If you are planning to start reading books in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, you may be a bit overwhelmed by the options and may struggle to know where to start. I have read most of the published Cosmere works (including short stories and novellas), and I have my own thoughts that may help you get started.
What is the Cosmere?
The term “Cosmere” refers to the fictional universe within which certain books by Brandon Sanderson take place (Check out Sanderson’s website and Amazon author profile with all of his books). Though each book/series in the Cosmere is independent, they all take place with the same backdrop, and sometimes characters cross over between stories. One easy way to think about it is to compare it to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The MCU movies largely stand on their own, but they sometimes have character cross-over and/or shared underlying precepts that shape how powers work in each of them.
The Cosmere worlds share a common origin/creation story, and the magic systems in them can be somewhat connected through an overarching theory. Though the magics seem different on their surface, they have the same/similar source and restrictions (once you see enough to recognize the commonalities between them).
In the Cosmere, the books and novellas can be more standalone, or they can have a greater amount of cross-over. Some, like Dawnshard, are even more explicitly telling a story about the Cosmere itself rather than the individual world on which it takes place. To compare it again to the MCU, some books can be like Iron Man which and have almost nothing to do with the broader universe while others can be like Avengers: Infinity War which is wholly reliant on universal aspects.
So, what is the suggested reading order?
To get the obvious out of the way: the reading order can be whatever you want! Outside of reading books in order within their individual series, you should feel free to read whatever seems most interesting. However, that is not why you are here. Read on for my suggestion if you do not want to read just randomly
1. Elantris and/or Warbreaker
Either of Sanderson’s standalone novels is a great start into the Cosmere. Neither contains many references to other Cosmere works, and they have several characters/concepts that appear in later books. Also, these books have the extra benefit of being standalone novels so you can fairly quickly consume a complete story.
Definitely do not skip out on either of these. Elantris was his first published work. Warbreaker particularly is often overlooked for some reason, but it is pretty good. They will both give you a good feel for the structured, almost scientific way that Sanderson approaches the magic systems in his Cosmere works.
2. Mistborn Era 1
The overall Mistborn series is split into 3 eras (with the third era not published yet and the second era planned to be completed at the end of 2022). The first era is an excellent trilogy that starts with a magical heist story in the first book and continues with revolutionary action from there.
I suggest this first Mistborn era after the standalone novels because it still does not have too many broader Cosmere connections while still giving a great introduction to some of the concepts that are central to the Cosmere (Shards and the Investiture from those Shards driving the magic systems).
3. Stormlight Archive and/or Mistborn Era 2
Once you get into these later series, you will start reading material that has more Cosmere relevancy. The books earlier in my suggestion list lay some foundations, and these build on that while revealing more about the nature of the Cosmere itself.
I have not read Wax and Wayne (Mistborn Era 2) yet so I cannot speak in much detail about it. I have been waiting for the fourth and final book in that series to come out so I could read everything at once. I will try to update this post once I have read it. However, my understanding from other readers is that Wax and Wayne contains a fair amount of Cosmere content, and you will not want to read it until you have at least finished the first era of Mistborn.
The Stormlight Archive is where things start to come together for broader Cosmere content. Roshar (the world on which Stormlight takes place) has special characteristics that make it important in the Cosmere (you can figure those details out as you read!), and you will see plenty of crossover characters/animals/concepts/references within the Stormlight books.
Though you can start with Stormlight, I strongly suggest waiting until after you have read nearly everything else. Sanderson is treating The Stormlight Archive as his tentpole series right now and is using it to tie together threads from all of his Cosmere works. You can read the stories on their own, but you will get a lot more out of the series if you understand the references.
4. Short stories/Novellas
Sanderson has written lots of story stories and novellas within his Cosmere universe (Most are collected within Arcanum Unbounded). I struggled to decide where to put them all, but I would generally add them here at the end. Some of them, like Edgedancer and Dawnshard, are positioned almost as intermediate books in their series (Edgedancer and Dawnshard being books 2.5 and 3.5 of The Stormlight Archive, respectively. Those books should be read at those specific points in their series.
Other short stories add flavor to the existing worlds. Good examples here are most of the short stories included in Arcanum Unbounded, like The Emperor’s Soul and The Eleventh Metal. Others are set in entirely new worlds that do not have full novels dedicated to them (yet! We can always hope). Examples here would be Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Sixth of the Dusk.
Most of these stories add more details and get more Cosmere-y than the novels, and they can sometimes add to your knowledge when reading the mainline novels (Sixth of the Dusk, for example, has concepts that appear in Stormlight). However, these stories can generally be left until you have consumed the rest of the Cosmere.
Conclusion
Ultimately, my reading order suggestion ends up following the publishing date order fairly closely. You could always just read by looking up the publishing dates for Sanderson’s various books and reading them in that order. (Or, again, you could just read however you feel like). However, I suggest following my reading order if you want to get the most out of the Cosmere references. You will notice lots of little interconnected pieces if you read in the right order to have the proper background knowledge. Sanderson likes to hide little things and having read his previous books can help you identify those fun nods to his other books.
Check out Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere novels and the rest of his bibliography on Amazon
