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I'm sure most of you will have seen the following comment time and time again. I'm new to Sanderson. I'm thinking about reading on of Sanderson's Cosmere novels, but I don't know where to start. This post is for them. Some bright spark in the Discworld community had a similar idea. They made a sheet (shown above) which has a sort of reading guide of what you should read first. It's by no means completely linear, but it helps. So, I'm trying to organise something similar to be made. I have done a basic map of what cosmere books should be read first, though it is by no means final. From there, we can finalize it/ make it look fancy. So hear it is. Version 0.1. EDIT: Thanks to navybrandt, we now have an awesome version 1.0. Thanks! Image below.

Hello! I created account today, because I wanted to make this post for such a long time. I post it in Brandon discussion, cause it fit here the best. So I'll start: Shallan Davar is the best. I like her past and her kinda little girl life style, she is very adult with this saving the world thing, but in my opinion, she is scared of it and she wants old days to be back. Plus she is one of the first Radiants to be discovered. I like Megan too, but not that much like I do with Shallan. Also I don't want to make a poll, because I might miss someone. I hope it will get lot of replies, cause I think this will be an interesting topic. Have a nice day. See you soon

Please note: I consider Sanderson to be one of my favourite authors. What I'm about to say here I consider a minor irk, in the same way that I've seen complaints about people 'raising an eyebrow' too often. I'll still be waiting eagerly for Brandon's next book. Also, please note that there are spoilers for Mistborn, the Stormlight Archives, the Reckoners, and most Sanderson novels in this post. One thing I've been thinking about recently is this: If there were one thing I disliked about Sanderson's writings, what would it be? In the end, I've settled on one slight theme that I politically disagree with. Some of you might actually disagree with me and my political views, which is perfectly OK. Some of you might have a different take on how I see things, which is also OK. But, if I were to point at one thing about Sanderson's writings, and say "I disagree with that.", I would talk about the theme of redemption. Throughout Sandersons novels, there are many examples of the theme of "Once a villain, always a villain." And, usually, the resolution of the story ends with murdering the 'bad guy'. The only exception to the rule that I can see is when you have an Unreliable Narrator, and we don't see the full picture, or else there are external influences in causing the character to be evil, while deep down, they're pure of heart after all. But, in real life, people can and do change. If you do something wrong, that doesn't automatically make you a horrible person, irredeemably, for the rest of your life. In fact, it is partly through are mistakes that we learn, develop and adapt to become better. This is one of the reasons I personally strongly oppose the death penalty. I genuinely believe that virtually anyone can change, to become better people than whoever they were before when they committed the crime. But, I don't see this in Sanderson's works. You almost never get a genuinely remorseful villain who wishes that they hadn't done something horrible. For example, the Lord Ruler and Sadeas, when confronted about the horrible things they'd done, respond in a similar way. "I did what I had to do", or else actually provoke the people confronting them. Shortly afterwards, both of them get murdered. Now, imagine how we, the readers, would have reacted differently if The Lord Ruler had been remorseful. If The Lord Ruler, quietly, had turned back to look out the window, silently thinking of all those he'd murdered, all those who were now dead because of him. Then, he looks back at Vin, with deep, haunted eyes, and talked of how he'd tried to do the best thing, the only thing, he thought possible. Would you, the reader, still have sympathized with Vin when she tore Alendi's bracers off and stabbed him through with a spear? But, Sanderson didn't do this. And, so, we cheer Vin on as she throws off the yolk of oppression that the Lord Ruler has kept the skaa under for the past 1000 years. The same story goes for most 'villain' deaths in Sanderson's canon. Whether or not it's intentional, this enforces the message that nobody who has done something for a purely selfish reason in the past can ever work past their flaw in their nature, or become a better person in the future. A few of you may ask me about the Reckoners, in which Prof, after briefly becoming and Epic, overcomes his evil side to join David and the Reckoners once again. However, in this case, his evil side never actually belonged to him, but instead was forced upon him by Larcener. If it hadn't been for that, he would never have become evil. So, if I were asked what issue I had with Sanderson's works, that is what I'd say. I, personally, believe that no matter what one's done in the past, one can move beyond that. Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Peace Prize because he was so horrified at the damage and carnage he'd created by inventing dynamite. Oppenheimer, too, helped to create the Atomic Bomb, and only later did he regret what he'd done after seeing the carnage of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, quoting from a Hindu text: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." In this way, people learn from their mistakes and regrets, to become their better selves, something I feel is lacking in Sanderson's works.

Hey Sharders! Post photos and/or descriptions of your awesome Sanderson Collection here! Take pictures of your bookshelves, homemade props or costumes, things you bought from Brandon's shop, anything Brandon Related! Do you have any low numbered signed&numbered books? Anything unique? Post it here! For a start, here's mine: Here's a picture (I slid in the hardback dust jackets where they fit in):

So, as we all know, being a Sanderfan can lead to certain...conditions. I have decided to compile the ones I know of, if I miss a significant one please feel free to post below!! TBTBB (To Broke To Buy Books) CTP (Compulsive Theory Posting) TMDCD (To Many Dead Character Depression) BNSWB3 (Broken Nose Started With Book 3) (exclusive to Alcatraz Fans) DD (Delusional Daydreaming) AO17SS (Always ON 17th Shard Starvation) There you have it!! There is only one positive side effect HAPPINESS

So, a while ago, I went to Sanderson's website and sent him an email asking for White Sand and Aether of Night. Recently I got an email giving me White Sand. Ecstatic as I was, I was slightly disappointed that I didn't get both. For those who have been where I am, do you get Aether of Night through email like White Sand, or am I completely delusional? Also, are there any explanations for why I didn't get them both? And finally, do White Sand and Aether of Night take place on the same world?

So Brandon has announced a new way of getting the numbered edition of his new books personalized! Now, rather than just requesting the personalization when ordering the numbered copy, you pay more, but the leftover money all goes to charity (source). Does this bother you, particularly since any one wanting to ask a question has to pay the highest price ($28 for book, $20 donation)? I don't generally buy these numbered copies to begin with as I'd rather support by local bookstore, and getting my copies signed in an actual signing was far more fulfilling and memorable than having them arrive in the mail (still mad I didn't take Shadows Beneath to be signed a second time so that one of them was in person). But I know some people really like having the numbered copies, and was interested in the community's opinion on the matter.

This will be an updating list of music I've written based on the Cosmere. Some pieces will have their own topic if necessary (i.e. a timeline of events). Please give me feedback on the pieces, I need to be motivated to write more, especially to move WIP pieces to Finished Works. Finished Works: 4 (*new) Works In Progress: 4 Are any of these pieces worth finishing? In order from most finished to least finished. (All these tracks are private)

Basically, we try to line up the powers of beings from other places (Marvel, DC, etc) and match them up with Sanderson powers. For example: What's the difference between a Pewterarm and Captain America? Pewter runs out. And they don't have shields.

I was just reading Brandon's AMA over at r/books from 2 months ago. It was pretty far down so I don't know if others saw... But both Herdazians and Horneaters are the result of human-listener interbreeding. :/ So, apparently they had been 'discovered' long ago, not to mention that relations were probably quite quite good. So Rock+Rlain=fam forever.

I'm sure there is already a poll of this somewhere else on the forum, but I've been unable to find it. So, I'm starting a new one. Wherever the old one is, can someone point it out to me if I see it? A few notes. 1) I'm sure there is already a poll of this somewhere else on the forum, but I've been unable to find it. So, I'm starting a new one. Wherever the old one is, can someone point it out to me if I see it? 2) PLEASE DO NOT VOTE UNLESS YOU HAVE READ AT LEAST TWO OF BRANDONS SERIES. This isn't a poll for how many people have read a series, it's about what your favourite is. And you can't say "I prefer the Stormlight Archive", unless you've actually read Mistborn. 3) I've split up Mistborn Alloy Era and Mistborn Original Trilogy, because I've found them to be quite different. 4) I'm not placing WoT on this poll, because I still consider it, fundamentally, to be a Robert Jordan series. 5) I trust you guys more than this point might imply. But please, no offending anyone else or getting overheated in this. Otherwise the poll would have to be locked, and that's no fun. P.S. Ye Olde Mistborn Series will triumph, all ye non-believers!

Heh heh. Top reputation is pretty funny. Top two are obvious, but number 5 has about an 80 upvotes-per-post ratio. Jeez.

Should Brandon re-schedule the Philly signing that should have been tonight but was cancelled due to a little bit of snow.... I know Vin would have made it even if she had to use a few Horseshoes...

I now understand why Mr. Sanderson is repeating the information I originally asked in this thread. For those that might have the same question please read the complete thread as many good points were brought up. My Original post: Mr. Sanderson, You write a phenomenal yarn and I love your books! I have already read Steelheart, the Rithmatist and the first two books of Mistborn. I ask you please to stop repeating how the magic works for every book. It seems that you rehash the way everything works that already happened in two books again for the third. I am seriously hoping this isn't going to be the case for the Storm Light Archive. Your writing style is great but its annoying and takes me out of the story when its explained how the magic works yet once again. I am hoping your newer Mistborn series Alloy of Law and preceding books will not have this issues also.

I noticed recently that the options at the top of Brandon Sanderson's website changed. The biggest change is a new tab marked 'Games & Movies'. Move your mouse over it, and three tabs will scroll down. One, the Mistborn Adventure Game, we already know about. The other two, however, marked 'Video Games' and 'Movie Updates', are mysteriously marked 'Coming Soon'. Is Brandon just being hopeful, or is he keeping another secret up his sleeve? The rights to a film for Mistborn has been sold before, but the rights expired and were given back to Brandon. So, even if a film were to be announced, there is no guarantee it would actually be made. The other reason why it might not mean anything is due to the fact that Brandon has recently given a 'big reveal' in his last State of the Sanderson. Some of the surprises unveiled there included an extra wax and wayne novel, the fact that the dark one was a cosmere story, and many other tidbits that I can't be bothered mentioning here. Why not mention a prospective film then? Do you think there is a film-related announcement coming up soon? Ultimately, the decision is up to you. And remember... There's always another secret.

Hello everybody I'm new to the forum. It took a couple of tries, but I finally got past whatever was stopping me from creating a profile. I started reading Brandon Sanderson's books in 2013. So far, I've covered all the Mistborn, Stormlight, Wheel of Time, and Reckoners books. I've read some of the shorter stories like Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Sixth of the Dusk, and Mitosis. I'm currently reading Firefight, and I hope to read Elantris and Warbreaker at some point this year, as well as the next two parts in the Wax and Wayne series. I'm looking forward to getting to know the community better. Cheers!

So i have been reading a lot of the posts and I wanted to wind a few of the theory's together into one idea. Prof: The best concept

So i have been reading multiple theory's about the world of Steelheart and i wove a few of the ideas together to make a single concept. Please let me know what you think: Most of this is pure speculation and after a few days of forum digging...collecting the best theory's. Much like David my analogies leave something ot be desired...take with a grain of salt. Epics: Candidates: People with great hubris or pride. Saw themselves better than others...apart..unique...but suddenly lose everything...triggering a fight or flight demand of Calamity. Trigger: Humans were gifted powers when they had a "Great need" for something. The need had to be so great that they were willing to give away everything (their soul/spirit/sense of self?) to gain the powers. Primary Powers: A solution to their "Great Need" Secondary Powers: A direct correlation to your skepticism. Secondary powers usually balanced or enhanced your primary powers. Imagine you and a friend making up a superhero. Non skeptics would just want 1 or 2 powers. Skeptics would be like "Sure...im invincible...but what if someone is far away (laser blasts)...well what if i need to get around fast (Flight)...well what if Bla bla bla. (This concept plays into weaknesses and steel heart and pride later on). Strengths: Situations where their most powerful. These are always situations/feelings from their past as a mortal when they felt their strongest. Weaknesses: Your darkest insecurity...internal weakness or fear. Often observed as an object or situation...in reality it's a state of mind that weakens the epic. Situations/feeling from their mortal past when they felt weakest. Overview- Basically all powers and weaknesses seem to be a direct feed into the psyche or mentality of the one gifted. Why Do we get powers?: Calamity itself is an epic/original epic/ source point to unlimited power. Calamity itself has discovered that using the powers brings out the worst in you and corrupts you, so calamity is trying to "Gift away" its powers to try and restore its own sense of self. basically : Calamity gives you your deepest desire for selfish reasons, but it can only give them to you if you want it bad enough and are willing to soil to do it. Note about powers: Powers are fluid...they gain in Strength as your confident and wane when you feel weak. (ex: Steel heart is the most confident and most indestructible when its Epic vs. Epic. Other epics lose to him or seem to have weaker powers when they fear him...or feel weaker. Additional example...there is no reason death point shouldn't have been able to kill steel heart except steel heart came in with so much bravado...it made death point question his power. )(3rd Ex: Tensors were "fake/smokescreen" and really just gifted powers to the team. Davids powers stopped working during the conflux heist because the professor was insecure about being able to protect his team...so his gift weakened. That's why he told david to "try again" and david said "he felt the power but it was harder to reach".

Hello! I'm ~sylphrena~, and I'm excited to join the 17th shard! I'd love to get to know some of you better, so here are a few questions... Eye color? I'm darkeyed and proud of it Favorite characters from SA/Mistborn/Elantris? Mine are Vin, Ellend, Syl, Pattern, Kaladin, Shallan, and Wax (to name a few) Favorite Sanderson book that is not SA or Mistborn and why? (I'm trying to decide which to read next) An interesting fact about Sel, Roshar, Scadrial or the cosmere in general... Thanks! Oh, and I hope we do track down Wit eventually. He's quite entertaining, IMO.

So I was getting my boots signed at Comic Con when Brandon suddenly presented me with this opportunity to be awesome. http://t.co/iDV2Nh7kiE EDIT: Mods, if this is in the wrong forum, feel free to move it.

So, I was just wondering, does anyone know if/when the next Q&A with Brandon Sanderson on these 17th Shard forums will be? I know there was the one a while ago, but I have more questions and I'm not really in a place he comes to... I personally was hoping there'd be one during the WoR tour for us, but I guess not... So, has anyone heard anything?

Hey everybody! checked out my Kindle Matchbook list today and noticed that both Warbreaker and Mistborn: the Final Empire were available for me to add to my collection. Not that I haven't already purchased the ebook, but still. If anyone else out there wants to grab those 2 for kindle at a very nice price ($2.99 ea) and you've purchased the physical book from Amazon, go check it out! Kindle Matchbook

Let's do it. Let's get in this deep. The big question, as stated in the title: What is your favorite Brandon Sanderson story? I used the word "story" on purpose. It does not have to be a full novel. Heck, it doesn't even have to be a book. But make sure that whatever it is that you name, you prefer it to all other Sanderson stories. Let's hold to these rules: - You can name up to three stories, but they need to be ranked. First, second, third. - No middle ground answers like "I can't decide between ___ and ____." If you can't decide, don't name them. If that is the case, just name your favorite two, or one, or NONE. Feel free to include details on reasoning for those you do end up ranking. - Take it easy on yourself. It is not a crime to love some things more than others. You can play favorites here without hurting anyone's feelings. I'll start 1: The Gathering Storm: Not 100% Brandon work, but he wrote it and the writing was noticeably helpful with my enjoyment of the story. I cannot even explain how relieved I was when I looked up from the book about 30% in and realized things were going even better than expected. It began a much needed increase in pace and held one of my favorite scenes of all 14 books - the reveal of a certain Aes Sedai's double agency. It felt like more than a desperate attempt to finish up a story to appease fans. It really felt like a book filled with enough attention to truly honor Robert Jordan. A feeling that earned Brandon my respect and ultimately hooked me on the rest of these great stories. 2: The Way of Kings (e-book format) - Definitely my favorite Brandon original. Probably has something to do with the raw content amount. Both in the number of pages and level of detail built into each concept. I like the characters, world, magic- everything. E-book format allows jumping from chapter to chapter (which can be difficult with a hardcover when the book is so big) and my favorite tool in the world: CTRL+F!!!!! 3. The Alloy of Law - Takes what I love about the first trilogy and speeds it all up. Fast paced, full of action, and has characters I deeply enjoy (while keeping a tidy cast list). It delivers on a dream I have for many of the universes I love; it gives a glimpse of what the results and consequences are years after some original world changing events. I could write and write on why I love these books, but I tried to keep it as brief as possible.

It is brandon's birthday. CAPS LOCK ABUSE! Everyone, cosmere birthday wishes!