Ranking all of the characters in the Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson

[@sanin3213]

Every scene with Marsh in Hero of Ages was perfect.

[@Bookborn]

Someone told me the other day that they felt he was a big villain and I didn't remember that at alll. He's such an interesting and thoughtful character.

[@PanioNut]

I was just in love with they way Sanderson contracts the sibling relationship of Kelser and Marsh with Vin and Reen

[@jacobgallegos8762]

Marsh felt like a first of nature dude was unbeatable by anyone that wasn’t a god

[@Ackerwoman1893]

he's such a badass and a genius.I mean imagine to spy on a company you join as a clerk and ended up being ceo just to find out the rival company have their eyes on you not because they are suspicious you are a spy but because they find you extraordinary and actually want to recruit you😭.

[@ACB888]

My heart physically broke when you put Wayne in meh... but yas to TenSoon and Jasnah!

[@Bookborn]

Lol I knew I would break so many hearts with that one! I like the idea of Wayne, but I just don't personally love him "on-screen". But I think it also gets super wrapped up in the fact that Era 2 doesn't do a whole lot for me in general (not really the serial/wild west type person).

[@carlsmith4568]

Very surprised that Rashek, Leras and Ati weren’t on this list. I personally find Rashek as one of Brandon’s most unique and interesting villains.

[@Bookborn]

I did a second ranking that included Rashek lol. He was technically on this one but I confused his picture for Miles. I didn't rank Ati and Leras though - I feel like I don't really know enough about them to have a strong opinion. Story wise they are completely awesome, but I'm not sure I know enough about their individuals personalities to have strong opinions

[@jacobgallegos8762]

Eff rashek dude was a terrible ruler

[@L4zlo]

So far, there's not another character in the cosmere that makes me more excited to read about than nightblood. It's so much fun.

[@Bookborn]

YES! He's so chaotic and I love his relationship to Vasher/Szeth.

[@macpalin4099]

PLUS. He is probably one of the most important figures cosmologically. I would argue even more important than hoid. Harmony is looking for him. Taragavangian is probably going to pushing to keep Nightblood out of the picture. How does Vasher and Viv fit into everything>

[@purplecat84491]

Love nightblood ❤️

[@connorshepler132]

My only hope for Stormlight 5 is to see Lift and Szeth as a duo again, loved their dynamic!! TenSoon as an all time favorite made me really happy too!!

[@corbanbausch9049]

About Lift: I like her because she is a kid who acts like a kid, not how kids think they act, how they actually act. Lift is annoying because kids are annoying, but in a lovable way. That’s what appeals to me about Lift, she feels like a real character because everyone has met a preteen like that. Journey before Pancakes!!!

[@Bookborn]

lol you have a good point there

[@velkykoblyh8065]

Lightsong was my favourite part of Warbreaker. His last scene is so heartbreaking and bittersweet, I love him so much.

[@Bookborn]

His ending was SO good. What happened with his priest...just amazing

[@velkykoblyh8065]

@@Bookborn I'm really worried for my mental health when book 5 of stormlight comes and Brandon will propably start to kill off some of the main characters.

[@tadious9415]

For the most part I agree. I'd move up Breeze from Kelsier's crew. I like the way he views emotions and wants to seem like a worse person than he is as he tries to help people. I also think it's really interesting to see him as the one with less raw power but more skill in his abilities. Also Lift and Lopen I can understand some people don't like their humor and it's not for everyone, but especially in Dawnshard and Edgedancer I think it was shown that both of them also have a lot more to their character than first meets the eye. I'd also move up Relain just from RoW stuff. I think in general with Sanderson Characters it's hard not to rate them all as great as most are a step or two above most characters I've seen elsewhere!

[@Bookborn]

See I think I would have more opinions on his crew if I had reread it more recently than five years ago. Because as you are typing that, I'm remembering more individuality about them. But right now it's just not as clear. Weirdly I love Lift and Lopen as CONCEPTS. Like I love their character IDEAS. I just hate reading them on-screen if that make sense haha

[@tadious9415]

@@Bookborn yeah that totally makes sense if it's been that long lol. I did a reread over the summer so there's a lot of breeze and ham that I really liked. Even docs does have some personality there. Yeah lift and lopen do definitely have a polarizing style! I think lopen especially for book 1 was needed to have someone in bridge 4 who weathered it with a smile on their face. Although during a preRoW reread I was also struck by the guy always smiling was also the one not actually making the charge the arrows or carry the bridge part of the job...

[@johnathanbanner3841]

I actually loooooove ten soon, so glad you put him there. I think hes one of the more interesting characters from that series!

[@Bookborn]

I'm so glad to know that it wasn't such a weird choice, lots of love in my comment section for him!

[@trevorhaase2414]

Honestly didn't realize that loving ten-soon was a matter of opinion. He's amazing. Cold hard fact lol.

[@pkhope5178]

TenSoon is my all-time favorite Mistborn character, so glad I’m not alone! His chapters in Hero of Ages are my favorite parts of the book. I just adore him, and his dynamic with Vin in Well of Ascension is one of my favorite relationships from the series!!! Love him

[@Bookborn]

Yessss you have TASTE! I’m a sucker for mentor characters but he isn’t quite the typical mentor which is why I love him even more

[@pkhope5178]

@@Bookborn exactly!! I love how he subverts the traditional “mentor” tropes! Such a wonderful character and so important to Vin’s character development IMO!

[@Nahuelindomable526]

@@Bookborn Hmmm NO, sorry that sounds very abrupt and everything. And I know that after all it is only your personal opinion. But Tensoon was never and at no time a Mentor Character. And no, this is a personal opinion, it is a fact. The mentor character in that relationship was Vin. Because of how gentle, kind, and sweet Vin was to Tensoon, she taught Tensoon that humans are not evil beings like Tensoon believed. Besides that Thanks to Vin Tensoon he became much more heroic and open-minded. I mean, Tensoon himself in Shadows of Self admits that Vin was his last teacher.

[@Nahuelindomable526]

@@pkhope5178 Rather it was the other way around. Vin was super important to Tensoon's development. Tensoon himself admitted it in Shadows of Self.

[@annieprunsky7387]

TenSoon is literally one of my favorites of all time! If I could change 1 thing about Hero of Ages it would be to add 100 more pages of kandra/TenSoon perspectives 😂

[@Bookborn]

I'm so glad I'm not alone in this! I was sooo sad Tensoon and Vin never got to reunite 😭

[@bennparrish8556]

There are no canon pronunciations in Brandon's books. Brandon has ones that he "uses" and he'll give them to the audiobook narrators so they can be somewhat uniform, but he said in a live signing I went to that whatever pronunciation we use is fine, all the names are made up anyway (the only exceptions are Lift, and Sixth of the Dusk). Anyway. As long as you are using all the letters you would be on the money. Heck, on the 17th shard podcast all the hosts have their own pronunciations.

[@Bookborn]

I love this, but also, you got me on "uses all of the letters" because I def have a lot of them where letters go missing 🤪

[@bennparrish8556]

@@Bookborn haha, that's the problem with words. Too many letters.

[@ammalyrical5646]

Brandon does have a guide on AonDor pronunciation on his site. Since all but one of the Aonic people have Aonic names that would be a good one to use. But seriously, why is Lukel the only Arelene character we see who doesn't have an Aonic name? It bothers me.

[@bennparrish8556]

@@ammalyrical5646 Even I'm a question about the aons he denies "canon" pronunciation: "The trick with pronunciation guides is that, personally, I am kind of a believer in that I write a script where you are the director. You get the script I've provided, and then as you read the story, you are creating the actual final detail of how everything looks and osunds and stuff. And so, in your head, your version of the character names are canon to you, and there is no right pronunciation."

[@ammalyrical5646]

@@bennparrish8556 sure. The rules he wrote also don't fit half of his own pronunciations and I apply them to how the letters would sound inn my language. I like the guide the set up for Aonic though. So I'll use it. With Stormlight I read most of the names with a distinctly non English sound to start of with. Still like it better. I knew Sanderson isn't big on specific pronunciations, but I wanted to mention there was a set of rules he did come up with for Elantris

[@trevorshifflett288]

All time favorites for me (in no particular order) are Lightsong, Vivenna, Vasher, Marsh, Wayne, Steris, Lift, Kaladin, Syl, and Jasnah. Something about their arcs/revelation of who they truly are just HITS me, every single re-read.

[@Bookborn]

It's so funny to me because you hit both like my favorite characters and least favorite at the same time haha. I'm glad to hear someone loves Vivenna. She gets too much hate I feel like in the fandom!

[@slythawyrda]

Venli still pushed hard to figure out the "stormspren" but when she succeeded with that, Eshonai took over pushing forward. Venli was still culpable because she was the one that pushed it "over the edge", so to speak. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think that her story was revised like you said.

[@ccheyenne]

I was looking for this! Venli's story didn't feel revised at all, if anything it highlighted all of the dark, ugly stuff inside of her that she will have to work on on her path to becoming a knight radiant

[@Fading_Skies]

I was going to say "No Tress? No Yumi or painter?" Then realized this video happened 3 years ago and they didn't exist yet. I also agree with pretty much your entire list except Vin, Vin is tied in first with my favourite Cosmere character.

[@unkempthawk]

Kelsier, Kaladin, Dalinar, Navani, and Wax come to mind as favorites for me. Syl, Shallan, Vin, Vivenna, and TenSoon would make up my almost favorites. Didn’t realize until right now how Stormlight-skewed my favorite characters are in the Cosmere.

[@Bookborn]

I was actually noticing this too ... like I had way more stormlight up there in really like/fav. But...I think part of it is just that there are SO many more characters in those novels haha.

[@unkempthawk]

@@Bookborn There really are so many in Stormlight! The other thing about that series is that, at least for me, a lot of these characters just have gotten so much development compared to others. I mean, I love someone like Raoden, but he's in a single book, while Stormlight characters have four books so far of development, and those books are just so huge.

[@Bookborn]

@@unkempthawk Totally. That's why we need another Warbreaker book. Although, admittedly, most of the characters are dead 😂😭

[@unkempthawk]

@@Bookborn I’d love to see that Warbreaker sequel sometime soon, I know the State of the Sanderson said it’s onto Wax and Wayne 4, Stormlight 5, then Era 3, but can we please get more Warbreaker in there too? There’s so much to look forward to!

[@Bookborn]

@@unkempthawk I asked him at a signing once and he basically said it's a long way off and will probably be one of the last books in the Cosmere 😭

[@UsesElevators]

“I love Kelsier, but was devastated when….. but this is no spoilers” Okay so He dies then. Like how else do I interpret that.

[@Bookborn]

There are a lot of other bad things that can happen to a character Lmao

[@UsesElevators]

@@Bookborn OR… OR you could acknowledge the fluke. But why listen to your audience lmao.

[@zyrain]

Besides, death isn’t exactly a permanent state in the cosmere.

[@jimmychurch9588]

Tbh, I forgot about a lot of these characters. I love Shai. She’s one of my all time favorite characters in Sanderson’s stuff. I don’t really do a lot of re-reading so I tend to forget people after a long while.

[@covya]

Can't believe they didn't include the heralds. I guess it would need a new tier at the top to put Taln in, though

[@Bookborn]

Taln is above ratings. Taln is above us all.

[@Bookborn]

In more seriousness, I find that this one actually missed a decent amount of characters. I didn't realize until after that it didn't have Rysn or Chiri Chiri or the Lord Ruler or Zane...

[@RiedSiheal]

@@Bookborn Actschually... the one you called "Miles" was The Lord Ruler: coppermind.net/wiki/Rashek

[@Bookborn]

@@RiedSiheal Yeah someone else pointed that out! Oops 😬 I spent seriously like an hour making sure I had everyone right by reverse google-image searching, but that one fell through the cracks

[@cassiopeiasfire6457]

Kelsier and Jasnah are also my all-time favorites. And I think I'd put Shai, Navani, Shallan, and Steris just beneath them. Not a coincidence, now that I notice it, that Secret History, Emperor's Soul, and the Gay Science arc of Rhythm of War are the parts of the Cosmere that make me just ecstatic. I'm with you, Steris was the best of Era 2, I love her so much, I was so proud of her in Lost Metal. I feel like you missed an opportunity, Odium is literally "Just hate".

[@Bookborn]

The gay science arc 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣

[@cassiopeiasfire6457]

@@Bookborn Omg, I'm obsessed with it. I'm actually ordering Rhythm of War right now bc I've only read it once and need to again.

[@CancelledPhilosopher]

Nightblood is definitely one of the best characters in the Cosmere.

[@danieledelman158]

NIghtblood is probably my favorite Cosmere character.

[@briancook3125]

Me too. Destroy evil together?

[@ADHD_Fuel]

Leaving a high demand religion in my early thirties makes me absolutely love/all time favorite the character of hrathen. He echos my feelings on the way out of the religion.

[@booklanerecommendations]

My hot take: I love Shallan and think Jasnah's kind of boring. And I think both of them were disappointingly passive in book 3 when there was so much potential for interesting things to happen. Not-so-hot take: Wayne is my current favorite Cosmere character

[@preciousbrem]

Tensoon is my #1 favorite Cosmere character!

[@Bookborn]

Yesss! There's so much love for Tensoon in my comments and it's making me so happy. I had no idea!

[@preciousbrem]

@@Bookborn I asked Brandon in one of his livestreams if he'd ever write a Tensoon or Kandra book....He said he might consider a novella if he has time, but don't count on it lol

[@Bookborn]

@@preciousbrem lol I would seriously DIE for that but at the same time I need him to focus...my eye is on the endgame here, we need Dragonsteel at some point before he dies

[@macpalin4099]

I always related to Marsh because my brother was always so much like Kelsier. I really liked how they foiled each other as characters.

[@Bookborn]

Love this take. Not everyone gets to be the "fun" person...someone has to clean up sometimes and do the actual difficult work. As much as I love Kelsier, I always felt that Marsh was the one really sacrificing.

[@macpalin4099]

@@Bookborn YES. 100%. Plus his mentorship of Vin was one of the biggest keys toward Vin understanding what was happening on Scadrial.

[@CheddarFryes]

Great list, cant say I agree with all your choices! My alltime favorites are Adolin, Jasnah, Wit/Hoid, Vivenna and maybe Sazed - but after Rhythm of War... my 'Almost Favorite' list would be HUGE! I think you'd need a whole video for just all the Rhythm of War characters lol

[@Bookborn]

I love that you are giving Adolin so much respect! He deserves it! Everyone shined a lot in RoW, I ended up doing a second ranking and ranking more characters we met in there lol

[@teadanilovic4909]

Loving TenSoon is a hot take? I absolutely adore him and so does everyone I talked to, am I missing out on something? 😂

[@Bookborn]

I know everyone loves Tensoon, but I just figure compared to the other characters in Mistborn, he might not make the "favorite of all time" list comparatively! So I'm happy to see that a lot of people would put him over some other well-loved characters in the trilogy.

[@iredomi3733]

all i know in regards to pronunciation is that Mistborn names are supposed to French sounding

[@Bookborn]

Voldemort is supposed to sound French too and I’ve refused so here I am just torturing everyone with my incorrect pronunciations because I’m stubborn 😂

[@paulaapu7207]

I agree that Jasnah is the best character in Stormlight, and her relationship with Hoid has me so excited I can’t even!

[@Bookborn]

I was in the camp that I never wanted her to have a relationship, but I have to admit of ALL people, I suppose Hoid is worthy lol

[@ramspencer5492]

Best in Stormlight? I like her, but so not my experience!

[@tanyam928]

Love the hot takes! I would say my all time favorites are Nightblood, Jasnah, Kaladin, and of course Hoid. The only one that I really disagree on is Lift, but I get how some just find her annoying. I am less a fan of Kelsier, but *spoiler* how do you feel about his new role as a villian? And the 17th shard actually did a video just discussing/ debating pronunciations in the Cosmere, they don't all agree lol (it was about 2 years ago if you are interested in watching/listening to it)

[@Bookborn]

Oh your all-time favorites are super close to mine! Yeah, Kelsier's spot on this list is purely from Final Empire/Secret History. It'll be interesting how my perspective changes. I'm not sure we *know* he's a villain yet, but certainly his involvement with the Ghostbloods is sketch. Right now I wouldn't say Ghostbloods right now are much different than his old opinions: ruling bad, underdogs good. I'll be interesting to see the development...

[@tanyam928]

@@Bookborn Brandon was recently on a 17th shard shardcast and he said Kelsier will be a big influence in Era 3. So we are getting a lot more of him relatively soon. Which makes me more excited for Era 3, I haven't been a big fan of Era 2.

[@Antonio-oc8ub]

Ok you probably don't really care about this BUT I just finished RoW and I NEED to do this so I'll just put my list here (note: I have only read Era 1, Warbreaker and SA) (Also some names are changed in the spanish version so sorry I guess) (and there are some HOT takes lol) :D All time favorite: Elend, Tensoon, Lightsong, Syl, Hoid Almost favorite: Vin, Sazed, Vivenna, Night blood, Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar Really Like: Marsh, Tindwyl, Siri, Vasher, Adolin, Renarin, Jasnah, Navani, Szeth, Rlain, The Lopen, Rysn, Venli, Pattern, Maya Like: Kelsier, Breeze, Spook, Susebron, Lift, Teft, Rock, Chiri-Chiri, Dabbid, Leshwi Neutral: Ham, Clubs, Allrianne, Demoux, Elhokar, Eshonai, Wyndle, Stormfather, Nale, Lyn, Sigzil, Cord, Cultivation Meh: Dockson, Blush Weaver, Skar Dislike: Denth, Ialai Love to Hate: Taravangian (obv he is so amazing), Rabeniel (could also be in really like but I feel she is not a good person and goes here) Just hate (aka pieces of trash): Zane, Amaram, Sadeas Moash level: Moash (I literally have no better insults than the one I said to this man after everything. He is garbage and I hate him. God Brandon is so good at make me hate this being)

[@Bookborn]

I DO CARE! Actually I like your list a lot and don't feel like there are that many hot takes. I think people would be surprised at how high you put Vivenna but but I love it when she gets love. She had an amazing arc, imo.

[@Antonio-oc8ub]

@@Bookborn I think Vivenna is that high for me because my favorite characters usually are the ones that I start hating and the creator makes me love at the end. It happend with Elend (very boring in TFA, epic development in WOA, epic end in HOA), it happend with Vivenna and it happend for example with Jean of Attack on titan. That's my thing

[@Bookborn]

@@Antonio-oc8ub Yes, that's what I love about Vivenna too! I think it's such good character development when an author can change how you feel throughout a book. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who was SO unimpressed by Elend until book three 😅

[@smadgulkar]

Great video! I so agree with you on Lift, just annoying!! Also I am on team Jasnah (Yasnah just feels wrong somehow). A character that really intrigued me was Rashek, aka the Lord Ruler. I don’t know why but I was always interested in finding out more of his backstory, his motivations when I was reading era 1... just me I guess...

[@Bookborn]

Not just you! People say that who I confused as Miles was actually Rashek. I would've put him in like for sure. I love the journey we go through with his character as we find out more.

[@OkieAllDay]

Dalinar and Kelsier are definitely my two favorite Cosmere characters

[@nikosbookreviews]

I agree with a large majority of these! I also pronounce Adolin and Jasnah the same as you lol. Have you read Way of Kings Prime? I've read about half but Jasnah is a much more of a main character (not the same character necessarily but interesting nonetheless).

[@Bookborn]

I'm waiting to get my physical copy! But maybe I should just read the digital I have. I want to actually make a video about all the differences between the two so if people don't want to take the time to read it they don't have to haha

[@nikosbookreviews]

@@Bookborn It's really different, some definite similarities, and it's actually pretty good, just had to keep reminding myself it's a completely different story lol

[@flacsmada]

marsh was one of my favorites. it took me a long time to get into tensoon, so id say like or even neutral

[@Bookborn]

Marsh is the best! Idk why I grabbed onto Tensoon so quickly, I thought it was unpopular until I made this video and so many people agreed haha

[@proctifer9833]

This wonderful person has responded to practically every comment, I love this video!

[@orpheos9]

Night blood steals every scene they are in. No shame in loving them

[@luckwearer7675]

I guess this is an unpopular opinion... I am meh at best concerning Jasnah She is just so flat, Though she has been improving especially once you learn she survived the ghost bloods and the ship disintegrating Mabey by next book she will make it to like

[@Bookborn]

I think the fandom may be divided on her lol I don’t think you’re alone in your opinion!

[@SorcerersApprenticeReads]

People don't like Marsh? I think he's an all-time favorite for me. And for sure TenSoon is my favorite POV character in Hero of Ages. I feel like this is my unpopular opinion, but I love Vasher and he's also an all-time favorite. I can't wait for the Jasnah POV book. I know you couldn't do them all but I think Lezian the Pursuer might be my ultimate love to hate character...

[@Bookborn]

I don't think Vasher is unpopular! Especially now that he is (probably) going to have a bigger role in SA. Maybe I'm wrong about people and Marsh and just saw a super weird reddit thread. People were claiming he was a villain and it was so weird because that was NOT my read at all. Maybe they were crazy though...everyone in my comment section loves him so far!

[@SorcerersApprenticeReads]

@@Bookborn I guess I always feel like Vasher gets the least love out of the Warbreaker characters!

[@Bookborn]

Also about Lezian, I agree! He's SO OBNOXIOUS but I love to hate him. I wish this one actually just had some more of the major RoW characters; I didn't even think of the fact that it was missing Rysn and Raboniel, two people I really like.

[@Rkcuddles]

Ooo please do a more detailed rhythm of war recap. I really didn’t enjoy my first read and need help getting excited for it.

[@lausdeo4944]

Until Mistborn: Secret History, I didn't see Kelsier as a well-developed character. After that story, then I would agree.

[@Bookborn]

I have no idea why I attached to him so much, but I just loved him from the first book! I also loved Secret History, though.

[@TheHiggybaby]

Re: Name pronunciations - I know you said going through the audiobooks was a daunting task (and it is!), but it's also an absolute delight. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are really, really good. Their pronunciations are also Brando-approved. Should you ever do a re-read, I suggest going that route. :)

[@TheHiggybaby]

Also! I'm not very far in, but your names are on point so far! :D

[@Bookborn]

Ughhh but I just hate audio books. Maybe I'd enjoy these because I've already read the books, though - so I wouldn't have to worry about paying super good attention because I already know what is going on. That's usually my beef with them; I struggle to remain focused listening 100% of the time.

[@Bookborn]

YAY I DID IT...maybe.

[@TheHiggybaby]

@@Bookborn Alright, I got through the vid! Yes, it's YAS-nuh, but I know that's a hill you'll die on so I won't badger about it lol Sigzil is pronounced with a hard G, "SIG-zil". Tindwyl is like "TIN-dwill". Marasi is "Ma-RAH-see". Apart from that, you did great! And I more or less agree with your list. There'd be some differences, but I can definitely respect your hot takes lol. Thanks for sharing your opinions!

[@Bookborn]

@@TheHiggybaby Ah oops put the "w" in the wrong place for Tindwyl lol and good to know about Sigzil being a hard g. I always USED to say Sigzil but my husband convinced me it wasn't so I'm going to go gloat now.

[@drell3884]

Only read up through a few chapters of Oathbringer, as of this point though Jasnah seems to be kinda simple. She's just super intelligent and imposing mentor character. Unless 'she makes a comeback' in Oathbringer, I'd put her in neutral. My favorite would have to be Spook. Book 2 and 3 were SOOO fun to read!!

[@Bookborn]

Look. You ain't wrong. I'm just a sucker for a female know-it-all. She's far from the most nuanced in the series but here we are.

[@SkyDiving_StormTrooper]

I will say this about Wax and Wayne. I actually only think Wayne is amusing when interacting with Wax. Like when they did the Bloody Tomato thing and the scenes where others like Marasi see the work dynamic between the two due to their history. Wax I didn't really grab on to until I started seeing his growing affection and dynamic to Steris. What started as an alliance of duty grew into genuine affection for each other. They each knew the other was flawed and sought to use their respective strengths to fill in these flaws for the other. And again he grew on me when he found out about Paalm. Harmony's part is that actually had me angry as hell at Sazed. But I had to step back and realize this is Saze after what he went through in Era 1, remade the world, learned just how scary and vast the Cosmere is, and held two opposing Shards for centuries. He had changed as was inevitable. And no having Nightblood up at the top is as it should be. "Hello. Would you like to destroy some evil today?" Lmao. Yes, please. Much more of that, oh yes.

[@Bookborn]

I rarely like romances and I still stand by that, but I had to admit that I really liked the way Steris and Wax's relationship developed. It was a really interesting read and of course I really like Steris. I think a lot of the time Sanderson's humor just isn't exactly my own, which is my problem with Wayne.

[@SkyDiving_StormTrooper]

@@Bookborn Hey no issues with that here. Its hit and miss with his humor for me. He either nails it with something and will have me rolling or I think it's the lamest thing ever. It's pretty either/or, really. Seems to me, considering the effort you place into your content (thanks for doing so, by the way, as it's great) there is something you get from his writing. Perhaps multiple somethings. My friends like the Cosmere for the magic, or the action, or the epic scale of the multiple types of conflicts, or digging for hidden nuggets and clues and building theories. I like a mix of the intricate, codified magic systems, the epic world building (living on Taldain or Roshar would be like an eternal adventure to me), and the amazing interplay between characters (for the most part). None of these would do it on its own for me but together they have me looking forward to the next Cosmere anything that drops.

[@SkyDiving_StormTrooper]

Oh, and P.S. the one romance Brandon Sanderson has done that has actually pulled me in I must day is Siri and Susebron. Oh man you go from feeling sorry for Siri to cheering her on to feeling dopey happy that she got her good ending. Maybe I am silly but that stuck with me, even still. And I am shipping Kaladin and Vivenna/Azure so hard. Tell me they wouldn't work together! Lol I think so at least!

[@jakebishop7822]

I think not putting Nightblood that high would be embarrassing. DESTROY EVIL

[@Bookborn]

I'm glad to know that my love for a sentient object above real people has been accepted.

[@jakebishop7822]

@@Bookborn oh, also in the future I will have a video about Elhokar, and it is my personal mission to change your mind.

[@Bookborn]

@@jakebishop7822 I'm here for this take. Do this video soon lol

[@jakebishop7822]

@@Bookborn It has been made

[@TheNeodarkwing]

Don't get me wrong, I really love Nightblood! What's not to love about a sentient sword that only wants to kill like a sentient hammer that only wants to hammer things, but completely lacking an understanding of abstract concepts like evil. However, Lightsong was the most entertaining character to read and his story arc was just beautiful. I'm not caught up on Stormlight so my opinion may change.

[@Bookborn]

I cannot fault you for having Lightsong as your top. It was SO hard to choose, but I tried to really narrow it down. I think you'll love Stormlight characters whenever you get around to it...there are so many good ones in there.

[@TheNeodarkwing]

I started stormlight archive before Oathbringer came out and just never got back to it. I took a long break from Sanderson but now I'm back with vengeance! I thought I might be missing out on cosmere references so I'm focusing on the other Cosmere books before I go back to Stormlight. I recently blew through Warbreaker and Elantris. I'm moving on to White Sand and Arcanum Unbound. Then finally I'll get back to Stormlight. Love your videos keep up the good content!

[@UdyKumra]

I haven't finished Era 2 yet but here's mine, with my tiers-I mostly just did important POV characters: Showstopper: Vin (favorite), Kaladin, Shallan, Lift, Navani, Wit, Elend Love: Kelsier, Adolin, Spook, Sazed, Rysn, Dalinar, Vivenna, Jasnah, Sarene, Teft, Renarin Love to hate: Moash, Sadeas Cool enough: Lightsong, Raoden, Shai, Venli, Hrathen, TenSoon, Szeth I dislike you because I'm supposed to: Taravangian, Zane Meh: Eshonai, Marsh Cut out of the book: Vasher, Silence, Siri (my least favorite character)

[@Bookborn]

OMG your cut out of the book cut my little soul into pieces. SILENCE??? But I love that novella so much 😭. I'm annoyed that my thing didn't include Rysn! She certainly should've been there and I would've put her in love too.

[@UdyKumra]

@@Bookborn hahaha this is a list I made a while ago, I don’t think I hate Silence quite as much as I hate Siri, though, so I might move her up! Lol

[@ΜαυρουδήςΓιάννης]

Ofc i don't agree with all your rankings but since I started with mistborn as well I have a soft spot for all this characters. Damn you Kel , our favorite psycho.

[@Bookborn]

Our favorite psycho is a really good description of him tbh, and I think it'll probably only get accurate with more time in the Cosmere lol

[@ΜαυρουδήςΓιάννης]

@@Bookborn there's always another secret 😉

[@chrisjoyal7176]

very similar ranking for me. big differences were kelsier being down around like, vin being on favourite. her and tensoon were my 2 faves from all of mistborn books. kal and dalinar are at the top of my list as well, and shallan is close to the bottom. jasnah is in like. vasher was also a favourite, I really want more back story on him, more telling what happened between warbreaker and stormlight.

[@Mightyjordy]

Very good list, and I totally agree with a lot of the “funny” characters not having humor that lands for me. I would certainly put Lift and Lopez near the bottom. Edge dancer was probably the worst 6 hours of my life. I would also rate early Way of Kings Shallan in that category as well from all the cringey humor. From what I remember, Tensoon and Oreseur are actually separate characters and Oresuer was kind of a butthead. The only pick where I would strongly disagree would be (and I know this isn’t all that hot of a take) Dalinar at the very tip top of the list, in fact maybe knock every character down about 4 tiers and then he could be at the top :)

[@Bookborn]

When I say Oresuer I mean Tensoon as Oresuer, not the person himself; I just weirdly prefer that name. Cracking up about Edgedancer being the worst 6 hours of your life 😂 Did Dawnshard ruin your life too since that was heavy Lopen? I love Dalinar's backstory and where he's gone...but I'd be lying if I"m always excited for his chapters 😬

[@huckbear4249]

Nightblood is an excellent character. No argument. I do like Spook a lot more, I love the role he takes on in book 3 and how much he reveals about the investiture on the planet.

[@Bookborn]

Maybe if I reread Mistborn I'd fall in love with Spook again. Right now he hasn't left a huge impression on me (but my last reread was probably 5 years ago).

[@ccheyenne]

I hated Spook. I dreaded his points of view. He's just such a boring character and took up so much time on the page. My favorite Mistborn character is actually Breeze, he's the most interesting and fleshed out one, in my opinion

[@cha0sunity]

Wayne is one of my favorites.... but then again I really like the humor the character has.

[@Bookborn]

You're not alone, most people do!

[@His.Lordship]

My all time favorites are probably Syl and Siri. They both kind of overflow with Joy

[@Bookborn]

Happy characters for the win. I think Siri is one of the more interesting/unique "strong" female characters he has because she's written so differently than most authors do that archtype.

[@covya]

Renarin will 100% be the hero of the entire cosmere, and you can quote me on that.

[@Bookborn]

He's going to play a huge part, for SURE.

[@dinocollins720]

Kelsier, Tensun, Hoid and Sil (sorry I listened to the books so idk how to spell the names haha) are all in my all time favs too! These are good rankings!

[@Bookborn]

Yessss you have TASTE. And I won't judge your audiobook spellings if you won't judge my print pronunciations 🙃 😂

[@dinocollins720]

@@Bookborn Haha deal

[@HopeThisIsntSOPARela]

I just started Hero of Ages. I love Sazed. I think his unique complications along with his relationship to Tindwyl gave him a lot of depth. Definitely my favorite.

[@Bookborn]

I'm always a sucker for the really intelligent/mentor characters and he totally hits that. I agree with Tindwyl helped develop his character a lot...but I didn't like her still lol

[@paulaapu7207]

Sazed just gets better in Hero of Ages, best of luck!

[@sanin3213]

Enjoy the third book!

[@HopeThisIsntSOPARela]

@@sanin3213 Will do. Thank you Sanin.

[@HopeThisIsntSOPARela]

@@paulaapu7207 Will do. Thank you Paula.

[@viper13456]

This just came to my mind while I was watching this video; a lot of people want a stormlight archive animated series but I think it would be absolutely amazing if there was a cosmere animated series...

[@Bookborn]

So many people want that; I'm in the minority in that I just haven't gotten into watching animated series as an adult.

[@shaunmcdonough7844]

Nightblood is an amazing character. I think it's interactions with Szeth are always really interesting!

[@Bookborn]

He makes every scene just so good. I find his humor to be right up my alley.

[@urigatt6815]

OMG I'm in team refuse to "Yasna" too!! Jasnah like Jasmin is so much more RIGHT!!! High five! also your love for sentient objects is fascinating and I gotta ask, any objects that you name? Like, I name my car Appa for the flying beast that carries Aang's group in Avatar

[@Bookborn]

You know it's so funny because I've never named my car but I've named my roomba and a random bowl I bought somewhere...and sometimes I feel bad for my kids toys when they don't like them any more 🤣

[@urigatt6815]

​@@Bookborn haha imagine that bowl go like "Would you like to kill some evil today?"

[@lordruler69]

@@Bookborn that toys comment is actually hitting me kind of hard. On the sentient side it represents rapid change in the kid and growth/loss of innocence is tough, and I've got to imagine that plays a part, but I kinda feel bad for the toys now too. Did Toy Story screw us up? I dunno, I get sappy about weird things. I'm more likely to cry about somebody feeling lonely on their birthday than global atrocities sometimes. Brains are weird.

[@txy9911]

Yasna Sounds soo much better

[@tadious9415]

It's funny coming from the other direction I only listen to the audiobooks, and I want to refuse to spell it Jasnah! I don't know why he spelled it Jasnah and told the Michael and Kate to read Yasnah....

[@narsus73]

Just found your channel in my recommendations. Glad I did!

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for the support 😊

[@keatonr776]

I got an ad for the Brandon Sanderson kickstarter. Like good targeting, but. I already bought it KZbin.

[@Bookborn]

I swear 90% of the ads I get are for things I’ve already purchased

[@readbykyle3082]

If I could take a special magic knife, cut every scene with Lift out of the Stormlight Archive, and replace it with "random Edgedancer #1 who never speaks, " then the Stormlight Archive would finally be perfect. #LetTheHotTakesFlow

[@Bookborn]

LOLL! Do you watch the booktuber Alex Nieves? He'd agree with you haha

[@readbykyle3082]

@@Bookborn I do watch Alex! Haha, I'm glad Lift-dislikers are getting bold enough to tell people :p (I actually like Lift when she's paired with Dalinar, because he acts how I would around her, and with Szeth, because that's the greatest combination ever)

[@aliciasorenson3807]

My all time favorites would be Kaladin, Syl, Ten Soon, Sazed, Wayne. Almost favorites: Steris, Nightblood, Lightsong, Adolin, Hoid, Navani, Shay, Marsh. Really like: Vin, Elend, Spook, Rabonial, Siri, Teft, Dalinar, Rysn, Shallan, Lopen, Sixth of the Dusk... I know I'm totally late to the game here.😅 By the way I think pronouncing Jasnah "Yaznuh" sounds pretty awful too. Brandon says "Yossnuh" with more emphasis on the first part and I think that makes a huge difference.😄

[@Bookborn]

I always LOVE to see all of the TenSoon love. I agree taht "Yossnuh" sounds a lot nicer but I just, for whatever reason, cannot get that hard J sound out of my head haha

[@aliciasorenson3807]

@@Bookborn haha, I totally get it.

[@s.r.dragonreads4915]

I can't speak for 17th shard, but listening to some shard casts there are times where I notice they don't agree on some pronunciations. So I would wonder if that plays a part into why they don't have a pronunciation guide.

[@Bookborn]

I knew I loved them. My sort of people...although maybe if they heard some of my worse ones they'd rescind that view.

[@timicus2]

I love your background! So many nods to nerd culture! Do you play D&D? (I noticed the d20 picture.)

[@Bookborn]

Yes! I've been playing for about 5 years every other week with the same group! We started a second group too a couple years ago because it's the most fun thing ever. Do you play?

[@timicus2]

@@Bookborn Yes! My current game has been going for a little over two years. We moved the game to Roll20 when COVID made playing in person not a thing. (I’m a Dwarf Fighter named Grog!)

[@drpaul94]

My favorite character is Doug

[@flacsmada]

no, i agree about nightblood! love him so much

[@WJRobbins125]

"I've waited this long, I can wait longer..." I did the math around the time Words of Radiance came out...I'll be well into my 70's...Not really excited about waiting longer. :)

[@Bookborn]

YOU CAN MAKE IT!! We've alllll got to hold on. And Sanderson does too. He's not allowed to die.

[@WJRobbins125]

@@Bookborn I try not to ponder his health.

[@hisho2255]

Trust me I tried to get a pronunciation guide in the coppermind, but brandon has stated theres no wrong way to pronounce characters and the seventtenth shard agrees.

[@Bookborn]

So funny you said that because I said the same thing! I was like "hey coppermind I'd help get a pronunciation guide" and they were like Brandon says it doesn't matter. And if the WOB says it...then I'm saying 'em however I want 🤣

[@sindarinlord]

Where would you put the characters from emperors soul?

[@Bookborn]

I'd need to read it again I think. Despite the fact it's one of my favorite things Sanderson has every written, it's been a minute and the character weren't as sticky in my brain.

[@kristen7623]

My top 5 Kaladin Vivenna Tensoon Nightblood Sazed

[@LucasJKey]

I love Lift. She reminds me a lot of a female Peter pan. I do understand the dislike though. As a teacher students like lift can be really bothersome.

[@Bookborn]

I like the idea of her but sometime her dialogue annoys me lol

[@ammalyrical5646]

Spook has my fave arc in era 1 Mistborn but I'm ambivalent towards that series so it doesn't tell you much anyway. Kelsier makes my skin crawl at times though. But THAT Hoid statement made me laugh hard.

[@Bookborn]

I don't blame you that Kelsier makes your skin crawl...like he does sketch things. I just can't help but love him though.

[@WJRobbins125]

OK...I was willing to forego the Wayne shot, but Lift!? Do you hate pancakes too? :)

[@Bookborn]

I mean...technically I am more of a waffle person

[@WJRobbins125]

@@Bookborn Fair. :) Honestly I prefer waffles myself...but c'mon...Lift is awesome. Just ask her. :D Given I like Wayne and Lift's since of humor you are obviously more of an adult than I am.

[@Bookborn]

@@WJRobbins125 I may just have a wet-blanket sense of humor lol. My husband has a totally different sense of humor that is more wayne-related than me; I'll never forget trying to show his family youtube videos when we first started dating and they didn't find anything I thought was funny funny...and vice versa 😆

[@LabelWatch]

I do agree with a lot of your choices but some are right out blasphemous. My favorites in no particular order would be Dalinar, Sazed, Kaladin, Nightblood, Tensoon and Hoid. Syl is the one above all number one character I would die on this hill!

[@Bookborn]

Ohhh I mean we agree on favorite characters for the most part!! What's the one I said that was blasphemous lol

[@LabelWatch]

@@Bookborn The pure disrespect towards Steris and Wayne. And not putting Moash in his own special category for trashhhhh

[@KiryuZer0]

5:54 i am pretty sure this isnt miles this is the lord ruler (atleast acording to the coppermind Lord ruler page) And I know i am alittle wierd but i kinda Like Mistborn era 2 a little more then era 1....I am sorry but steam punk western with magic is cool....

[@Bookborn]

lol it totally is, I fixed that in my second ranking and actually did the Lord Ruler. I don't think that's weird! Honestly, I feel like at least 50% of the people I know like Era 2 more than Era 1. I think it's a complete preference thing.

[@stevendelaet2454]

Your hot take was Wayne, everyone loves Nightblood.

[@donalocribin3355]

Spoilers for Rhythm of War With Venli and Eshonai, I feel like you misinterpreted their Rhythm of War story. When I read it, I saw it as starting off with a sibling rivalry one-upmanship, which did seem to fit what we saw in Words of Radiance. It develops as Eshonai is curious about humans, and Venli wants to not have her sister surpass her, so she looks for new forms, while being pushed down a dark path by a Voidspren. This ties in to their shared worry and grief for their mother, their growing mistrust in humans, Gavilar's and the Heralds' plotting and how it all boils to war, and then shows their differing goals when the war breaks out. Eshonai seeks new forms to win and survive. Venli wants the credit, recognition and glory. So, as was clear previously Venli still needs redemption, we just have more context for the understandable, if not always justified, motivations for her mistakes

[@Bookborn]

I respect your view on that, but it's just not how I interpreted it. Venli's want for glory and recognition seems really clear to me in the other novels, but seemed to wilt in RoW. I loved that about her character, and I just didn't feel her ambition as much in RoW and felt that it was lacking in the flashbacks.

[@donalocribin3355]

@@Bookborn I think it was partially that the book tried to focus more on her relationships, and where her ambition came from. Partially wanting to surpass her sister, partially wanting to help her mother, partially just wanting glory. I get what your saying though, you feel that the whole ambition side of her is being lost, and she's becoming too different from when we first met her character. I disagree, but I will say that I feel the whole Voidspren aspect takes away some of her agency and responsibility. Still, I think will probably have to agree to disagree here. Thanks for the discussion

[@MrZachary74]

Definitely love to hear this but such different thoughts great video

[@Ruminations09]

There are pronunciations that are 'more correct' than others, but there aren't any canon pronunciations. A perfect example of this is Kelsier - Brandon himself pronounces his name the same way you do, but he'll also be the first to admit that because his name is inspired by French, it would probably be pronounced closer to "kel-see-ey". With regard to your suggestion that the 17th Shard should have pronunciation guides, if you listen to their podcast, it quickly becomes apparent that every single one of them pronounces character names differently. Of the more than a dozen people who have been on Shardcast, I don't think more than *TWO* share the same pronunciation of "Jasnah".

[@Bookborn]

Since this video I actually did a live with the 17th Shard where they backed me up in saying that they don't care at all how anyone pronounces anything and that's something I CAN GET BEHIND 😅 Mostly because I'm terrible at it haha! The only one I really can't get behind is Sanderson's supposed pronunciation of Vivenna which is "Viv-eena" and like...no.

[@giladsofer2692]

If Steris isn't in favourites we rebel

[@giladsofer2692]

Oh oh

[@Bookborn]

lol I'M SORRY. She was the highest rated out of any Era 2 characters though! The problem is that I'm not super connected to Era 2, meaning their characters aren't the top of the top. But Sterris is a great character, for sure.

[@giladsofer2692]

@@Bookborn I mean it's fine everyone is wrong once in a while lol I do agree with most of your choices I think other then Steris which is objectively the best

[@giladsofer2692]

Jokes aside tho. She's such a cute and funny character she's probably not my favourite Cosmere character (tho she is up there) but that only because she have a pretty minor role in era2 that is not my favourite... But she's so good lol I don't think I've seen a better autistic representation in fantasy.

[@Bookborn]

@@giladsofer2692 lolol

[@BlackHand531]

Lift is probably my favourite female character in the cosmere. Can't get enough 🤣

[@josephmiller55]

Technology question: what program do you use to do this ranking?

[@Bookborn]

tiermaker.com baby! It's the best site.

[@legendswithjasper]

Oh my goodness, this is a great idea. I might steal it for my own channel... :)

[@Bookborn]

Do it...it's literally so fun to try and determine how much you like them haha

[@wallford49]

I wonder if your opinion changed after reading The Lost Metal.

[@Bookborn]

Wayne may have moved from "meh" to "neutral" 😬

[@lordruler69]

I'm lower on Lopen than Lift or Wayne for some reason, but it's hard to specify. He gets more eyerolls from me than nearly anyone else. Lift is annoying, but she's got some non-chalant "IDGAF except I actually do" stuff going on that I like. Literally pretending she was just in the city in Edgedancer to eat pancakes when she's definitely chasing Darkness to save a life if she can works. Wayne is a weirdo with some good moments. But Lopen is full cringe "teh penguin of d00m (holds up spork)" for me. He's the dude that asks you to pay his bills every month and still thinks nut shots are hilarious, but you can tell he's an alright guy I guess.

[@Bookborn]

Let's be honest, your read on Lopen is very accurate. I think I liked him more in WoK and WoR then I currently do; Dawnshard was a bit much for me. I like the IDEA of Lift- love her not growing up thing and whatever. But it's the way she's written that's tough for me to read.

[@lordruler69]

@@Bookborn hopefully his third ideal will make him more tolerable going forward. And I have a hunch Lift will be great in the back half. I thought she was decent in Oathbringer and Rhythm of War, but WoR and half of Edgedancer she was meh for me.

[@Bookborn]

@@lordruler69 Her type of character has so much potential (going to the nightwatcher and presumably asking not to grow up...) so I'm hoping her humor gets a little more developed so it doesn't bug me quite as much lol

[@TheBookishMom]

I really like Marsh as well!

[@Bookborn]

Maybe the people I talked to that disliked him were crazy haha

[@TheBookishMom]

@@Bookborn i think they just may be crazy because Marsh is great 🤣

[@josephreusch]

And Nightblood is my favourite character as well! He cannot be defeated! Literally and Literature-ly!

[@Bookborn]

lol absolutely excellent pun (? play on words? Whatever. excellent.)

[@HowdyItLovll]

I cringed when I heard "Jazznuh" but then I remembered I used to think Jasnah was spelled "Yasnuh" AUDIOBOOK GAAAANG

[@Bookborn]

Audiobook and physical book readers will just always be at odds 🤣

[@ink7548]

I'm pretty sure the picture of the one you called Miles is actually the Lord Ruler

[@Bookborn]

Yeah it definitely is lol many people have said that. For some reason that's just not how I pictured him AT ALL so my mind immediately jumped to Miles.

[@ink7548]

@@Bookborn makes sense hahaha it just make me question myself 😂

[@phoebeLOVEScandy]

13:21 you're right and you should say it! Lol. I burst out laughing at that part--especially after your talk about researching name pronunciations.

[@Bookborn]

I just can't do it. All of the other ones...fine. But not this one.

[@mikegogiants3493]

Vin is my fav by farrrrr!

[@Bookborn]

She's a good character for sure! Not my favorite but well liked for me.

[@jimave]

I too have the same all time favs. I probably would have included Taravangian as an all time fav. He is so evil and clever and the twist at the end of RoW! I like the humor of Wayne and Lift. I am not a fan of Shallan. I do not look forward to her POV chapters. She is my least favorite character in the cosmere. I'd have Roc in my all time favs. He is awesome. I also like Alcatraz. Of course, the Lord Ruler is awesome. :-)

[@Bookborn]

Oh yeah the Lord Ruler wasn't on this list! He's an awesome character, particularly for how our opinion of him evolves over the series. If I didn't have a love to hate category, Tarvangian would probably be in my "almost favorites" category. He's honestly one of the most interesting people in the entire Cosmere at this point.

[@sanin3213]

@@Bookborn 5:52 I think this is Lord Ruler and not Miles 👀

[@Bookborn]

@@sanin3213 That makes a lot more sense, honestly. Hmmm where would I have put the Lord Ruler? Probably in like! He's such an interesting character and we go on an interesting journey with him

[@WJT225]

I would need a category above all time favorites for Moash

[@Bookborn]

Now that is THE hottest take. Why do you love him so much?

[@WJT225]

@@Bookborn because someone has to

[@luketufts6827]

#moashdidnothingwrong

[@josephreusch]

Yes we love our Soonie pup! And wow so many hot takes I disagree with but I love that!

[@Bookborn]

What's the one you disagree most with lol

[@josephreusch]

@@Bookborn Lift and Jasnah, I don't hate Jasnah by any means but aside from her bad ass soul casting and being brilliant I don't really enjoy her character and think she just jumps to the most dramatic solutions first (ie. Genocide of the singers, let's kill all the heralds!) And then Lift, I love lift! Haha but love that we can see two characters so differently but still love these books!

[@Bookborn]

@@josephreusch I knew my Lift take was super unpopular, I know people love her! I almost like her...almost. I get the Jasnah thing and how she can be sort of basic. I'm excited to get more under the surface with her...

[@josephreusch]

@@Bookborn I think there are a lot more people that don't like Lift so you're not in the minority.

[@flacsmada]

@bookborn also, wish you had rated the heralds(that we know)

[@Bookborn]

I rated a couple heralds in my second ranking video, but still not all of them lol. I feel mostly neutral about them simply because I don't know quite enough. I do love Taln though, obvi.

[@flacsmada]

@@Bookborn Obviously, and I start to like Kelek by the end of Rhythm of war

[@BlackHand531]

Night blood is so funny. I reread his scenes alot!

[@comicbutserious263]

My 3 fav characters in the cosmere are Kelsier, Hoid and probably Wayne

[@shashwatasamanta7358]

You are really underrated!

[@Bookborn]

Thank you 😊