The Cosmere

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson is an epic fantasy set in Arelon, where a once-glorious magical city has decayed into a cursed ruin after its divine transformation power abruptly failed. The story follows three central figures: Prince Raoden, secretly cast into Elantris after being struck by the curse; Princess Sarene, a politically astute widow-by-arrangement who maneuvers through Kae’s court; and Hrathen, a zealous high priest determined to convert the kingdom for his empire and god. As religious pressure mounts and war looms, their intersecting agendas explore themes of faith, power, and social collapse. The novel blends high fantasy, political intrigue, and a restrained romantic thread within a single, self-contained narrative.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson continues the Mistborn saga in a city struggling to define itself after the fall of a godlike tyrant. Vin, once a street thief and now the most feared Mistborn in the realm, must balance her role as a reluctant religious symbol with her loyalty to Elend Venture, the idealistic nobleman trying to build a new kind of government in Luthadel. As rival armies, political factions, and brutal inhuman warriors close in, Vin confronts shifting alliances, religious tensions, and the unsettling changes in the magical mists themselves. Rumors of an ancient power at the legendary Well of Ascension raise the stakes further, intertwining epic warfare, high fantasy intrigue, and questions of faith and authority.

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson concludes the original Mistborn trilogy with a focus on collapsing empires, unstable magic, and the cost of leadership. As ash storms intensify and earthquakes tear at the land, Emperor Elend Venture searches the remnants of the Lord Ruler’s legacy for a way to preserve what is left of civilization. Vin, now burdened by the consequences of releasing the destructive power known as Ruin, struggles to act against a near-omniscient enemy that can twist both matter and information. Blending epic fantasy, religious conflict, political maneuvering, and a strained central romance, the novel examines how myth, prophecy, and faith shape a world on the brink of extinction.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson explores a world where deceased heroes become gods confined to a pantheon, and magic arises from an essence called breath linked to color. The story follows two princesses, Vivenna and Siri, as they navigate political and mystical challenges involving the God King Susebron, the reluctant god Lightsong, and the enigmatic immortal Vasher. Set in the kingdom of Hallandren and Idris, the novel examines themes of power, duty, and redemption through its intricate magic system and complex characters.

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson returns to Scadrial centuries after the original Mistborn trilogy, now transformed by railways, electric lights, and rising skyscrapers. In this era where industrial progress coexists uneasily with Allomancy and Feruchemy, lawman Waxillium Ladrian leaves the violent frontier of the Roughs to inherit leadership of a noble house in the city of Elendel. His rare Twinborn abilities and gunslinger past soon draw him into urban crime, political maneuvering, and religious undercurrents that challenge both his ethics and loyalties. Blending epic fantasy magic with early-industrial technology, the novel explores power, class, and order in a society still shaped by legendary figures turned into gods and myths.

In The Emperor's Soul, Brandon Sanderson sets a self-contained fantasy story within his broader Cosmere universe, focused on art, identity, and power. Shai, a master Forger whose magic rewrites the past of objects, is sentenced to death after a failed theft but offered a single reprieve: to craft a new soul for the comatose Emperor Ashravan before political rivals discover the truth. As she studies the emperor’s life to reconstruct his mind and memories, Shai navigates court factions, religious hostility toward her magic, and the scrutiny of councilor Gaotona, who both distrusts and depends on her. The novella blends intricate magical theory with quiet political tension and philosophical questions about authenticity, faith, and what makes a person who they are.

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson returns to Scadrial at a moment when magic and early industrial technology uneasily coexist. Lawman-turned-nobleman Waxillium Ladrian, a rare Twinborn able to wield both Allomancy and Feruchemy, is drawn into a series of terrorist attacks and assassinations that threaten the city’s fragile order. Working with the irreverent Wayne and the sharp-minded constable Marasi, he must trace a hidden conspiracy that exploits class tensions, religious divisions, and political rivalries. Blending epic fantasy lore with urban crime, romantic undercurrents, and questions of faith and power, the novel explores how a society built on myth adapts to modernity under the shadow of war and unrest.

Secret History by Brandon Sanderson is a short companion work set alongside the original Mistborn trilogy, expanding events that occur behind the scenes of the main narrative. Intended for readers already familiar with the trilogy, it revisits key characters and conflicts from a hidden vantage point, revealing more about the magic system, the gods who shape the world, and the metaphysical rules of the Cosmere. Blending epic and high fantasy with elements of mythology, religious tension, and political stakes, the story reframes earlier battles and sacrifices through a more intimate, often philosophical lens. Secret History is best approached after finishing the first three Mistborn novels, as it assumes knowledge of their plot and outcomes.

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson continues the Mistborn saga in a world shifting from classic fantasy into an industrial age, where railways, electric lights, and rising skyscrapers reshape Scadrial. Lawman and nobleman Waxillium Ladrian is drawn into a new investigation when a kandra scholar returns with evidence that the legendary Bands of Mourning—relics said to hold the Lord Ruler’s powers—may be real, along with mysterious, undeciphered texts. His journey to the southern city of New Seran entangles him in political maneuvering, religious tensions, and the ambitions of the covert group known as The Set. As Wax follows the trail, he uncovers deeper truths about his uncle Edwarn’s designs and the evolving balance between magic, technology, and power.

White Sand, Volume 1 introduces the desert world of Taldain, where the Sand Masters command a rare form of magic that allows them to control and weaponize sand. After a devastating massacre wipes out nearly all of these practitioners, the seemingly least talented among them, Kenton, finds himself thrust into survival, leadership, and political turmoil. His uneasy alliance with Khriss, a secretive visitor from the planet’s dark side, draws him into religious conflict, hidden agendas, and the larger cosmology of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere. Adapted by Rik Hoskin with art by Julius Gopez, this first volume blends epic and high fantasy with elements of war, mythology, and romance in a visually driven narrative.

White Sand, Volume 2 continues Brandon Sanderson’s collaboration with Rik Hoskin and Julius Gopez in a secondary world where magic is bound to sand and political power. In the aftermath of a devastating ambush, Kenton unexpectedly inherits the role of Lord Mastrell, leading a diminished order of Sand Masters while the ruling council maneuvers to dismantle them entirely. Forced to temper his impulsive nature, he navigates fragile alliances, religious tensions, and mounting attempts on his life. His uneasy partnership with Khriss, an outsider with her own scientific interests and private goals, adds layers of intrigue as questions of faith, authority, and survival shape this blend of epic fantasy, magic-driven conflict, and planetary politics.

White Sand, Volume 3 concludes Brandon Sanderson’s and Rik Hoskin’s graphic fantasy saga of sand-based magic, religious tension, and political maneuvering on the desert world of Taldain. Kenton, still struggling with limited power, attempts to keep the Sand Masters from collapsing as rival factions, hidden enemies, and personal loyalties collide. Pressured from within his own order and threatened by outside forces, he is driven to test the most perilous aspects of his abilities in order to protect what remains of his guild. As the truth behind the attack that killed his father finally comes to light, the story blends epic fantasy warfare, mythic stakes, and fraught alliances, brought to life by Fritz Casas’s artwork.

The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson concludes the second era of Mistborn on the industrialized world of Scadrial, blending epic fantasy with political tension and emerging technology. Lawman-turned-senator Waxillium Ladrian pursues the secretive group known as the Set, whose influence now reaches from the Elendel Senate to the rebellious Outer City of Bilming, where new weapons and a devastating explosive threaten open war. As religious conflict deepens between Harmony and the rival god Trell, Marasi Colms is drawn into a wider cosmere through offworld agents whose intervention carries its own risks. The novel weaves magic, mythic powers, and fragile alliances with Wax’s strained faith, his partnership with Steris and Wayne, and the question of who will stand between Scadrial and destruction.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson, illustrated by Howard Lyon, follows a young woman whose quiet island life in an emerald-colored ocean ends when her closest friend, Charlie, is taken away and lost in a disastrous voyage. Determined to find him, Tress secretly boards a ship and enters a hazardous world of spore-filled seas, pirates, and strange magic where water itself can be lethal. As she seeks the feared Sorceress of the Midnight Sea, Tress is drawn into conflicts that blend fantasy adventure with hints of romance, myth, and political tension. This standalone Cosmere novel balances lighthearted narration with high fantasy stakes, gods and powers, and the harsh realities of war-touched seas.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson and Aliya Chen is a Cosmere fantasy that links two distant cultures facing catastrophe. Yumi serves in a ritualized society of ordered gardens and spirit-guided tradition, while Painter patrols a technologically advanced city haunted by living nightmares. Drawn together by an inexplicable connection, they must navigate clashing beliefs, unfamiliar magic, and mounting threats to understand why their lives have become entangled. As they investigate the forces behind their bond, the story blends epic fantasy, quiet romance, and elements of mythology, war, and political and religious tension across their divided worlds.

The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson, with art contributions from Ernanda Souza, Nabetse Zitro, and Kudriaken, is a standalone epic fantasy set in a distant corner of the Cosmere. Nomad, exhausted from years of fleeing the magical Night Brigade across worlds, is stranded on Canticle, a planet where the rising sun burns everything that does not keep moving. Forced into a conflict between an authoritarian ruler and the rebels resisting him, Nomad must navigate lethal magic, shifting alliances, and the planet’s deadly cycles. Blending science fiction elements with high fantasy, mythology, and religious and political tensions, the novel follows an adult protagonist wrestling with guilt, faith, and the cost of power as much as with war and survival.

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson expands the earlier Cosmere novella into a full-length epic that blends high fantasy, science fiction, and political intrigue. Sixth of the Dusk, a traditional trapper on the lethal island of Patji, is forced to confront rapid technological change and looming conquest as star-faring powers seek to control the magical Aviar birds his people depend on. Far away, Starling, a young dragon bound in human form aboard the starship Dynamic, hunts for a hidden portal that could free her debt-ridden crew. As their paths converge across the emberdark, both must navigate warring galactic factions, religious tensions, and the lingering influence of a dead god while trying to preserve their cultures and hard-won autonomy.