The Cosmere

The reading order across the whole Cosmere universe.

The Cosmere is a fictional shared universe where many of Brandon Sanderson's books take place. As a result, books set in the Cosmere share a single cosmology and underlying rules of magic, and some characters from one world will make appearances on other worlds. Despite the connections, Brandon has remained clear that one does not need any knowledge of the broader Cosmere to read, understand, or enjoy books that take place in the Cosmere. The core sequence of the Cosmere will consist of the Dragonsteel series, the Elantris trilogy, at least four eras of the Mistborn series, and The Stormlight Archive. The story of the cosmere does not include any books that reference Earth, as Earth is not in the Cosmere. The shared "creation myth" of the Cosmere revolves around Adonalsium, the power of creation, which was broken into sixteen pieces called Shards in an event known as the Shattering of Adonalsium. The Shards are effectively gods, and magic is derived from their power.

Grouped Publication Order

The Cosmere in the order Brandon Sanderson wrote it, with each series grouped together rather than interleaved by release date. Starting with Elantris in 2005 and spanning two decades, this order follows the natural evolution of the universe - each book building on the mythology and magic systems that came before. The standalone novellas and short stories - Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Sixth of the Dusk, Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, and White Sand - are placed at their original publication points between the major series. Publication order is how most long-time Cosmere fans experienced these stories, and the order in which Sanderson planted his cross-series foreshadowing.