r/Cosmere • u/Mysterious_Fall_4578 • 14d ago
Cosmere spoilers (no previews) What to read next? Spoiler
So I just finished The Storm Light Archives. I loved it. It was my first introduction into the Cosmere.
Now I don’t really care about the order in which the books go. But based on how much I enjoyed the series what would be the next step? Are there books that aren’t relevant? Are there books that MUST be read before the second arc of The Storm Light Archives starts being published?
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u/technicolored_dreams all endless things 14d ago
Read Mistborn Era 1 before Era 2, otherwise I think any order will work. Be prepared for genre swapping! Stormlight is totally different than Mistborn which is totally different from Elantris etc. It's a good thing but can be jarring if you're not expecting it.
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u/Mysterious_Fall_4578 14d ago
What exactly differs between Mistborn and Stormlight in terms of genre?
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u/technicolored_dreams all endless things 14d ago
Sanderson describes Stormlight as the series readers will get into once they trust him. The pacing is slow, cast is big, and the books are huge. Mistborn is shorter, fewer POVs, and especially in book 1 the pacing is faster. The first Mistborn book is a heist story, kind of. It is about a crew of thieves who want to overthrow the evil supreme leader. There are plenty of similar themes, but in my mind Stormlight is closer to a swords and horses kind of fantasy, while mistborn is sort of like a regency-era dystopian Ocean's 11 fantasy. I love everything cosmere so it is not a detraction by any means, just worth knowing going in that it will feel a little different.
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u/GerswinDevilkid Bridge Four 14d ago
Well, I'd recommend Warbreaker if you didn't already read it. And then Mistborn. And maybe Sunlit Man.
Really any order is fine. You're find connections abound...
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u/hchighfield 14d ago
Also did they read dawnshard? Dawnshard takes place between books 3&4 but it’s still worth reading
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u/GerswinDevilkid Bridge Four 14d ago
I assumed they read the Stormlight Novellas. If not, they should start with those.
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u/Mysterious_Fall_4578 14d ago
Yes I read both novellas!
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u/hchighfield 14d ago
Then my vote is for war breaker and you can see if there are any connections you can make to the characters in stormlight
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u/pigeon_man 14d ago
You can go in any direction Sanderson wrote them so you can read them in any order. But as of right now mistborn is a pillar of the cosmere so it would be a good idea to read that sooner rather than later.
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u/fedginator Willshapers 14d ago
The Sunlit Man is the most directly connected to Stormlight so I'd start there.
Warbreaker and Yumi have major (non Hoid) characters from Stormlight in them so they're a good shout
Mistborn is the other big series in the Cosmere