#read the short stories and warbreaker

[pinkysgallery]

🌈🖤Susebron & Siri❤🌈 ~First Sketch~ Ok, short story: So, I read Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker because of my brother's audiobooks and I found another husbando with an adorable ship included for my collection. I had a moral obligation to draw them. Broo, It's your fault, 'cause the blame can't fall to the ground. ~End of the short story~ Have you read this book? #susebron #siri #warbreaker #brandonsanderson #elalientodelosdioses #sketch #patreon #kofi

#🌈🖤Susebron & Siri❤🌈 ~First Sketch~ Ok #short story: So #I read Brandon Sanderson's Warbreaker because of my brother's audiobooks and I found another husbando with an adorable ship included for my #It's your fault #'cause the blame can't fall to the ground. ~End of the short story~ Have you read this book? susebron siri warbreaker brandonsanderso

[cosmerelists]

Ranking Cosmere Planets By How Cool I Find Them

[Contains spoilers for all Cosmere! I'll list the books in the title so you can skip the ones relating to books you haven't read]

The Cosmere has some very cool planets: but which are the coolest? In this list, I will rank them by my own definition of cool, which I'm defining here as "Planets where my interest in past or future stories is chiefly driven by the nature of the world itself."

#13: UTol (From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter; this entry also contains a spoiler from The Sunlit Man)

UTol is the sky planet that Painter can see from the surface of his world, Komashi, and we get a glimpse of it just right at the end of Yumi. It's also possible we get a glimpse of the same world right at the end of The Sunlit Man, but I don't think that's confirmed. Anyway. It's an ocean world, and the inhabitants have four arms and may have originally been from Yolen. But we don't learn anything cool about the world itself, really. I guess the fact that it can always be seen even through the shroud that otherwise blankets Komashi--that's cool. But I don't know if that's UTol's doing. Maybe when we get more info, it will turn out this planet is super ultra cool and then I will look like a fool. But for now--eh. Oceans. With water? Yawn.

#12: First of Sun (From "Sixth of Dusk")

First of Sun is a hostile world with jungles and oceans and magic birds. It's cool--as all Cosmere worlds are in my opinion--but none of it had any special, extra coolness for me. I suppose I've never been much interested in parrots, and also its only feature story so far was quite short.

#11: Braize (From Stormlight Archives; this entry also contains a spoiler from The Sunlit Man)

I am legitimately curious about Braize, Roshar's "Hell" where the Fused were imprisoned by the Heralds. Like, what is Hell like in a material sense? I want someone to visit it (and I really want to know if Sigzil has been there himself, based on his mentioning a Hell visit during The Sunlit Man), and my curiosity makes it seem more cool. But not too cool, because for all we know, Braize is super boring. We just don't have enough info yet.

#10: Nalthis (From "Warbreaker")

Nalthis has some interesting things going on, planetarily. People don't always properly die, which anyone who cheated and already looked at my #1 planet already knows is something I enjoy. It has some unique cultures, which is also something I enjoy in a Sanderson world, although the differences are painted in pretty broad strokes. It's colorful. I don't know. I'm not super into Nalthis, but it definitely has some cool aspects.

#9: Taldain (From White Sand)

I have a shocking confession that I forgot to include in my authorial confessions list: I haven't actually read White Sand. At least, not more than a few pages before I got frustrated with how hard it was to read it on my phone, which is where I had access to it. Anyway. I do think the general set up of this planet is legitimately cool: tidal-locked, I think, with a Dayside and a Nightside which each have their own magic system. There's a lot of sand. Water matters. I think there are magic tattoos. So I can't rank this too highly myself simply because I don't actually know much about it, but it does seem "Top 10" cool.

#8: Scadrial (From Mistborn)

Scadrial has an advantage because it has Time Periods, and really is a pretty different world in Era 1 vs. Era 2. I have a dark fascination with Era 1 Scadrial: the ashfalls, the mist, the slow but inevitable apocalypse constantly creeping closer...would NOT want to visit, but it's cool to read about. Era 2 Scadrial is bright and shiny in comparison. I'm not much of a Wild West gal myself, but there are giraffes, and that ups any planet's coolness, even if it has lost its brooding volcanos. Oh! And I hope we hear more about the Southern Scadrians too.

#7: Sel (From Elantris and The Emperor's Soul)

I've been trying to judge these planets based on the planets themselves rather than on their magic systems...but on Sel, can you really separate those? The magic is based on geography, after all! Anyway, I like Sel because of the wild things going on with its pooled investiture. I don't understand computer programming and so I may or may not really get its magic, but I like the fact that it ranges from the stately, sometimes assholish Elantrians to Soul Stamping. It's all very cool.

#6: Lumar (From Tress of the Emerald Sea)

Lumar is very cool. Like, color-based aether seas that each react differently to water? Rain as a deadly but necessary thing? The color borders where one aether sea meets another? Sailing on something other than water?? I ate it all up. Tress's world is wild and creative and definitely lots of fun.

#5: Roshar (From Stormlight Archives)

It's hard to separate Roshar the planet from the people and stories there, as I think it's the Cosmere planet I've spent the most time on, metaphorically speaking. But I gotta say, the idea of a constant, world-spanning storm that spits out magic and death--that's cool. A whole world that's inhabited only by crab-versions of things? Well, I hesitate to call that cool exactly, but it is...something. Plus, so many different cultures and religions and ideas on Roshar, which I really enjoy.

#4: Canticle (From The Sunlit Man)

Listen, I love Threnodites. Wherever they pop up, they are doing wild things and refusing to properly die and having names that are...let's say unique. And Canticle is quite the interesting planet. Imagine--not being able to stay in one place because you're constantly fleeing from the deadly sun while trying not to get too far ahead lest to stray into the constant fire tornado. Imagine powering your ships with dead-people batteries and doing engineering with your captive ghost engineers. The place is tiny and super invested and also an incandescent lightbulb or something. Again, I would NOT want to visit but that world is damn cool.

#3: Komashi (From Yumi and the Nightmare Painter)

I think my love of Threnody really affects these top picks. Komashi doesn't have Threnodites, but it does have the weird creepy shadow monsters which I apparently...love? (Learning much about myself writing this.) But in all seriousness, I really like Komashi and I am so curious about it. The idea of Virtuosity and how she manifests as both magical paintings and magical rock stacking. I am so curious about the magenta and cyan coloring and how Sanderson says its based on printers somehow and that yes there is one color missing (what??). The way the inhabitants just lived in a thick shadow sludge with lights creating small habitable zones...like, again, horrifying but such a cool and creative world to explore.

#2: Yolen (No books so far)

Maybe Yolen is super boring. But it is SO mysterious that it can't help but be cool. I mean, this is where the Shattering happened! I think it's where Hoid is from. I think there are dragons. It's just gotta be cool, right?

#1: Threnody (From Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell)

But my favorite planet, for whatever reason, is Threnody. I am dying for another story set on that planet. I am so curious about what the Evil is, and I want to hear more about the people living in the literal Forests of Hell. The Shadows and the rules that you have to follow to survive them, the use of silver, the fact that Threnodites just can't catch a fucking break. I am fascinated by all of it, and I think that Threnody is the coolest planet in the Cosmere.

#cosmere #cosmerelists

[tempestclerics]

[ID: A tier list of mostly sci-fi and fantasy book covers including the following:

S+ (I think everyone should read this) tier: The Archive Undying, Beowulf: A New Translation, Shield Maiden, Piranesi

S+ (I don't necessarily think everyone should read this, but reading it did genuinely change the course of my year for the better) tier: The Way of Kings, The Electricity of Every Living Thing, Stay True

S tier: System Collapse, Rhythm of War, Oathbringer, This Is How You Lose The Time War, The Alloy of Law, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, Tress of the Emerald Sea, Dawnshard, The Emperor's Soul

A tier: The Citadel of Weeping Pearls, Words of Radiance, The Raven Tower, Squire, How Far the Light Reaches, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, The Water Outlaws, The Tea Master and the Detective

B tier: The Anthropocene Reviewed, The Sunlit Man, Arcanum Unbounded, Edgedancer, The Navigating Fox, The Lost Metal

C tier: The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages, The Bands of Mourning, Shadows of Self, Fireheart Tiger

I didn't DNF it: The Vanisher's Palace, Elantris, Mistborn: Secret History, One Woman Show, Warbreaker, White Sand. End ID]

I read a lot this year: 45 books, 67 if you count rereads. This included the entirety of the Cosmere (Brandon Sanderson) and rereads of the entirety of Emelan, Protector of the Small, and Murderbot (all of which would be are S+ tier). This is in no small part due to 1) reading books along with/recommended by friends and 2) using Storygraph and spreadsheets to track things! Including doing @strangetorpedos's dnd reading challenge! I'm doing the cleric one this next year!

Some big themes: Way more novellas and short stories than I usually read! Beowulf and retellings! Knighthood and armor and feminine kingship! Sentient constructs and mindships! Memoirs! Asian-inspired speculative fiction! Architecture and consciousness!

I just. Missed doing this regularly, and am very glad to be back reading a lot again. Also I'm building my TBR for next year so if anyone has recs based on what they read or wants to do something similar please I'd love to see!

#sola said #it's hard to overstate the degree to which being forcibly* recommended the way of kings by one of my best friends influenced my year #(*getting physically sat down with the book to read through the 3 prologues together) (this is a JOKE ily) #it goes in the same tier with The Book That Made Me Start Seriously Considering An Autism Diagnosis and The Book That Grabbed My Heart #Hit Way Too Close to Home And Made Me Go Tell All My Friends I Love Them #so. yknow. #not to be just. the sappiest about it but. my life and my brain are so much better when I'm reading regularly and i'm just very grateful #for the friends and the systems that made that into a regular practice for me again. not only for that but. #2023 was just a lot of ups and downs and this was just such a clear unalloyed good #heart full!! #sola reads

[kaladinstormsblessed]

okay so i know you are a sanderson fan and i wonder if you have opinions on the order in which to get into his books, series to start with etc.

what a delightful question! wlecome to the cosmere - it's a wonderful, wonderful world!

for reference, i have read:

mistborn era 1

most of mistborn era 2 (have started, but not finished, #4)

stormlight 1-4 (i've read the lift novella but not dawnshard)

warbreaker

most of elantris

most of arcanum unbounded

the easiest answer is that bransan himself has a recommended reading order here, although i don't think it's super up to date

warbreaker and elantris are standalones (as of right now), although i don't think anyone (himself included) consider them his best work. but, if you don't want to commit to thousands of pages, they're good examples of his writing, and i did enjoy them quite a bit (warbreaker more than elantris, but i liked them both just fine). they're also good to read before stormlight - a lot of warbreaker has started to make its way into stormlight.

i started with mistborn era 1, which i recommend - it's really accessible even if you haven't read any fantasy before and introduces you to his magic systems and his writing style (the famous sanderlanche, the truly insane plot twists). if you're comfortable reading a trilogy of approximately 600-800 page books, i'd start there (and honestly final empire is so good and is worth reading on its own imo). mistborn era 2 is less good and should be read after era 1 - it has less cosmere wide importance at this point. this is what i've read most recently.

i would recommend reading stormlight last. it's hefty (currently four books are out, totaling around 4500 pages), but i also think it's some of his best work and it's true high fantasy at its finest (way of kings is so fucking good and it's literally 1000+ pages of setup and also words of radiance is maybe my favorite book of all time). it is a huge commitment and is the series that draws most on the cosmere universe at large so i recommend reading it after most of his other cosmere related books. however, it's a great time to hop on the stormlight train because #5 comes out this year and you can experience that live. stormlight is slated to be 10 books, but there will be a significant timeskip after 5 and he envisions them as two halves, so this arc will be complete come december.

i haven't gotten to any of last year's secret projects yet (tress, yumi, sunlit man, frugal wizard). reviews are that they're not his best work, but they may be good introductions to his writing (with the exception of sunlit man which should be read after stormlight) and are again less commitment than his other series .

i also haven't read white sand, but that's a completely different medium and also they're apparently impossible to get ahold of (although it sounds like there's new editions in the works).

as for non-cosmere, i haven't read either the cytoverse or alcatraz and the evil librarians, but i've heard good things about both! they're both written for a younger audience, though, so will feel distinctly different than his other writing.

so, long story short i'd recommend starting with either one of the standalones (warbreaker, elantris) or mistborn (but really if you're up for it i'd strongly, strongly recommend starting with mistborn - it's really really good), then turning to stormlight.

#i hope this was helpful! #let me know if you have any more questions. i really am so fond of the cosmere #his books have problems but they are still really really good and mean a lot to me #brandon sanderson #cosmere #ask #answered

[avidabsurdist]

Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #reading order #cosmere reading order #technically I'd call this spoiler free #unless you consider overarching themes spoilers #which is dumb you shouldn't do that #stormlight #mistborn #sixth of dusk #tress of the emerald sea #yumi and the nightmare painter #elantris #B-sandy

[sergle]

How far have you read?

UHHHH i've read: stormlight: the way of kings, words of radiance, edgedancer, [warbreaker interlude], oathbringer, either All Of The Stories or Most Of The Stories from the arcanum unbounded collection of short stories, and every Mistborn book- I JUST finished the last metal. cried. and now I think I get to move on to stormlight 4

#I listed them that way bc that was the order that I read em in #killing myself currently because my mistborn interlude has been really long and I'm gonna have to Remember stormlight stuff #when I hop back in #I joked about rereading before I move onto book 4 but that gives me cold sweats #sergle answers

[emrystheedgedancer]

What order should I read the Cosmere in?

Here is my suggested Cosmere reading order:

Mistborn: The Final Empire

The Well of Ascension

The Hero of Ages

Elantris

White Sand (graphic novel)

Alloy of Law

Shadows of Self

Bands of Mourning

The Lost Metal

Warbreaker

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

Edgedancer (short story)

Oathbringer

Dawnshard (short story)

Rhythm of War

Arcanum Unbound

1-3 are the original Mistborn trilogy. I suggest starting with these to everyone because if you don’t like the writing style of Mistborn then you are unlikely to like Brandon Sanderson’s writing style in general. That’s what got me hooked on the Cosmere and I just think it’s a really good place to start because The Final Empire is a standalone book by itself and if it’s the only one of the Cosmere you read it’s worth it.

6-9 are era 2 of Mistborn. These novels take place 300 years after the first trilogy. They’re sort of a mashup of magic and turn of the century/Victorian steampunk technology combined with a western and it’s beautiful. They are my personal favorites but if you read them before the first trilogy you will be VERY confused so don’t read them first.

11-16 is the Stormlight Archive. I always suggest people leave that for last because it’s very high fantasy epic saga style. I only kept reading past chapter one because I trusted Brandon Sanderson to tell a good story after reading his other works. It’s a masterpiece but it is slow and can be hard to get through in places.

Elantris and Warbreaker are at this point stand-alone novels. Elantris is Sanderson’s first novel and tbh it shows. It’s a little clunky and the names are absolutely absurd. But the story is interesting and it’s worth the read. And imo Warbreaker is his absolute weirdest book. I can’t believe people advise it to start the Cosmere because it’s just weird man. It’s good but weird.

White Sand is a graphic novel. The story is available in non-graphic format too I believe. I personally am not too fond of this one but that’s mostly because I don’t like the art style. The story is cool.

Edgedancer and Dawnshard are short stories that fit into the Stormlight Archive. I’ve put them where they fall chronologically.

Arcanum Unbound is a collection of other Cosmere short stories. The Emperor’s Soul is considered the best one. In full disclosure I haven’t actually read all of them yet but I will in the next two weeks. There are some stories there that are very very spoilery so I always suggest reading it last.

Aaaand that’s it! Good luck on your journey through the Cosmere! If this feels overwhelming, don’t worry. Each one of these series works as a standalone book/series too. You don’t have to read the whole Cosmere unless you want to! Start with Mistborn and read until you’re satisfied!

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #mistborn #the stormlight archive #mistborn era 2

[jewishdainix]

mina hi hello pls help. how does one read the books in order? there are so many?? all of them??!!? or just cosmere mistborn oathbringer and stormlight archive?? they sound so good I want to know the blorbos ;-; asking as a humble follower who has face planted outside the temple of the stormlight archives

Jfjdkekskdk yeah its easy to get lost here!

The stormlight archive and Mistborn are book seriess. I havn't read Mistborn yet since it doesn't have to do anything with the plot of stormlight (yet) though I heard its an introduction to Brandon Sanderson's writing.

These are the books I read in order:

Warbreaker (it is written less good than stormlight but it is still very nice. Can also be read after way of kings if you want)

The stormlight archive:

The way of kings

Words of radiance (this is the only piratrd version with chapter titles. Enjoy it while you can)

Edgedancer (this is a novella that can be bought alone, though the only coppy of it I found is inside a book collection of other short stories in the cosmere (mostly Mistborn ones I think) its right in the middle of page 47 just scroll down untill you see the title)

Oathbringer

Dawnshard (novella)

Rhythm of war

Have a fun time! Its a bit of a commitment but its an amazing book series with great characters!

#asks #the stormlight archive #although you should probably look up content warnings if you need them #ALSO! thank you so much for coming into my inbox! i love getting asks ndjdjdkdkdk

[ofthebrownajah]

Is it worth getting into Cosmere?

I would say so. It is a big investment though considering I believe there are (30ish) books in the series currently. I would suggest starting with Mistborn. You can start with Stormlight but considering there's significant crossover between the series I wouldn't start with Stormlight.

So this is how I would start:

1. Mistborn era 1

2. Mistborn era 2

3. Mistborn Secret History

4. Elantris

5. Warbreaker

6. The Way of Kings

7. Words of Radiance

8. Edgedancer

9. Oathbringer

10. Dawnshard

11. Rhythm of War

There's also short stories available in Arcanum Unbounded, which are all Cosmere connected. Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell are both included in that collection. And then there's The Emperor's Soul which is a novella set in the same world as Elantris. There's also White Sand, which was published as a graphic novel but the prose version is also available for free when you sign up for Brandon's newsletter on his website. (that's the version I read)

This isn't a "this is the exact order you should read them" cause I didn't read them like this but I kinda wish I read them this way. I started with Elantris (but you can read it whenever honestly) but I do wish I had read Warbreaker before I read Oathbringer cause I didn't catch some crossover things.

#asks #strejdaking #sorry this was long #cosmere #not wot related

[rhetoricandlogic]

Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson Overall ImpressionThis was a fun Sanderson novel. It has a fairly simple premise, but in typical Sanderson fashion it quickly spirals into some very cool moments and, as a Cosmere novel, offers some tantalizing information for those curious about the great web connecting many of his novels. Character-wise I liked Tress, but felt that she became a tad generic in spite of her strong introduction. I liked the illustrations, though my kindle showed them only in greyscale.PlotThe plot of this book is fairly straightforward, though it takes some interesting turns. The chief premise is a bit of a damsel-in-distress rescue mission. I don't want to spoil any of the major events, so I'll just say that it moves quite fast throwing ever greater challenges to Tress and her friends.CharactersCentral to the story is Tress. She starts off as a small town simple girl and initially gave me some Auri vibes with her unusual fascination on cups (from Rothfuss's Name of the Wind); however, she quickly grows to a more standard Sanderson heroine- an adventuring scholar. While she's great, it does seem Sanderson gravitates to that archetype very often so I felt she lost a bit of personality when leaning heavily into that. In addition to Tress we also have Huck, a talking rat; a bunch of pirates including Fort, Ann, and Salay; and of course- Hoid. This is a Cosmere novel so Hoid is present and up to something.Setting / World BuildingLike a lot of Sanderson's novels, exploring the setting is an integral part of the experience. Tress lives in a weird world with several moons hovering in the sky and raining down spores. These spores form the seas in which boats navigate but are dangerous in their own right. The spores activate in the presence of actual water and can have devastating effects. This however, makes things very interesting as you can start piecing together how to solve problems by using the right combinations of spores. We don't get to see all of the world, but enough to give us a taste for what is possible there.This is a Cosmere novel, which means it is in the same grand universe as other novels and series like Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, or The Stormlight Archive. If you've read some of those, you may encounter some brief moments where a character or concept from those is mentioned in passing. One aspect I'm not 100% sure off, however, is the timeline between all of them. Naturally, Hoid can't be everywhere at once but some aspects of technology and presumably major story events have already taken place in these other worlds. Regardless, this isn't important to enjoy the story, but it gives an extra depth for those who are Sanderson fans.Final ThoughtsThis was a really fun, short novel. A bit of a romantic adventure, but with classic Sanderson world-building and quirky characters. You can certainly see some of the covid influences, from the fear of airborne spores to tablet communication devices. The plot is straightforward and told in an interesting style with a whimsical narrator that talks to the reader and frequently drops fascinating Cosmere links or foreshadows story events. Overall this was a good book and a great start to the year of Sanderson. Tress of the Emerald Sea is the first of Sanderson's "Secret Project"- a set of four novels written during the height of the covid pandemic and being independently published. As a Sanderson fan I had to sign up for them since I knew they would be fun reads and indeed the first hasn't disappointed. Plus as a Cosmere novel it connects to his grander universe. I look forward to seeing what the other 3 will be.

Book Review: Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

Overall Impression This was a fun Sanderson novel. It has a fairly simple premise, but in typical Sanderson fashion it quickly spirals into some very cool moments and, as a Cosmere novel, offers some tantalizing information for those curious about the great web connecting many of his novels. Character-wise I liked Tress, but felt that she became a tad generic in spite of her strong introduction. I liked the illustrations, though my kindle showed them only in greyscale.

Plot The plot of this book is fairly straightforward, though it takes some interesting turns. The chief premise is a bit of a damsel-in-distress rescue mission. I don't want to spoil any of the major events, so I'll just say that it moves quite fast throwing ever greater challenges to Tress and her friends.

Characters Central to the story is Tress. She starts off as a small town simple girl and initially gave me some Auri vibes with her unusual fascination on cups (from Rothfuss's Name of the Wind); however, she quickly grows to a more standard Sanderson heroine- an adventuring scholar. While she's great, it does seem Sanderson gravitates to that archetype very often so I felt she lost a bit of personality when leaning heavily into that. 

In addition to Tress we also have Huck, a talking rat; a bunch of pirates including Fort, Ann, and Salay; and of course- Hoid. This is a Cosmere novel so Hoid is present and up to something.

Setting / World Building Like a lot of Sanderson's novels, exploring the setting is an integral part of the experience. Tress lives in a weird world with several moons hovering in the sky and raining down spores. These spores form the seas in which boats navigate but are dangerous in their own right. The spores activate in the presence of actual water and can have devastating effects. This however, makes things very interesting as you can start piecing together how to solve problems by using the right combinations of spores. We don't get to see all of the world, but enough to give us a taste for what is possible there.

This is a Cosmere novel, which means it is in the same grand universe as other novels and series like Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, or The Stormlight Archive. If you've read some of those, you may encounter some brief moments where a character or concept from those is mentioned in passing. One aspect I'm not 100% sure off, however, is the timeline between all of them. Naturally, Hoid can't be everywhere at once but some aspects of technology and presumably major story events have already taken place in these other worlds. Regardless, this isn't important to enjoy the story, but it gives an extra depth for those who are Sanderson fans.

Final Thoughts This was a really fun, short novel. A bit of a romantic adventure, but with classic Sanderson world-building and quirky characters. You can certainly see some of the covid influences, from the fear of airborne spores to tablet communication devices. The plot is straightforward and told in an interesting style with a whimsical narrator that talks to the reader and frequently drops fascinating Cosmere links or foreshadows story events. Overall this was a good book and a great start to the year of Sanderson.

#Brandon Sanderson #SSP1 #SSP #Tress of the Emerald Sea #mahreviews #long post

[deoxys314]

New year, new overambitious project!

I'm going to do a Cosmere re-read in chronological order.

This is a bad idea, really. Publication order is probably better (that's true for a lot of things. Don't do a chronological viewing of Star Wars, please. It just doesn't track the way you want. Plus you get really bogged down in The Clone Wars skipping around) but I've basically read all these in publication order anyway, at least from after I discovered the Brandolarian.

Also I got that a: busy life b: executive dysfunction, so I'll be reading very irregularly. You can try and follow along if you want but I'll probably just drop my notes when I finish them.

Here's the order, grabbed from The Coppermind (if you're going to click that link remember there are two books currently in spoiler period) and augmented with me looking at the list of short stories and novellas and saying "oh yeah, that goes, uh, here?":

White Sand

Elantris

Hope of Elantris

The Emperor's Soul

The Eleventh Metal

Mistborn: The Final Empire

The Well of Ascension

The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: Secret History

Warbreaker

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

All the essays in Arcanum Unbounded about the planetary systems

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

Edgedancer

Oathbringer

Dawnshard

Rhythm of War

Knights of Wind and Truth (jk, this won't be published by the time I reach this point)

Allomancer Jak

Alloy of Law

Shadows of Self

The Bands of Mourning

The Lost Metal

Sixth of Dusk

Tress of the Emerald Sea

SP3

SP4

#cosmere #reread #cosmere reread #this is a stupid project but oh well

[goddessofthedawn]

top 10, bottom 5, as of february

 NOTE: What makes this different from my end of the year count is that I do count re-reads, thank you very much, in this list. But! As of the end of February, these are my best ten and worst five books of the year (so far). 

THE BEST:

10. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, 5 stars

What the hell! It was great! Fuck me, right!

9. Night Shift by Stephen King, 5 Stars

I still love this collection. It's just wacky in a way that a lot of King's later short stories aren't; at this point, when you think short stories and Stephen King, they're almost literary. This one isn't literary. The laundry machine eats people.

8. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun 1 by Izumi Tsubaki, 5 stars

Still the king.

7. A Special Place by Peter Straub, 5 stars

Real talk, I finished this last night and it was so goddam good. Apt Pupil WHO???? Keith would eat you alive, Todd.

6. The Dark Half by Stephen King, 5 stars

Still a great one. I feel like this one almost leans more Bachman than King, just because of how damn bloody it is. 

5. Under the Dome by Stephen King, 5 stars

Look, I know a lot of people have issues with this one, especially the ending, but the only thing I have an issue with at the ending is fucking Benny Drake my GUY you did not have to DO THAT. 

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, 5 stars

My first full-length Shirley Jackson. So goddam good.

3. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, 5 stars

I'm pretty sure this one was on my January list, too.

2. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, 5 stars

As of right now, this is my top new read of the year. Holy shit was this book a lot. The twist! The tragedy! Jaime! 

1. Needful Things by Stephen King, 5 stars

God, I love Needful Things. 

THE BAD: 

5. 10 Secrets to a Bestseller by Tim McConnehey

This is literally just an ad. Which is okay, but it didn't need to be a hundred and twenty page ad.

4. Memories by Francine Pascal, 1.5 stars

I will never be free of Sweet Valley High.

3. 27 Hours by Tristina Wright, 1.5 stars

This book got a lot of flack for its really heavy-handed dealing with like, race and colonialism and in my mind, you know, it's just bad. Also why are all of these characters named like a fourth grader of today??? Hello?

2. Art is the Lie by Courtney Cook Hopp, 1 star

This was like Twilight but... worse. Granted, it's been a while since I read Twilight, so it might not be worse. But in my heart and soul, that's how I feel about this book.

1. Call of the Cherokee by F Gardner, 1 star

Ladies and gentlemen, something was worse than Left Behind. Mostly because at least Left Behind got like, edited. And didn't have grammatical errors. Like this one did.

#just ramblings of aurora

[hoids]

Hi, I’m Kell and I like to party.

Sideblog for everything Cosmere (with maybe a bit of other Sanderson thrown in). Follows from matcauth0n. I’m currently reading through everything in publication order. The road so far:

Elantris

The Hope of Elantris

Mistborn: The Final Empire

The Well of Ascension

The Hero of Ages

Warbreaker

The Way of Kings

The Alloy of Law

The Eleventh Metal

The Emperor’s Soul

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell

Words of Radiance

Sixth of the Dusk

Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania

Shadows of Self

The Bands of Mourning

Mistborn: Secret History

White Sand Omnibus

Edgedancer

Oathbringer (currently reading)

Non-Cosmere (Books)

Steelheart

Firefight

Calamity

Lux

Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds

Stephen Leeds: Death & Faxes

The Original

The Gathering Storm

Towers of Midnight

A Memory of Light

Non-Cosmere (Short Stories)

Centrifugal

Defending Elysium

Firstborn

Heuristic Algorithm and Reasoning Response Engine

I Hate Dragons

Mitosis

Perfect State

Dreamer

#.about

[eridaofgalland]

.

#i want to read the stormlight archive so bad #it hurts #watching videos about roshar on yt has been saving me #but i still have to finish mistborn era 2 #read the short stories and warbreaker #i must remain strong #the cosmere #random

[toctheyounger]

Can someone tell Sanderson that I'd rather get Warbraker 2 than Mistborn era 3 or the Elantris trilogy ?

#yeah i finished warbraker yesterday and it was really good it had some surprising twists and interesting characters and worldbuilding #i think elantris built more of a sense of urgency for the sequel with the evil empire starting to make moves #instead warbreaker ended abruptly and relegated any potential sequel teasing for the eplilogue #but now i can safely say that i've dipped my toes in all the major cosmere worlds at least the main novels #still have to read some novellas short stories and graphic novels and then probably reread the whole thing actually paying close attention #sanderson started writing stormlight 5 so a reread would definitely help but who has the time and i want to read so many things #anyway warbreaker 2 let's go someday it'll happen

[moghedien]

So you want to start the Cosmere…

Hello I have read all of the Cosmere (multiple times in several cases!) and I have very strong opinions on the correct reading order

While I don’t have an exact order of when to read what, I definitely have very firm ideas of which books should be read before which. Not reading certain things too soon is the most important thing imo

And while yes, technically you can do whatever you want and start with Stormlight if you really really want to, I really don’t suggest it! Take it as someone who DID start with Stormlight and didn’t even know what the Cosmere was until I was like several series into it.

I’m including in my list all novellas and short stories as well, and while all of these aren’t necessary, I think some of them definitely are. If something has a number and a letter next to it (ex. 2a), it isn’t strictly necessary to read, and I’m more including it more so that you know when to read it if you so choose to do so.

1. Start with either Mistborn era 1 trilogy or Warbreaker

If you want a trilogy, read Mistborn. If you want a shorter commitment, read Warbreaker. These two are the ideal places to start imo because they do not noticeably tie into the larger Cosmere at this point and they are a better idea of what you’re going to get from the Cosmere than Elantris.

1a. Read The Eleventh Metal any time after the first Mistborn book

This isn’t something that necessarily needs to be rushed to, but it’s short so might as well read it while Mistborn is fresh in your mind

2. Once you’ve read the first Mistborn trilogy or Warbreaker, read the one you didn’t pick OR read Elantris.

Mainly I just really don’t suggest reading Elantris first, but read it anytime after your first introduction to the Cosmere.

2a. Read Hope of Elantris any time after Elantris ,

Not mandatory to read unless you’re a completionist but probably the sooner after Elantris the better just so that you remember it.

2b. Read The Emperor’s Soul anytime after Elantris

Can literally be read any time but after Elantris is best. No rush to read this one, but again it’s short.

3. Once you have read Mistborn Era 1, Warbreaker, AND Elantris, read Mistborn Era 2.

As a caveat, I’m writing this before The Lost Metal comes out, so read The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, and The Bands of Mourning. I cannot yet judge when is best to read The Lost Metal but I’m guessing I’ll probably put it last on this list

3a. Read Allomancer Jack anytime after The Alloy of Law

Not mandatory by any means

3b. Read Shadows for Silence and Sixth of the Dusk any time

Technically you can read these at literally any time, but I think it’s best to wait until you have a deeper idea of the Cosmere before you do to appreciate them more.

4. Once you’ve read The Bands of Mourning, read Mistborn: Secret History

DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU’VE READ THE BANDS OF MOURNING. DO NOT LOOK AT IT. DO NOT EVEN GOOGLE WHAT ITS ABOUT.

5. Read The Way of Kings

6. Read Words of Radiance

If for some reason you haven’t read Warbreaker yet, do it before you read Words of Radiance

7. Read Edgedancer

And just wrap up and read anything else in the Arcaneum Unbound that you haven’t read up until this point

8. Read Oathbringer

9. Read Dawnshard

10. Read Rhythm of War

And if for some reason you haven’t read The Bands of Mourning, do so BEFORE you read Rhythm of War

11. Read White Sand whenever you have literally nothing left and your completionist brain isn’t letting you not read it because you need to have read all the Cosmere

I don’t like White Sand the only good thing about White Sand is Khriss. Branderson isn’t good at writing graphic novels yall, I’m sorry

Ok I think that’s everything (that is currently out) let me know if I missed something by mistake, I wrote this kinda sporadically

#i am taking no criticism #cosmere #brandon sanderson #booklr