this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2026
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Can't go wrong with publishing order. I refer to the Coppermind wiki for that: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Cosmere#Bibliography_of_the_Cosmere
I personally started with Stormlight Archive, which I wouldn't call optimal, but hey, I have no regrets. In general I'm a "gates open" kind of fan, so I encourage readers to go in whatever order they like and enjoy any extra mystery that might come along with it. :)
The only ones I'd really recommend against reading without context are The Sunlit Man, and to a lesser extent Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. It kind of pains me to say that about Yumi because it's such a fantastic book and I'd hate to discourage anyone from reading it. But you'd need to comfortable rolling with confusion if you've never read any Stormlight Archive, because
mild spoiler
the narration is written in the voice of Wit and it has many references to RosharThat said, Lost Metal includes connections to
other books
Elantris, and The Emperor's SoulI wouldn't say that's required reading before Lost Metal. I personally read Lost Metal first and, again, no regrets. But now I do kind of want to go back and read a few chapters again given the additional context I have now.
I think all Cosmere secret projects should be read after Stormlight Archive, or at least once you know who that guy is.
I read Elantris a while back, loved the book, looking forward to sequel, whenever he gets around to it, but don't recall reading The Emperor's Soul. It's in Arcanum Unbound though, so will read it before the Lost Metal.