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Newish reader to Brandon Sanderson here! In just a month, I've sped through Mistborn Era 1 + Way of Kings (just finished an hour ago!) and what a wild ride! As I was reading, I immediately noticed a few very striking similarities between Mistborn and Stormlight, from a plot, character, and literary structure perspective. What do you all make of this? Is Brandon just a more formulaic storyteller? Does this hint at broader themes in the cosmere? In what ways do you think the plots will diverge? Here's what I've found so far: Setting + Society - Set in a "modern" time juxtaposed against an ancient history that has lost - Society likely equivalent to 15th -17th century western civilization (pre industrial) - Class system based on bloodlines (skaa vs darkeyes) - Strong religious organizations / influence (Ministries vs. Vorin) that are later de-legitimized - Scholars questioning religion and history (Sazed vs. Jasnah) -- they are the ones to discover the truth Villans + Mystery - Mysterious, pre-historical enemy that is known only as an abstraction, that is later revealed to be an unexpected twist (the Deepness vs. the Voidbringers / the Desolation) - Said mysterious enemy's return is imminent and the world is in vast danger - Lost or old texts that serve as clues to unravel the mystery (Alendi's journal vs. The Way of Kings and all the books Jasnah / Shallan read) - An almighty force for good that has disappeared (Preservation vs. Almighty) - Magic system that is related directly to physical objects and natural resources (metals vs gems) - Monsters that are revealed to be descendants or related to humans (Koloss and Kandra vs Parshendi?...making a guess on the Parshendi) Themes - Central characters struggling with what it means to be a "good leader" (Elend vs Kalladin) - "Good" characters and leaders being defined by upholding honor and maintaining trust - Hope as an empowering force to save characters Really curious to hear what everyone thinks! It did strike me a bit, reading through way of kings immediately after mistborn. It felt like I was playing the next generation of Pokemon games -- same overall template and predictable, but different enough that it's fun and entertaining. I'm curious to hear if anyone thinks it's something more -- do all these similarities have something to do with the broader Cosmere mythology?

I will first lay out what we know and possible influences on Brandon, then I will put out my theory. First of all, we know that on each of the Shardworlds, there is Man (Humankind). Each world is a bit different, but they all look the same. Second, Shards are akin to Gods in the Cosmere. Third, in the Bible, one of, if not the most published book in the history of the world, a book that Brandon most likely has heard some part of, it states that Man was made in God's Image. Do you see where I am getting at here? My theory: The Shards created life in the Image of Adonalsium, which is essentially saying they created life in their own image, as God did. Each is slightly different, but they all look the same, which brings me on to my main point: Adonalsium, whatever it is, was the original template for Mankind, and therefore is shaped as if a man (human). Okay, so now its out there. I'm not sure if this theory has been proposed before, and I'm sorry if I made any incorrect assumptions, but I think that this is definitely possible. I welcome input (your thoughts, etc.) or even outright dismissals. ~Patchwork Gibletish