The Stormlight Archive

OngoingMore books are expected

Roshar is a world scoured by highstorms - massive, recurring tempests of such power that its ecology, architecture, and culture have all formed around surviving them. The magic comes from those storms: Stormlight, breathed in to fuel the Surgebinding abilities of the Knights Radiant, an ancient order that protected humanity for millennia before mysteriously abandoning their oaths and disappearing. The series follows Dalinar Kholin, a highprince haunted by visions of the past, Kaladin, a former slave who becomes a soldier and then something more, and Jasnah, a scholar-queen who suspects the Return of the ancient enemy is already underway. Brandon Sanderson's most ambitious work - planned as ten books, with five published - and the centrepiece of the Cosmere.

Part of The Cosmere

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.

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Core Novels

The five main Stormlight Archive novels, following Kaladin, Dalinar, Shallan, and their companions through the central story of the Knights Radiant and the coming Desolation. Edgedancer and Dawnshard are not included - both are optional novellas that expand the world but are not required to follow the main plot. A good choice for readers who want to focus on the primary narrative before deciding whether to read the shorter works.