Ranking the Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson

If you want to hear me go "but I still really liked it!" for 15 minutes, this video is for you! Lol today I'm ranking Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere novels and novellas as my excitement grows for Rhythm of War. I did things a little differently than some videos I've seen who tackle this topic, so I'm interested to see what ya'll think! Sorry, you'll be getting a lot of Sanderson content from now until I finish Rhythm of War...I swear I'll eventually go back to reading other stuff.
Thanks to Alex Nieves who I got this idea from: • Ranking the Cosmere
Instagram: / bookborn.reviews
Amazon wishlist: www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
Intro music by bensound.com

[@alexnieves]

Oh no she said NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVS

[@Bookborn]

OH NO I KNEW IT! I looked it up and practiced and STILL SAID IT WRONG. This is the story of my life. I'M SORRY!!!!

[@alexnieves]

@@Bookborn Haha it's ok, still watching the actual video.

[@genghisgalahad8465]

It’s NY-NEEEEVS! Duh!

[@myribstellmesheslying]

I am still so utterly, irrevocably obsessed with The Emperor's Soul. My favorite Sanderson work to date.

[@Bookborn]

It's SOOO GOOD. I mean it's my number two. The idea of stamping is just so fascinating.

[@johntybagend]

It really is great, I read it after watching this list and I need MORE.

[@rriggs6547]

@@johntybagend Sanderson has hinted before that he would like to make this into a movie.

[@purplecat84491]

Warbreaker slaps so hard. I still think of scenes in it. ‘Your breath to mine’

[@Bookborn]

YES THANK YOU.

[@ADHDlanguages]

Warbreaker is weirdly underrated in Sanderfan circles. It's so freaking good!!

[@Bookborn]

I seriously don't get it. Maybe because it's less like fighting than normal Sanderson? IDK I loved it

[@oneukum]

@@Bookborn No. If that were the reason people should hate "The Emperor's Soul", "Dawnshard" or "Secret History" Well, it is a stand-alone. Yet by that reason they should hate "The Emperor's Soul". For me it is that Vasher is portrayed as a sympathetic character and he does have his moments, yet I am afraid that man is ... highky questionable, would be putting it so mildly that it turns into a lie. Favoring censorship, killing your wife and when those poor zombies who were kept in dark cells go out to follow orders to finish off the primitive mountain barbarians, he sents the monsters to slaughter them.

[@Bookborn]

@@oneukum I mean... Kelsier is sketchy and people like him too. That's just what I"ve heard; People say that Warbreaker gets boring. I'm sorry you didn't like it because of Vasher!

[@oneukum]

@@Bookborn Kelsier is the very opposite of Vasher. If you are in Kelsier's crew he will fight for you and never ever turn on you. If Vasher thinks your research leads to dangerous results which he thinks should never be published, he will slit your throat. Sanderson's books are rarely boring. The only candidate would be Well of Ascension.

[@Fanafranky]

Lightsong is my spirit animal.

[@33jamesds]

Syl and the Death Spren is still a moment in TWoK that gives me chills. She's one of my favorite characters of all time!

[@Bookborn]

Literally my FAVORITE moment from that book. I love the imagery of it SO much

[@33jamesds]

@@Bookborn And I think I agree about Hero of Ages, as much as I love Mistborn itself. Really the last half of the book blew my mind with endless revelations and just the masterful weaving and unweaving of every nugget of lore and all the clues he had planted since the beginning of the series. Still maybe my favorite ending to a book....maybe haha.

[@delphy2478]

i also love warbreaker and it always hurts a little when people commonly put it down fairly low

[@Bookborn]

RIGHT? I feel like it's the more underrated of his works. That ending! The female characters! Sword-nimi!

[@TheNeodarkwing]

Warbreaker is now my favorite too. Love your shirt!

[@Bookborn]

Yesss TASTE

[@Etothetaui]

During the RoW release party stream, Brandon read a part of his Sixth of Dusk 2 draft, and it has crazy Cosmere implications which makes me super excited to see more of that world. I would love to see what your views on that excerpt are. Also, your videos are super fun! I'm subscribing.

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for the support! I always miss his streams so I'll have to go back and listen to that portion!

[@Etothetaui]

@@Bookborn I think this is where the reading starts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rYLLm6ueocSYerM And this is the same story written out in a WOB: wob.coppermind.net/events/448/#e14408

[@s.r.dragonreads4915]

Words of radiance has the best scenes in the cosmere, I agree. But Oathbriger is top of my list. I absolutely love the character work in Oathbringer and there were a lot of very emotionally powerful moments in it with multiple different characters and I just connected to it on so many levels. Thus I have to put it on top.

[@Bookborn]

I totally understand that, and I agree with you that it has the most character work. I remember how stressed out I was at the end with Dalinar. I thought NOOOO...and then the way it just resolves is SO powerful.

[@8684LYFE]

As someone who's only read Stormlight, MB Era 1, and Warbreaker, your list is pretty much exactly like mine. I'd switch Warbreaker and WoR, but that's it. Based on this, I feel like I really need to read The Emperor's Soul - from what I hear, it sounds like it's one of Brandon's best works from a technical perspective.

[@Bookborn]

Even though I probably rated it comparably higher than others would, I do think that Emperor's Soul is one of the most regarded in the fandom. It's so so good, and for once, SHORT lol

[@tadious9415]

For the most part I agree, although ranking any of his books low is so hard since I love them all! I would put Wax and Wayne a bit higher than you did. I like that it's a more low key story with less fate of the world implications. Also having a mistborn around I feel like trivializes all of the other abilities quite a bit and I'm really enjoying more use of Feruchemy and the combination between that and Allamancy. Feruchemy always seemed cooler to me than Allamancy and I like the idea of being able to be prepared and storing up enough power to access. I think he's also probably going to have a mistborn later with Lerasium which will be that much more impactful when it's so rare. These also blew me away in terms of the Audiobook. Michael Kramer really showed off his talent in terms of subtly shifting Wayne's accent as he's talking about it, and especially in some of the scenes with him and MeLaan going back and forth on adding things to their accents, that was just so awesome!

[@Bookborn]

I always say the problem with Sanderson is I actually like it all - I mean I think even his books I like less are much better than a lot of stuff I read anyway haha. And I completely understand how the limitations in Era 2 actually in many ways make it much more interesting. But for whatever reason it just doesn't resonate with me.

[@tadious9415]

@@Bookborn yeah I can understand that. His books all tend to have their own slightly different feel to them thematically. But that's going to mean some resonate with different people more or less.

[@FantasyTalk]

This is one of the better series rankings I’ve seen! I (obviously) wouldn’t rank everything the same but I can see your point behind each ranking. You know I also love Warbreaker and I just finished my Oathbringer reread this morning and loved it way more the second time. It’s actually my favorite of the 3 now cause I think it has the best character work hands down. I need to read Emperor’s Soul it must be great 👀

[@Bookborn]

YES, finally another Warbreaker stan. People always seem to write that one off! I think in many ways Oathbringer is the most emotional because I think Dalinar had the most to overcome. Kaladin and Shallan's stories are obviously heartbreaking, but their stories mostly involve misfortunes befalling them that are not their fault. Dalinar brought upon himself his misery, which makes it all the more emotional when he overcomes. And you MUST read Emperor's Soul. MUST MUST!!

[@FantasyTalk]

@@Bookborn That’s a good point about Dalinar. And I think Shallan was as interesting or more in OB as she was in WoR. I have Emperor’s Soul on ebook, I’ll definitely make a point to read it before the year is out!

[@shashwatasamanta7358]

Journey before destination, radiant!

[@daniel.tufeanu]

The Emperor's Soul has one of my favourite Characters of all time (Shai) :D It's hands down the best novella in the Cosmere

[@Bookborn]

HANDS DOWN best novella. It's some of Sanderson's best work.

[@avi6837]

Can't agree more that Shadows for the silence is one of the most underrated novellas.. I just love the world and the twist at the end 😀

[@Bookborn]

RIGHT! So, so good. I just like that it's so creepy yet still in the cosmere. I like seeing different ways that shards can go wrong.

[@rachmusic9873]

Just found your channel. You’re very well-spoken and energetic. Love it

[@Bookborn]

Thanks so much for the support!

[@Wuggynaut]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who rates Shadows for Silence highly. I see almost no one talk about it, but that world is the one I'm perhaps the most excited on seeing more.

[@Bookborn]

YESS I honestly feel like nobody talks about it! It's such a weird and horror-like world (for Sanderson anyway).

[@tanyam928]

I love Warbreaker too! I just ordered the leather-bound and am excited for it, the purple on it really looks great and the art is amazing. Brandon had talked about maybe doing a graphic novel or picture book set on Nalthis. That could be cool since the magic is color based. But I really want the WB sequel, Nightblood! Now you should do your ranking of major cosmere characters!

[@Bookborn]

I got the Warbreaker leatherbound last year for Christmas and it is my FAVORITE one. The purple is incredible AND the artwork is literally outstanding. I'm not a fan of graphic novels so....I hope that doesn't unseat my actual novel lol. But considering Dark One was so much better than White Sand, maybe by the time they did a GN on Nalthis it would be great! Also ranking of Cosmere characters sounds like such a fun vidoe. I'm going to for sure do that...except it might kill me in the process with that many decisions.

[@brrr375]

imo WoA is god-tier, best of the mistborn trilogy. It probably depends on whether you like tindwyl or not, I liked her interactions with elend so i liked the book as a whole, but otherwise I can see not liking it. Respects, and great video :D

[@Bookborn]

The romance between Tindwyl and Sazed just bothered me sooo much. But I'm also just like...anti romance lol. I haven't reread it in a really long time, so I wonder if I'd feel differently about WOA now.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

I didn't really enjoy Tindwyl, but I still consider the book to be just a touch better than the final empire. So there goes your theory lol.

[@DrakkanWoW]

You mentioned you don't really like Brandon's comedic characters... I think that is one of the reasons I love Warbreaker so much. Denth and Tonk Fah are two of my favorite characters in his work. He did those two really well. The rest, I could take them or leave them.

[@Bookborn]

For whatever reason all of the characters work perfectly for me in Warbreaker, even Lightsong which I would consider decently comedic. It's the perfect storm!

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

You mean the two that are just expert manipulators? lol

[@TimothyGough]

100% agree on Whitesand. I would love the prose version to come out (even in rough draft form), the graphic novels are just not for me.

[@Bookborn]

It's interesting because I read the first white sand graphic novel, then I went and got the novel version. And I was like "ohhh that was what was happening!" The graphic novel was confusing. I don't know if it was the art or how it was adapted, but it just did not come off for me.

[@TimothyGough]

@@Bookborn That was my thought exactly! The graphic novel wasn't able to convey the same feelings and depth of character that the novel was. Maybe that is not unexpected because of the format, but after seeing the novel version existed, the graphic novel was just disappointing.

[@Bookborn]

@@TimothyGough Totally agree. I think I may also just not be a graphic novel person lol

[@mikem1585]

I’m finding that I appreciate Warbreaker’s impact in Stormlight Archive and the cosmere in general more than I actually like the book itself. I did just get the Warbreaker leather bound edition though, and it is absolutely stunning.

[@Bookborn]

NoooOooOooo. lol. I just love the story. I read it after Mistborn, so it didn't have any Cosmere implications for me yet, even. The Leatherbound is beyond gorgeous!

[@mikem1585]

@@Bookborn it’s been slowly growing on me, so maybe it’ll climb higher on my list. Words of Radiance is one of my favorite books ever, so I definitely I agree with the high ranking you gave that one!

[@tw7998]

Good list! will have to do a warbreaker re-read once i have finished my stormlight re-read

[@Bookborn]

It’s never a bad time for a Warbreaker reread imo. May just have to sneak it in this year 🤣

[@oneukum]

The middle fields is really hard to do. 1. The Final Empire 2. Oathbringer 3. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell 4. The Emperor's Soulis 5. Shadow of Self 6. Alloy of Law 7. Allomancer Jack and the Pits of Eltania 8. Rhythm of War 9. Secret History 10. Way of Kings 11. Words of Radiance 12. Sixth of the Dusk 13. Elantris 14. Bands of Mourning 15. Dawnshard 16. Warbreaker 17. The Hero of Ages 18. White Sand 3 19. White Sand 2 20. White Sand 1 21. The Well of Ascension 22. Edgedancer 23. The Eleventh Metal 24. The Hope of Elantris And I am really happy to finally see somebody who is not into Lift.

[@Bookborn]

I'm on a discord where there are quite a few people not into lift and it was a bit refreshing lol! So...we have very different taste haha! I love seeing other perspectives on his works. I'd love to hear why you love Oathbringer so much! I don't usually see it put above Words of Radiance.

[@oneukum]

@@Bookborn Oathbringer had an epic broadness and a sense of expedition and discovery that Words of Radiance could not muster, except at the end. It suffered from the constant need to hide and keep stuff secret. And in terms of protagonists it just is slightly beaten by the journey of Dalinar. Now, the middle field is hard. If you wanted me to really defend that Rhythm of War was better than Words of Radiance, I'd need to do a questionable job. But Oathbringer is near the peak, not because it did stuff exceptionally well, but because it avoided sections that did not quite so well. In terms of excellent parts I would even grade Words of Radiance and Rhthm of War above Oathbringer. But both had clear weaknesses.

[@Bookborn]

@@oneukum Interesting perspective! Thanks for sharing!

[@datmarshy]

Elantris only downside to me is the MarySue aspect. Both of the main characters (Raoden and Sarene) would be captains of the Cosmere men and womens teams. Both are so good at everything. And bad at nothing. (Hell, Raoden is a Kaladin who doesn’t freeze from depression. A Kaladin who can inspire a town, not just a squad) But that’s a tiny gripe. I love Elantris.

[@Bookborn]

That’s an interesting take - I never thought of them as Mary Sues but I HAVE always said I think they are his weakest characters and maybe you just pinpointed why. I always felt they were pretty average fantasy characters while his others always feel extremely special.

[@ryanvance1020]

i’m pretty sure sanderson has actually considered doing a novel set on threnody (shadows for silence planet)

[@Bookborn]

Oh good! Even though I keep up with Sanderson a lot...it's hard to actually "keep up" ya know? haha. He writes so much I always forget where he currently is until State of Sanderson comes out.

[@readbykyle3082]

Did not expect Warbreaker to be #1. Ain't mad. (Words of Radiance is better though :P )

[@Bookborn]

Well WOR was my second, so I approve as it being a first choice ;)

[@Kvh47]

I have already tried twice but I just can't get into the way of kings. I have heard multiple times that the Stormlight Archives are great but I just get stuck on the first few chapters of Way of Kings. I simply don't understand what is going on. Should I keep reading? will the world be explained more when you continue?

[@MetalGildarts]

Good list. Words of Radiance might still be my favorite so fare

[@Florfilm]

I love your list. I love that you have Secret History so high. Befor Rhythm of War that was my favorite Sanderson book. Most people don’t seem to like the novellas as much as the novels. It’s great you rate some of them as high. The only disagreement I have is Alloy of Law. That’s definitely in my top ten. I really like Waxes midlife crisis. Plus I was a hugh western fan when I was younger. Segio Leone and such. And I slso like Steampunk a lot.

[@Bookborn]

Yeah I'm not a western or steam punk person which is like...the whole era 2 lol!

[@Mr_CrowFPV]

Wayne is my favorite Sanderson character, and I own a bowler hat now because of him :). But I totally respect your opinion.

[@Bookborn]

Honeslty your opinion is much more popular in the fandom, I know everyone loves Wayne! Wayne is like Lift and the Lopen for me, in which I love the *idea* of their characters and their traits, but have a hard time reading them "on screen", so to speak.

[@preom468]

Have you read the draft of Aether of Night? Or the way of kings prime? I can see how both are really rough and unedited but I enjoyed both! For AON the character were really well developed and you can see the ideas that lead to ruin and preservation, way of kings prime is like an alternate universe for stormlight it’s really interesting.

[@Bookborn]

I'm waiting for my kickstarter WOK prime before I read it! I like reading where stuff comes from, I think it's fun. I haven't gotten to AON yet.

[@preom468]

@@Bookborn read AON its worth it!

[@ViperRT99]

I'm with you on the graphic novels. Haven't read any of them. However, after consulting 17th shard, I noticed from the Kenton/Drile battle on is very different.

[@Bookborn]

Yeah I've only read the first (and maybe the second? Def not the third) graphic novel. I also recall that they changed the gender of a character.

[@leijurv]

Now that Rhythm of War is out, where would you put it?? :)

[@Bookborn]

UGHHH so hard. It's before Oathbringer. I think maybe in between Hero of Ages and The Final Empire. But also maybe before Way of Kings. IDK I really, really liked it. It's sometimes hard to compare RoW to WoK because it's so different. WoK is like this starting out story from zero-to-hero, which, while a trope, I'm sort of a sucker for. On the other hand, the character development in RoW AND the cook pairings we get (like Navani and Rabonial) are just SO SO good.

[@urigatt6815]

felt like walkin down cosmere memory lane :D with a couple of bumps on Lift and Wax and Wane *cry* I love them so much! my list woulda probably looked similar tho. Except that Elantris will be below all.

[@Bookborn]

I knew I'd make some Era 2 fans cry with this one lol

[@urigatt6815]

@@Bookborn Haha I hear some people unsubscribe because of videos like that, KZbin is a jungle!

[@Bookborn]

@@urigatt6815 That's always so funny to me. Isn't the point of booktube to discuss books with people?? You can't discuss things if everyone has the same opinions :)

[@urigatt6815]

@@Bookborn Haha imagine how that would look! thousands of comments of ikr? ikr?! IKR?! Wait, what does ikr stands for? Sorry im new here

[@johnathanbanner3841]

I think for me I don't put warbreaker as 1 simply because I just can't seem to read The Final Empire enough times (that magic system and the characters though). But it's definitely 2 or 3 for me. Vivenna and Siri's character development is just perfect, ESPECIALLY Vivenna imo. Cannot recommend Warbreaker enough honestly.

[@Bookborn]

YAY Warbreaker stan! Vivenna's character arc is SO underrated. In some ways, I think it's Sanderson's best-written character. Like you start just loathing her. She's the most obnoxious person. And then she's homeless for a week and you see how it changes her and she just evolves so much in a natural way.

[@oneukum]

I kind of do not understand why people prefer Vivenna over Siri. That poor girl is put into an impossible situation, gets little aid and does something imptessive. Vivenna get a ton of Breaths, a soldier, whom she leads astry, a mercenary and still performs questionably. To me the heroine of the story should be Siri.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

@@oneukum Well, you kind of showed why I prefer Vivenna with this comment.

[@thereelaristotle]

I need to stop putting off Warbreaker...considering that WoR was my favorite SA book so far, I assume I'm going to really like it. I find what makes his comedic characters (Wayne, Lopen, Rock, etc.) work is the over-the-top commitment to their schtick. They wear me down and eventually, it becomes funny. Just when you convince yourself that moment is too perilous and Wayne can't possibly make an innuendo joke or steal (trade) something he does it...every, single, time.

[@Bookborn]

ahh YES do Warbreaker. Immediately! I think it has my favorite sanderlanch...which is saying a lot

[@josephreusch]

Need to see where RoW would fall for you. Personally it is my favourite but I will reread soon and see!

[@Bookborn]

It doesn't beat Words of Radiance for me but it beats Oathbringer for sure. Maybe Way of Kings? It's really hard to tell. We've been with the characters more now, so I feel more connected in this book than WoK. But...I'm also sort of a sucker for the whole underdog-gets-powers story lol

[@josephreusch]

@@Bookborn They are all fantastic books. This is just the first one that I didn't have a single issue with or part I found wasn't paced as well or wasn't as interesting. WoK I basically just wanted to read Kaladin, and didn't care for Shallan or Dalinar chapters (do now but not back then). WoR I fell in love with Shallans character and her flashbacks are my personal favourite of the series, I just hated how Szeth was resurrected in the same book and how everyone was getting powers by the end of the book (not a problem for me now though). I also don't like that Brandon Ret-conned Kaladin killing Szeth, and made it the storm instead, but I have the original version which is my head cannon. OB was the weakest entry for me on intial read. Pt 1was ok, Pt 2 I am reading now but can't remember much. Pt 3 was amazing. Pt 4 was too much shadesmar for me (back then) and then pt5. Was the best part 5 ever (until RoW in my opinion). In RoW I enjoyed shadesmar. I loved every character we got for POV. Fell in love with Navani and Raboniel. And Kaladin, who took a big backseat in OB, was the most awesome we've seen him since fighting Szeth! And freaking Thaidikar = Kelsier. And seons, and white sand, and Vasher using Awakening to fight Kaladin and all the cosmere connections just elevated it so much! They are all near perfect books. But this one just soared!

[@Bookborn]

@@josephreusch I completely agree that this was the best paced out of any stormlight archive. There wasn't a single boring part AND it is the only book where I was equally invested in each storyline. So I totally agree there. I also think the unique relationships formed were the best of the series. I loved reading about Navani and Raboniel, Leshwi and Kaladin; I also loved the unique bridge four viewpoints we got to hear from. I just can't get over the individual scenes that were so amazing in WoR. Like the chasm scene, the duel scene, Syl flying back to Kaladin when he says his third ideal, Adolin killing Sadeas...just so much good stuff in there!

[@markushoffman8735]

What?!? I thought The Well of Ascension was the best of the trilogy. It was a slow burn for sure but it was the best in terms of character work and plot for me. It also has my favorite action scene in the series

[@BOBBOBBOBBOBBOBBOB69]

These books would made great movies or tv series or combination of both.

[@Bookborn]

Oh FOR SURE. I think stormlight needs to be a tv show to get the entire story. Mistborn would make a good movie (or video game!)

[@thomasray]

Oathbringer is not only my favorite Sanderson book, it's my favorite novel.

[@Bookborn]

I love this opinion! Oathbringer doesn't seem to get as much love as the other SA books. Why do you love it so much?

[@thomasray]

@@Bookborn okay, this answer will take a while. Spoilers for Oathbringer ahead. Firstly, my love for Oathbringer is fundamentally connected to the first two books. Oathbringer can't really stand on it's own, it's a sequel, and the previous worldbuilding and character development is necessary in order to enjoy it. Second, I'll be the first person to admit that Oathbringer is slow at times, it's unbalanced as far as character points of view go, has weird pacing, etc... It's undeniably different from the concise, intentional setup of WoK, and VERY different from the unrelenting suspense of WoR. Whether or not the "issues" in Oathbringer are actually problems is up to debate, but I'm fine with saying it has flaws, because I believe every book has flaws. The question for me isn't how many flaws a book has, it's whether or not the best parts of the book MAKE UP for the flaws, and for me, Oathbringer absolutely does! The intimate look I got at Dalinar made him one of my favorite characters of all time.(right up there with Samwise Gamgee, Vin and Elend--I could talk about them for ages--and Mr. Darcy lol). The way I learned about his past WITH Dalinar made me feel like I was sharing his grief, his guilt, his pain. Dalinar didn't have to go up against monsters like Roshone, Amaram, or Shallan's father whatever his name is--Dalinar WAS the monster in his story(also the thrill, but whatever), and the way that knowledge clashed with what I had come to believe about him made the resolution so satisfying. 'The most important words a man can say are, "I will do better." These are not the most important words ANY man can say. I am a man, and they are what I needed to say. 'The ancient code of the Knights Radiant says "journey before destination." Some may call it a simple platitude, but it is far more. A journey will have pain and failure. It is not only the steps forward that we must accept. It is the stumbles. The trials. The knowledge that we will fail. That we will hurt those around us. 'But if we stop, if we accept the person we are when we fall, the journey ends. That failure becomes our destination. 'To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the NEXT one.' Just... I've never been more affected by any character than I was with Dalinar in here. Then he titles the book "Oathbringer, My Glory and My Shame" and that also holds so much meaning and brings everything together. I was a total wreck when I finished this book. I was crying tears of JOY. That never happens with me. So yeah, Shallan and Kaladin were pretty boring, and Shadesmar was a drag, but Dalinar's arc through the first three books, and the resolution we got in Oathbringer hit me harder than any other novel. I've since reread the series twice, and the same is always true. It's boring at times. It's clunky at certain points. But the catharsis I felt at the end was worth every dull moment we spent with Dalinar along the way. Sorry for the long answer. I guess I could've just said "I love Dalinar"

[@proseandcons7730]

Warbreaker is my fave hands down! But since I liked but didn’t love mistborn and dnf way of kings twice, idk what other books by him I’d love as much as Warbreaker. I really enjoyed the emperor’s soul tho.

[@L4zlo]

era 2 of mistborn is so hard for me to get into. they're all last for me, lol. just reading it for cosmere implications. love everything else though.

[@Bookborn]

I'm with you. I think Bands of Mourning was a huge improvement, though, so I'm looking forward to the last one, if only for the Cosmere implications it'll bring.

[@mrpink1133]

Siri gang RISE UP! She doesn't get nearly enough love

[@Bookborn]

YESSSSS!! I love Siri AND Vivenna! (I mean Vivenna was super obnoxious but I love her turn around after she's homeless haha)

[@protoplasma2953]

Can I read The Emperor’s Soul without reading Elantris?

[@Bookborn]

Yes absolutely! They aren’t very related

[@DrakkanWoW]

For sure, Warbreaker. I agree!

[@Rk-bf3ke]

The Well of Ascension of my favourite Mistborn book😮

[@Bookborn]

I actually feel like that's a hot take in the fandom! But that's ok, I have plenty of hot takes too.

[@Rk-bf3ke]

@@Bookborn yup! I think the politics and the slow building was what I liked most (which is the reason people don't like it as much which I totally get) My other hot take is I like Elantris more than Warbreaker

[@collinwhittle3372]

Well guess I watch your content now 🤔

[@Bookborn]

Happy to have you on board :)

[@mckaylindow4369]

I don't know if anyone would agree with me, but my favorite characters in the Cosmere are Szeth, Nightblood, Vasher, Wax, Wayne, the lady from Emperor's Soul (I forgot her name), and, of course, Wit!

[@Bookborn]

I mean...I think Nightblood is on most people's list, right? Their on mine! Szeth is great, so is Vasher. Wax and Wayne I'm meh about lol. OBVIOUSLY Hoid/Wit/Cephandrious/et all. lol. I love Syl, Tensoon, Kelsier, Lightsong, Jasnah...too many characters are wonderful.

[@mckaylindow4369]

@@Bookborn And the master mind behind it all, Brando Sando himself

[@TheBookishMom]

I still have quite a few cosmere books to read!

[@Bookborn]

Can you tell I have a little obsession...

[@TheBookishMom]

@@Bookborn I love it! Im planning on reading elantris in December and im working on Words of Radiance

[@thewhiskybowman]

I've never bothered to rank them all but if I did mine would be a very different order from yours. It's a toss up for me whether The Final Empire or The way of Kings would be at the top, but after that I'd need to think about it. Edit actually there is one other I don't need to think about. Rhythm of war would be the least favourite. Just out of curiosity is there a reason this video was mirrored? For some reason I found it oddly distracting.

[@Bookborn]

Oh man, RoW LEAST favorite?? Nooo I loved RoW! Always so funny how huge sanderson fans can feel so differently about his books. I mirrored it because it was way MORE distracting to have me looking the wrong direction and not at my screen capture. Unfortunately with the way I ranked the books on the screen, I couldn't put my face in the right position. So I had to mirror it so it looked more natural, even though the mirroring is a little unnatural itself.

[@thewhiskybowman]

@@Bookborn Ah, fair enough, that makes sense. I've never done any video editing so would have assumed it would be easy to just move the overlay to the other side. I'm guessing that's not the case. Spoliers for RoW ahead! As far as RoW goes I liked it, it had some really good things, like all the cosmere related info, TOdium, the epigraphs etc, but a lot of the book dragged for me. Both Kal and Shallan having their mental health issues gone into in extreme detail in the same book was overkill. The flashback chapters I had zero connection to (I got to the stage of stopping reading when I got to another one), and Venli bored me. I actually liked all the scientific method that was in it, but felt that could easily have been covered in a novella which would have helped the pacing of this book. Then there was Navani solving everything, and not the people working on these problems for years, added to what then happened with the sibling, all felt contrived only to make her equal in her relationship with Dalinar. I would have liked her to show she was his equal in other ways. I had some other issues with it (don't get me started on the Pursuer) but I've gone on far too long here as it is, and probably bored you to tears already! All I will say is perhaps my view will change when I get around to rereading it at some point.

[@paulsanders3955]

Yes!!!!!!! War breaker is wonderfully fresh . WoR is Brando at his best, and emperors soul is his best novella. Although mistborne era 2 comes next for me, it’s only due to Graphic audio and I think that era 2 was written for G.A.specifically. Ps though I own all the books so I could get my grandfather to read them I haven’t read any one only listen to audible and G.A.

[@Bookborn]

I've never listened to any Sanderson audio but I know people love it! (I've only listened to three audio books in my entire life; it's just not a format I like). But I've heard the graphic audio's are pretty cool.

[@johntybagend]

I also love Warbreaker. I'd only read Mistborn Era 1, Sanderson's WoT and the first 2 Stormlight books when I read it. It was such a different story, I loved that the 'action' was more limited than what I'd read before and the characters were all so great.

[@Bookborn]

I think the limited action is what makes it lower on a lot of people's list; I feel like a lot of people who enjoy fantasy really enjoy action-packed stories. I personally don't love fighting so Warbreaker worked for me haha.

[@leac3721]

Yeahh ! I love watching this kind of ranking videos 🤩

[@Bookborn]

Did you agree?! That's the important question haha

[@leac3721]

@@Bookborn i just finished reading way of kings today ! So i still have to read the rest but loved it a lot lot ! I also loved the emperor's soul ☀️

[@Bookborn]

Oh yay! You are in for such a huge treat with Words of Radiance!

[@monferno71]

I think he said he was planning a sequel for Emperor's Soul

[@Bookborn]

Wait really?? How did I miss that! I read state of sanderson every year. Must've slipped my mind. That's very exciting, although it probably won't be for several years. Sounds like he's doing third skyward, fourth wax and wayne, fourth skyward, fifth stormlight. And probably a novella or two in there if we are being honest lol, but I bet they will be non-cosmere.

[@johngregorywynn6075]

@@Bookborn mentioned it in a livestream...started a sequel to six of the dusk as well

[@averyhinks1799]

Where did you read the incompleted draft of White Sand??? 😯

[@Bookborn]

If you sign up for Sanderson's newsletter there is a link in it to get the copy!

[@averyhinks1799]

@@Bookborn Amazing, thank you!

[@kennethestes1828]

I named my dog after Waxillium. That's what I think.

[@Bookborn]

Oops. My bad 😬

[@kennethestes1828]

Completely respect your opinions on wax and wayne. Thanks for being active in the comment section. Makes for much more entertaining viewing and engagement.

[@christophercasey7388]

So, The Reckoners series is not part of the Cosmere?

[@Bookborn]

Nope! So far, none of his YA series are, but I think that will change in the future.

[@rriggs6547]

My Ranking: 1. The Emperor's Soul 2. The Final Empire 3. The Hero of Ages 4. Rhythm of War 5. Way of Kings 6a. Shadows of Self 6b. Bands of Mourning 8. Sixth of the Dusk 9. WarBreaker 10. Elantris 11. Shadows for Silence in ... 12. Edgedancer 13. Dawnshard 14. Oathbringer 15. Secret History 1 16. Words of Radiance 17. White Sand (Only read the Graphic Novels) 18. The Well of Ascension 19. Alloy of Law 20. Allomancer Jak ... 21, Hope of Elantris 22. The Eleventh Metal Alloy of Law felt disjointed for me, but then it started out as a short story that grew into something more whereas Shadows of Self and Bands of Mourning were written at the same time and feel like one single story. Also, I think you are forgetting the strange chicken that Mraize has. And Iyatil seems to be a Southern Scadrian. So we are seeing things overlap more and more and what appeared to be unrelated is brought to mind as more is revealed. For instance, after reading White Sand, the sand Wit uses in his storytelling becomes more clear. And of course we run in to Vasher and Vivenna on Roshar.

[@aldan7812]

Warbreaker. Is rad. You are totally incorrect however about my my man Wayne mate :-) What a boss.

[@Bookborn]

I knew that opinion was super unpopular so I'm ok with everyone telling me I'm wrong 🤣

[@hillary6563]

Warbreaker is amazing!

[@Bookborn]

YES! Just the best all around

[@lukesteele4510]

Emporers soul or Edgedancer would be first for me then I think I liked Silence, but Alloy of Law is my favorite of his Major Series (I actually discovered Alloy of Law as my intro to the Cosmere after his Wheel of Time). I like era 2 mistborn more than era 1 or all of the Stormlight novels except Edgedancer. I think I like Elantris, and Warbreaker better than most of stromlight as well. For me Stormlight got better as it continued. Lyft is one of my favorite characters, then Wax and Wayne. Finally Kaladin, Shallon, and Vin equally on par and I can take or leave Dalinar (though he is getting better). Not a very big fan of most of the flashbacks in Stormlight, I could skip them since they almost all feel like Ret-conning to me. You put adventurer Jack exactly where he needs to be.

[@Bookborn]

I love the flashbacks, although the Oathbringer ones tended to be the most boring to me. I really liked Kaladin's and Shallan's, as I think they added a lot of suspense to our story. I think I'm in the minority that Era 2 just isn't my fav!

[@lukesteele4510]

@@Bookborn I don't mind Shallon and Kaladin's flash backs since they have been main point of view characters from the beginning and filling in more of their back story adds something to them. I even appreciated the back fill on Dalinar (still not a favorite) because of the pay off at the end of Oathbringer. All others feel like a Retcon. Since many of those flashbacks occur during events in other books in the series it feels like they should have been there instead. Actually Era 1 appears to be more popular to most. I discovered Era 2 first and so for all of Era 1 I was expecting Vin to end up with Feruchemical powers at some point.

[@aliciasorenson3807]

Ok, I love your content, but I think we have very different taste.😜 That's totally fine though! Here's my list, a bit heavy on Stormlight, without anything White Sand since I haven't read it. Words of Radiance The Way of Kings Rhythm of War The Emperors Soul The Hero of Ages Bands of Mourning Warbreaker Sixth of the Dusk The Alloy of Law Well of Ascension Dawnshard Edgedancer Oathbringer Elantris Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell Shadows of Self The Final Empire Secret History

[@Bookborn]

I was like "yeah this is a pretty good list actually and not drastically different in some ways" and then I got to the bottom and saw Secret History. Just tryin' to remove the dagger from my heart, brb.

[@Moneybee665]

Love Warbreaker!

[@Bookborn]

The correct answer. The BEST cosmere book.

[@Moneybee665]

@@Bookborn Two sisters who underestimate eachother AND a god who questions his own religion *chef's kiss*

[@henrytortor2530]

The well of ascension was my favourite mistborn book.... the hero of ages was my least favourite actually🤔.... and yeah I found tindwyl kinda annoying😂

[@Bookborn]

I love hearing this ranking! I wonder if I'd feel differently about Well of Ascension now. It's been a LONG time since I reread them, and I've done so much more adult fantasy reading since then...

[@Belfving]

Scrolled down to see if anyone had my same opinion. I recently finished the trilogy and had some mixed thoughts, I liked it and Well of Ascension was definitely the best book. Hero of Ages I rated something between around 7, maybe 6.5 because I did not like the ending at all. When reading it I said to myself out loud, 'This is f**ing stupid'. Also with the third book I was getting mightily annoyed at Brandon describing the power of a metal EVERYTIME someone used it, like I'm 3 books in I know how it works. That could be because I read them closely together though

[@jasonbailey9139]

I can't argue against your first few picks, but I've got an unpopular take that the Mistborn series is Brandon's weakest series. I read those first and didn't dislike it, but I just think everything else is better. It could be that I really didn't like characters as much as I like his characters in everything else. I agree that Elantris is underrated.

[@Bookborn]

Although I really like Mistborn, I can honestly see that! In some ways, a lot of it is his most typical fantasy characters and maybe not as much depth. Mistborn is the good entry point but doesn't have to be the end all be all.

[@GrapplingBook]

As much as I loved Lightsong and Vasher, Warbreaker as a whole was very underwhelming. I absolutely loathed the story and everything about it. It seemed rushed and extremely underdeveloped. Honestly, I only read it so I can understand the tie-ins in WoR. But I respect your opinion of course.

[@Bookborn]

Nooooo you'll make me cry. lol just kidding. I think most people share your opinion, so I always find it funny that I love it so much. I think Siri and Vivenna are some of his best female characters (mostly because they break the mold of many strong female characters that are typical in the genre today). I also think it has an underrated sanderlanch!

[@louisblackforester]

❤

[@Bookborn]

Thanks for watching!

[@jacobharvy]

Main complaint is; where is infinity blade on this list???? Should be near the top but instead its non existent.

[@Bookborn]

It's because I'm ranking the Cosmere - not all Sanderson books :) Infinity Blade is non-cosmere.

[@jacobharvy]

@@Bookborn yeah, I looked it up after I wrote that. Thank you for clarifying though. Too bad infinity blade isn't included in the cosmere, they were great stories.

[@thatsci-firogue]

I DNF'D Oathbringer... I just wasn't feeling it but I will continue someday. I rarely find myself actually reading his books and I waited too long (over a year) to pick up Oathbringer so a re-read of WoK and WoR will absolutely be necessary to me (and to read the rest of the Cosmere) before I can continue. I'm not giving up on Sanderson but he's just not a priority author for me, right now at least.

[@Bookborn]

Oh no! Some people do struggle through Oathbringer but I think the ending is worth it

[@rayvann8323]

Never start with number one.

[@Bookborn]

Eh I don’t really care if people click off if that’s all they wanted to know 🤷‍♀️

[@spade555]

Why you no like Wax & Wayne?! *cries* Sanderson is not a comedian. I can understand your reservations about the comedy. But their POWERS are so cool when in "Harmony"

[@Bookborn]

I think the combinations he made with the powers were really cool but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. Although, Bands of Mourning got me excited for the next one because of the ending.

[@UncensoredScion]

Nothing Sanderson writes can be seen as "bad" in any sense of the imagination. But one character ruins Warbreaker for me - Vivenna. Her behaviour throughout the story is virtually insufferable and I'm groaning whenever I get to a point with her in it. the problem I have with Emperor's Soul and Shadows is that it's just too short - and a little all over the place with Shadows, introducing Bloodsealing and Forgery as magic systems and just tipping the iceberg annoys me while Shadows - I don't know what its meant to be, a gothic european style horror or a frontier style horror and for the hype I've heard that was a massive let down for me and for me, yeah I figure you have to be a BIG Kel fan for Secret History an as I was more a Vin fan in Mistborn than Kel (she's got more development but her story imo is more interesting) to be as invested in the story, I'd much prefer if it had been left until the very end of the cosmere series and to be honest my favourite book outside of Stormlight is Sixth of the Dusk, it's just so cool to see things from a perspective as different as Dusk (I really wanna call him Sixth)

[@migielmeulenvander275]

I agree with you dude, something about sixth of the dust just really speaks to my. My absolute favorite novella.

[@Bookborn]

I feel like I REALLY need to reread Sixth of the Dusk. I read it when I was really new in Sanderson and it didn't do much for me. I wonder if I'd appreciate it more now, as everyone seems to love it...

[@UncensoredScion]

@@Bookborn I don't push anyone to read stuff they don't enjoy (I LOVE Elantris, but I get how it can not be some peoples favourites - I just seem to like Raoden for some reason lol) don't feel pressured to re-read stuff you don't like though or didn't enjoy, that can ruin things for you if it feels like a chore or a requirement (I am not the biggest fan of Shadows because I feel it needs way more detail to explain things) I didn't go into it in my little ramble, but I like the parallels that are shown, how Patji is dangerous to anyone and it is a test to get to his eye and even then you can be destroyed if you're not careful. Similarly to how the Heavenly Ones are using the bait of better technology to try and make the people of First of the Sun destroy themselves so they can get to the investiture there. it's sort of flipping Star Treks PD on its head and I "love" that aspect, really caught me off guard

[@giladsofer2692]

Oh wow just started and strongly disagree lol Warbreaker is one of my least favourite Cosmere books. Also I love silence but no so much

[@Bookborn]

Oh I absolutely knew me putting Warbreaker as my top was going to be super controversial. I have a weird theory about it...I noticed that female Sanderson fans I know tend to put Warbreaker much higher than male Sanderson fans I know. Not always the case, but enough to make me pause and wonder if there is a reason.

[@giladsofer2692]

@@Bookborn interesting thougt can't contribute as most of my friends aren't readers. I liked warbreaker when I first read it but now that I reread it for RoW it just wasn't really holding up. I mean the twists are all cool (some better then others of course) but when I knew they were coming there wasn't much more to keep me ingaged (unlike Mistborn for example which I enjoy more every read even tho I know everything that happens)

[@Bookborn]

@@giladsofer2692 So funny because when I reread Warbreaker I'm still as hooked as I was the first time. I doubt anyone will agree on Warbreaker as number 1, I know I'm a weirdo when it comes to that.

[@giladsofer2692]

@@Bookborn well it's your opinion so it's right in at least some way. And I do think I hold WB lower then most Cosmere fans so I think the consensus is that it's right there after Mistborn era 1 and Stormlight

[@Bookborn]

@@giladsofer2692 That's where I think most people regard it. I think people like it but because it's a stand alone it gets pushed to the side a lot.