Cosmere Initiation

[Vharalazhar]

I haven't as of yet read any of Brandon Sanderson's books, but I've been told that "the Way of Kings" is a good starting point for getting to know his books and the Cosmere. Are there any conflicting views on this? What would the ideal reading order be?

[Zadakeem he/him]

I have managed to read all of Sandersons books, I started with "The Way of Kings" first, and then went through all the rest. Its a good starting point. But, when I suggest others to read his books, I usually start them in Elantris, Mistborn Trilogy, Warbreaker, then TWoK.

 

But, any onw of those is a good starting point. The only book I didnt enjoy much was Warbreaker. But, I would read warbreaker before "Words of Radiance" simply because the book will be MAJORLY enhanced if you do.

[Cracknut he/him]

Mistborn might be best place to start with Cosmere. Stormlight Archieve is Sanderson's best work so far and so on but Mistborn provides basic information about Cosmere that you won't find anywhere else simply because SA hasn't reached the point where those stuff will come into play and other books are mostly standalones at least. They have a lot of important information as well and there are references all over the place but third book in Mistborn series is what makes it apparent that there's more to the world than it seems imo. + It's finished and its awesome.

I would recommend reading them in chronological order: Elantris, Warbreaker, Mistborn, SA + you can read Emperor's Soul after reading Elantris and Alloy of Law after reading Mistborn Trilogy.
BUT I don't think Elantris is best place to start with Sanderson as it's his first work and writing is not as good as in others(Don't get me wrong, its good, but it's not as good as his later works imo).
Warbreaker is a good read and most likely will make you read other books by BS but Elantris and Warbreaker never get 'aware' of Cosmere.

I would recommend reading them in this order:
Mistborn trilogy
Warbreaker or Elantris or both
Stormlight Archive

You can skip Elantris and read it after Stormlight Archieve, but don't skip Warbreaker.

 

But again, BS wrote them so that people can start reading from any series they want and you could read them all and still miss that they're all interconnected so you can start wherever you want

Edited April 28, 2014 by Cracknut

[Moogle]

Each book is fairly self-contained, so the reading order doesn't matter much. I'd recommend reading Mistborn and then The Way of Kings, though, as the epigraphs will make more sense.

 

Oh, and I'd also highly recommend reading Warbreaker before Words of Radiance (book 2 of Stormlight). A lot of people don't like the book, but there's some very neat easter eggs in Words of Radiance from Warbreaker.

 

I myself can barely stand Elantris, so I'd leave it for last. I'm a heretic, I know.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Moogle

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

I'm with Moogle. If I had read Elantris first, I might not have read Sanderson's other books. It's just good. Start on Mistborn or Way of Kings. Mistborn might be best, honestly. It's a great series, lots of info, and it will make some aspects of Way of Kings a little less confusing. I would try Mistborn Trilogy -> Warbreaker -> Way of Kings -> Words of Radiance -> Alloy of Law -> Elantris. That's not in order of favorites or anything, just what I think would provide the best understanding as you read.

[Glaring at the Survivor he/him]

I agree with Bloodfalcon (although I'd add The Emperors Soul in there somewhere too, on one side or the other of Elantris).

And Alcatraz, although not specifically cosmeric, is a pretty good series too.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Stroniax

[Aether he/him]

I started with the Way of Kings myself, and I got sucked in very quickly with the steep but rewarding learning curve. My mind was completely blown when I realised the significance of  the epigraphs of part II, but it took a while before I understood the full context.

 

I don't know if I would have fallen as hard for Brandon's books as I did if I had started anywhere else. Mistborn is good, and very cool and well paced (and STORMS the foreshadowing!!!!), Warbreaker is very funny and original, but has some issues with rapid shifts in tone and pacing, and Elantris is... The setting and elements of it is quite original, but I think it might be his most classically structured book, as it has a taste of pulp fantasy of it. Brandon quite simply reached a whole new level with the Stormlight Archive and succeeding books, and while aspects of the Way if Kings might be confusing without the context from Mistborn, the hints at a greater universe was one of the things that made me buy all of his other books and binge read the whole thing in a little over a week.To get properly and certainly sucked in without any reprieve, the Way of Kings is the way to go. 

 

But if you'd prefer to dip your toes into the Cosmere before you throw yourself at the massive tome that is the Way of Kings, then I think the single best book to start with would be the Emperor's Soul. It isn't as climactic and epic as most of his other Cosmere books, but it is extremely well written and provides maybe his most original and interesting magic system. It is also self-contained and rather short, and while some of the dialogue can only be fully appreciated with some deeper Realmatic knowledge, none if it will feel confusing or empty. Also, Forging is cool and poetic.

[holyground]

AS far as strength of both story, and a good place to start, I recommend the mistborn trilogy first. Right now, all the cosmere stuff is background, but, especially in the third book, Some of the background stuff comes out and it's very interesting. 

 

There's also an interesting theory to read the books based on Hoid's growth. 

[Delightful]

I'd just like to add, if you want to start Way of Kings, be prepared for a very steep learning curve. If that's going to throw you off, start with either The Emperor's Soul or Mistborn, and once you see how awesome those books are, you'll probably find the WoK learning curve easier in the sense that you'll trust Brandon as an author that the story will start making sense.

 

[Vharalazhar]

Thanks for your help, all of you! I might reconsider the reading order of Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive, but I think I have now decided on starting with the Emperor's Soul in order to "dip my toes" first, as Aether suggested. I'll take it from there :-)

[The Shadow he/him]

I'd just like to add, if you want to start Way of Kings, be prepared for a very steep learning curve. If that's going to throw you off, start with either The Emperor's Soul or Mistborn, and once you see how awesome those books are, you'll probably find the WoK learning curve easier in the sense that you'll trust Brandon as an author that the story will start making sense.

 

 

I have to agree. Not everyone is prepared to slog through the Archive. I recommend Mistborn.

[Tien'sPetLurg she/her]

I also recommend Mistborn. It gets you used to his style of writing. In some ways, it's like reading a mystery.

[Swimmingly he/him]

I have to agree. Not everyone is prepared to slog through the Archive. I recommend Mistborn.

Well, you can tell that it's going to be quite the series when, at two books of ten, it's already described as a "slog".