Reading Suggestions?

[_Longname_ he/him]

Hi everyone! Quick question about what to read next in the Cosmere:

I started the Cosmere with Way of Kings and Final Empire, then continued The Stormlight Archive while reading Mistborn alongside it.

So far, I’ve finished all of Scadrial except for the Arcanum Unbounded essays and short stories (planning to read Eleventh Metal, Allomancer Jak, and Secret History soon). I’ve also just finished Dawnshard and am reading Rhythm of War next.

I’m good in reading multiple books at once, so I’m already thinking ahead—what should I pick up next?

I’m especially interested in:

• Cosmere standalones
• Stories with connections or Easter eggs related to Scadrial
• Books that tie into Arcanum Unbounded

I was considering Elantris or Tress of the Emerald Sea—would that be a good next step, or is there something you’d recommend first?

Thanks!

[PanLin they/he]

The only one I feel strongly about is that you should absolutely read Warbreaker before continuing with Stormlight.

2 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

I was considering Elantris or Tress of the Emerald Sea—would that be a good next step, or is there something you’d recommend first?

With these two, I'd recommend you read Elantris before Tress.

Emberdark and Sunlit Man are both set in the future of the Cosmere a bit—I read them in release order (Sunlit Man, Wind and Truth, Emberdark) and really enjoyed them all, but some people think you should read Sunlit Man after Wind and Truth. Difficult to explain why without spoilers, but honestly I think release order is fine and added to my enjoyment of Sunlit Man in particular.

[Treamayne]

2 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

I’m especially interested in:

• Cosmere standalones
• Stories with connections or Easter eggs related to Scadrial
• Books that tie into Arcanum Unbounded

There is a post about Reading order here. The focus is less about any "correct order" (I do not think such a thing exists) and more about making informed decisions, so the post details which books contain references from other books. Based on what you have read so far: The Emperor's' Soul, Warbreaker, and Elantris have the most connections to what you have read and are about to read:

Spoiler

Books and their references - Labelled as Major - Important references impacting story, Minor - References that clarify story, Easter Egg - Tidbits that are just interesting when you notice, but not impacting story. Some Major and Minor references also have Easter Eggs, but titles are listed in their highest classification only.

Warbreaker

• Major references in Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth
• Minor references Tress of the Emerald Sea, Edgedancer, The Lost Metal, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Elantris

• Major references in Mistborn: Secret History, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Wind and Truth, The Lost Metal
• Minor References in Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Rhythm of War, Oathbringer
• Easter Eggs in Way of Kings, The Emperor's' Soul, 

The Emperor's' Soul

• Major References in The Lost Metal
• Note: Novella and has great explanations of basic Realmatics. 

Another tool for finding connections (be careful, it is easy to spoiler youself accidentally) is the Shard Github (use the legend on the right to turn books, series, and connection levels on or off to see how they are connected. 

Hope that helps

[_Longname_ he/him]

19 hours ago, PanLin said:

The only one I feel strongly about is that you should absolutely read Warbreaker before continuing with Stormlight.

18 hours ago, Treamayne said:

There is a post about Reading order here. The focus is less about any "correct order" (I do not think such a thing exists) and more about making informed decisions, so the post details which books contain references from other books. Based on what you have read so far: The Emperor's' Soul, Warbreaker, and Elantris have the most connections to what you have read and are about to read:

  Reveal hidden contents

Books and their references - Labelled as Major - Important references impacting story, Minor - References that clarify story, Easter Egg - Tidbits that are just interesting when you notice, but not impacting story. Some Major and Minor references also have Easter Eggs, but titles are listed in their highest classification only.

Warbreaker

• Major references in Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth
• Minor references Tress of the Emerald Sea, Edgedancer, The Lost Metal, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

Elantris

• Major references in Mistborn: Secret History, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Wind and Truth, The Lost Metal
• Minor References in Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, Rhythm of War, Oathbringer
• Easter Eggs in Way of Kings, The Emperor's' Soul, 

The Emperor's' Soul

• Major References in The Lost Metal
• Note: Novella and has great explanations of basic Realmatics. 

Another tool for finding connections (be careful, it is easy to spoiler youself accidentally) is the Shard Github (use the legend on the right to turn books, series, and connection levels on or off to see how they are connected. 

Hope that helps

Thanks! That’s really helpful!

I can read the AU Scadrial Stories before those beneath right?

I think then Warbreaker will be next, followed by Elantris (together with Hope of Elantris?), and then The Emperor’s Soul.

After those I should continue SA, did I get that right?

[Treamayne]

3 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

After those I should continue SA, did I get that right?

Only you get to chose the right answer for yourself - it's your Journey before Destination.

3 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

I can read the AU Scadrial Stories before those beneath right?

The only one I would worry about is Mistborn: Secret History. Though, if I am understanding your Intro Post correctly, you have already read The Lost Metal? So the reveal has already happened for you (Rhythm of War and The Lost Metal both reveal the same information, so it's personal preference which you want to read first for the reveal); but M:SH has a bit of Elantris references, so I would recommend it after Elantris (and Hope of Elantris, if you are reading both). 

[_Longname_ he/him]

14 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

The only one I would worry about is Mistborn: Secret History. Though, if I am understanding your Intro Post correctly, you have already read The Lost Metal? So the reveal has already happened for you (Rhythm of War and The Lost Metal both reveal the same information, so it's personal preference which you want to read first for the reveal); but M:SH has a bit of Elantris references, so I would recommend it after Elantris (and Hope of Elantris, if you are reading both). 

Ok, thanks! Good to know.

I had a question about Arcanum Unbounded:

Are the single Stories in AU (Emperor’s Soul, White Sand, SfSitFoH, Sixth of the Dusk) the full versions that I can read normally?

[PanLin they/he]

3 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

Thanks! That’s really helpful!

Happy to help! It's tricky to look at reading orders and plan your journey without spoiling yourself, so let me know if there any other questions you have, but ultimately I agree with @Treamayne—pick up whatever book looks appealing to you next.

If in doubt, you really can't go wrong with release order. There are easter eggs in earlier books that don't make sense until you've read later ones anyway, so afaik there isn't a way to be prepared for every single easter egg, reference, and appearance of a certain bard on your first read-through.

3 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

I think then Warbreaker will be next, followed by Elantris (together with Hope of Elantris?), and then The Emperor’s Soul.

After those I should continue SA, did I get that right?

That said, this is as good a plan as any! I almost went into more detail, but I'm holding myself back  this order looks good, and I'm jealous of you being able to read them for the first time.

3 hours ago, _Longname_ said:

I can read the AU Scadrial Stories before those beneath right?

Yeah, if it's the same three as you referenced above, read them whenever—Secret History might have some references you don't understand yet, but again, you're never going to avoid that entirely.

EDIT:

4 minutes ago, _Longname_ said:

Are the single Stories in AU (Emperor’s Soul, White Sand, SfSitFoH, Sixth of the Dusk) the full versions that I can read normally?

• Emperor's Soul: Yes
• White Sand: Just the prologue, I think. The full books are graphic novels (with audio adaptations)
• Forests of Hell: Yes
• Sixth of the Dusk: Yes, but this same story (with some extra bits) is reused wholesale as flashback sequences in Isles of the Emberdark—you can either skip it for now until you get to Emberdark, or read the old version here anyway. Entirely up to you
• Everything else: Yes

Edited April 5 by PanLin
replying to more questions

[Treamayne]

4 minutes ago, _Longname_ said:

Are the single Stories in AU (Emperor’s Soul, White Sand, SfSitFoH, Sixth of the Dusk) the full versions that I can read normally?

All except for White Sand, which is a preview of the Prose (non-canon unpublished, please see White Sand Versions) and a short preview of the Graphic novel (canon) version Note - the Preview if of the original three-volume GN, but the Omnibus is the current (corrected) Canon version. As above, all of the needed info for White Sand is at that link. Including alternate reading methods for those that do not like Graphic Novels (but I do recommend the Omnibus, if just for the visual Ars Arcanum).