The Mistborn saga itself is separated into three distinct trilogies (so far) that are set over different time periods. The Mistborn saga itself tells the story of a group of ‘allomancers’ – that is, magically imbued individuals who can manipulate metal – as they band together and embark on a secret mission to overthrow the dystopian empire of their homeworld. The Eleventh Metal (short story featured in Arcanum Unbounded).This is the first suggested series within the universe and consists of 8 books and associated novellas that Sanderson himself recommends reading first. So, without further ado, let’s get started! Mistborn In this order, which is separated into specific series’, Sanderson purposely didn’t include any of the stand alone novellas or graphic novels – which suggests they can be picked up and read at any point throughout. Cosmere: The Definitive Reader Orderįor the benefit of this article, we will follow the reading order prescribed by Sanderson himself.

These include novels, short stories, and graphic novels – each of them fairly different in their essence, and located in different parts of the vast universe that Sanderson has created. How Many Books Does This Include?Īt the present moment in his literary career, there are 30 books and publications that are considered to exist within Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. This can be confusing for many reasons – namely because the ‘Cosmere’ itself doesn’t refer to a specific collection of books within his back catalog, with his entire back catalog, and the individual, isolated series’ within, taking place in the universe instead. This is exactly what it sounds like – the same literary universe, with each of his books taking place on a different planet or realm within said space. Within much of Brandon Sanderson’s writing, the stories take place within the same Cosmere universe. So this begs the question: what is the definitive reading order for Sanderson’s ‘Cosmere’ series? What Is The Cosmere Universe? However, with such a wealth of books, it can be difficult for new readers to know where to possibly begin.

Many of Sanderson’s works are incredibly popular, with perhaps the ‘Cosmere’ series being the most notable.

Warbreaker cover