man I can't keep up with this guy lol. I've only read the Mistborn trilogy and the currently published Stormlight books. What am I missing?
Loaded question, haha. Four more Mistborn books seems like the most pertinent one considering what you've read. Well, and Warbreaker.
Secret History before reading Mistborn era 2. Elantris, Warbreaker. Depends how into the minutia you want to get because there's a bunch of short stories and novellas inside of the Arcanum Unbounded which the various concepts show up in other of the books, especially Mistborn era 2 and will only become more prevalent as he gets further into the Cosmere. Stormlight 5 will be loaded with Cosmere references.
I will say, I'm very curious what the State of the Sanderson will look like come December. By then, the four secret projects will be published, Defiant will be out, Mistborn Era 2 is finally complete, and Stormlight 5 will be completely written. Kinda hoping he goes all-in on Cosmere only projects from here on out (I know Skyward is getting a co-authored sequel trilogy; and I wouldn't mind more Texas Reckoners stories either).
No, you went down a rabbit hole of trying to figure out the proper Cosmere timeline between planned and published novels. There are actually even more short stories and novels that are potentially planned, but these seem the most likely from the digging I did. *cough* AU = Arcanum Unbounded collection Published Planned/Forthcoming So, this is my best guess at the chronological order of the Cosmere from what we currently know. Dragonsteel 1 Dragonsteel 2 Dragonsteel 3 (Note: this trilogy won’t be written until after Stormlight 10) The Taldain System (essay, in AU) White Sand, Vol. 1 White Sand, Vol. 2 White Sand, Vol. 3 (Note: Omnibus of all three graphic novels exists with updated prologue, extra scenes, and corrected dialogue.) The Selish System (essay, in AU) Elantris The Hope of Elantris (novella, in AU) Elantris 2 (will be written next) Elantris 3 (will be written next) The Emperor's Soul (novella, in AU) The Emperor's Soul Sequel Mistborn Era 1 The Scadrian System (essay, in AU) The Eleventh Metal (novella, in AU) Mistborn: The Final Empire The Well of Ascension The Hero of Ages (Note: There is no AU essay for this system, Nalthis.) Warbreaker The Threnodite System (essay, in AU) Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (novella, in AU) Nightblood (Warbreaker Sequel; potentially will be written between Stormlight 6 and 7) Stormlight Archive, Arc 1 The Rosharan System (essay, in AU) The Way of Kings Untitled Lopen Novella (to be written post-5, pre-6) Words of Radiance Edgedancer (novella, in AU and standalone published) Oathbringer Dawnshard (novella, standalone published) Rhythm of War Horneater (novella, expected to be with WoR leatherbound Kickstarter in 2024) Knights of Wind and Truth (Forthcoming: 2024) Mistborn Era 2 The Alloy of Law Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (novella, in AU) Shadows of Self The Bands of Mourning Mistborn: Secret History (novella, in AU) The Lost Metal The Stormlight Archive, Arc 2 (Note: he will begin writing these after Elantris and Mistborn 3 are complete. We can probably expect most of this list to be finished in between these books as he did 1-5.) Book 6 Book 7 Book 8 Book 9 Book 10 Mistborn: Ghostbloods [Era 3 (1980s Era Technology)] (This entire trilogy will be written in order and finished before publishing. Will be written after Elantris trilogy is finished, but before Stormlight 6.) Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 The Drominad System (essay, in AU) Sixth of the Dusk (novella, in AU) Mistborn Era 4 (Space Opera Level Technology) Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Unknown Location in the Cosmere Timeline Tress of the Emerald Sea (Secret Project 1) Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (Secret Project 2) Secret Project 4 (October 1, 2023; called The Sunlit Man)
I remembered Aether of Night being Cosmere related too and I guess it's considered "non-canon Cosmere"...but I'd say if you're wanting to be a completionist it's worth mentioning.
That was one on the website that I wasn't sure where to put it, so I just didn't... wait, is it already published?
Well I read it years ago when you could just send an email to Brandon's assistant on their website and they just sent you the unpublished ebook for free, same with White Sand. It looks like 17th shard owns it now though, and I think you can still get its still free You Can Now Get Aether of Night on 17th Shard! I don't believe there are ever plans to properly publish it, at least I know that was his stance at the time. If you ask me though, it could sit on the shelf with Elantris and Warbreaker, no problem, same with White Sand. He's too hard on himself.
Oh I was just going off of wikipedia since I was similarly confused "Despite initially claiming it was not connected to his shared fantasy universe the Cosmere, he went on to say it was in the Cosmere in 2014"
Interesting! I was going off 17th Shard. I really enjoyed the graphic version that came out in the last two years.
I'd put my money on 17th Shard over a wiki quote from 2014 lol. But yeah, I might see if that's at the comic shop next time I'm there.
Also, it's insane that the streaming services haven't been fighting to the death over the rights to make a Reckoners show over the past, like decade. I'm still so fucking curious if a Sanderson tv show will do well. I mean his fans seem legion, but as that (shitty) article from awhile ago pointed out, nobody outside of the people who like Brandon Sanderson know who he is. Not like Martin was a household name before GOT though.
@Garrett @Vivatoto Dark One is not Cosmere but was initially planned to be. It's easy to see why it's not—it takes place on Earth, for one thing, and would also just really screw with the overall scope of the Cosmere I think. Brandon and Dan have talked about it within the last year or so on their podcast. There's the graphic novel, which is good, and the prequel audio drama/podcast, which is great, and then they're cowriting the first proper novel in that world (which will replace the graphic novel in terms of canon), and I'm pretty sure it's written and with Brandon for revisions at this point.