Airborne_Windrunner Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Hi everyone. I am new to the forum. I just finished Words of Radiance and have to say the first two Stormlight Archive books are the two of the best books I have ever read. I am in a pickle now because I saw that the new one doesnt come out until later this year. I have already read the Kingkiller books as well. I was wondering what would be some good books to hold me over until book #3? I just got into the fantasy genre and I really enjoy it. Im currently away for work for 6 months from the family so its kind of depressing I am done with those first two books hahaha! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagerunner he/him Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Welcome to the Shard! Have you read any of Brandon's other adult fantasy novels, like Mistborn, Warbreaker, or Elantris? There are some subtle connections between all of those books... let's just say Honor and Odium aren't the only gods in that universe. For Stormlight, Brandon did write a novella focusing on some of Lift's adventures, called Edgedancer. It's currently available only in a collection of Brandon's short fiction, called Arcanum Unbounded. It might be a bit expensive to grab the whole book for a single novella, but most of the stories in it stand alone (There are some 'bonus scenes' for Mistborn and Elantris, and a novella called Mistborn: Secret History that shouldn't be read before the Mistborn books. But there are three really cool standalone novellas, called Emperor's Soul, Sixth of the Dusk, and Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, that aren't part of any other series.) And, there's always the option of rereading. Brandon hides a lot of secrets in his books, both foreshadowing of future plots (like all the death rattles) and mechanics of the universe (all of his magic shares underlying principles, and we here on the Shard have a lot of fun trying to puzzle out exactly how things work). You might be surprised how much new stuff you can pick up from Way of Kings once you've read Words of Radiance. (How many Heralds have you seen on-screen, for example?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manukos he/him Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 hey there gancho welcome to the 17th shard , the best community online i am manukos if you have any questions about the forum feel fre to PM me oh ! Btw have an upvote and a cookie (they go great together)!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assassin in Burgundy he/him Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 Welcome! I'd advise reading everything else by Brandon that you can get to, e.g. Mistborn, Elantris, or Warbreaker. For other material, I'd read A Song of Ice and Fire. It's not for the faint of heart, but it is really good. If you like sci-do, the Saga of Shadows by Kevin J. Anderson is amazing. Also, don't take the cookies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkJester Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Ok. For Brandon you have a lot to choose from. The Mistborn Trilogy was already mentioned. It is followed by four more books, (one of which hasn't been released yet...) that take place several hundred years after the first books. They are more entertaining in my opinion, mainly because the first three are pretty serious in feel, and the newer ones have a slightly more comical approach. I wanted to say lighter hearted, but honestly, there are some things in it that in my opinion are much darker than the first trilogy. All of which is good. Elantris is a great stand alone novel that will eventually get some follow ups. It's pretty good. There was a "natural" proses that would strike people randomly and basically turn them into gods. They could heal the wounded. Turn stones to bread. Instantly transport theirselves Hundreds of miles. All with a few flicks of the wrist. Then one night something changed and instead of being blessed with god like bodies and powers, they were cursed with undying bodies that resembled corpses. Bodies that never healed. Pain that never weakened let alone left. Forced to starve daily yet never die from it. It's an important book if you want to keep up with the collection of cosmere books. Then there is Warbreaker. It's actually free to read online from what I've heard. It's set in the cosmere as well. The society there worship the returned. People that have died and returned from the dead in forms that are again, god like. There is a war approaching. Everyone can feel it building, but who's to blame? Like a lot of Brandon's books, it deals with political intrigue, and has a pretty cool magic system. You have Arcanum Unbound that is a collection of short stories done by Brandon that take place throughout the cosmere. It does include Edgedancer. It follows Lift, who you met in Words of Radiance, leading a group of thiefs into a palace so that she could eat their food. It's a fantastic book, but read the others first. The Reconers trilogy is quite enjoyable. It's not cosmere, but it is still a lot of fun. Imagine a world where a strange light starts to shine in the sky one day, and suddenly some people start to develop super powers. Cool right? But wait. The powers corrupt the people that get them, and instead of getting a world filled with super powered super heros, you get super powered super villains. What do you do? Well, you form a small resistance and try to make them pay... Also if you liked the King Killer chronicles, there is a book of short stories by a lot of different authors called Rogues. In case you couldn't tell by the title, each author tells a short story about a rogue. Rothfuss just happens to be one of those authors, and he did his about a day in the life of Bast. So it gives you an extra glimps into that world and one of the characters, but you also have a sampling of other authors to try out and you may find some you like. It was pretty hit and miss for me. I didn't really hate any of them, but some were pretty good, so I do recommend it. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manukos he/him Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) oh my, @DarkJester how much free time do you have ? a simple list would have been sufficient , well can't fault someone for extra effort , have an upvote, Edited January 16, 2017 by Manukos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkJester Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 I was riding in a car and had nothing better to do 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flynn Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 The Lies of Locke Lamora is good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airborne_Windrunner Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Hi guys, Thanks a ton for all the insight! I am definitely going to move to Mistborn now. So, all of these books take place in Roshar? You say the same universe? Also, I was browsing other topics and it looks like from a lot of other threads on suggested reading order that I may have shot myself in the foot by reading SA first. Is this true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormyQueen she/her Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) 2 hours ago, Airborne_Windrunner said: Hi guys, Thanks a ton for all the insight! I am definitely going to move to Mistborn now. So, all of these books take place in Roshar? You say the same universe? Also, I was browsing other topics and it looks like from a lot of other threads on suggested reading order that I may have shot myself in the foot by reading SA first. Is this true? So, there's a post called Cosmere 101 that gives a general rundown of the Cosmere, but it contains major spoilers for HoA (Mistborn #3) so I'll give you a bit of a rundown here. (Under spoiler tag for length) Spoiler The Cosmere involves Brandon's major adult fantasy books, and they are all in the same world, but not on the same planet. Each major series takes place on a different planet, and most of them occur at different times in the timeline of the Cosmere. Each planet has a different magic system(s) and they all follow the same guidelines about where they gain their power, but are all individual. The magic systems originate from the shards. You know Odium, Cultivation and Honour? There are 16 of them across the cosmere. In early Cosmere history (as of yet, we have no books about this, but know about it through WoB (word of Brandon)) these were all part of the being called Adonalsium who was shattered in the form of those 16 shards. Now, throughout the Cosmere there are three realms, the physical, cognitive and spiritual. The physical realm is where the majority of the books take place, and are where the physical forms of objects exist. The cognitive realm is the realm of the mind (it is also called Shadesmar, this is the word for it on Roshar, and you would have seen it in WoR). The third is the spiritual realm which is where the soul of things are, to quote the coppermind wiki "Everything in the cosmere has a Spiritual aspect, a soul, which represents the idealized form or concept upon which their existence is based." Throughout the Cosmere there are a multitude of beings called worldhoppers, people who travel between the different planets (also called shardworlds) through various means. The most (in?)famous of this group is Hoid who you would know as the Wit. He appears in every major Cosmere book in varying degrees of importance. He has some sort of agenda, but we have no idea what it is. Another worldhopping group is the Seventeenth Shard which is also extremely mysterious and enigmatic, and you would know a few of their members as Grump, Thinker and Blunt from the WoK interludes (2nd set I believe). The third major party is Khriss who is followed by Nazh, and is the most knowledgable person about the Cosmere. I should also note that you don't have to know anything at all about the Cosmere to read Cosmere books, and the books have been written specifically so you don't need to know about the Cosmere which, currently, is a lot of background Easter eggs. Thats a rundown of the basics (other people, feel free to contribute if you feel I missed anything), but if you want more spoiler free information I'm happy to chat, as I have found it can be quite hard to get a basic idea of the Cosmere without facing spoilers left, right and centre if you haven't read all of the books. The Coppermine wiki can be a great resource if you're confused about anything, and I recommend you check it out, but again, beware the spoilers. And nah, you haven't shot yourself in the foot, whilst Stormlight is a phenomenal series, all of the Cosmere is great quality writing, and the great thing is that there is so much variation on material. Whilst Stormlight is, I would say, generally the favourite, my personal favourite is Mistborn (although this normally changes by the series I read last) which has a far more fast paced feel, and focuses on different elements to Stormlight (progression of society for one). I think most of the reading guides suggest reading it as something other than first because of how big a commitment it is, as well as being more of a slow burn and overwhealming scope which can turn people off who haven't read anything of Brandon's. Edited January 16, 2017 by CalypsoDreaming 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 https://www.goodreads.com/author/similar/38550.Brandon_Sanderson In addition to the ones you'll find at the link above, I would also recommend Larry Correia. Son of the Black Sword is the start of an epic fantasy, and is awesome. If you prefer to read series from start to finish, the Grimnoir Chronicles is a trilogy that starts with Hard Magic. Magic and guns set in an alternate 1930s earth, with lots of action and fascinating historical insights. Roger Zelazny's Amber series is incredible and reads really fast. (Zelazny is like the anti-Robert Jordan. You wish he padded things out a bit more.) Also strongly recommended: Lord of Light. N.K. Jemisin's Dreamblood series (Killing Moon and Shadowed Sun) has a fantastic magic system and amazing setting, quite different from the typical pseudo-European fantasy schtick. And if you like a nice helping of humor with your fantasy, check out Terry Pratchett. I would start somewhere in the middle, perhaps with Lords and Ladies or Men at Arms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedcomic he/him Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Also: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxal she/her Posted January 17, 2017 Report Share Posted January 17, 2017 A lot of people on this forum recommended to me the Powder Mage trilogy which is written by one of Brandon's former student. I am currently within the third book of the trilogy and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The story currently has one finished trilogy, three short stories and another upcoming trilogy. I also recommend it. It's got action, intrigue, military war and magical powers fitting within a canvas, well most of them anyway. I have only been bothered by one element of the story so far, but hey, that's probably just me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnsworth Posted January 18, 2017 Report Share Posted January 18, 2017 The black prism is good, but the first book is not as good as the sequels. Welcome to the shard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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