Should I read Edgedancer before Oathbringer?

[bedtime]

I'm new to Brandon Sanderson and have so far read The Way of Kings and am currently 88% through Words of Radiance. Should I read Edgedancer or Oathbringer next for the best experience?

Yes, I could look this up online, but I'm afraid I'll bump into spoilers in the search.

[Returned he/him]

I do recommend Edgedancer first, as it is sequentially the right order and will help flesh out a bit of Oathbringer. I don't think it's necessary though, and probably won't alter your experience a lot either way. I read Oathbringer first and didn't feel that I was missing anything, and re-reading it after reading Edgedancer didn't reveal or highlight much for me (though that's obviously not the same as reading Edgedancer first).

I think you'll have a good and very similar experience no matter what, so don't stress about it.

[Schizoposting]

Edgedancer was published before Oathbringer, and it adds context to some of the events that transpire in the latter. So, you should probably read the former first, if you want to get all the connections (although I frankly think that reading order is overrated).

But this may not result in the best reading experience, as the novellas are very tonal different from the rest of the SA—in particular, many people find the main character of Edgedancer (Lift) to be annoying. (I personally don't have any major issues with her, but I understand why some people do).

Edited February 12 by Schizoposting

[bedtime]

1 hour ago, Returned said:

I do recommend Edgedancer first, as it is sequentially the right order and will help flesh out a bit of Oathbringer. I don't think it's necessary though, and probably won't alter your experience a lot either way. I read Oathbringer first and didn't feel that I was missing anything, and re-reading it after reading Edgedancer didn't reveal or highlight much for me (though that's obviously not the same as reading Edgedancer first).

I think you'll have a good and very similar experience no matter what, so don't stress about it.

Thanks. Looks like I'll be reading Edgedancer soon then. 

1 hour ago, Schizoposting said:

But this may not result in the best reading experience, as the novellas are very tonal different from the rest of the SA—in particular, many people find the main character of Edgedancer (Lift) to be annoying. (I personally don't have any major issues with her, but I understand why some people do).

It seems the book is only 272 pages and rated 8/10, so I'm sure I'll be fine. I didn't have any issues with—what little I read of—Lift in so far, so I'll give it a try.

[bmcclure7]

19 hours ago, bedtime said:

I'm new to Brandon Sanderson and have so far read The Way of Kings and am currently 88% through Words of Radiance. Should I read Edgedancer or Oathbringer next for the best experience?

Yes, I could look this up online, but I'm afraid I'll bump into spoilers in the search.

Yes, you should definitely read it before there are some key character development that happens in edge dancer that is needed in order to understand the events in oathbringer

[bedtime]

3 hours ago, bmcclure7 said:

Yes, you should definitely read it before there are some key character development that happens in edge dancer that is needed in order to understand the events in oathbringer

It'll be read unless I decide to read something else entirely after Words of Radiance (currently at 91%).

I'll be sure to let you guys know how I feel about Lift. I'm betting some of you will be curious at this point.

[bedtime]

On 2/13/2026 at 12:41 PM, bmcclure7 said:

Yes, you should definitely read it before there are some key character development that happens in edge dancer that is needed in order to understand the events in oathbringer

It'll be read unless I decide to read something else entirely after Words of Radiance (currently at 91%).

I'll be sure to let you guys know how I feel about Lift. I'm betting some of you will be curious at this point.

...

Finished the book yesterday, and I liked it. Have to say that Lift did have some strange ideas, but she's around 12 years old, and at that age people don't tend to have enough life experience to grasp all the implications of their actions. That said, I was digging the outright silly choices she made and the situations she got herself into, and I found it relaxing after having read Words of Radiance.

So, I do think Sanderson did a good job with her. Apparently, he said she was one of his favorite characters and that we'd be seeing more of her in future books, so I'm hoping this happens. I think she's one of my favorite characters as well.

And now, I'm on chapter 5 of Oathbringer.