Hello!

[Raine921 she/her]

My name is Lorraine and I recently stumbled upon Brandon Sanderson and I am almost embarrassed to admit that I never heard of him before.  I graduated from a rigorous graduate program a few months ago and I now have time to read for pleasure.   

 

I ended up purchasing the Mistborn Series on a whim just through random amazon searches.  I burned through all three books quickly and I actually finished hero of ages today.  I fell in love with the trilogy, the universe he created, and his writing.  I wanted to join a message board where I can see discussions regarding this series.

 

I also wanted to join because being new to Sanderson has made me confused as to where to go to next.  If there has already been a post on this, I am sorry to be repetitious and just ask to point me in the right direction.  I recently started following Sanderson on facebook to learn more about his works.  I know there is Alloy of Law, which is set later and with different characters.  

 

Are they any other works that explain the allomantic universe as the ending of Hero of Ages has left me with some questions.  Are all of his books connected in some way?  Is there an order I should be reading his works?

 

Thanks so much in advance!

[Veczlen he/him]

Hey and welcome! I am new myself.

[Voidus]

Welcome to the 17th Shard!
Many of Brandon's books are connected, they exist in the 'cosmere', the universe where they take place. There's a recurring character who's in a lot of these books, there are other Shards than Ruin and Preservation and a few characters who travel between worlds with as yet unknown methods.

My personal recommendation for reading would be Elantris>Warbreaker>Alloy of Law>Way of Kings> Words of Radiance>Emperor's Soul.

There are some more books planned in the time of Alloy of Law as well as a second trilogy of books set on the Mistborn world (Scadrial) during modern times and then a third trilogy that will be a sort of sci-fi.

[Raine921 she/her]

Hi and thank you so much for your input.  I really enjoyed the series.  I just felt like there was definitely more to the universe than what I was reading.

[Cheese United he/him]

Hey! Welcome to the fabulous forum that fills our time with frivolous frolicking! Have an Upvote!

[Blaze1616 he/him]

My personal recommendation for reading would be Elantris>Warbreaker>Alloy of Law>Way of Kings> Words of Radiance>Emperor's Soul.

 

Agreed, with a slight alteration in that Warbreaker and Elantris can be read in either order.

 

To further answer your question though, I would suggest you read Alloy of Law first. I'm not sure whether you knew about the Cosmere that Voidus mentions prior to him mentioning it, but you specifically said you wanted more info about Allomancy. Alloy of Law is the only other book set on Scadrial (the planet that Mistborn occurs on). The other novels that Voidus mentioned are separate series or stand-alone novels, all of which are excellent, but do not deal with Allomancy.

 

As for an actual reading order to all of Brandon's works, there isn't one. Warbreaker is a stand-alone. Elantris is a stand-alone. Alloy of Law takes place on Scadrial, as I mentioned. The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance are the first two installments of the Stormlight Archive, a series that is currently planned to be 10 books. The Emperor's Soul is a stand-alone novella that takes place on Sel, the planet in which Elantris occurs, so it is recommended you read Elantris prior to The Emperor's Soul, though there is almost no relation between them.

 

Welcome. I hope you enjoy our company.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Blaze1616

[Raine921 she/her]

Thank you, Blaze. I wasn't aware of the cosmere.  I guess by allomancy I meant the cosmere without realizing t.  I don't want to leave any spoilers here but I had questions about certain metals and I am not completely sure what a shard is.  I was afraid to use the wiki without spoiling any thing for myself.  But now I am thinking I will find those answers when I read his other works.

[vineyarddawg]

Welcome!

[Blaze1616 he/him]

Thank you, Blaze. I wasn't aware of the cosmere. I guess by allomancy I meant the cosmere without realizing t. I don't want to leave any spoilers here but I had questions about certain metals and I am not completely sure what a shard is. I was afraid to use the wiki without spoiling any thing for myself. But now I am thinking I will find those answers when I read his other works.

 

To avoid spoilers you should definitely read the majority, if not all, of Brandon's Cosmere works before searching for yourself. It'll help a lot, as well as allow you to understand more of the Cosmere jargon. Another helpful tool is the Cosmere 101 thread. Even that, though, is a bit spoiler-ish and is best used once you've acquainted yourself with a few of Brandon's novels. My best advice is to resist the urge to devour all the information that the internet has to offer and read a few more books. My first suggestion is Warbreaker, because it is available for free on Brandon's website (available here). This also allows you time to get the other novels, without losing time between now and you getting them. I would then follow Warbreaker with either Elantris or Alloy of Law, followed by the other one. Then you can dig into Stormlight Archive if you so choose.