The Cosmere discussion

I’m almost finished with Elantris and you can tell it was his first published book. It’s good and I’m greatly enjoying it.
However, compared to Mistborn Era 1 (the only other books I’ve read of his) Elantris isn’t as complex in characters or plot.
The characters don’t contemplate their circumstances as much. And the plot doesn’t have as many twists and turns.
As a first published book it is really good though! I mean no wonder he has built this whole book world. He wasn’t writing a one-and-done book, he had a plan and wanted to create a whole world.

I had a slightly worse experience reading Elantris because I read it after reading the Way of Kings and Words of Radiance (literally peak Sanderson) so the contrast hit me hard and made it difficult for me to enjoy the book.
Despite that, Elantris ties into many Cosmere plotlines and reading it is very important plus it's going to get a sequel which I'm really interested in due to spoilery reasons xD.
But yeah the guts to create a world of such massive scope and to plant the roots of such an unbelievable story using your first published story is just Brandon Sanderson being one of the best novelists in history.

My husband is listening to Stormlight at work and he is just blown away by the genius of the writing.
I couldn’t imagine going from that to Elantris haha
Even going from Era 1 to Elantris was a noticeable step down.

I’m going to be starting Stormlight next. So I’m stepping out of my chronological order a bit, but I want to talk about the books with my husband haha he’s hounding me to start reading them.

Definitely agree on this, Elantris just cannot compare unfortunately. I read it once super long ago and have been holding off on the reread. I’ll get to it eventually though! I’m thinking I’ll be more into it now that I know so much about the cosmere and can catch some of the og Easter eggs though!

But yes, stormlight is amazing!! You will love it and it’s always so fun having someone to talk to about it, lots of heavy themes that stir conversation.

It’s just insane that right from Elantris he made a world that connects so intricately. Even though it was his first published book he had the foresight to make it a part of the Cosmere.

So crazy… when you read arcanum unbounded the post script messages give so much fun little insight into his thought process! It’s insane how early he had been thinking about this universe and piecing it together

In what format did you guys read the graphic novels for White Sand?
I can’t seem to find hard copies anywhere

I read the prose version as I'm not a big fan of western graphic novels. And yeah being a graphic novel it's definitely gonna be difficult to find a hard copy but there's always amazon for an e copy

Jacklyn wrote: "In what format did you guys read the graphic novels for White Sand?
I can’t seem to find hard copies anywhere"

I read them in hard copies, they were from the library

Just finished my reread of Elantris! Enjoyed it wayyy more than I remembered, went into a bit more detail in my review.

On another note, I’m thinking I’ve been in a bit of a Sanderson rut lately and was wondering if any of y’all had any non-Sanderson fantasy recommendations!

I think I always return to Sanderson books because I know I’ll enjoy them but I’ll be a bit more confident diving into a big ole non-Sanderson fantasy book if I know readers that share my interests also enjoyed the book!

Jaime wrote: "Just finished my reread of Elantris! Enjoyed it wayyy more than I remembered, went into a bit more detail in my review.

On another note, I’m thinking I’ve been in a bit of a Sanderson rut lately ..."

I like KOTLC for fantasy other than Brandon Sanderson. It's a bit more childish, but once you get into the series it's REALLY good.

I plan on rereading Elantris one day too, maybe when it's sequel is announced?!

Recommendations. The Name of the Wind? One of my all time favorite books even if the trilogy won't ever be completed by Rothfuss(duh). Not being concluded is painful but it's still very worth it.

Other recent reads I'd recommend would be The Book that Wouldn't Burn and Sword of Kaigen

I went to an actual bookstore on Wednesday! I haven’t been in a long time haha
And I bought 7 books from my list 😐
I’m so excited haha

That’s the best feeling! Since I’ve been mostly rereading or borrowing, I miss that new book feel!

Hey everyone! I finally finished Mistborn Era 1 last month and absolutely loved the series and the ending. I am trying to read through the whole cosmere in a recommended reading order and am now reading Warbreaker which is also great so far. I picked up Mistborn: Secret History this weekend and was wondering if there is a recommended time/place to read it in between other books, or if it'd be fine to read anytime since I finished Era 1. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts!

It kind of depends! A lot of people wait and read it after Era 2 or at least after Bands of Mourning, but you can read it after Era 1 if you want. If you read it after Era 2 and even after WoK you might get more out of the little cosmere Easter eggs but they aren’t necessary for the story.

Got it! Thanks for the tip!

I read it after era 1 and yeah it's great anywhere but I agree it would be a bit more fun to read after era 2!

Hey all! Back again with another question. Just wondering if anyone knows of a good way to get my hands on the whitesand graphic novels. Seems like they are either sold out everywhere or super expensive. The most I’ve found is the second part at my local B&N. Has anyone had any luck getting them anywhere?

Sorry I’m just seeing this question! I’m actually running into the same issue, White Sand is insanely expensive. I guess you are paying also for the art so the prices are increased :/ if anyone knows how to get it for less than the BN price please let us know!!
Does anyone know if there are online versions that may be discounted?

If you have a library card in the US you can check volumes 1-3 out on an app called Hoopla.

Oh yeah I’ve heard of hoopla! Didnt even think about that as an option. I did also find each volume as well as the omnibus version on Dynamites website which is the publisher. Still a decent price tag but it’s an option if people are looking to get a copy.