Brandon Sanderson Books in Order — Complete Cosmere Reading Guide
Brandon Sanderson has built something no other living fantasy author has attempted — an interconnected multiverse called the Cosmere, spanning 20+ novels and novellas set on different planets, all governed by the same underlying physics and connected by a hidden overarching narrative. Reading order matters because later books contain significant spoilers for earlier ones, and the crossover payoffs only land if you've done the groundwork. This guide covers every Cosmere book in recommended sequence, explains where to start, and tells you exactly when the series begin connecting. The first five-book arc of The Stormlight Archive completed in November 2024 — there has never been a better time to begin.
Quick Stats
Author
Brandon Sanderson
Total Books
20 (Cosmere)
Genre
Epic Fantasy
Best Starting Point
The Final Empire
Start Here — Mistborn Era 1
3 books — a complete trilogy. The best entry point into the Cosmere for most readers.
- 1
The Final Empire
Mistborn Era 1, Book 1
A crew of thieves attempts the impossible: topple an immortal god-emperor using Allomancy — a magic system powered by swallowed metals. The best entry point for new Sanderson readers and one of the finest heist fantasies ever written.
Best starting point. Read this first.
View on Amazon - 2
The Well of Ascension
Mistborn Era 1, Book 2
The empire has fallen — now the revolution must govern. Sanderson dismantles every expectation of what a sequel should do, deepening the world and forcing the cast into impossible political situations.
- 3
The Hero of Ages
Mistborn Era 1, Book 3
The culmination of Era 1 delivers one of fantasy’s most jaw-dropping reveals and a conclusion that reframes everything you thought you knew. The payoff is enormous.
Mistborn Era 2 — Wax and Wayne
4 books — set 300 years after Era 1 with a new cast. Complete Era 1 first.
- 4
The Alloy of Law
Mistborn Era 2, Book 1
Three hundred years after Era 1, the same magic meets a Victorian-era industrial city. A fresh, faster-paced entry that works as a palate cleanser after the density of the original trilogy.
- 5
Shadows of Self
Mistborn Era 2, Book 2
Wax and Wayne investigate murders threatening to ignite the city’s political tensions. Darker and more emotionally complex than The Alloy of Law.
- 6
The Bands of Mourning
Mistborn Era 2, Book 3
A hunt for a legendary artifact takes the crew far beyond the Basin for the first time. Era 2 kicks into high gear with major Cosmere implications.
- 7
The Lost Metal
Mistborn Era 2, Book 4
Era 2 concludes with Cosmere-wide consequences. Delivers a satisfying close to the Wax and Wayne saga — read this before starting Stormlight Book 5.
Read before Wind and Truth.
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The Stormlight Archive
5 main novels + 2 novellas — Sanderson's magnum opus. First arc now complete.
- 8
The Way of Kings
Stormlight Archive, Book 1
Four interwoven storylines across a storm-ravaged world form the foundation of the most ambitious epic fantasy project of the 21st century. Slow build, enormous payoff.
Commit to the first 200 pages — it earns everything.
View on Amazon - 9
Words of Radiance
Stormlight Archive, Book 2
The scope expands dramatically as the secrets of the Knights Radiant surface. The ending is widely considered one of the best in modern epic fantasy.
- 10
Edgedancer
Stormlight Novella, 2.5
A short novella following Lift on a mission through a city on the verge of collapse. Provides direct context for Oathbringer.
Read between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer.
View on Amazon - 11
Oathbringer
Stormlight Archive, Book 3
The war against the Voidbringers escalates as ancient secrets surface. Dalinar’s backstory is the emotional core — devastating and brilliantly constructed.
- 12
Dawnshard
Stormlight Novella, 3.5
A short novella featuring Rysn and Lopen on a voyage to a mysterious island. Sets up events that pay off significantly in Rhythm of War.
Read before Rhythm of War.
View on Amazon - 13
Rhythm of War
Stormlight Archive, Book 4
The war moves to a new front as the history of spren and Fused is explored in depth. The longest and most ambitious book in the series.
- 14
Wind and Truth
Stormlight Archive, Book 5
The conclusion of the first Stormlight arc. Every thread built across four previous novels and two novellas converges. Read The Lost Metal first.
Completes the first five-book arc. Published November 2024.
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Cosmere Standalones — Read Anytime
6 books — self-contained stories set in the Cosmere. Each can be read at any point after you're familiar with the world; the positions above are optimal for maximum payoff.
- 15
Elantris
Standalone
Sanderson’s debut. A king trapped in a city of the undead — compact, satisfying, and an ideal palette cleanser between longer series.
- 16
The Emperor’s Soul
Standalone Novella
A forger who can rewrite the history of objects is given 100 days to restore a shattered emperor’s soul. 175 pages. The best short fantasy of the last decade.
- 17
Warbreaker
Standalone
Two princesses, a god who resents his own divinity, and a magic system built on breath and color. Read before Oathbringer for maximum payoff.
Read before Stormlight Book 3 for a significant character payoff.
View on Amazon - 18
Tress of the Emerald Sea
Standalone
A girl sails a sea of living spores to rescue the man she loves. Written as a Princess Bride homage — Sanderson’s most purely fun book.
- 19
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Standalone
Two people in different worlds, mystically linked. Romantic, strange, and emotionally devastating in the final act.
- 20
The Sunlit Man
Standalone
A fugitive on a planet perpetually fleeing its own sun. The most Cosmere-connected of the Secret Projects — read after Stormlight Book 4.
Most rewarding after Rhythm of War.
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What Order Should You Read the Cosmere?
The recommended sequence is Mistborn Era 1 → Mistborn Era 2 → Stormlight Archive, with standalones and novellas slotted at the positions marked above. Warbreaker is the one standalone that has a direct character connection to Stormlight — read it before Oathbringer. The Lost Metal contains Cosmere-wide content that is most rewarding before Wind and Truth. The Secret Projects (Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Sunlit Man) can be read any time after you are familiar with the Cosmere but deliver maximum payoff after Stormlight Book 4.
Each individual series works as a standalone experience — you will not be lost starting with Mistborn and never reading Stormlight. But the connections between worlds are the long game, and they are worth playing.
Do You Need to Read Everything?
No. Each Sanderson series is designed to work as a complete, self-contained experience. Mistborn Era 1 begins and ends with no dangling threads. The Stormlight Archive's first arc concludes with Wind and Truth. You can read either series without touching the other and have a fully satisfying experience. The Cosmere connections — recurring characters, shared cosmological framework, cross-series payoffs — are a bonus layer for readers who go deep, not required homework.
Start wherever the premise interests you most. The most common entry points are The Final Empire (best overall) and The Way of Kings (best for readers who want maximum immersion). The Emperor’s Soul is the ideal entry point if you want to sample Sanderson in under 200 pages before committing to a multi-book series.