Brandon Sanderson Books in Order (Updated August 5, 2026)

Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy and science fiction author best known for Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. Those series belong to the Cosmere, a shared universe containing stories set on different planets with connected magic, history, organizations, and recurring characters.

Not every Sanderson book is part of the Cosmere. Skyward, The Reckoners, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Legion, and The Rithmatist occupy separate continuities.

The simplest approach is to keep each individual series in order. Readers interested in the larger Cosmere should also delay its most crossover-heavy books until they have completed several of the foundational series.

Quick Reading Order

The best starting point for most new readers is Mistborn: The Final Empire.

Read the original Mistborn trilogy first:

1. Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006): A street thief joins a plan to overthrow an immortal ruler, establishing the metallic magic and long-term mysteries at the center of Mistborn.
2. The Well of Ascension (2007): Victory creates political instability, military pressure, and new questions about whether the old enemy was holding back something worse.
3. The Hero of Ages (2008): The trilogy’s prophecies, hidden histories, and accumulating consequences converge in the conclusion to Mistborn Era One.

After that, read Elantris and Warbreaker before beginning The Stormlight Archive.

Readers wanting a shorter introduction can start with The Emperor’s Soul. Readers already comfortable with very long epic fantasy can begin with The Way of Kings.

Are All Brandon Sanderson Books Connected?

No. Sanderson’s bibliography contains several separate fictional universes.

The Cosmere

The Cosmere includes:

1. Mistborn
2. The Stormlight Archive
3. Elantris
4. Warbreaker
5. White Sand
6. Tress of the Emerald Sea
7. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
8. The Sunlit Man
9. Isles of the Emberdark
10. Most fiction collected in Arcanum Unbounded

These stories generally begin as independent narratives. Their connections become more explicit in later books.

The Cytoverse

Skyward, the Skyward Flight novellas, Defending Elysium, and related continuations belong to the Cytoverse.

This science fiction setting is completely separate from the Cosmere.

Other Separate Continuities

The Reckoners, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, Legion, Infinity Blade, Dark One, The Rithmatist, and Sanderson’s standalone non-Cosmere fiction each follow their own continuity rules.

The Wheel of Time

Sanderson completed the final three Wheel of Time novels using Robert Jordan’s notes and completed material.

These books belong to Jordan’s series and should be read after the first eleven main Wheel of Time novels.

Brandon Sanderson Cosmere Books in Recommended Order

There is no mandatory order covering every Cosmere book. The route below preserves major reveals, keeps individual series intact, and introduces crossovers gradually.

Begin with Mistborn Era One

1. Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006): Vin enters a rebellion built around Allomancy, political deception, and an apparently impossible attempt to destroy the Final Empire.
2. The Well of Ascension (2007): The survivors must defend and govern what they liberated while doubts grow around prophecy, leadership, and the threat outside the city.
3. The Hero of Ages (2008): Environmental collapse and ancient manipulation force the characters to uncover the real history behind their world and its powers.
4. The Eleventh Metal (2011): This short prequel follows Kelsier during his early training and is best read after the trilogy has established his role.

This opening sequence gives readers a completed story before the wider Cosmere becomes important.

Continue with Elantris and Warbreaker

1. Elantris (2005): A fallen magical city, a political marriage, and a religious invasion intersect in one of the Cosmere’s earliest published standalone novels.
2. The Hope of Elantris (2006): This short story revisits the climax of Elantris from another perspective and must be read after the novel.
3. The Emperor’s Soul (2012): A master forger receives an impossible assignment involving identity and memory, offering a compact introduction to Cosmere magic.
4. Warbreaker (2009): Two princesses, a reluctant god, and a system powered by color and Breath become entangled in a threatened war.

Warbreaker is especially useful before the middle Stormlight books because several characters and magical objects cross between the two series.

Enter The Stormlight Archive

1. The Way of Kings (2010): Soldiers, rulers, and scholars struggle across the shattered world of Roshar as ancient powers begin returning.
2. Words of Radiance (2014): The emerging Knights Radiant face political conflict and a worsening supernatural threat while separate character arcs begin converging.
3. Edgedancer (2016): Lift pursues a dangerous figure through Yeddaw, filling an important character gap between the second and third novels.
4. Oathbringer (2017): Dalinar confronts his violent past while attempting to unite divided nations against a returning enemy.
5. Dawnshard (2020): Rysn and a small expedition travel to Akinah, uncovering information with consequences beyond the immediate Stormlight story.
6. Rhythm of War (2020): War, scientific discovery, and occupation reshape Roshar as the conflict reveals more about its magical and historical foundations.
7. Wind and Truth (2024): The first Stormlight arc reaches its decisive confrontation, resolving major conflicts while preparing the series for its later era.

Edgedancer and Dawnshard are novellas, but both belong inside the main reading sequence.

Read Mistborn Era Two

1. The Alloy of Law (2011): Centuries after the original trilogy, lawman Waxillium Ladrian returns to the city and investigates crimes involving new combinations of metallic powers.
2. Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (2014): This comic adventure presents an exaggerated in-world account of another Allomancer’s exploits and fits after The Alloy of Law.
3. Shadows of Self (2015): Wax investigates a destabilizing series of crimes that connects his personal history to larger political tensions.
4. The Bands of Mourning (2016): A search for a legendary artifact expands the known world and introduces a major reveal about Mistborn history.
5. Mistborn: Secret History (2016): Events running alongside the original trilogy expose hidden Cosmere activity and should usually be read after The Bands of Mourning.
6. The Lost Metal (2022): Wax and his allies confront a final threat as Mistborn’s local conflict becomes directly connected to the wider Cosmere.

The Lost Metal contains more explicit crossover material than the earlier Mistborn books. It benefits from prior familiarity with Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul, and several Stormlight novels.

Finish with the Later Cosmere Books

1. Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023): A practical young woman crosses dangerous seas to rescue someone she loves, telling a self-contained story with numerous wider Cosmere details.
2. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023): Two people from very different cultures become mysteriously linked, forcing them to solve intertwined supernatural crises.
3. The Sunlit Man (2023): A fugitive with deep Stormlight connections lands on a lethal world and must keep moving to survive.
4. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (2013): An innkeeper and bounty hunter works in a haunted forest where survival depends on obeying strict supernatural rules.
5. Sixth of the Dusk (2014): A trapper on a deadly island confronts technological outsiders whose arrival threatens his culture and world.
6. Isles of the Emberdark (2025): The Sixth of the Dusk setting expands into a late-Cosmere conflict involving advanced civilizations, dangerous bargains, and interplanetary power.

The Sunlit Man should be read after Rhythm of War at minimum. Isles of the Emberdark is also better suited to experienced Cosmere readers than to first-time readers.

Mistborn Books in Order

Mistborn is divided into eras separated by large periods of history. Later eras reveal the results and legends of earlier ones.

Mistborn Era One Books in Order

1. Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006): Vin joins Kelsier’s crew in a rebellion against the Lord Ruler, beginning the central conflict of the original trilogy.
2. The Well of Ascension (2007): The new government faces siege, betrayal, and uncertainty about an ancient force that may have been misunderstood.
3. The Hero of Ages (2008): The world approaches destruction as the characters race to interpret clues left across religion, history, and metal.

These three novels form one complete arc and should not be separated or rearranged.

Mistborn Era Two Books in Order

1. The Alloy of Law (2011): Wax brings frontier lawkeeping methods into an industrializing city where criminals are using Allomancy and Feruchemy in new ways.
2. Shadows of Self (2015): A highly personal investigation tests Wax’s trust in his allies, his beliefs, and the powers shaping his society.
3. The Bands of Mourning (2016): Wax leaves the city in pursuit of an artifact connected to the Lord Ruler, uncovering truths beyond established history.
4. The Lost Metal (2022): The Wax and Wayne sequence concludes with political danger, experimental weapons, and direct intervention from Cosmere organizations.

Era Two can technically be understood without Era One, but it reveals what happened to the first trilogy’s world and characters.

Mistborn Novellas and Short Stories

1. The Eleventh Metal (2011): Kelsier trains as an Allomancer and begins developing the convictions that later shape his rebellion.
2. Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (2014): An unreliable adventurer narrates a sensational expedition while editorial footnotes quietly challenge his version of events.
3. Mistborn: Secret History (2016): A hidden participant moves behind the original trilogy’s events and discovers that Scadrial is part of a much larger conflict.

The safest placement for Secret History is after The Bands of Mourning. Reading it immediately after The Hero of Ages gives stronger emotional continuity, but it weakens a later reveal.

The Stormlight Archive Books in Order

1. The Way of Kings (2010): Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, and others follow separate paths through war, scholarship, slavery, and visions before their stories begin to connect.
2. Words of Radiance (2014): New Radiants emerge while the war on the Shattered Plains moves toward a dangerous confrontation.
3. Edgedancer (2016): Lift investigates the arrival of a mysterious lawman and develops from an interlude character into a more important participant.
4. Oathbringer (2017): Dalinar tries to build an alliance while memories of his past challenge both his authority and his understanding of himself.
5. Dawnshard (2020): Rysn joins an expedition to a forbidden island and encounters a Cosmere concept with significance far beyond Roshar.
6. Rhythm of War (2020): The conflict shifts into occupied territory as scholars and soldiers search for new ways to understand and resist the enemy.
7. Wind and Truth (2024): The planned contest and its surrounding crises bring the first five-book Stormlight sequence to a major turning point.

Publication order and narrative order are the same when the novellas are inserted correctly.

Is The Stormlight Archive Complete?

No. Wind and Truth completes the first major arc, not the full ten-book plan.

The later five-book sequence has not begun publication as of August 5, 2026.

Elantris Books in Order

1. Elantris (2005): A prince afflicted by a magical transformation, a politically skilled princess, and a foreign priest shape the fate of a decaying city.
2. The Hope of Elantris (2006): A young Elantrian protects children during the novel’s climax, showing events that occurred away from the main viewpoint characters.
3. The Emperor’s Soul (2012): A prisoner must reconstruct an emperor’s mind through magical forgery, creating a separate story on the same planet.

The Hope of Elantris contains direct spoilers for Elantris.

The Emperor’s Soul shares a world with Elantris but does not continue its central cast or conflict.

Warbreaker Books in Order

1. Warbreaker (2009): A princess sent into an arranged marriage becomes caught in court politics, religious tension, and a conflict shaped by BioChromatic Breath.

Warbreaker currently functions as a standalone novel.

A sequel has been discussed for years, but no sequel should be added to the published reading order as of August 2026.

White Sand Books in Order

1. White Sand, Volume One (2016): Kenton survives an attack on the Sand Masters and begins fighting to preserve their place in Dayside society.
2. White Sand, Volume Two (2018): Political opposition and hidden enemies complicate Kenton’s attempt to rebuild the Diem.
3. White Sand, Volume Three (2019): The graphic novel sequence resolves its immediate political and magical conflicts while establishing wider Cosmere connections.
4. White Sand Omnibus (2022): This revised collection combines the three volumes with corrected material, expanded scenes, and a more unified presentation.

The omnibus is the most convenient version of the graphic novel story. Readers who own it do not need the three original volumes.

A revised prose version has been in development, but it should remain outside the published order until a final edition is released.

Arcanum Unbounded Stories in Reading Order

Arcanum Unbounded is a collection, not a single continuous novel. Its stories belong at different places.

1. The Emperor’s Soul (2012): A magical forger must rebuild the mind of an injured ruler and can be read independently or after Elantris.
2. The Hope of Elantris (2006): A companion story set during the ending of Elantris and readable only after that novel.
3. The Eleventh Metal (2011): A Mistborn prequel about Kelsier’s training, best placed after The Final Empire or after Era One.
4. Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (2014): An in-world Mistborn adventure that fits after The Alloy of Law.
5. Mistborn: Secret History (2016): A behind-the-scenes Mistborn narrative, preferably read after The Bands of Mourning.
6. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (2013): A standalone survival story set on Threnody with no required earlier novel.
7. Sixth of the Dusk (2014): A far-future Cosmere novella set on First of the Sun, best read before Isles of the Emberdark.
8. Edgedancer (2016): A Stormlight novella following Lift between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer.

The collection provides spoiler warnings before relevant sections. Those warnings should be followed rather than reading the book straight through.

Cosmere Standalone Novels in Order

These novels tell largely self-contained stories, although their wider references become clearer after other Cosmere series.

1. Elantris (2005): A cursed city and three competing political perspectives introduce the world of Sel.
2. Warbreaker (2009): A conflict between kingdoms introduces BioChromatic Breath and characters who later appear in Stormlight.
3. Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023): A young woman becomes an unlikely sailor while crossing oceans made from dangerous spores.
4. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023): A spirit-calling priestess and a painter who protects cities from nightmares become trapped in each other’s lives.
5. The Sunlit Man (2023): A constantly fleeing worldhopper reaches a planet where sunlight itself is deadly.
6. Isles of the Emberdark (2025): Dusk’s isolated world becomes part of a struggle involving advanced Cosmere civilizations and competing interplanetary interests.

Tress of the Emerald Sea can work as a starting point. The Sunlit Man and Isles of the Emberdark should be saved for later.

Skyward Books in Order

The Skyward books belong to the Cytoverse and are not connected to the Cosmere.

1. Skyward (2018): Spensa joins flight school to defend humanity while investigating the disgrace attached to her father’s final battle.
2. Starsight (2019): Spensa infiltrates an alien society and discovers that humanity’s war is part of a much larger political system.
3. Sunreach (2021): FM and the remaining members of Skyward Flight confront a new danger while Spensa is away from Detritus.
4. ReDawn (2021): Alanik returns to her divided homeworld and draws Skyward Flight into a conflict over alliances and resistance.
5. Cytonic (2021): Spensa enters the Nowhere and learns more about cytonics, delvers, and the forces controlling interstellar travel.
6. Evershore (2021): Jorgen faces leadership pressure and a widening military crisis as events overlap the end of Cytonic.
7. Defiant (2023): Spensa returns for the final confrontation with the Superiority and must apply what she learned in the Nowhere.

This interleaved sequence gives the clearest timeline.

Skyward Flight Collection

1. Skyward Flight: The Collection (2022): This volume collects Sunreach, ReDawn, and Evershore in their correct internal order.

Readers who own the collection do not need separate editions of the three novellas.

Other Cytoverse Stories

1. Defending Elysium (2008): A distant prequel follows a secretive agent during humanity’s early contact with alien civilizations and cytonic abilities.
2. Blightfall (Scheduled for 2026): This continuation follows characters from Skyward Flight after Defiant and belongs at the end of the currently published sequence once released.

Defending Elysium works best after Starsight or after Defiant because it reveals background information that the main series introduces gradually.

As of August 5, 2026, Blightfall remains an upcoming title and should not yet be treated as a completed release.

The Reckoners Books in Order

1. Steelheart (2013): David joins a resistance group dedicated to killing superpowered tyrants after years of studying the apparently invulnerable Steelheart.
2. Mitosis (2013): A new Epic attacks Newcago, giving David and the Reckoners a shorter case between the first two novels.
3. Firefight (2015): David travels to a flooded city where competing Epics force him to reconsider what he believes about their powers.
4. Calamity (2016): The original trilogy reaches its conclusion as the source of the Epics and the possibility of reversing their corruption become central.
5. Lux (2021): A different Reckoners team confronts powerful Epics in Texas, expanding the setting beyond David’s immediate story.

Mitosis is optional but fits naturally after Steelheart.

Lux belongs to the Reckoners world but follows another cast. Reading it after Calamity keeps the original trilogy uninterrupted.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians Books in Order

1. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007): Alcatraz discovers that his apparent talent for breaking things is a magical ability and that librarians secretly control much of the world.
2. The Scrivener’s Bones (2008): Alcatraz enters the Library of Alexandria and learns that the conflict is more dangerous than his first adventure suggested.
3. The Knights of Crystallia (2009): A visit to the Free Kingdoms places Alcatraz amid political conflict, public attention, and questions about his family.
4. The Shattered Lens (2010): Alcatraz joins the defense of a besieged kingdom while the series shifts toward larger military stakes.
5. The Dark Talent (2016): The confrontation with the Evil Librarians reaches a severe turning point and leaves the story deliberately unresolved.
6. Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians (2022): Bastille takes over the narration and completes the conflict left open at the end of The Dark Talent.

The sixth book was written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson. It is the conclusion to the main series, not an optional spin-off.

Legion Books in Order

1. Legion (2012): Stephen Leeds, a brilliant investigator whose expertise appears through distinct hallucinated personas, accepts a case involving a camera with unusual properties.
2. Legion: Skin Deep (2014): Stephen investigates the disappearance of a scientist whose work could make personal biological data dangerously valuable.
3. Lies of the Beholder (2018): Stephen’s relationship with his personas begins breaking down during a final case involving someone from his past.
4. Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (2018): This collection gathers all three novellas in their correct order.

Readers who own The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds already have the complete sequence.

The Rithmatist Books in Order

1. The Rithmatist (2013): A student unable to use magical chalk joins an investigation into disappearances at a school where drawn figures can become dangerous.

The Rithmatist was written as the beginning of a larger story, but no sequel had been published as of August 5, 2026.

Readers should approach it as an unfinished series opening rather than a complete standalone.

Infinity Blade Books in Order

1. Infinity Blade: Awakening (2011): Siris begins questioning the cycle behind his battle with the God King in a story connecting events from the first two games.
2. Infinity Blade: Redemption (2013): The conflict expands through multiple characters and reveals more about the world’s technology, immortality, and history.

These novellas are tie-ins to the Infinity Blade video games. They are not part of the Cosmere.

Dark One Books in Order

Dark One exists across different formats, and its entries should not be treated as part of Sanderson’s other universes.

1. Dark One (2021): Paul Tanasin discovers that he is connected to a fantasy world where he has been assigned the role of its prophesied destroyer.
2. Dark One: Forgotten (2023): Two podcast creators investigate an old murder case connected to unexplained events and the larger Dark One concept.

The first entry is a graphic novel. Dark One: Forgotten is an audio-first story written with Dan Wells.

Brandon Sanderson Standalone Books

These books are separate from the Cosmere and from Sanderson’s major ongoing series.

1. Firstborn (2008): A neglected military officer faces comparison with his celebrated brother during an interstellar conflict.
2. Perfect State (2015): A ruler who controls a simulated world must meet another supposedly perfect sovereign and confront the limits of his reality.
3. Snapshot (2017): Two detectives investigate a reconstruction of a past day, where every simulated person unknowingly repeats recorded behavior.
4. The Original (2020): A woman accused of murder wakes in a replacement body and must find the original version of herself before time runs out.
5. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (2023): An amnesiac man arrives in an alternate medieval world with fragments of a guidebook and evidence that something has gone badly wrong.
6. The Most Boring Book Ever (2024): A child’s apparently uneventful day is contradicted by illustrations showing an increasingly extraordinary adventure.

The Original was written with Mary Robinette Kowal.

The Most Boring Book Ever is an illustrated children’s book created with Kazu Kibuishi.

Brandon Sanderson Collections

1. Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection (2016): This anthology gathers Cosmere novellas and short stories that belong at several different points in the larger reading order.
2. Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (2018): This collection presents the complete Legion trilogy of novellas as one character arc.
3. Skyward Flight: The Collection (2022): This volume gathers three novellas following Skyward Flight during Spensa’s absence.
4. Tailored Realities (2025): This non-Cosmere collection brings together science fiction and fantasy short fiction, including the previously unpublished novella Moment Zero.

Collections may duplicate stories available separately. Readers should check their contents before buying individual novellas.

Wheel of Time Books Written by Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson wrote the final three main novels in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series.

1. The Gathering Storm (2009): Rand’s increasing isolation and Egwene’s struggle within the White Tower push the series toward its final conflict.
2. Towers of Midnight (2010): Perrin, Mat, and other major characters complete critical preparations as the Last Battle approaches.
3. A Memory of Light (2013): The series culminates in the Last Battle, resolving the central conflict established throughout Jordan’s fourteen-book epic.

Do not begin The Wheel of Time with The Gathering Storm.

New readers should start with The Eye of the World (1990) by Robert Jordan and complete the preceding eleven main novels first.

Brandon Sanderson Books in Publication Order

A complete publication-order list mixes unrelated continuities, audiences, novels, novellas, graphic novels, and collections. It is useful for collectors, but it is not the recommended way to read Sanderson.

The major book-length releases are:

1. Elantris (2005): Sanderson’s first published novel introduces the fallen city of Elantris and the Cosmere world of Sel.
2. Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006): The opening Mistborn novel launches the rebellion against the Lord Ruler.
3. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (2007): The first Alcatraz adventure introduces magical Talents and the hidden librarian conspiracy.
4. The Well of Ascension (2007): The second Mistborn novel examines the political consequences of overthrowing an empire.
5. The Hero of Ages (2008): The original Mistborn trilogy concludes with the world facing environmental and supernatural collapse.
6. The Scrivener’s Bones (2008): Alcatraz enters the Library of Alexandria and confronts a more dangerous stage of the conflict.
7. Warbreaker (2009): A standalone Cosmere novel introduces Breath, Awakening, and the competing kingdoms of Hallandren and Idris.
8. The Gathering Storm (2009): Sanderson’s first Wheel of Time contribution continues Robert Jordan’s final arc.
9. The Knights of Crystallia (2009): Alcatraz visits the Free Kingdoms and becomes involved in their politics and defenses.
10. The Way of Kings (2010): The Stormlight Archive begins on Roshar through several intersecting viewpoint characters.
11. The Shattered Lens (2010): The Alcatraz series broadens into a siege story with higher military stakes.
12. Towers of Midnight (2010): The penultimate Wheel of Time novel completes several major preparations for the Last Battle.
13. The Alloy of Law (2011): Mistborn returns centuries later in an industrializing society.
14. Infinity Blade: Awakening (2011): This game tie-in expands the story between the first two Infinity Blade titles.
15. Legion (2012): Stephen Leeds begins his first investigation with help from his specialized personas.
16. The Emperor’s Soul (2012): A forger must recreate an emperor’s mind under severe time pressure.
17. A Memory of Light (2013): The Wheel of Time concludes with the Last Battle.
18. Steelheart (2013): The Reckoners series begins with a resistance campaign against a superpowered dictator.
19. The Rithmatist (2013): A student without magical ability investigates disappearances at a specialist academy.
20. Infinity Blade: Redemption (2013): The second tie-in novella reveals more of the game world’s hidden history.
21. Words of Radiance (2014): The second Stormlight novel brings its principal characters together on the Shattered Plains.
22. Legion: Skin Deep (2014): Stephen investigates a biotechnology case involving identity and ownership.
23. Firefight (2015): David leaves Newcago to investigate Epics in a transformed coastal city.
24. Shadows of Self (2015): Wax confronts a murderer connected to his past and to deeper social instability.
25. Perfect State (2015): A ruler inside a constructed reality is forced to confront another supposed sovereign.
26. Calamity (2016): The original Reckoners trilogy reaches its final confrontation.
27. The Bands of Mourning (2016): Mistborn Era Two expands beyond Elendel through a search for a legendary artifact.
28. Mistborn: Secret History (2016): Hidden events behind the original Mistborn trilogy reveal the activity of the wider Cosmere.
29. The Dark Talent (2016): Alcatraz’s narration ends at the series’ most severe turning point.
30. Arcanum Unbounded (2016): Cosmere short fiction is collected with planetary background essays.
31. White Sand, Volume One (2016): The graphic novel adaptation begins Kenton’s struggle to preserve the Sand Masters.
32. Oathbringer (2017): Dalinar’s past and his attempt to unite Roshar drive the third Stormlight novel.
33. Snapshot (2017): Detectives use a recreated day to investigate a crime while confronting the simulation’s moral implications.
34. White Sand, Volume Two (2018): Kenton’s political struggle continues as pressure builds around the Diem.
35. Skyward (2018): Spensa enters flight school and begins uncovering the truth about her father.
36. Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (2018): The complete Legion arc is collected with its concluding novella.
37. White Sand, Volume Three (2019): The graphic sequence resolves its central contest for the future of the Sand Masters.
38. Starsight (2019): Spensa infiltrates the Superiority and discovers a wider interstellar society.
39. The Original (2020): A replicated woman hunts the version of herself accused of murder.
40. Dawnshard (2020): A Stormlight expedition uncovers a powerful Cosmere secret on Akinah.
41. Rhythm of War (2020): Occupation, warfare, and scientific discovery reshape the conflict on Roshar.
42. Lux (2021): Another Reckoners team battles powerful Epics in Texas.
43. Sunreach (2021): FM takes a central role while Skyward Flight responds to a new threat.
44. ReDawn (2021): Alanik and Skyward Flight become involved in the crisis on ReDawn.
45. Cytonic (2021): Spensa explores the Nowhere and uncovers the foundations of cytonic travel.
46. Evershore (2021): Jorgen leads Skyward Flight through a conflict overlapping the end of Cytonic.
47. Dark One (2021): A young man discovers his assigned role as a fantasy world’s prophesied villain.
48. Bastille Versus the Evil Librarians (2022): Bastille completes the Alcatraz series after the previous narrator’s disappearance.
49. The Lost Metal (2022): The Wax and Wayne sequence ends with its strongest direct Cosmere connections.
50. Tress of the Emerald Sea (2023): Tress leaves her island and enters a dangerous seafaring adventure.
51. The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (2023): An amnesiac traveler tries to survive an alternate medieval reality.
52. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023): Two people exchange lives while attempting to repair a supernatural imbalance.
53. Defiant (2023): Spensa returns for the concluding conflict of the main Skyward sequence.
54. The Sunlit Man (2023): A Stormlight-connected fugitive tries to escape a planet ruled by lethal sunlight.
55. Wind and Truth (2024): The first Stormlight arc reaches its major conclusion.
56. The Most Boring Book Ever (2024): Text and illustrations tell sharply different versions of a child’s eventful day.
57. Isles of the Emberdark (2025): The Sixth of the Dusk setting becomes part of a larger late-Cosmere struggle.
58. Tailored Realities (2025): A selection of Sanderson’s non-Cosmere short fiction is collected with Moment Zero.

This order preserves release history but repeatedly interrupts active series. New readers should use the series sections instead.

Is There a Chronological Cosmere Order?

Only in a broad sense.

The Cosmere spans different planets, calendars, civilizations, and large gaps in time. Several stories also contain flashbacks or characters who can survive much longer than ordinary humans.

A simplified sequence places the major settings roughly like this:

1. White Sand belongs relatively early in known Cosmere history.
2. Elantris and The Emperor’s Soul occur during an earlier broad period.
3. Mistborn Era One occurs centuries before Mistborn Era Two.
4. The first Stormlight arc occupies the wider period around Mistborn Era Two.
5. Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Sunlit Man, and Isles of the Emberdark reflect increasingly advanced Cosmere conditions.

This is not precise enough to use as a complete reading list.

Chronological reading may introduce advanced concepts before the books designed to explain them. Publication order preserves discoveries, while the recommended order balances those discoveries with continuous series narratives.

Where Should a New Reader Start?

Start with Mistborn: The Final Empire

This is the safest overall choice.

It begins a completed trilogy, introduces Sanderson’s structured approach to magic, and requires no knowledge of the wider Cosmere.

Start with The Emperor’s Soul

This is the strongest short introduction.

It tells a complete story in novella length and demonstrates how identity, rules, and magical limitations shape Sanderson’s fiction.

Start with Elantris

Choose Elantris for a standalone political fantasy with several viewpoint characters.

It is an early Cosmere novel, but its main story does not require other books.

Start with Warbreaker

Choose Warbreaker for a self-contained fantasy novel that later improves several Stormlight connections.

Start with The Way of Kings

Choose The Way of Kings when long epic fantasy is already your preferred format.

It requires patience with multiple characters, extensive worldbuilding, and a much larger unfinished series.

Start with Skyward

Choose Skyward for young adult science fiction rather than epic fantasy.

It is not part of the Cosmere, so no Mistborn or Stormlight preparation is necessary.

Latest Brandon Sanderson Book

As of August 5, 2026, Isles of the Emberdark is the latest published full-length Cosmere novel.

Isles of the Emberdark (2025): Dusk and Starling become caught between dangerous societies and larger Cosmere powers in an expanded continuation of the Sixth of the Dusk setting.

Tailored Realities (2025): Sanderson’s recent non-Cosmere collection includes ten pieces of short fiction and the new novella Moment Zero.

Blightfall (Scheduled for 2026): The announced Cytoverse continuation is expected to follow Skyward Flight after Defiant, but it remained upcoming on the date of this update.

Mistborn Era Three, known as Ghostbloods, is in development. Its books are not yet part of the published reading order.

Future Elantris novels, the second Stormlight arc, and a possible Warbreaker sequel also remain outside the current order until publication details are firm.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best order for Brandon Sanderson’s books?

Read each series internally in order.

For the Cosmere, begin with Mistborn Era One, continue with Elantris and Warbreaker, then move into The Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Era Two.

Do I have to read the Cosmere in publication order?

No.

Publication order preserves the historical rollout of connections, but it interrupts series frequently. A grouped recommended order is easier for most new readers.

Can I read Mistborn without The Stormlight Archive?

Yes.

The original Mistborn trilogy is a complete story and requires no Stormlight background.

Can I read The Stormlight Archive without Mistborn?

Yes.

The main Stormlight plot remains understandable, although readers familiar with Mistborn and other Cosmere books will recognize more characters, powers, and organizations.

Should I read Warbreaker before The Way of Kings?

It is not necessary before The Way of Kings.

The most useful placement is before Words of Radiance or before Oathbringer because its connections become more visible during those books.

When should I read Edgedancer?

Read Edgedancer after Words of Radiance and before Oathbringer.

It develops Lift and explains changes involving characters who return in the third novel.

When should I read Dawnshard?

Read Dawnshard after Oathbringer and before Rhythm of War.

Its expedition is separate from the central war, but its character developments and Cosmere information belong in that gap.

When should I read Mistborn: Secret History?

The safest position is after The Bands of Mourning.

Reading it after The Hero of Ages gives immediate context but reveals information intended to remain hidden until later in Era Two.

Is Tress of the Emerald Sea a good first Cosmere book?

Yes.

Its central adventure stands alone, though readers familiar with the Cosmere will understand more of its narration, visitors, and background references.

Is The Sunlit Man a Stormlight book?

It is not a numbered Stormlight novel, but its protagonist and history are closely tied to that series.

Read it after Rhythm of War at minimum, or after Wind and Truth for the most complete currently available context.

Is Skyward part of the Cosmere?

No.

Skyward belongs to the Cytoverse, which is a separate science fiction continuity.

Is The Reckoners part of the Cosmere?

No.

The Reckoners has its own setting, superpowers, and continuity.

Did Brandon Sanderson write every Wheel of Time book?

No.

Robert Jordan created the series and wrote its first eleven main novels. Sanderson completed the final three using Jordan’s notes and existing material.

Is The Rithmatist series complete?

No.

Only The Rithmatist had been published as of August 5, 2026, so its larger story remains unfinished.

Do I need Arcanum Unbounded?

It is not required as a complete volume, but several included stories are important.

Edgedancer belongs in the Stormlight order, and Mistborn: Secret History adds major context after The Bands of Mourning.

Are White Sand and the White Sand Omnibus different stories?

No.

The omnibus presents a revised and expanded version of the story originally released across three graphic novel volumes.

What comes after Wind and Truth?

Wind and Truth completes the first five-book Stormlight arc.

The planned second arc has not begun publication, and no later Stormlight novel should yet be placed after it as a confirmed release.

The Best Brandon Sanderson Reading Order

Begin with Mistborn: The Final Empire, then complete The Well of Ascension and The Hero of Ages.

Continue with Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul, and Warbreaker before starting The Stormlight Archive. Insert Edgedancer after Words of Radiance and Dawnshard after Oathbringer.

Read Mistborn Era Two after gaining some Stormlight background, and place Mistborn: Secret History after The Bands of Mourning. Save The Sunlit Man and Isles of the Emberdark until later because their stories assume greater familiarity with the connected universe.

Readers interested only in Skyward, The Reckoners, Alcatraz, Legion, or another non-Cosmere series can begin those books independently. They do not require any Mistborn or Stormlight preparation.