The Cosmere

I was recently introduced to the world of the Cosmere, a huge collection of books by Brandon Sanderson. At first glance, it seems to be a very loosely connected collection of independent series.

However, after you have read several of the series, you begin to realize just how much bigger the picture is.

Some main series/books in the Cosmere are:

Mistborn trilogy

Wax&Wayne (AKA Mistborn era 2)

The Stormlight Archive

Elantris (stand-alone)

Warbreaker

These are not the only ones, but they are good to start with. I recommend starting with Elantris, as it is not too complicated, and you can get a feel for the writing style.

You must be aware that very few series in the collection are complete, and due to the length (and quality) of the books, the sequels may be a long time in coming.

I didn't really start where I should have, and to spare you the same fate, I would suggest you take a look at Coppermind.net for a good reading order.

Some of my younger readers, be aware that these are adult books. The Cosmere is very long, complicated, and has some very intense parts.

I have been talking about technical stuff, though. Let me now expand upon upon the virtues of the Cosmere.

My personal favorite of all that I have read is The Way of Kings, book one of The Stormlight Archive. I have an entire post just on that subject, see here.

Though, in my opinion, the non-Stormlight Archive books are not quite as good, they are still amazing. The plots are intricate and well thought out, with more foreshadowing than I have ever seen in a book. And you still don't see things coming. Also, if there was ever a series to reread, it is this one, because seeing the way it all weaves together is absolutely breathtaking.

But the series has so much more than a good plot.

Several people have compared Brandon Sanderson to J. R. R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and George R. R. Martin (Game of Thrones), because they are in the same genre (epic fantasy). However, Brandon Sanderson stands out for me because of how he narrates his stories, from the perspective of several main leads, some of which never meet each other. Also, he is the master of backstories that are both realistic and yet worthy of myths.

A huge drawback for me when reading Lord of the Rings was that I grew bored of the constant explanations of the surroundings. And I did start A Game of Thrones, but stopped immediately because I was so uncomfortable with the content.

Cosmere has very few of these drawbacks. It does take a little getting used to, as Brandon Sanderson's vision is so large it is hard to comprehend. And, as I mentioned before, they are adult books.

Another thing we all love in our books: humor. It's hard to believe that a serious author has time, or inclination, toward making us laugh, but Brandon Sanderson has mastered irony, sarcasm, and just plain unfortunate circumstance.

And finally, the characters. All of my favorites are written by him, and the development is like nothing I have ever read.

Anyway, I really suggest that you look into reading Elantris at least.

Keep reading, and if you are reading Brandon Sanderson, you won't ever stop!

P.S. Lots of gratitude to my cousin Zane for the recommendation.

P.P.S. if you do get into it, the Cosmere has a really nice fandom, look into the 17th Shard website.