A guide to finally getting into Brandon Sanderson books
Brandon Sanderson is one of the most successful and prolific fantasy and science fiction authors of all time, with a devoted following that funded the most successful Kickstarter campaign to date and has pledged over $20 million on Backerkit for his latest crowdfunding effort. His expansive bibliography can make it difficult to figure out where to start if you want to jump into his many worlds and series, so we’ve put together a primer to help guide you through the Cosmere and beyond.
Sanderson published his first novel, Elantris, in 2005 and began building an audience with impressive world-building and a focus on complex magic systems. Sanderson recommends Elantris as a starting point for his work, especially for readers who don’t have much experience with the fantasy genre.
Elantris is a strong debut, a twisty tale of a cursed prince, a princess who won’t let a failed engagement get in the way of doing her duty, and a warrior priest on a mission of salvation. It’s not too long or full of jargon to be intimidating, and it introduces many of the themes of faith and hope against despair that would be iconic of Sanderson’s work. It’s the first book of his I read, and I immediately wanted more.
Elantris doesn’t currently have a sequel, but the Hugo Award-winning novella The Emperor’s Soulshares its setting. (Technically, so do a lot of Sanderson’s books, but I’ll get to that later.) The Emperor’s Soul, which tells the tale of a jailed forger given an impossible task, is also on Sanderson’s list of good starting points. It’s perfect if you want to get a tiny taste of the level of creativity and detail the author brings to the genre without much commitment.
My personal favorite Sanderson book is Warbreaker, and it’s where Sanderson recommends fans who like a good romance begin. Warbreaker follows a princess wedded to a terrifying God King, her sister on a mission to save her, and an amnesiac trying to puzzle out the mystery of his own past and the truth about his faith.
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