What do I read after Mistborn and some questions about the ending

[Sielas]

Hey everyone, I just finished the first Mistborn Trilogy and wanted to ask a few things.

Most of them would probably be easily answered by the wiki or googling but I really wish to avoid spoilers. The coppermind wiki is very unsafe in regard to spoilers, as I found out while searching for a very minor detail and finding a massive spoiler (which thankfully didn't impact my enjoyment of the series) in plain sight on the top of the relevant page. Randomly scouring forums would be even more risky.

 

First I'd like to know how Sanderson's other books fit into the cosmology and timeline with Mistborn books, since I've heard a lot of them take place in the same universe. I'd also like to know in what order you'd suggest reading them in.

 

I'm also curious about some of the things in the ending. If any of these are a major part of another book's plot, no need to answer.

Highlight below for spoilers, I couldn't figure out what the function was, made the text white.

 

Are Marsh, Kandra, Koloss dead and gone? It wasn't explicitly stated.

What are the last metals? (assuming one of them might be "Alloy of Law")

[Nashan’Elin]

Hi! The Mistborn Trilogy was my first as well, I'm glad you enjoyed it

For future reference, you can use spoiler tags by doing [spoiler!] and [/spoiler!], removing the exclamation marks. It looks like this

See?

To answer your hidden questions

Marsh is still around, Koloss have been changed to be a natural species that can reproduce, and the Kandra are also still around, helping out Harmony. The other metals are revealed in Alloy of Law.

As to what you should read next, I recommend Warbreaker. It's free on Brandon's website, and it's pretty early on in the Cosmere timeline. Speaking of timelines, we're not quite sure, but it goes something like Elantris -> Warbreaker and Mistborn Era 1 -> Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Era 2 -> Mistborn Era 3 -> Sixth of Dusk and Mistborn Era 4

[DreamEternal]

Welcome!

Timeline wise, it goes more or less like this:

Dragonsteel(unreleased)

White Sand(unreleased)

Elantris

Mistborn Era 1/ Original Triology

Mistborn: Secret History. (Some say you should only read it after the third Wax&Wayne book. Don't listen to them, reading it right after the Original Triology is fine and fits better, IMO.)

Warbreaker(please, read this before the second book of Stormlight Archive. There is a very important link between the two books)

Stormlight Archive 1 to 5 (Only 1 and 2 released for now)

Mistborn Era 2/ 1.5/ Wax&Wayne (there are disagreements over the Era terminology)

Stormlight Archive 5 to 10(unreleased)

Mistborn Era 2 / 3/ Modern Triology(unreleased)

Short story- Sixth of The Dusk

Mistborn Era 3/ 4/ Space Triology(unreleased)

There are others I don't know where to fit, but here are the ones I know.

You can do spoiler tags with [ spoiler ] YOUR TEXT HERE [ /spoiler ] without spaces.

About the ending of the Original Triology:

Marsh survived. Sazed, now know as Harmony, gave the Kandra their spikes back and now they are know as the Faceless Immortals, His servants.

The koloss were turned by Sazed into a true species, somewhere between humans and the hemalurgic monsters they were. If the Mistborn Tabletop RPG is to be trusted, they can use spikes to become "true" koloss or remain as the more humanlike "koloss blooded". There are koloss blooded characters in the Wax&Wayne books.

The two new metals are Cadmium and Chromium, and their alloys came with them. Atium and its alloys, being God Metals, don't actually count as part of the 16 metals, and the mists created Atium mistings only because Preservation forced them to behave that way.

The Alloy of Law is metaphoric.

EDIT: ninja-ed !

Edited May 17, 2016 by DreamEternal

[Sielas]

Which books are Modern Trilogy and Space Trilogy? And what about Secret History?

 

Oh and does Sanderson ever stop overusing the words "spin" and "spun"? 

Edited May 17, 2016 by Sielas

[DreamEternal]

Which books are Modern Trilogy and Space Trilogy?

It is a secret to everyone . (By that I mean I forgot to write "unreleased" bext to them)

And what about Secret History?

After the original triology. Forgot about it. Edited May 17, 2016 by DreamEternal

[Khyrindor]

I'd definitely agree with Dream Eternal's timeline. I start my friends off with Elantris, as it isn't intimidating, is the first we've seen happen in the Cosmere, and is weaker than the rest (It's still very good, but when you go from that to Mistborn, it blows you away). After that, Emperor's Soul. It may not be in that spot on the timeline, but it's short, and gives a very good description of how the cosmere works as a whole. Then the 1st Mistborn Trilogy and Secret History, which you've read (I also agree it works fine right there instead of Bands). 

 

Next, I'd suggest Warbreaker. It was written as a Contrast to Final Empire; instead of dark and depressing, it's bright and colourful. 

 

Now that you've read all of those, you're ready for Stormlight Archive, the first two books of which are out. These are huge books, so if you're intimidated or need a break, I slide Shadows for Silence between Warbreaker and Way of Kings. After whichever book of the Stormlight Archive is out (up to book five), you should go and read Era 2 of Mistborn. These happen after book five of SA. The Stormlight books and Wax and Wayne books have a lot of Cosmerey things going on that it's better to have knowledge of before hand. After those, go and read Sixth of the Dusk, and you can make some inferences on some things with your new vast knowledge of the Cosmere.

 

If you feel you need a break from the Cosmere, there are some quick reads of his that aren't Cosmere as well. Of course, it's all up to you, and if you don't have access to a certain book, it doesn't matter too much if you go on ahead. These books all tell their own narritive, this is just (I think) a good order to read them for maximum awesomeness. 

 

Happy reading! 

[Sielas]

Something more bright and uplifting sounds good after all the despair and self-pity in the first trilogy. But first I'll take a break with American Gods.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Sielas

[Kaymyth]

Mistborn: Secret History. (Some say you should only read it after the third Wax&Wayne book. Don't listen to them, reading it right after the Original Triology is fine and fits better, IMO.)

 

I would actually respectfully disagree with this.    Secret History contains a major spoiler for the end of Bands of Mourning.  Brandon himself has said that he would prefer people read Bands before SH.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Kaymyth

[DreamEternal]

I would actually respectfully disagree with this. Secret History contains a major spoiler for the end of Bands of Mourning. Brandon himself has said that he would prefer people read Bands before SH.

It is not directly a major spoiler, IMO, just a load of hints that make guessing the twist before it happens much easier.

And as the plotline runs parelel to the Original Triology, I believe it just flows better if you read it before Wax&Wayne, in terms of themes, events and characters.

That may be because I read the leaked Bands of Mourning epilogue before the book was released, and thus already knew the twist before even buying the book, but I still stand by my opinion that that single twist is not worth delaying your reading of M:SH by three books.

Edited May 17, 2016 by DreamEternal

[DSC01]

Yeah, I really don't think Secret History needs to be read after Bands, myself. I even think that it would be cool if someone created a Mistborn anthology that cut Secret History into the main story. Having not read the first trilogy all that recently when I read M:SH, I think that some of the scenes didn't have quite the impact that they could have. 

[Bugsy]

I would definitely read SH after BoM, although I absolutely hate all spoilers

The reading order I'd recommend is:

Mistborn (first trilogy)

Elantris

Emperor's soul

6th of Dusk

Warbreaker

Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

Mistborn reread**

Mistborn Era 2

Mistborn: SH

** I'd recommend this as a refresher and even just because the layers of foreshadowing are even more amazing in retrospect.

Edited to remove a * because it thought I was trying to skirt the rules and swear

Edited May 17, 2016 by Bugsy6912

[Kaymyth]

In the end, it's a matter of opinion.  But - we're responding to a poster who is vehemently against reading spoilers.  I think it's only right to err on the side of caution and recommend the least spoilery path. 

 

I know that if I had read Secret History on someone's advice claiming that it wasn't spoilery, I would've been...upset.

[Sielas]

I suppose SH will be read later then. Even if it doesn't outright spoil anything, I might be able to connect the dots. The first trilogy has SO MANY Cherkov's guns lying around everywhere that it's hard not to try to figure how small details can steer the plot.

 

And Bugsy, why are you putting 6th of Dusk so much earlier in your order compared to everyone else.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Sielas

[Bugsy]

I put it there just because it's a novella so it feels as if it accompanies TES quite well, although they don't share a plot or anything. Fell free to move that to wherever you want

[Eccentric Hero]

Chronology - The Coppermind - 17th Shard

[Bugsy]

Chronology - The Coppermind - 17th Shard

That page is definitely NOT spoiler friendly. Continue at your own risk

[Eccentric Hero]

That page is definitely NOT spoiler friendly. Continue at your own risk

Sielas has read the Mistborn trilogy, so the first table is safe to read.

[Bugsy]

Sielas has read the Mistborn trilogy, so the first table is safe to read.

Yeah, the table is safe, but if he were to scroll down past it (to "Events on Sel", for example), it would be less that desirable

[Trae Cooper]

I'm also vehemently anti-spoiler, and I feel like it would definitely spoil BoM in a way that would have reduced my enjoyment of it. I agree with Kaymyth

[Nyali]

Reading things in chronological order isn't necessarily necessary. The first few books/series he wrote do not contain any spoilers/references to other books in any way where you'd want to read one before the other. Here's what I would recommend as far as "read X before Y" goes to fully get what's going on, avoid spoilers, and fully appreciate the cross-book references:

 

1. [in any order] Elantris // Warbreaker // Mistborn 1-3 (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) // Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
    
2. Stormlight Archive 1-2 (The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance)
    
3. Mistborn 4-6 (The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning)
    
4. Mistborn: Secret History

The Emperor's Soul can be read anywhere at the moment, but should probably be after Elantris. I'm not sure there are any actual spoilers in The Empreror's Soul for Elantris, but I can't be certain (while they do take place on the same world, the events of each happen very far away from each other). (Also, you should read The Emperor's Soul. It's my favorite Brandon Sanderson story so far, and that's saying something given how much I love the Stormlight Archive.)

 

I haven't read the short story Sixth of the Dusk yet, so I can't comment on that one.

 

I'm not sure if the upcoming graphic novel White Sand works best before or after the other books that share characters. I'd assume after since it's coming out after, but chronologically, I think it takes place before those books.

 

 

Note that the Stormlight Archive is a 10-book series, split into two groups of five books. It'll be a long time before the whole series is finished, but it's so amazing, I can't not recommend reading what's out rather than waiting for more. The second era of Mistborn (the Wax and Wayne books) is a four book series and the last book (The Lost Metal) won't be written for a while.

 

 

There's nothing wrong with going right from The Hero of Ages to The Alloy of Law without reading Brandon's other books if you want to continue the story of Scadrial (the world that Mistborn takes place on), but you'll miss out on a bunch of easter eggs and references and such if you do. There aren't spoilers for other series or anything in the later Mistborn books, just oblique references.

 

 

As far as the other two Mistborn trilogies (the modern era one and the sci-fi era one), those won't be out for a while. Brandon's focusing on getting Stormlight 3-5 done, working in a couple other books between Stormlight books (stuff like the final Wax and Wayne book, a sequel to Warbreaker, and/or a sequel to Elantris - what he works on when isn't set in metal, but he's expressed interest in working on those books in those spots). The modern era Mistborn books will probably be written after Stormlight 1-5 is done, but before Stormlight 6-10. The very last Cosmere books he plans to write, I believe, are Dragonsteel and the space-era Mistborn books. My understanding is that Dragonsteel is the prequel to the whole Cosmere series, and the space-era Mistborn books are the finale of the Cosmere series, but I could be wrong on that last point. I don't know if Brandon intends to write the ending or the beginning of the Cosmere's story last, but my impression is that both will come after all others.

 

Given it takes Brandon two years to write a Stormlight Archive book, it could be quite a while before he gets to the space era Mistborn stuff!

Edited May 18, 2016 by Nyali

[Bugsy]

Reading things in chronological order isn't necessarily necessary. The first few books/series he wrote do not contain any spoilers/references to other books in any way where you'd want to read one before the other. Here's what I would recommend as far as "read X before Y" goes to fully get what's going on, avoid spoilers, and fully appreciate the cross-book references:

 

1. [in any order] Elantris // Warbreaker // Mistborn 1-3 (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) // Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

    

2. Stormlight Archive 1-2 (The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance)

    

3. Mistborn 4-6 (The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning)

    

4. Mistborn: Secret History

The Emperor's Soul can be read anywhere at the moment, but should probably be after Elantris. I'm not sure there are any actual spoilers in The Empreror's Soul for Elantris, but I can't be certain (while they do take place on the same world, the events of each happen very far away from each other). (Also, you should read The Emperor's Soul. It's my favorite Brandon Sanderson story so far, and that's saying something given how much I love the Stormlight Archive.)

 

I haven't read the short story Sixth of the Dusk yet, so I can't comment on that one.

 

I'm not sure if the upcoming graphic novel White Sand works best before or after the other books that share characters. I'd assume after since it's coming out after, but chronologically, I think it takes place before those books.

 

 

Note that the Stormlight Archive is a 10-book series, split into two groups of five books. It'll be a long time before the whole series is finished, but it's so amazing, I can't not recommend reading what's out rather than waiting for more. The second era of Mistborn (the Wax and Wayne books) is a four book series and the last book (The Lost Metal) won't be written for a while.

 

 

There's nothing wrong with going right from The Hero of Ages to The Alloy of Law without reading Brandon's other books if you want to continue the story of Scadrial (the world that Mistborn takes place on), but you'll miss out on a bunch of easter eggs and references and such if you do. There aren't spoilers for other series or anything in the later Mistborn books, just oblique references.

 

 

As far as the other two Mistborn trilogies (the modern era one and the sci-fi era one), those won't be out for a while. Brandon's focusing on getting Stormlight 3-5 done, working in a couple other books between Stormlight books (stuff like the final Wax and Wayne book, a sequel to Warbreaker, and/or a sequel to Elantris - what he works on when isn't set in metal, but he's expressed interest in working on those books in those spots). The modern era Mistborn books will probably be written after Stormlight 1-5 is done, but before Stormlight 6-10. The very last Cosmere books he plans to write, I believe, are Dragonsteel and the space-era Mistborn books. My understanding is that Dragonsteel is the prequel to the whole Cosmere series, and the space-era Mistborn books are the finale of the Cosmere series, but I could be wrong on that last point. I don't know if Brandon intends to write the ending or the beginning of the Cosmere's story last, but my impression is that both will come after all others.

 

Given it takes Brandon two years to write a Stormlight Archive book, it could be quite a while before he gets to the space era Mistborn stuff!

Very good summary. ES doesn't spoil Elantris in any way, and I would definitely recommend reading ES early in your Cosmere reading list just because of some of the ideas it introduces (plus, it's my favorite novella/short story by a long shot). Oh, and can I just say I love the phrase "set in metal"? I'm adding that to my repertoire of everyday Sanderson phrases

[Nyali]

Oh, and can I just say I love the phrase "set in metal"? I'm adding that to my repertoire of everyday Sanderson phrases

 

I wrote "set in stone" there, stopped typing, looked at it for a minute, and then shook my head and corrected it. ^.^