Today I am ranking every major Cosmere book into a tier list, going through each book in publication order because I think that’s actually the most interesting way to look at Brandon Sanderson’s career.
So we’ll start with Elantris and proceed all the way through Isles of the Emberdark.
The tier list is pretty simple:
- C tier: Decent, but not one of my favorites (I don’t think any of the Cosmere books are actually bad)
- B tier: Very good.
- A tier: Great.
- S tier: Phenomenal. Absolutely mind-blowing. One of the best things I’ve read.
Every Major Cosmere Book Ranked [Video]
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Elantris
C-Tier
Elantris is a good book. It has a really cool premise, and you can already see Brandon doing the thing he does so well, which is building an entire society around the logic of a hard magic system.
But you can also feel that this is Brandon’s first published novel. The pacing is rougher. Some of the character work is not as smooth. Some of the dialogue feels more forced. Compared to what he does later, especially in Mistborn and Stormlight, Elantris just doesn’t have that same level of polish.
Mistborn: The Final Empire
A-Tier
This is where I think Brandon really begins to dial things in.
The premise of “what if the Dark Lord won?” is great. Then you add Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy, which together are still one of the best-integrated sets of magic systems I think ever created in fantasy. And then you have Vin, Kelsier, and the rest of the crew, who are all really well written.
I do think The Final Empire still has some early-book rough edges compared to later entries, but as an introduction to the Cosmere, I still think this is one of the best entry points.
The Well of Ascension
B-Tier
When you read it, the pacing can feel off. It’s much more of a political story. It’s about what happens after you win. It’s a “now what?” story.
That is interesting, but it can also be less interesting at points compared with the first entry.
Vin also spends a lot of the book wrestling with who she is in ways that, while important for her as a character, can become repetitive at times.
But the ending is fantastic. When you understand what Brandon is actually setting up, The Well of Ascension becomes much more impressive structurally on a reread than it might feel the first time through.
It’s not my favorite Mistborn book, but it is doing important work. It expands the world, deepens the mythology, and sets up the finale in a way that makes the third Mistborn book, The Hero of Ages, hit much harder.
The Hero of Ages
S-Tier
This is one of the best endings to a trilogy I’ve ever read.
What makes The Hero of Ages so impressive is how much it has to do. It has to conclude Vin’s story. It has to conclude Elend’s story. It has to explain so much and answer so many questions.
And it goes beyond that, giving answers to questions and secrets you didn’t even know were there.
It gives you the feeling that the trilogy was built with a level of intentionality you didn’t fully appreciate until the end. I’m not sure how many other writers can build to this level of depth, and that’s one of the things Brandon does best.
The emotional payoff is huge. The Cosmere implications are huge. It’s the book that makes you realize Brandon Sanderson is not just writing interesting stories with cool magic systems. He is building something much bigger.
Warbreaker
B-Tier
I love this book. Nalthis is great. BioChromatic Breath is a fantastic magic system. The Returned concept is unique and fun.
Character-wise, this book also has a lot of standouts. Lightsong, Vasher, and Nightblood, who is one of the most iconic characters in the entire Cosmere. Vivenna and Siri’s stories are pretty great as well.
For me, it’s close to A tier, but the ending just feels like one of Brandon’s weakest. You can absolutely see the Sanderlanche forming. The pieces come together. But it feels short. It feels rushed.
Most Brandon endings give me this feeling of being completely swept away. Everything builds and builds and builds, and then the last hundred or two hundred pages become this unstoppable avalanche. With Warbreaker, you get some of that. But again, it feels rushed.
The Way of Kings
S-Tier
I know that for some people, the beginning of The Way of Kings can be hard to get through. It asks for a lot of trust while you’re sorting out the characters and worldbuilding.
But it has never felt slow or boring to me.
I’ve reread this book so many times, and it just gets better and better. There are so many hidden details, so much layering in the worldbuilding, and such strong character arcs. It’s just an unbelievable work of writing.
It also has one of Brandon’s best endings and leaves you with the feeling that you’ve only seen the first doorway into something gigantic.
The Alloy of Law
B-Tier
The Alloy of Law is the first book in the second Mistborn era, introducing Wax and Wayne.
This book had a tough job. It had to follow Mistborn Era 1, which ended in this massive, mythological, world-changing way, and then say, “Okay, now we’re doing a smaller detective-western buddy-cop adventure with guns.”
Honestly, that shift is part of what makes it so fun to read.
Scadrial has changed in a way that makes the world feel like it actually moved forward in time. We’re seeing technology develop around magic, which is extremely unique.
But The Alloy of Law is a bit lighter than the books around it. It wasn’t even meant to be the start of a series, just a fun little book Brandon wanted to write, but it grew into something much larger. It introduces a great cast, though I don’t think those characters fully become their best selves until later.
Words of Radiance
S-Tier
If there were a tier above S tier, I’d place Words of Radiance in it. It is my favorite Cosmere book.
Everything that The Way of Kings sets up starts paying off here. The world opens up. The magic systems become deeper and more complex. The pacing is perfect. And the multiple climaxes are some of the best ideas Brandon has ever put on paper.
This is the book where Stormlight goes from “this is a huge fantasy series with a lot of promise” to “this might be one of the defining fantasy series of the modern era.”
For me, Words of Radiance is the best balance Brandon has ever struck between character, plot, world building, magic, and payoff.
Shadows of Self
A-Tier
Shadows of Self is where Mistborn Era 2 really starts to become more than just the fun Wax and Wayne side era. It digs into Wax and Wayne as characters, building upon their depth and stories in meaningful ways.
This is also where Steris starts quietly becoming one of the best characters in Era 2. She is not fully there yet, but on reread, it’s fun watching Brandon begin to build her into someone who becomes absolutely incredible later on.
The Bands of Mourning
S-Tier
The Bands of Mourning is where Era 2 fully clicked for me. Wax is great. Wayne, at this point, is becoming one of my favorite characters of all time. And Steris goes from funny side character to one of the most lovable characters in the entire series.
Then the book just keeps widening the world, the technology, and the magic systems. It’s the kind of ending that makes the Cosmere feel like it just took another step forward.
White Sand
C-Tier
White Sand is one of those Cosmere stories that I want to like more than I actually do. The ingredients are interesting. The story and magic systems are important. But as a reading experience, the graphic novel version just doesn’t really work for me.
I personally don’t think they did a great job adapting it into a graphic novel. I know a lot of talented people worked on it, and I don’t want to be dismissive of that, but visually, the art feels bland to me.
And that’s a problem because graphic novels are such a visual medium. If the art doesn’t pull you in, it’s hard for the story to overcome that. I think White Sand could be much better as a prose novel, and I’m genuinely interested in that version.
Arcanum Unbounded
S-Tier
This might feel like cheating because it’s a collection, but I don’t care. As a collection of Cosmere short stories and novellas, Arcanum Unbounded is incredible.
It has The Emperor’s Soul, which is the best short story Brandon has ever written. Then you have Mistborn: Secret History. For me, Secret History is one of the coolest ideas in the Cosmere. It opens up the Cosmere in this massive way. It shows you that Brandon has even more layers of secrets hidden behind the scenes that you didn’t even know to look for, and it reframes the entire Mistborn Era 1 trilogy.
Then there’s Edgedancer, which I really enjoy as the bridge between Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. I enjoy the goofiness of Lift, and I think Edgedancer does a lot of useful character and worldbuilding work, helping set up information about the Stormlight Archive that you’ll want to know before moving forward.
As a collection, Arcanum Unbounded is one of the most valuable Cosmere books, with many of Brandon’s best pieces of short fiction and some of the biggest universe-expanding moments the Cosmere has to offer.
Oathbringer
S-Tier
This is a book that has only grown on me over time. On my first read, I liked Oathbringer, but I didn’t have it on the same level as The Way of Kings or Words of Radiance. But every time I reread this book, it just keeps climbing higher and higher.
Right now, I have it right up there with The Way of Kings.
The main reason is Dalinar. Dalinar’s arc in Oathbringer is one of the best character arcs Brandon has ever written. The way this book takes someone who could have been the honorable fantasy general archetype and forces us to confront who he actually was, what he actually did, and what it actually means to change is just incredible.
And yes, there are parts that are slower. But the emotional payoff is so strong and the ending of Oathbringer is one of Sanderson’s best. It is one of those moments where the themes, characters, magic systems, and plot all boil perfectly together into this delicious Cosmere soup.
Dawnshard
A-Tier
I really enjoyed Dawnshard. It’s short, focused, and adventurous while telling a story with huge implications for the entire Cosmere.
That’s one of the fun things about Brandon’s short stories and novellas. Sometimes they seem like side quests, and then later you realize, no, that was actually really, really important.
While as a story, I don’t think Dawnshard has the same emotional impact as some of his best novels. But for a novella side-story between Stormlight books, it works really well.
Rhythm of War
A-Tier
Rhythm of War is probably one of the hardest Stormlight books for me to rank.
There is a ton in this book that works for me. I think the story between Navani and Raboniel is fantastic. But it doesn’t blow my mind in the same way the first three Stormlight books do.
The Venli flashbacks are probably one reason, since they lack much of the emotional punch of some previous flashback sequences because we already know a lot of what happens there.
There are also parts of the tower occupation storyline that can feel more contained and repetitive than previous books. But the highs are still very high, and on reread, I think the book becomes stronger.
The Lost Metal
A-Tier
The Lost Metal is one of the first books where the gloves really start coming off and the wider Cosmere story really starts to become important.
As someone who cares about the bigger Cosmere universe, The Lost Metal is extremely fun.
It also gives Era 2 a very satisfying and emotional conclusion.
Tress of the Emerald Sea
A-Tier
Tress of the Emerald Sea is whimsical, funny, charming, and very different from the big epic fantasy mode Brandon is usually known for. It feels like Brandon writing a fairy tale filtered through Hoid’s voice, and that makes it stand out immediately.
The spores are weird and fun, and Tress herself is a really likable protagonist.
I think a lot of people connected with this one because it feels accessible. You can hand Tress to someone who might be intimidated by Stormlight, and they can still get a full, satisfying Cosmere story.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
A-Tier
I personally think Yumi and The Nightmare Painter is one of Brandon’s most underrated books.
It may not have the explosive momentum of The Sunlit Man or the pure charm of Tress, but emotionally, I think it’s one of the strongest Secret Projects.
The way the magic system works is also truly fascinating to me, and it’s actually one of the books I want to reread the most.
The Sunlit Man
A-Tier
The Sunlit Man is just so different from the others. The world of Canticle is brutal and compelling. Then you add Nomad, his history, the Night Brigade, and all the future-Cosmere implications, and suddenly this book feels like a preview of where the entire universe is headed.
It is incredibly fast and action-packed. I can understand why some people might find it too action-heavy or not as emotionally rich as the best Stormlight books, but for me, it really works.
Wind and Truth
B-Tier
The fifth and final book in the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is also a tough one for me to rank.
The first time I read Wind and Truth, I would have put it in A tier. I devoured it. I think I finished the whole thing in about three days, which for a book with around half a million words is a lot for me. I think reading through it at that speed helped hide a lot of the book’s pacing problems.
I also actually really like the way Brandon ended this. I like the big swings he took and where it leaves the future of the series. I know not everyone agrees, but for me, it couldn’t have ended in a better way.
But on reread, some of the issues became much more obvious. The first half especially just does not feel as compelling as it should. Sometimes it does. But a lot of the time, it feels strangely muted in a way that’s difficult to describe.
I don’t know if it’s because the characters are so separated. I don’t know if it’s because the structure isn’t working quite right, if it’s the more modern language, or what. But something about it feels off.
I still really enjoy Wind and Truth. But compared to The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, or even Rhythm of War, it just does not hit the same level for me, even though I truly like the direction Brandon went with the story.
Isles of the Emberdark
A-Tier
Isles of The Emberdark is a phenomenal continuation and expansion of the Sixth of the Dusk story. What I like about it is that it feels both familiar and very future-Cosmere at the same time.
And you get dragons. I mean, come on.
This is the kind of Cosmere book that makes the universe feel like it has entered a new phase. We’re looking at a future where planets, technologies, magic systems, and cultures are colliding much more openly.
But it’s great. It’s fun. And it certainly deserves its place in my A tier for now.
The Final Cosmere Tier List
That gives us the final ranking.
C Tier
- Elantris
- White Sand
B Tier
- The Well of Ascension
- Warbreaker
- The Alloy of Law
- Wind and Truth
A Tier
- Mistborn: The Final Empire
- Shadows of Self
- Dawnshard
- Rhythm of War
- The Lost Metal
- Tress of the Emerald Sea
- Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
- The Sunlit Man
- Isles of the Emberdark
S Tier
- The Hero of Ages
- The Way of Kings
- Words of Radiance
- The Bands of Mourning
- Arcanum Unbounded
- Oathbringer
What’s interesting about this tier list is that even the lower-ranked books matter.
Elantris matters. White Sand matters. Warbreaker matters.
Brandon has built this universe in a way where even the books I don’t love as much are still adding something important.
That’s why ranking the Cosmere is so difficult. You’re not just ranking isolated books. You’re ranking pieces of a giant machine.
Some pieces are cleaner. Some are more emotional. Some are more fun. Some are just better novels. But together, they create one of the most ambitious fantasy projects ever attempted.
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