lots of open slots for future books as I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay my least favorite. But, like with Fugazi records, even the worst one is still better than most others.
Finally, I haven’t read White Sands, so it’s not on the list.
My number two is Way of Kings and my number 1 is Rhythm of War...
Because lady scientists and focus on mutual aid/mental health.
The themes In Rhythm of War are just *chef's kiss*. Everything feels personal to the characters, the events directly affect how they feel, they're forced to come to terms with their baggage and I loved it.
Also lady scientists though...
10/10
I've always this...for a fantasy chunky, Rhythm Of War felt so intimate...
I don't know how I'd rate all of the cosmere, but I'd rate just stormlight like this.
Words of radiance
Oathbringer
Rhythm of war
Way of kings
Novellas - I'm not a fan of novellas either
The fact that non of them are below 4 is very telling about sandersons consistency
I really love the cosmere books I've read so far. I got into them from your videos in large part. I really like the Stormlight Archive the best.
My ranking is more or less your ranking!👍🏻
AWe poor Lift! I love her but have only read Edgedancer so far so feelings may change... Wait, do we actually disagree on things? I can't help but love Wayne too haha, he is that annoying friend I can't help but like yet still want to slap in the back of the head some days.
Though I am not one to be shy about my personal unpopular Stormlight opinion, *cough Adolin is the worst cough* I am starting Oathbringer soon though so MAYBE that will change, IDK though I really dislike him haha
Someone actually said "imagine hating Lift?" That person must not know too many other Cosmere fans, because half the fandom (myself included) can't stand Lift. She's soooo damn annoying.
Warbreaker and Elantris deserve to be higher 🙁
Lift!
Dawnshard was very meh. I'm shocked that it is so high. Also, Elantris should be higher than Oathbringer. HoA should be number one. I have spoken 😂
Wayn is an aquired taste!!!
Whats with your eyes man
Cant stand Sanderson books. Bloated. To me anyway