How to Tackle 13,500 Pages: Complete Cosmere Reading Order for Beginners

The best Cosmere reading order for beginners: start with Mistborn Era 1, read Warbreaker, then dive into Stormlight Archive. That’s the short answer.

I completely understand that when you Google “Cosmere reading order” and see 20+ books across multiple planets, it looks impossible. But remember that you’re not reading it all at once, and Brandon Sanderson designed this universe so each series works as a standalone. The connections are bonus content, not requirements!

Not only does this guide tell you where to start the Cosmere, it offers you the strategic path through the literary universe: the reading order that maximizes crossover payoffs and keeps commitments manageable. But if you’ve already started elsewhere or prefer a different entry point, I’ve got you covered as well. Skip to Alternative Paths to find your route.

Coming from the Witcher and Wheel of Time, I remember exactly what it’s like to stare at that reading order table and think “how?” Below, you’ll find the complete reading order with page counts and audiobook durations, explanations for why this sequence works, and honest answers about managing the commitment. No assumption you’re a completionist; just the information you need to start.

Note: The Cosmere isn’t done by any means; Sanderson has announced Mistborn Era 3, a second 5-book Stormlight arc, and other projects. I will be updating this article as more books are released! (last updated: Nov 12, 2025)

The Core Cosmere Reading Order

Like anything in life, there’s multiple ways to approach the Cosmere reading order – more on that later. But if you’re looking for the best Cosmere reading order for beginners, here’s your strategic path through Brandon Sanderson’s universe, with all the Cosmere books in order:

* Arcanum Unbounded includes Edgedancer and Mistborn: Secret History – these are essential to read before Oathbringer and Mistborn Era 2, respectively. In addition to this, it also includes one of my favorite Sanderson stories: The Emperor’s Soul. If you don’t feel like reading the entire bundle, you could pick these three up separately.

So how does all of this add up in terms of hard numbers?

• Core reading order: 17 books, ~11,700 pages, ~490 hours audiobook
• With flexible additions (see below): 21 books, ~13,500 pages, ~560 hours audiobook

I believe it’s safe to say that this will take you quite a bit of time. But fear not! It’s all about the journey, not the destination. Take each book or series as it comes, and try not to focus too much on the larger Cosmere – Sanderson weaves this in gradually as you go through the Cosmere reading order.

And if you do get burnt out… I’ve got guides on the blog to effectively deal with your post-epic fantasy depression or even reading slumps!

Flexible Additions to Your Cosmere Reading Order

In addition to all of these books, there’s a couple of standalone works in the Cosmere universe that can be added flexibly to your personal reading order. There is, of course, no wrong moment to read these – but here’s some suggestions anyway:

Why This Cosmere Reading Order Works

With such a big universe, it’s inevitable that there’s much discussion about the ‘proper’ Cosmere reading order. Do you go publication order? Or maybe chronological? Some people will tell you “just read whatever!” Let me break down why this strategic order beats the alternatives – especially for beginners.

The Publication Order Problem

The Cosmere publication order goes something like this: Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Warbreaker, Way of Kings, Alloy of Law, more Stormlight, Era 2 books mixed in, standalones…

This works fine if you’ve been following Brandon Sanderson since his first publication in 2005, reading each book as it released. But for someone starting in 2025? You’re constantly jumping between planets (Sel, Scadrial, Nalthis, Roshar, back to Scadrial…), which breaks the narrative’s momentum. Just when you get invested in one world, publication order yanks you into another.

Plus: while Elantris is good, it’s also Sanderson’s first published novel, and it shows. It’s not bad by any means but it might turn you off of the Cosmere if you start there instead of experiencing his more mature work first.

The Chronological Order Trap

The Cosmere chronological order (by in-universe timeline) seems logical at first. Start with the earliest events, work forward through history, right?

Wrong! Books set earlier in the timeline were often published later, meaning they contain spoilers for future-set books. Chronologically, Elantris comes first – I already explained above why that might not be the best starting point.

In addition to this, going through the Cosmere chronologically would mean reading all of Stormlight Archive before diving into Mistborn Era 2. While sounding nice, this might either burn you out (reading a lot of big books all after one another) and it will make certain revelations in Wind and Truth hit less hard.

So Why This Cosmere Reading Order?

The reading order I’m recommending prioritizes three things:

1. Emotional momentum – Each series builds on what you’ve learned without overwhelming you. Mistborn teaches you Sanderson’s patterns before Stormlight’s complexity hits.
2. Crossover payoffs – Warbreaker before Stormlight means certain character moments in Words of Radiance transform from “huh, interesting” to “holy shit, that’s—” Maximum satisfaction!
3. Manageable commitments – You’re not diving into 1,000-page books immediately. The progression feels natural: trilogy, standalone, epic, return to familiarity, more standalones.

By no means is this the only way to read the Cosmere; Sanderson designed it for flexibility. But after going through this journey myself in about a year and a half (and watching others struggle with publication order), I’m convinced that this path maximizes your chances of actually finishing and loving the whole thing!

If you do get confused: the fanbase surrounding these books is one of the most dedicated I’ve ever seen! Their fan wiki, the Coppermind, is one of the most thorough and best maintained I’ve encountered thus far – couldn’t recommend it enough.

Alternative Paths & Special Circumstances

I mentioned before that there’s multiple ways to read the Cosmere. Maybe you even read some of it already. In this section, I hope to cover most of those other ways. Keep in mind that there is no wrong Cosmere reading order!

If you started with a standalone (Warbreaker, Elantris, Tress, Yumi): finish your standalone, then move to Mistborn Era 1. Continue the core reading order from there! But if you started with another series altogether…

If you started with Stormlight Archive

This is the bold choice! To make your reading experience as rewarding as possible, do the following:

• Finish Way of Kings
• Pause here! Read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance (trust me on this)
• Continue through Edgedancer (in Arcanum Unbounded), Oathbringer, and Dawnshard
• If you want all the crossover excitement: read Mistborn Era 1 and Mistborn: Secret History (also in Arcanum Unbounded)
• Now you’re ready for Rhythm of War and Wind and Truth!
• Read Mistborn Era 2 whenever you feel like returning to Scadrial

If you started with Mistborn Era 2

Era 2 is technically a sequel to Era 1, but honestly works fine as an entry point (even though you’ll miss a lot of wider Cosmere references, especially in the later books in the series). Finish the Era 2 series (through The Lost Metal), then go back to Era 1 to see where it all began! You’ll notice a lot of character names from the various religions in the world of Wax and Wayne. Continue the core Cosmere reading order from there.

If you just want to sample Sanderson

Warbreaker is free on his website, Tress of the Emerald Sea is a fun standalone (~360 pages), and The Emperor’s Soul is a beautiful novella (~170 pages). All three work great as “test drives” before committing to the full Cosmere.

Like I said: there’s no wrong order to read the Cosmere! That’s the beauty of it. If you’re not yet convinced, let me convince you why this behemoth of a universe is worth reading at all…

What Makes the Cosmere Worth It

Maybe you were considering starting Brandon Sanderson’s books, but I just scared you off with introducing it as a 10k+ word epic. I understand your hesitation! Before I dive further into each part of the journey through the Cosmere universe, let me make the case why the Cosmere is actually worth the effort it takes to fully read.

First of all, the crossover moments. While the specific point is different for everyone (it often hits in Rhythm of War), there’ll be a moment when your head starts connecting all the dots. There’s characters from one world appearing another, magic systems sharing underlying principles, character motivations transcending individual stories… Eventually, the ‘Cosmere’ stops being an abstract concept and becomes real. That moment is special.

There’s also the reliability factor: Sanderson is famous for writing, writing, writing. Series actually get finished, questions get answered. Too many fantasy fans have been disappointed by unfinished series, so this matters more than most people would like to admit!

Then there’s the reread value, which is high for the Cosmere. Sanderson is known for thoroughly outlining his work, and has spoken about having planned the overarching story of the Cosmere some time ago now. This means that second reads reveal foreshadowing and connections you might have missed the first time! Once more gets revealed about the inner workings of the Cosmere (those underlying principles I talked about), earlier works will become much more rewarding to read as well!

Finally – and this is what helped me get through the Cosmere most – there’s the community. From subreddits like r/Cosmere and r/Stormlight_Archive to the 17th Shard forums, the fanbase is super welcoming, spoiler-cautious, and very helpful. Sanderson himself (u/mistborn) is even active on Reddit. And if you get lost and need to look up something from the books: the Coppermind is the most thorough fan wiki for a fictional work I have ever seen.

The Biggest Cosmere Reading Concerns

Maybe you’re still worried about tackling the full Cosmere series. Let me try, one final time, to take away those remaining concerns.

“Do I Really Have to Read Everything?”

No, absolutely not! Despite all my talk about crossovers and revelations, the truth it that each series works very well as a standalone. You can read only Stormlight and have a complete, satisfying experience. The Cosmere connections are bonus content, not requirements for understanding the story.

I’ll be real with you: when I finished Mistborn Era 1 and saw how much more Cosmere existed, I felt overwhelmed too. The natural question is “do I really need all of this?” And the answer depends on what you want from the experience.

So what do you miss if you skip books? If you just read Stormlight, you’ll miss the “holy shit” crossover moments. The difference between recognizing a character from another series versus thinking “huh, interesting side character” is substantial! But will you understand the Stormlight plot? Definitely!

If you skip the Secret Project standalones (Tress, Yumi, Sunlit Man, Emberdark), you’re missing fun standalone stories but zero essential plot. They’re dessert, not the main course. If you never read Mistborn Era 2, Warbreaker, or Elantris? Your Cosmere experience is still 90% complete. You’ll get the main story beats and most major revelations.

To get the minimum “complete” Cosmere experience, read Mistborn Era 1 (3 books), Warbreaker (1 book), and Stormlight Archive (5 books). That’s 9 books, ~8,000 pages – still massive, but much more manageable! Everything else enhances but doesn’t define your Cosmere journey.

Don’t let completionism paralyze you into reading nothing. Start with Mistborn Era 1 – if you love it, continue! If not, stop there. You still got a solid trilogy. The beauty of the Cosmere is that you can always come back later. The books aren’t going anywhere, and neither is the community.

“How Do I Even Start Tackling Thousands of Pages?”

I totally get that 13,500 pages sounds like a lot, maybe almost impossible. But remember: you’re not reading it all in one sitting!

A solid strategy is the chapter-a-day method. Most chapters in Sanderson’s books are 15-25 pages, which is quite doable to do in a single session for most people. If you just read one chapter a day, you’ll finish The Final Empire in about a month! String enough of those months together, and suddenly you’ve read the whole Cosmere.

When I started, I aimed for 30 minutes per day minimum. Didn’t always hit that, of course, but a lot of days I exceeded this goal because the narrative was just so compelling. The key with this method is consistency, not perfection. Keep in mind that reading is a hobby – if you don’t want to read, don’t read.

Another thing I’d recommend is strategic format mixing: the Cosmere has fantastic audiobooks, from graphic audio productions with music and sound effects, to the wonderfully clean narration by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading (who also did Wheel of Time). With many Cosmere books, I listened to large parts of them during commutes, while cooking, during walks. Like I said, it’s broken up into manageable chapters, so each chapter felt like a short podcast episode!

Finally, feel free to take strategic breaks. After finishing each major series, I’d read something completely different. Think of sci-fi novellas, mystery novels, even non-fiction books. This “palate cleanser” approach kept me from burning out on fantasy. I have whole guides on managing reading slumps if you need them.

The reality is that you’ll probably read faster than you think, once you’re hooked. That first Mistborn “Sanderlanche” ending will have you reaching for Well of Ascension immediately. The momentum builds naturally. Just start with one book, read at your own pace, and see what happens!

“Will I Like Sanderson’s Writing Style?”

This is the hardest question to answer, because honestly? Not everyone will love Sanderson, and that’s okay!

To begin, he’s great at magic systems that make sense. If you’re the type of person who loves figuring out how things work, you’ll obsess over Allomancy and Surgebinding. Everything follows rules. Almost nothing feels random or like the author’s making it up as he goes.

He’s also fantastic at building momentum. Those famous “Sanderlanche” endings – the last 100-150 pages where everything accelerates into massive payoffs – deliver every single time. And unlike certain other fantasy authors I could name, his series actually finish! Questions get answered. This reliability matters more than I’d like to admit.

But there’s a few things that Sanderson doesn’t do as well. First of all, the prose isn’t poetic. It’s functional and clear, which works great for plot-heavy fantasy, but you won’t find a lot of beautiful sentences to dwell on. Romance subplots can be awkward, especially in earlier books (though Yumi and the Nightmare Painter shows real improvement). Finally, the humor is very much hit-or-miss; sometimes it lands, sometimes it’s a bit cringe.

The good news? He’s gotten dramatically better over time. Elantris (his first published novel) shows its age, but by the time you hit Way of Kings (Stormlight #1), the character work is genuinely deep. Kaladin and Shallan aren’t cardboard cutouts, but have real psychological complexity.

After having read quite a bit of fantasy, I think I’d describe Sanderson’s style as straightforward and effective. No deliberate confusion (like in series such as Malazan – though if you want to tackle that beast, my Gardens of the Moon chapter guide can help), no grimdark for the sake of edginess. Just solid fantasy that respects your intelligence without making you work too hard!

In Short: Quick Answers

What is the Cosmere reading order?

The recommended Cosmere reading order for beginners is: Mistborn Era 1 (3 books), Warbreaker, Stormlight 1-4 (Way of Kings through Rhythm of War, including Edgedancer and Dawnshard), Mistborn Era 2 (4 books), and Wind and Truth. This order prioritizes emotional momentum and crossover payoffs over publication or chronological order. See the table above for all titles and page counts.

Should I start with Mistborn or Stormlight?

Start with Mistborn: The Final Empire for the best Cosmere experience. At ~540 pages, it’s more manageable than Stormlight’s 1,000+ pages, making it a better entry point for beginners. Mistborn teaches you Brandon Sanderson’s writing style before Stormlight’s complexity hits. Only start with Stormlight if 1,000-page commitments don’t intimidate you. Most readers find Mistborn the easier starting point.

Do I have to read all of the Cosmere?

No. Each Cosmere series works standalone; you can read just Stormlight and have a complete, satisfying experience. The Cosmere connections are bonus content, not requirements for understanding the story. For the minimum “complete” experience, read: Mistborn Era 1 (3 books), Warbreaker (1 book), and Stormlight (5 books). That’s ~8,000 pages covering most major story beats and revelations.

How long does reading the Cosmere take?

The core Cosmere reading order is 17 books, ~11,700 pages, and ~490 hours of audiobook. With flexible additions, it’s 21 books and ~13,500 pages. Reading timelines vary widely: binging at 50 pages per hour takes a few months, while reading one book per month takes about 18 months. Most readers take 1-2 years with breaks to avoid burnout.

Which Brandon Sanderson books are in the Cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere includes Mistborn Era 1 (3 books), Mistborn Era 2 (4 books), Stormlight Archive (5 main books plus 2 novellas), Warbreaker, Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul, Arcanum Unbounded (short story collection), White Sand (graphic novels), and Secret Projects (standalones: Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, The Sunlit Man, Isles of the Emberdark).

In Conclusion: Journey Before Destination

“Journey before destination” – it’s a mantra from Stormlight Archive that captures what the Cosmere is really all about. You’re not racing to finish 13,500 pages. You’re reading one book, then deciding if you want another.

If you’ve made it this far through this guide, you’ve got everything you need to start: the complete Cosmere reading order, why this sequence works, and honest answers about the commitment. The path forward is simple: pick up The Final Empire and see what happens.

Maybe you’ll finish it and stop there; totally valid. Maybe you’ll binge the entire trilogy in two weeks and immediately want Warbreaker. Maybe you’ll take breaks, skip books, or read in a completely different order. All of those are fine. After all, Sanderson designed the Cosmere for flexibility, and there’s seriously no wrong way to experience it.

The only mistake is letting the scale paralyze you into reading nothing.

So where to start the Cosmere? Mistborn Era 1. If Hero of Ages hooks you the way it hooked me, you’ll know whether the rest of the Cosmere is worth your time. And if you need help navigating what comes next, I wrote a more detailed guide on what to read after Mistborn.

The Cosmere is waiting. Go read The Final Empire. See you on the other side.