What Are You Reading While Waiting For More Cosmere Work?

[LtGrimes618]

HI Everyone, 

Per the title my question for the community revolves around what you are reading while waiting for Sanderson's Cosmere work or simply any of his work? The reason I ask this question is because there seems to be a wide range of answers to this question and personally I am looking for reads that may help me as I wait for the next Cosmere work to be published. Oftentimes when I finish anything by Sanderson I am left usually shocked, and wanting to immediately pick up another Sanderson book. My follow up question would be if you were to reread the Cosmere, what reading order would make the most sense, including the Arcanum Unbound collection? I have had numerous discussions with fellow fans about this and there seems to be a lack in general consensus towards a reading order for the Cosmere? 

Finally has anyone read Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence yet? I read Red Sister and it helped me while I was waiting on Sanderson's next work. Any further recommendations always appreciated! 

Update: 

A huge shout out to everyone who has commented so far on this thread and my apologies for posting this under the wrong forum! I will definitely be taking on many of the recommendations listed so far. With summer nearly here it is high time to start digging deeper into the Cosmere and other series.  

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by LtGrimes618

[Calderis]

Rereading to dig deeper... 

[Llarimar]

@LtGrimes618 thanks for posting this, I think this is a fun thing to discuss.  After I finished Oathbringer I read Soleri by Michael Johnston, and A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin.  A Wizard of Earthsea is a classic pillar of fantasy, and I thought that the writing was just beautiful and it's a relatively quick read, so I highly recommend it.  If anyone has read The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, there are many inspirations that I am pretty sure he draws from A Wizard of Earthsea (although maybe that's just my speculation).  As for Soleri, it's written by a debut author and I found it to be readable for the most part and very intriguing - I would probably buy a sequel if they release one.  The best thing about the book, I thought, was the imagery and the setting - it's set in a very sparse, dry, Egyptian-style fantasy world, which I found to be very interesting and different.  I didn't love the book though, and the writing was definitely clunkier than Sanderson or a lot of other great authors, but that's probably just because it's his first book.  But I have kind of exacting standards when it comes to the quality of books, and so maybe other people would enjoy the writing more!

Currently I am reading The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington, another debut author.  I bought the book because it said on the back that "fans of Sanderson will have much to admire."  I'm only about ten chapters into the book but I'm starting to lose interest - it's a pretty heavy volume, and I am struggling with the writing style and the thin characterization.  Plus the protagonist is like 16 years old, which is fine I suppose, but I prefer it when the main character is a bit older, just so the story is less immature.  I don't know if I'm going to finish the book, so I'm open to suggestions to fill my time before the next Sanderson comes out!  I have not read Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence, but maybe I'll take a look at it, it sounds interesting!  

Edited June 8, 2018 by Llarimar

[Catladyman]

The Themis Files, always on a reread of  Malazan, and I just finished Semiosis which was CRAZY good.  Also Every Heart a Doorway is one of like three novellas, I can’t remember the other titles or author, but definitely worth a try!

[AshBorn]

I actually just asked about a reading order, so I will just share what I got, which seems pretty good:

 

Honestly, a lot of the times when I finish a Cosmere book, I just start a new one. However, there are some other series I have gone back and read multiple times. 

The Lord of the Rings series

Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars Books (I accept these as canon, not the movies. Mara Jade is one of my favorite characters of all time.)

Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull

Keeper of the Lost Cities series by Shannon Messenger (Written for more middle school age, but I actually adore this series. I really enjoy the story, and it takes a couple of hours to read each book. If I remember correctly, there are going to be 8-9 books in the series when it is completed.)

I also really enjoy fairy tail retellings, my favorite series probably being The Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale

The Iron Butterfly series by Chanda Hahn

These are the ones I can think of at the moment. Happy Reading!

[Hoids Imaginary Friend]

Ahhh, the only good thing about finishing all of Brandons published work is being reminded that theres more cool stuff out there..

Im currently (finally) finishing off:

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever. Its a bit of a hard read to get into but I totally recomend it! P.s. MA15+ Violence and emotional trauma..

*****

A few suggestions for you guys in no particular order of awesomeness:

The Demon Cycle: its finally completed and it was brilliant! Imagine a world where demons rise from the ground when the sun goes down and reek havok, and we have no weapons to even hurt them only defensive wards to hide behind. P.s. its a but R rated in regards to violence, curses and nake'ness.

The Lightbringer Series: One of my favorite magic systems, amazing story! If you want to see how someone else made a magic system of Colors, have a go - 1 book left to be released, tentative next year. P.s. R rated - violence, curses and nake'ness.

The Lies of Loch Lamora: Imagine Oceans 11 meets Fantasy as Loch Lamora is unleashed on this poor world. This protagonist you kind of want have a beer with, be friends and slap him silly at the same time- not completed. P.s. MA15+ violence and curses

The Unhewn Thrown: The emporers children who are descendants of the god of light with their glowing yellow eyes living in a time of tormoil, their father dies, the immortal ancestors of the human race are after their extinction and the god of pain walks the earth teaching its trueth - completed. P.s. MA15+ violence and curses.

The Tide lords: Immortals who can manipulate the tide to sometimes cataclismic degrees, havent been seen in thousands of years and are now an unbelievable legend have "returned" - completed. MA Violence and nake'ness.

*****

I could go on, theres heaps of good work out there. I could tell you how amazing The Wheel of Time is or reinforce the poetic drama of Rothfuss's Kingskiller Chronicals meantioned above. But I think ive stretched the limitations of this thread already..

Oh!! In regards to what you could reread of Sandersans, theyre all good, you cant go wrong here

!~ HIF ~!

[goody153]

Recently i've been reading plenty of Scifi (Blindsight, Hyperion, I have no mouth and I must scream, Queens Angels ) but normally in between i read other fantasy series. Recently i've been reading Tad Williams - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series. 

Sometimes i reread books i've whether it's Sanderson books or not.

Right now i'm not even reading books(on a break but i sometimes have the motivation to  read continue reading Tad Williams every few days).

I'm just watching what would a person would normally consider trashy asian romcom drama's lol

 

If you are looking for suggestions to read tho. I suggest the big stuff like Malazan or WoT(if you wanted something similar to Sanderson .. well basically Sanderson finished this anyways) or if you want something that has a flashy combat/magic system like Mistborn/Stormlight archives then Travelers  Gate Trilogy (i actually think it has better combat sequences than anything Sanderson has written which is actually hard to do).

Edited June 9, 2018 by goody153

[Naurock]

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss are amazingly well written. I'm a huge Kvothe fan, and am eager to see how it goes forward.

The author that made me realize I liked Sci-fi/Fantasy was L.E. Modesitt Jr. His Saga of Recluse series is a world I loved to read about, with Chaos and Order being a balanced magic system that can be harnessed by mages.

Seventh Tower by Garth Nix is also an intriguing story.

[Aurimus_]

I'm currently working my way through the Wheel of Time for the first time - 9 books in so far. I'm also just trying to get through my To Read list, although it seems to get longer the more I read... 

[goody153]

14 hours ago, Aurimus_ said:

I'm currently working my way through the Wheel of Time for the first time - 9 books in so far. I'm also just trying to get through my To Read list, although it seems to get longer the more I read... 

Oh you're at the slowest part of WoT. The best parts are the last 3 books it's just insane. 

Quote

I'm also just trying to get through my To Read list, although it seems to get longer the more I read... 

Story of every enthusiastic readers life.

[Storyspren]

So um... I need this thread to become longer because... yeah.

[Storyspren]

On 6/9/2018 at 9:52 AM, Naurock said:

The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss are amazingly well written. I'm a huge Kvothe fan, and am eager to see how it goes forward.

The author that made me realize I liked Sci-fi/Fantasy was L.E. Modesitt Jr. His Saga of Recluse series is a world I loved to read about, with Chaos and Order being a balanced magic system that can be harnessed by mages.

Seventh Tower by Garth Nix is also an intriguing story.

Also, DUDE. Friends don't let friends start Kingkiller.

[Sandra]

4 hours ago, Storyspren said:

Also, DUDE. Friends don't let friends start Kingkiller.

It's torture. Wouldn't wish it even for my enemies ;-)

I am currently reading the Reckoners. Got a copy of Aether of Night and read that too. Finished Elantris, Warbreaker and Mistborn before reading Oathbringer. Can you tell I like Sanderson?

In case you like sci-fi I can recommend Red Rising (but I'm not up-to-date with that, didn't read the last book yet), Ender's Game, Forever War.

[Scion of the Mists]

 

[IllNsickly]

Lately has just been rereads of stuff. 

Here’s kind od a list.

So, other things to read. I checked out the other thread and decided to post on this one instead.

David Eddings: The Belgariad and The Mallorean, Belgarath the Sorcerer and Pologara the Sorceress, And I think there may have been one more; The Elenium and The Tamuli are all worth the reading. And just because I thought it was good 25 years ago, ‘The Losers’.

Stephen King seems kind of obvious, but I LOVE the ‘Dark Tower’ series and most of his books are connected to it in some way.

Orson Scott Card: the ‘Ender’ saga. All of them. Though, I haven’t read the ‘Formic Wars’ books yet, I see no reason  to doubt their quality.

Ian Irvine: ‘The View from the Mirror.’ I remember reading them 20 years ago when I was posting 4 day tours babysitting fences and Humvees. I had to search for the 3rd and 4th books, which makes me think they must have been worth the read.

Anything by Kate Elliot. The Jaran comes first to mind, though.

I cannot, in good conscience recommend either Patrick Rothfuss or George RR Martin. There are currently too many people bearing me ill will because I tricked them in to the torture of waiting for authors who are slightly less than prolific. Heh, at least I’m not alone.

Craig Alanson: Expeditionary Force, I happily recommend it. There is a certain amount of recycling one-liners and banter, but the story more than makes up for it. If you do the audio thing, RC Bray absolutely brings this story to life.

I also have a great liking of Dean Koontz. Most of his work is a fairly straightforward read, quick and enjoyable. I did like the ‘Odd Thomas’ books for the most part, but I like his more psychological needling and prodding stuff better. ‘False Memory’ took me a night to absorb after I finished it.

Terry Goodkind is alright. The repetition of ‘The Sword of Truth’ gets to be a bit much after the first 3 or 4 books, but if you take breaks between then it’s not so bad.

Just my additions to the conversation. 

[Argent]

I've moved this to General Brandon Discussion. Technically it's even strongly related to Brandon, so it might better belong to something like Entertainment, but I think this works a little better, assuming people want to bring up non-spoilery aspects to Brandon's writing.

[ZenBossanova]

The normally prolific Jim Butcher just released Briefcases. I am not normally a big fan of either urban fantasy or short stories, but I am always happy to make an exception for Chicago's most beleaguered wizard/gumshoe detective. 

[Elandera]

I'm currently making my way through the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. It's not a fantasy, but set in a "perfect" future, where the world no longer experiences natural death and it's run by a benevolent AI. There's one group outside its control: the Scythes. It was created by the AI to "glean", or kill, people to curb an unsustainable population growth. It's a fascinating series, though only two books are out currently.

[5ith Ideal]

Rereading cosmere over and over again because as soon as I try to read something else, I get bored for some reason or other halfway through... I just feel like nobody can match our Brandon!

[Tesh]

If you wanted to reread the Cosmere, I would suggest rereading it in the order you first read it in.

Or just reread your favorite ones over and over. (I'm I my seventh round of tWoK, I've gotten through WoR six, and OB three. I'm always listening to one of them on Audible, and pick up something new every time).

I also have to mention tWoT. That is sure to keep someone busy for a while. And they are really good, if you have the patience to read them. And Sanderson's non-Cosmere stuff, though not as complex, are still amazing. 

But stuff besides Sanderson and Jordan is hard. I'm most experienced in the realm of YA and children's. I finished reading Fahrenheit 451, and it was one of the best books I have ever read. It's dystopian, and was written in the early 1950s, but was mind blowing. And I've heard the Rira Chronicles by Michael J. Sullivan are amazing. 

Oh, and there's this guy called Brandon Sanderson, and if you haven't read his books, go read them, because they are absolutely amazing.

[Angsos]

The Demon Cycle is very good but yes, it is Rated for everything. Not strictly fantasy, more historical fiction but Guy Gavriel Kay's books are very good. Peter f. Hamilton is very good too but I listen to them on Audible. Some are quite long and I don't know how they are reading. I also liked Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan books and Harry Potter, though it read like she phoned the last book in. I'd watch the last two movies instead of reading the book. Of course Lord of the Rings but personally I'd listen to the Rob Inglis narrated audiobooks. One of the best ever.

[Xtafa]

I started the Arcane Ascension and The War of Broken Mirrors series by Andrew Rowe. I have loved both but now also waiting for new books!

Both series take place in the same world, each region of the world has its own variant of magic which is quite interesting to see how they balance and interact with each other.

It is almmmmooost LitRPG, but doesnt take place in a game world and no HIT POINTS which is good. So hits a nice balanced mix. 

[Krios]

I really like the Zamonia books by Walter Moers. In the original German version they are amazing and Buchhaim is the fictional place I want to visit the most. Does anyone know Mark T Barnes the Echoes of Empires trilogy. It lacks a bit in writing, but the world is amazing with all its fallen empires and cuthuluesk witches and warlocks. Or Genevieve Cogmans invisble library books are great and they are short. Something different from the Brandon Sanderson benchpress books.

 

[AonEne]

I'm rereading Wings of Fire right now, in preparation for the 11th book coming out later this month. It's really good. Tui T. Sutherland is a seriously great writer.

On 6/8/2018 at 7:43 PM, AshBorn said:

I also really enjoy fairy tail retellings, my favorite series probably being The Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale

I can agree with this! She's a great author. Read everything.

On 6/13/2018 at 10:45 AM, Elandera said:

I'm currently making my way through the Arc of a Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. It's not a fantasy, but set in a "perfect" future, where the world no longer experiences natural death and it's run by a benevolent AI. There's one group outside its control: the Scythes. It was created by the AI to "glean", or kill, people to curb an unsustainable population growth. It's a fascinating series, though only two books are out currently.

Yeah, this series is absolutely great. Neal is a good author in general, in my opinion, though some of his books have enthralled me all the way through and others have utterly lost me pretty early in. So I guess he varies.

[Llarimar]

@LtGrimes618, just to let you know I decided to stop by a bookstore and purchase Red Sister by Mark Lawrence at your suggestion, because I've been looking for a good book to read.  I'm a few chapters into the book and it's very excellent - the writing is great and I really love the characters and the premise.  To anyone else who is looking for a good book I second the motion, Red Sister is a great option, and I'm looking forward to reading Grey Sister once I'm done!