Cosmere Reading Order | 4 Ways to Read Brandon Sanderson&039s Books

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brandon sanderson is a prolific writer, but none of his works are better known than the books in his created universe, the cosmere. If you’re new to Sanderson, you may be wondering what the best reading order for Cosmere is.

There are actually four ways to read the cosmere books in order. the first is by publication order, the second is by series order, the third is by chronological order and finally the route recommended by brandon sanderson.

You are reading: Brandon sanderson books in chronological order

Let’s take a look at all four methods and determine what is the best cosmere reading order for you.

short note: on march 1, 2022, brandon sanderson surprised everyone and announced that he has written another three standalone cosmere novels that will be published quarterly in 2023 for kickstarter backers, and they will be traditionally released at some unknown time after that.

At this time, information about these secret projects is limited. As we learn more, I will continually update my page with everything we know about Brandon Sanderson’s secret projects.

cosmere reading order by publication

I like to start these reading order lists with the most obvious reading order, and that’s per post.

this is the order brandon sanderson’s cosmere books were written. this is how cosmere books are read by millions of fans and it’s worth your consideration too.

so here is the reading order of cosmere per post:

1. elantris (2005)2. the hope of elantris (short story) (2006)

mistborn: original trilogy3. the final empire (2006)4. the well of ascension (2007)5. hero of the ages (2008)

6. warbreaker (2009)

the stormlight files7. the way of kings (2010)

born from the mist: wax & wayne series8. the alloy of the law (2011)

9. the eleventh metal (short story) (2012)10. the soul of the emperor (novel) (2012)

stormlight files continued11. words of radiance (2014)

12. the sixth of twilight (novel) (2014)13. shadows for silence in the woods of hell (novel) (2015)

born from the mist: wax & wayne series continued.14. shadows of oneself (2015)15. the bands of mourning (2016)16. mistborn: secret history (novel) (2016)

17. allomancer jak and the pits of eltania (short story) (2016)18. white sand, vol. 1 (graphic novel) (2016)

continuation of stormlight files19. edgedancer (novel) (2016)20. oath (2017)

21. white sand, vol. 2 (graphic novel) (2017)22. white sand, vol. 3 (graphic novel) (2019)

stormlight files continued23. dawnshard (novel) (2020)24. pace of war (2020)

born from the mist: wax & wayne series continued.25. the lost metal (November 15, 2022)

26. tress of the emerald sea (2023)27. yumi and the painter of nightmares (2023)28. the sunlit man (2023)

cosmere reading order by series

The reading order of cosmere per post is a bit tricky isn’t it?

In this reading order, we’re going to organize everything by series, keeping the novels and books in publication order within the series itself.

This cosmere reading order is for the person who doesn’t like to jump from one series to another. you can follow a set of characters for as long as you are in that world.

make sure you read warbreaker before starting the stormlight. there are some crossover characters i totally missed the first time because i read stormlight before warbreaker.

elantris– elantris- the hope of elantris (story)- the soul of the emperor (novel)

born from the mist1. the final empire 2. the well of ascension3. hero of ages4. the alloy of the law- the eleventh metal (tale)5. shadows of oneself the bands of mourning-mistborn: secret history (novel)7. the lost metal (November 15, 2022)

independents– warbreaker- sixth nightfall (novel)- shadows for silence in the woods of hell (novel)- allomancer jak and the pits of eltania (short story)

the stormlight files1. the way of kings2. words of radiance2.5 edgedancer (novel)3. sworn 3.5 dawn (novel) 4. rhythm of war

taldain – graphic novels1. white sand, vol. 12. White Sand, Vol. 23. White Sand, Vol. 3

The Cosmere in Chronological Order

reading the cosmere books in chronological order is the least recommended reading path that I would recommend.

This list is accurate (to the best of my knowledge) at the time of writing, but as new books come out it could be dropped.

I’ll try my best to update this list as much as possible, but I don’t promise anything if I forget. also, this reading method will be a bit disjointed.

Please note that there could be spoilers as is typical with this form of reading method. so I wouldn’t recommend it for newcomers. At the very least, don’t read Mistborn: Secret History where I list below if you are a new reader. contains major spoilers for the mistborn series.

You will find that this cosmere reading order is not very different from reading by series. it’s just a little different, as I’ve still arranged it in publication order by series.

here are the cosmere books in chronological order:

taldain – graphic novels1. white sand, vol. 12. White Sand, Vol. 23. White Sand, Vol. 3

elantris– elantris- the hope of elantris (story)- the soul of the emperor (novel)

mistborn: first age– the eleventh metal (short story)1. the final empire- mistborn: secret history (novel)2. the well of ascension3. hero of the ages

– warbreaker- shadows for silence in the woods of hell (novel)

the stormlight files1. the way of kings2. words of radiance2.5 edgedancer (novel)3. sworn 3.5 dawn (novel) 4. rhythm of war

– allomancer jak and the pits of eltania (short story)

mistborn: second era1. the alloy of the law2. shadows of self 3. mourning bands 4. the lost metal (November 15, 2022)

– sixth of twilight (novel)

brandon sanderson recommendation

I’ll be brief on the latter. This cosmere reading order is the path recommended by brandon sanderson according to his website.

brandon himself says that you can start anywhere in the cosmere, since they are all self-contained stories. they do not overlap in any way.

lore and world are continually shaped in each book in a way that will inform you of the cosmere, but knowledge is not necessary to enjoy each series.

That said, brandon strongly recommends against starting with sterling alloy. although it is a book 1, it is technically book 4 in the world of the mistborn and contains spoilers for the original trilogy.

this is the exact reading order for cosmere, as brandon has them listed on his website.

– the soul of the emperor (novel)

elantris– elantris- the hope of elantris (short story)

– war breaker

the stormlight files1. the way of kings2. words of radiance2.5 edgedancer (novel)3. sworn 3.5 dawn (novel) 4. rhythm of war

brandon sanderson doesn’t include any standalone novels or graphic novels (besides emporer’s soul) on his list, so I’ve removed them here. we’ll assume you can read them whenever you want.

update: I have now officially read all the cosmere books. how many have you read?

My personal cosmere reading order was a bit different than any I listed here.

I read them like this: mistborn 1-3, stormlight 1-4, mistborn 4-6, elantris, warbreaker.

I’ve also read all the cosmere novels and short stories, but I can’t remember exactly when I read them.

I’m patiently waiting for the lost metal to be released in November 2022, and I’ve already signed up for the highest level kickstarter for brandon’s 2023 subscription box campaign.

if you love brandon sanderson books, you might also like my book, soul render.