Sanderson's Cosmere

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Chase McGuire
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Started my WoK re-read. This is probably my 5th or 6th time, but I still love the way Bridge 4 comes together. And Dalinar is by far the best character as y'all have said.
Average Joe
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heddleston said:

Dalinar is maybe my favorite character of all time. Such a dude. I just finished reading the first book of Brent Weeks' Lightbringer series (The Black Prism) and enjoyed it, but cant decide whether to go ahead and read the rest of the series or begin my Stormlight re-read.


Lightbringer is really good and worth the read. It's much shorter so I would knock it out and then go to WoK.
maverick2076
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I agree. I really enjoyed Lightbringer.
Hudson2508
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I stupidly decided to re-read Wheel of Time and have to finish before RoW comes out. 6 books down so it's going to be close.
hunter2012
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I myself am in the middle of the Dresden Files, I don't think I'll be finished in time, I'm on book 9 of 18...
Chipotlemonger
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Damn that's quite the undertaking! How are you liking the reread?
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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heddleston said:

Dalinar is maybe my favorite character of all time. Such a dude.
i cant pick one of the characters as a fave. Kal, Dalinar, Adolin, even secondary characters like Teft or Rock have some complexity to them that i really appreciate. losing any of them in future books will crush me. like you all, I didnt really care for Shallan's character during WoK, but once you got her backstory in WoR there was so much more there. BS clearly couldnt develop that along with kaladin during the first book, but am so glad we got it.

Regarding RoW, for those of you that have read the first few released chapters, i know it was supposed to focus on Venli/Eshonai, but it sure feels Navani-centric so far (super small sample size i know). just these first two serialized releases fleshes out her character significantly in such a great way.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
Proposition Joe
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I like them all, but I think whenever Wit suddenly makes an appearance I smile more than with the others.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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Its weird, i dont necessarily consider Wit a "Stormlight Archive" character, but more a Cosmere character. i know thats weird. but i agree, you cant help but smile and get a little excited everytime he shows up. Of course, now anytime a new character appears or someone isnt named outright, i start reading super closely "is this wit in disguise? sounds like wit, what is he doing?"
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
Chipotlemonger
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Without spoilers if you will, is Wit in other books in the Sanderson books?

I've only been reading the Stormlight books, haven't read any other of the "Cosmere."
hunter2012
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Chipotlemonger said:

Without spoilers if you will, is Wit in other books in the Sanderson books?

I've only been reading the Stormlight books, haven't read any other of the "Cosmere."
Yes. Just about every book/novella. I actually wonder if the whole Cosmere series of series were written just to frame Wit's larger story/goal.
Chipotlemonger
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Wow! That's pretty neat.

Should I read any of the others or just leave it at Stormlight? I'm an all or nothing person, so if I read any others I'd want to probably read them all ha.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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Chipotlemonger said:

Without spoilers if you will, is Wit in other books in the Sanderson books?

I've only been reading the Stormlight books, haven't read any other of the "Cosmere."
yes. some where he is outright named, and others he is in disguise and you have to really look for the hints to see if its him.

if you go thru and read some of the books/series, you will pick up on things/references/clues/etc from Stormlight and vice versa.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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Chipotlemonger said:

Wow! That's pretty neat.

Should I read any of the others or just leave it at Stormlight? I'm an all or nothing person, so if I read any others I'd want to probably read them all ha.
Do it. read them all. SO WORTH IT
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
hunter2012
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HummingbirdSaltalamacchia said:

Its weird, i dont necessarily consider Wit a "Stormlight Archive" character, but more a Cosmere character. i know thats weird. but i agree, you cant help but smile and get a little excited everytime he shows up. Of course, now anytime a new character appears or someone isnt named outright, i start reading super closely "is this wit in disguise? sounds like wit, what is he doing?"
    There's a test for this:
    • Did Sanderson set aside a part of the story for a main character to interact with a stranger?
    • Is said stranger either an eccentric hobo or a street performer?

If both statements are true then it's Wit.
If the 1st statement is true and the 2nd false, it's probably another Cosmere series character.
If the 2nd statement is true and the 1st false, it's probably Wit anyway.

The only exception is when Wit is in transit, like when he beats the crap out of Kelsier in Secret History.
hunter2012
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Chipotlemonger said:

Wow! That's pretty neat.

Should I read any of the others or just leave it at Stormlight? I'm an all or nothing person, so if I read any others I'd want to probably read them all ha.
If you're all or nothing then definitely read the other series. There's at least half a dozen other characters in Stormlight that have been a side/main character in other series. Part of what makes Stormlight so invigorating is a lot more sh*t is going down than just the Singer/human war.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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Also, without getting super spoilery.....there are other crossover characters that appear in Stormlight that are in other books. would never have known this had i not read the other books.

which makes going back and re-reading so enjoyable. you pick up on so much that you didnt on the first read thru. ESPECIALLY if you read Stormlight first like i did....going back and reading Mistborn and Warbreaker, then re-reading Stormlight is like.....Ooooooh shiiit. that is soandso!!

so great.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
Chipotlemonger
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Dammit I wanted to do a Dune reread but y'all are changing course for me here.

That being said, where do I start and where do I go order wise?
Quad Dog
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HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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Chipotlemonger said:

Dammit I wanted to do a Dune reread but y'all are changing course for me here.

That being said, where do I start and where do I go order wise?
I would say Mistborn Era 1 (starts with The Final Empire). then maybe one of the standalone books like Warbreaker, then Elantris and Mistborn Era 2(starts with Alloy of Law). the novelas and stuff you can read after the main books. whatever you do, dont read Secret History until after you read thru Mistborn Era 1, lol. trust me.

Warbreaker is one of my favorites. i just really enjoyed the concept, the magic system and the potential for the characters moving forward.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
hunter2012
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Suggested reading order for a completionist:

Edgedancer(novella)- about Lift between Stormlight 2/3

1st Mistborn Trilogy- epic series on a different planet, though book one is almost a stand alone novel

Elantris- Also on a different planet. The first Cosmere book, less action in this but I really like the character dynamic here, especially the villain.

Emperor's Soul(Novella)- same planet as Elantris, probably the better story between the 2.

Warbreaker- On yet another different planet. Kind of a slower story like Elantris, but again an interesting story/characters.

2nd Mistborn series(this is ongoing)- This is probably Sanderson's next best series, it's little wonder that with Stormlight it's his most recent too.

Mistborn Secret History(Novellas)- A retelling of the first trilogy from a different perspective, has spoilers for the 2nd series so I put it last.

I should note that all the Novellas are in Arcanum Unbounded, Sanderson's anthology book of various Cosmere stories.

There's also White Sand, but as it's a graphic novel I haven't read it yet. Can anyone recommend this? I believe it's on yet another different planet.

Wit makes appearances in all of the above mentioned and there's at least half a dozen characters from these books that at least have minor roles in Stormlight. At least two will immediately pop out.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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hunter2012 said:

There's also White Sand, but as it's a graphic novel I haven't read it yet. Can anyone recommend this? I believe it's on yet another different planet.

it took me a bit to get into, but yes. i think its worth it. there is also a crossover character from this that appears in stormlight with the other world hoppers looking for Hoid


I will also say, go into some of the other series knowing that the quality may not be quite up with Stormlight. some of these, like Warbreaker and Elantris were the first books he wrote. still great but not quite as polished, if that makes any sense. didnt take away from my enjoyment though.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
hunter2012
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Space Marine Allomancers are going to be freaking awesome.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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hunter2012 said:

Space Marine Allomancers are going to be freaking awesome.
Im more looking forward to era 3. Allomancer SWAT team and a Mistborn Serial killer. F yeah.
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
bearamedic99
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I just want another Wax and Wayne book.

The Reckoners series was enjoyable.
hunter2012
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Crap, this is getting me hyped for Stormlight 4. I need to hurry up and finish Dresden Files now...
Chipotlemonger
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Thank y'all for the input! I already have read Edgedancer, got to that between Stormlight 2 and 3 and liked it a lot. Will get started on Mistborn Era 1!
hunter2012
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Chipotlemonger said:

Thank y'all for the input! I already have read Edgedancer, got to that between Stormlight 2 and 3 and liked it a lot. Will get started on Mistborn Era 1!
Maybe you'll be able to answer the ultimate question, who would win between Kal and Kelsier?
Chipotlemonger
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Probably whoever the latter is. Kal was great in WoK but has dragged for me since. I'm a big Adolin fan, best character.

(In all honesty I like Kal too, haha. Just not as much)
BryanAggie2013
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Loving the recommendations on this thread!

I have finished all of the Stormlight stuff out so far (including Edgedancer), Shadows for Silence, and The Final Empire. Just started in on The Well of Ascension. Will be using this thread to map out my reading between now and Rhythm of War's release. Was planning on a Stormlight re-read but I think I'd rather read some other Cosmere stuff since it seems to mostly precede/feed into Stormlight.
HummingbirdSaltalamacchia
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hunter2012 said:

Chipotlemonger said:

Thank y'all for the input! I already have read Edgedancer, got to that between Stormlight 2 and 3 and liked it a lot. Will get started on Mistborn Era 1!
Maybe you'll be able to answer the ultimate question, who would win between Kal and Kelsier?


Right now? Kelsier. Until kaladin swears the 4th ideal and gets his Shardplate he'll be at a disadvantage. This may be a Brandon/RAFO question, but shardplate cant be lashed I don't believe, so would kelsier be able to affect it allomantically?
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America's destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
Lathspell
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Good point, but definitely requires a separate thread to discuss with spoilers.

Also, it is not a spoiler to identify Wit as Hoid. He literally has no other purpose in the other books other than seeing the name pop up and no one would realize it unless you read them all back-to-back and happened to notice the name be repeated. I added the spoiler tag because there are weird people who may not agree with me.

He does go by a few other names in some of the books, like The Final Empire.

As for the cosmere, I would 100% recommend reading it all. Especially to get Hoid's full story. I think he is world hopping to acquire investiture in each world. He is a Mistborn, he has at least 200 breaths, and he is a Lightweaver of at least the 1st ideal, but maybe the 2nd...
Dawnguard
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As a reminder - Sanderson's Kickstarter for the 10th anniversary leatherbound ends in about a week (Aug 6th).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dragonsteel/the-way-of-kings-10th-anniversary-leatherbound-edition?ref=discovery&term=sanderson
hunter2012
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In for the book, I'm more than happy to give Sanderson my money so long as he keeps spitting out books. Frankly he's the only epic fantasy author I have faith in to finish their series currently...

Also fun fact I read on the wiki that Dalinar was the first character that Sanderson ever came up with. Could explain why he's such a great character.
Chase McGuire
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