Brandon Sanderson: which book should you read first? – Deseret News

Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson is releasing his next book in December. "Wind and Truth" is the fifth installment in "The Stormlight Archive" series.

Here's a look into how his books fit together, and a small guide to where to start for those who have never read one of his books.

Sanderson has published 71 books, including novels, novellas and graphic novels. His most well-known series are "Mistborn" and "The Stormlight Archive," and he is also known for finishing Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series.

The new book "Wind and Truth" releases on Dec. 6 as previously reported by the Deseret News.

"The Stormlight Archive" is an epic fantasy series, which takes place within Sanderson's fictional universe he created known as the "Cosmere".

The series is loosely connected to other books such as "The Mistborn Saga," but there is no set place to start reading for someone who is new to Sanderson's book.

Which of Brandon Sanderson's books should you read first? For someone who is new to Brandon Sanderson's books, it can be overwhelming to know what you should read first.

Sanderson has written multiple series and standalone books. Some of them do connect with each other but there is no set order or specific place where you should start reading.

On his website , there is a guide with some advice of where to start. There is also a video where Sanderson himself gives a few starting points for those wanting to begin reading his books.

On his website , Sanderson gives a few suggestions on which book to start with depending on what type of reader you are.

For those who don't typically ready fantasy, Sanderson suggests "Steelheart" and "Elantris." But if you are a fantasy reader it is good to start with "Mistborn: The Final Empire" or "The Way of Kings."

If you are a reader who prefers romance, you might want to start with "Warbreaker".

Sanderson suggests that younger readers should first try "Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians", and young adults could try starting with "Steelheart," "Mistborn," or "The Rithmatist."

Sanderson also suggests not reading in publication order, and for those planning on reading the entirety of his work, he recommends choosing a series to start with, reading that whole series, then jumping to another one.

What is the Cosmere? The Cosmere is a fictional universe created by Sanderson which a portion of his books are set in, including "Elantris", "The Stormlight Archive" series and "The Mistborn Saga."

"All of my Cosmere books share a single creation myth, a single cosmology, that gives underlying theorem of magic for all these connected worlds. The theorem is not simple — I can't really encapsulate it in one sentence — but you can map out how the magic all fits together in the Cosmere using this kind of super theorem," per Sanderson's website .

All of the worlds in the Cosmere are connected in some way and sometimes characters from one series will show up in another.

You don't need to know everything about the Cosmere to enjoy the books, and you don't have read every book in order to enjoy and understand the Cosmere.

But those who pay attention will notice the "Worldhoppers" that show up in multiple books or series, according to Sanderson's website .

Sanderson often gets questions about which books take place within the Cosmere. On his website he explains how to know if a book isn't in the Cosmere.

"If the book contains Earth in any shape or form, then the story is not set in the Cosmere. Also, my children's books and The Wheel of Time are not part of the Cosmere," according to his website.

There is no set reading order for the Cosmere books, but in this video he explains some suggested paths to take through the Cosmere.

What book are in the Cosmere? 'The Stormlight Archive' When it is completed, " The Stormlight Archive " will be made up of a total of 10 books in two parts. "Wind and Truth" will be the last book in the first part of the series.

The series is an epic war narrative.

"This is my big epic. If you want to jump into the deep end, this is it: my most ambitious work. A story dealing with political intrigue and war, heavy on the worldbuilding and lore — but focused on the story of a young surgeon who is drafted into battle and forced to carry siege equipment in a protracted war," according to Sanderson's website .

Here are the books so far in "The Stormlight Archive":

1. "The Way of Kings"
2. "Words of Radiance"
3. "Oathbringer"
4. "Rhythm of War"
5. "Wind and Truth"

There are two novellas in the series, the first one is "Edgedancer" which is meant to be read after "Words of Radiance" and then "Dawnshard" goes after "Oathbringer".

'The Mistborn Saga' "The Mistborn Saga" is comprised of two series, the original trilogy and then the "Wax and Wayne" series.

The original trilogy is a "hybrid epic fantasy heist story with a focus on political intrigue and powerful action scenes," per Sanderson's website . Here are the books in the the original trilogy:

1. "The Final Empire"
2. "The Well of Ascension"
3. "The Hero of Ages"

There is also a novella that goes along with this trilogy titled "Mistborn Secret History."

The "Mistborn" sequel series, " Wax and Wayne " takes place in the same world as "Mistborn," 300 years after the original trilogy. Here are the books in the "Wax and Wayne" series:

1. "The Alloy of Law"
2. "Shadows of Self"
3. "The Bands of Mourning"
4. "The Lost Metal"

Other books in the Cosmere Along with "The Stormlight Archive" and "Mistborn" there are multiple standalone books that are also set within the Cosmere, these book are:

"Warbreaker"

"Tress of the Emerald Sea"

"The Sunlit Man"

"Elantris"

"Yumi and The Nightmare Painter"

The Cosmere also includes a series of graphic novels called " White Sand " which is comprised of four books.

There is also a collection of short stories called " Arcanum Unbounded ", made up of nine works which all take place in the Cosmere. These stories include "The Hope of Elantris", "The Eleventh Metal" and "Sixth of Dusk".

Sanderson's books outside of the Cosmere Sanderson also has multiple series and standalone books which place outside of the Cosmere.

He has his "Cytoverse" books which includes the " Skyward " series made up of four books.

There are also novellas and short fiction that go with "Skyward", there is "Sunreach", "Redawn", "Evershore" and " Defending Elysium" .

His other series include " The Reckoners " and " Infinity Blade ". There is also " Alcatraz vs. The Evil Librarians ," which is a middle-grade series, meant for younger readers.

Sanderson also has a variety of non-Cosmere standalone novels, such as "The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England" and "The Rithmatist."