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Roshar, for instance, has a lot of different perspectives on homosexuality. In Iri, the more religious segment (who believe that life is about new experiences) would approve, while the more rigid modern, secular society has outlawed it. In Azir, you’d find something like existed in middle-ages India. (Some societies there had this curious system where a gay man would be given “social reassignment” so that he was treated like a woman, dressed like one, and had relations with men–even if he wasn’t t actually transsexual.) Vorin culture is concerned with oaths. Extra-marital sexuality is strictly forbidden, but homosexuality is regarded the same by most as heterosexual relationships. If the proper oaths are spoken, then the Almighty approves. (This usually means marriage, but there are certain official forms of other relationships that would allow it also.) There are actually a couple of scenes in Book Three talking about it, for those who are interested, as the family and romantic relationships of the bridgemen are becoming a larger part of the story. (Still a small part, I should note, for space limitations.)

Brandon on homosexuality on Roshar

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a shallan to celebrate the occasion

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Cosmere Blog Highlight: Shardling Secret Santa

@shardling-secret-santa is our fandom Secret Santa blog, and true to name  it is organizing this year’s Secret Santa event! It’s not too late to sign up, either: sign-ups close on December 8th this year, so go help this blog spread joy and content through the fandom, and maybe browse the gifts that were given in previous years while you’re at it!

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http://starterfaq.tumblr.com/ReadingOrder many people have suggestions. (welcome to the Fandom ^-^)

Hey! I just recently started following you and so far I'm really enjoying your blog. Just a quick question: I recently finished reading the Mistborn trilogy, what's next for a new Sanderson fan? Thanks in advance.

Thank you! Glad you’re enjoying it :) I suffered from this exact same dilemma after I had read Mistborn as well, it was just so awesome.

My first and foremost recommendation is to read Stormlight Archive. (Though I am assuming that you have already read it since you’re following me)

Another series that I would consider is the ever so controversial Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Everyone seems to have an opinion on his writing, but I personally enjoyed it and it’s what Brandon Sanderson grew up reading and actually came back to finish when Jordan died. There are some definite pros like the fact that it’s finished and there’s so much material to keep you reading. Also, the fan base is pretty well established and there are people around here who would love to show you around (just ask @gloriouslyalivetoday).

Anyways, that’s just my opinion, anyone else have any thoughts?

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Dear fandom,

Fanartists are not paid. Ditto with fic writers.

It’s not like they’re Joss Whedon or anyone else who is paid to produce content for us, and accordingly critical discussion is worth engaging in to call out any problematic pieces in their work.

Fanartists and fic writers are paid by nice comments, reblogs and kudos. And yes, that does mean that they are likely to read every tag on their work, even if you think they don’t. Because that’s their reward for spending hours slaving away to produce original content.

So when you reblog and tag something with how much you hate it, you’re a dick. Not only because there’s not really any point in reblogging something just to say how much you hate it, but because those comments are almost certainly going to get back to the creator. And when they’ve spent hours over something for no reward other than comments? You’re basically telling them that it’s not worth their time and that they should get out of fandom. Which also happens to be the reason why a lot of fanworks creators have left fandom.

So don’t do it. All you’re doing is making creators feel that their work isn’t good enough and that potentially depriving fandom of their talent.

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Cosmere Blog Highlight: Adonalsium

adonalsium is a blog dedicated to archiving all the incredible fanworks this fandom produces, for both Cosmere and non-Cosmere Brandon Sanderson works. It’s been running for a couple years now, so there’s an impressive amount of creations in its pages!

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The starterfaq might be a help!

I’VE BEEN OBSESSED WITH BRANDON SANDERSON’S WORK FOR 2 YEARS AND ONLY JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THE COSMERE!?!?!

SOMEBODY HELP EXPLAIN THIS WONDERFUL MADNESS TO ME PLEASE

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Hi! Welcome to the fandom! The starterfaq might be useful to you *u*

just finished Words of Radiance from the Stormlight Archive and now I NEED MORE. 

now i hunt stormlight archive fans on tumblr.

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Cosmere Blog Highlight: Cosmere Challenge

cosmerechallenge is a blog which provides monthly or bi-monthly challenges and prompts for the fandom to respond to in any medium, whether art, fic, or something else entirely! It also reblogs all the responses to each challenge. cosmerechallenge is the origin of the yearly cfswf, which is why the fandom competes for the title of fandom monster each July. So if you’re crying, blame them.

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Cosmere Blog Highlight: AskCosmere

askcosmere is an ask blog dedicated to answering some very in depth questions about the Cosmere! They haven’t updated in a while but we’ve been informed that they’ll return to updating very soon. They have also been working on some tricky answers and should hopefully be posting them in the near future.

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Cosmere Blog Highlight: Queercosmere

We’re a day late but in honour of Trans Day of Visibility we decided to make our first Cosmere Blog Highlight about queercosmere. queercosmere is a blog dedicated to "Diversifying the worlds in Brandon Sanderson's writing one headcanon at a time”. They accept submissions for and reblog queer headcanons for cosmere characters. 

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Your Statistics Are Bullshit

Or:  Numerous Reasons Why You Should Stop Acting Like They Have Anything To Do With Roshar*

Or:  you clearly haven’t thought this through and lucky for you, I did.

(* or other fantasy worlds; Roshar is a good model, that’s all.)

SO.  Someone suggested a character in the Stormlight Archive might not be straight or cisgender, did they?  And now you’re going to prove them wrong with numbers.

No, you’re not.

Your numbers are useless, and here’s why:

Read More

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Starter Pack

FAQ - Do you have a question about the Cosmere or its fandom? We might have an answer here!

Pronunciation - Fantasy is full of hard to pronounce names, the cosmere is no different.

Appearance - A helpful guide to what people in the Cosmere look like, and who would appear to the reader as a person of colour.

Ask - If we haven’t answered the question you have, you can ask us here.

Links - A list of Cosmere resources

Fandom Participation - New to fandom and want to participate and interact with others? Here are the multitude of ways you can do that! 

Shipping - For those who are into pairing off characters, here is a list of ship names and some resources

Fandom Etiquette and Definitions - How we can all make sure CFSBF lives up to it’s name

Taboos - What not to do and tips on how to avoid doing so

Spoiler Policy - Rules to make sure you and others don’t get spoiled!

Headcanons - What are they and how can we be nice about them

Ace & Aro - Some definitions and links

Neurodivergence - The cosmere is populated by characters who fall under this category, and many in the fandom too. Here are some definitions. [Spoilery Character List to be written]

Reading Order - You just discovered the Cosmere and want to get your hands on everything but don’t know where to start? There are some suggestions here. We accept reading list submissions!

Booklist - a list of all the Cosmere novels, novellas and short stories

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Cosmere Pronunciation Guide

So this is a thing I’ve been working on for a few months, huh? I figured it was high time someone sat down and tried to punch through some cosmere pronunciations because lots of these names are common questions that come up around the cosmere. I’m by no means the be-all-end-all when it comes to names, but this should at least get you on the right track. 

I’m trying to do both IPA and the sort of pseudo-spelling transcription for all of the names. I do put spaces in my IPA to denote syllables, though I know that’s not standard mostly because I like the way it looks). One of these days I will re-record my pronunciation meme so you all can hear me pronounce these, since most of the ones on my previous recording— expecially the Rosharan names — are out of date. I’ll grab that list though.

(***) Asterisks denote a pronunciation that is confirmed by Brandon Sanderson or Peter Ahlstrom, but that I don’t have audio footage of. Otherwise, I have tried to link to an accurate audio recording where I can. If there’s no asterisks or link, it’s my best guess.

(???) Question marks denote pronunciations I am very unsure of.

Everything else is a best guess on my part, but one that I’m fairly sure of. I’m human and my IPA is a little bit rusty. If you see a mistake here or know that I’ve got a wrong transcription, please send me a message and I’ll update this.

Also this is going to be an ongoing project probably, because I’m going to try to keep this updated as much as possible and as complete as possible. If there’s any words I’m missing that you’d like to see me take a crack at, hit me up.

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Rani's Suggested Reading Order

Hello, this is Rani! I got into Cosmere over the summer. My reading order was basically Way of Kings, and then anything I could get my hands onto.

Still, I thought I should suggest something? Obviously, people can read in whatever order they want. But this is what I like, theoretically.

Way of Kings: Okay, this is my first caveat. Start with Way of Kings if you like big books. I love big books so much, so getting thrown in the cosmere this way was totally fine with me. The positives of starting with this is: you get a sense of Sanderson’s worldbuilding, there isn’t that much complex magic being used, and you get a better introduction to Hoid (who is awesome). If you don’t like big books, jump to the second option and read Way of Kings before Words of Radiance… sometime.

Mistborn (first three): Yes, I am breaking up Way of Kings from Words of Radiance. If I had to suffer the wait, you do too *laughs evilly*. Okay, I do have a reason. Out of the cosmere universes out there, I personally think Mistborn is the easier one to grasp. You get introduced to some of the broader ideas in the cosmere, have an awesome plot to read, and get to play with a cool magic system as well. I think it helps smooth the transition from Way of Kings to Words of Radiance.

Warbreaker: Warbreaker I put in third because, for me, jumping from Way of Kings (which didn’t seem to have much magic) to Warbreaker was a bit confusing. After getting used to Sanderson’s magic system, which is pretty logical and often based on science when possible in Mistborn, some of the terminology used in Warbreaker might have been less jarring for me. It’s a standalone book so far, so technically you could read it right after the first Mistborn book (or, really, whenever). But I like putting it here.

Elantris: And then I end off with one of the more complicated magic systems. Makes sense to do so. Also, I think the transition between Warbreaker and Elantris would be pretty smooth, genre-wise.

Reread Way of Kings if possible and if needed

Words of Radiance: Now, with a slightly better understanding of the cosmere, get ready to delve into the book which starts to really get into that stuff. I would also highly recommend to at least read Warbreaker before reading Words of Radiance.

Mistborn Adventures: I love these books. I do. But reading them at the end means you’ll probably be fresh when the next two books come out (if you’re seeing this before December 2015, at least). Realistically, I put it here because there wasn’t a better spot; you could read it right after Mistborn (which, yes, you should probably finish the first three Mistborn books before reading this). In fact, if you’re reading this after December 2015, I would suggest reading Mistborn Adventures right after Mistborn and before Warbreaker.

After that… the short stories and non-cosmere work. Really, you should read these whenever you can find them or get your hands on them; I’ve really liked all the Sanderson work I’ve gotten my hands onto. I highly suggest reading Emperor’s Soul (which should probably be read after Elantris) and Sixth of Dust at the very least because they have been my favorite cosmere short stories. 

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Avi's Suggested Reading Order

So this is how I got into Brandon. I like to do things mostly chronologically, but I changed it up a little for new readers. I’m also going to include Brandon’s books that aren’t part of the Cosmere, because I think they’re all excellent and in some cases better than the Cosmere ones.

First things first: the Wheel of Time. You may have heard about this 14 book long series of doom. Brandon wrote the last three books, so it counts. You should read them. Also, by the time you finish, Brandon will have like three more books out. Or, read them at the same time as your Cosmere-read, so you end up just inundated with fantasy. The Wheel of Time really is worth it, though, because it was one of Brandon’s biggest influences and you end up seeing a lot of similar ideas. It’s also good prep for eventually reading the Stormlight Archives, which are even bigger than WoT. (if you do read it, read New Spring after Fires of Heaven and River of Souls once you’ve finished the series) (then go join the unreasonably attractive fandom and meet us iN THE PIT)

Next: Mistborn. Start with the original trilogy (Final Empire, Well of Ascension and Hero of Ages) and go straight into Alloy of Law and the rest of its series. This is for maximum impact of the time skip between Hero of Ages and Alloy of Law and the implications thereof. I also feel like Mistborn is a great showcase of Brandon’s strengths and weaknesses and a good intro to shenanigans of the Cosmere.

Then: Elantris. This was his first book, so it’s cool to see where he’d come as a writer between Elantris and Mistborn. It’s also an excellent story, if a bit slow, but you’re unlikely to be as upset at it as you were at Mistborn so it makes a good cooldown. And Sarene > Vin imo (but only by a little). Follow it up with its accompanying short story, the Hope of Elantris.

Next: this is a Pick Two In The Order You Want To Read Them option, with either Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians or The Emperor’s Soul as your choices. Or read the first two Alcatrazes, then the Emperor`s Soul, then the last two Alcatrazes. Alcatraz is not a Cosmere series, and it is definitely a YA book, but it’s also so hilarious you’ll pee yourself. It’s an awesome comedic break from the mindblowingness of the Cosmere (but ngl, it’ll blown your brain too, especially the end). I consider the Emperor’s Soul to be Brandon’s strongest book. It’s very short, but it showcases his Talents in the most effective way possible. You’re in awe, you have feelings, there’s action, you probably even learn new cosmere cuss words. It functions well as a refresher to bring you back to the Cosmere after reading Alcatraz.

Now: the Way of Kings. Yes, it’s a million pages long, but don’t worry, I’m scheduling in a reread of it in here. Brandon even references what you should do to yourself with this book in the second Alcatraz: smack yourself in the face with it because it’s just that huge and also mind blowing. You’re going to be like “what the heck there is so much going on” but don’t worry everyone feels that way about it. You’ll love it though I swear.

Then: Steelheart and Firefight, bracketed by the novellas Sixth of Dusk and Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Heck. Steelheart isn’t Cosmere, so use the novellas to keep you in the fantasy mood after dealing with the horrible metaphors.

After: Warbreaker. You can actually read this first as well, because it’s free on his website so you can try out his style without having to commit. However, it has to be read before you read Words of Radiance for reasons that telling you you have to read it first probably constitute spoilers.

if you need to, reread Way of Kings here.

Penultimately: Words of Radiance. We’re gonna smack you in the face again with another 1000 page book, but hey, maybe by the time you get to this (especially if you went and read WoT) the next book, Stones Unhallowed* will be out and you won’t have to suffer. So long as you read this after Warbreaker you’re good. Also, you will most likely end up putting the book down and yelling at it for making you sad/angry/experience unwanted emotions, so I suggest using that time to go read Brandon’s delightful short story, I Hate Dragons. It’s all the funniness of the entire Alcatraz series crammed into about three chapter. It’ll make you feel better about whatever just happened.

Last: go read anything you haven’t yet, including the Rithmatist and any short stories we haven’t gotten to; Centrifugal, Defending Elysium, Firstborn, Dreamer, andMitosis and the Infinity Blade novellas if those are your thing. End with Legion and its sequel Legion: Skin Deep as a short but amazing capstone to your reading of everything we can find of Brandon’s ever.

Last last, plan a trip to Utah to either hunt Brandon down (his class meets at 6:30pm on Thursdays at the Joseph F Smith Building at BYU, room B112 also his middle name starts with a W and he only teachers winter semester) or visit the library here, as he has some unpublished works in our Special Collections area that you could probably read in one sitting. Plus, you can plan your trip for when there’s a midnight book release/signing at our bookstore, so you even get to meet him!

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Rusty's Reading Order

ok kids this is how you probably SHOULDN’T do it, but here’s my reading order

Way of Kings - took roughly three months, blasted through the last hundred pages in about a week. FUN STUFF

Words of Radiance - took a weekend. it was a wild ride it was like my blood was replaced with caffeine. exhilarating but would not especially recommend

Mistborn: Final Empire - took maybe a week

Mistborn: Well of Ascension - took substantially less than a week

start reading way of kings again because you love annotating and pain, and because you ran out of book money so you can’t get hero of ages

Mistborn: Hero of Ages - took about five solid hours, all in one go. would not recommend if you have heart problems due to very high hype levels

Mistborn: Alloy of Law - took a few days

Warbreaker: forgot how long it took but i read it on the website. also started reading between well of ascension and alloy of law

Elantris: took a week or thereabouts, while annotating

start rereading words of radiance because you finally finished annotating way of kings

reread and annotate alloy of law while procrastinating the words of radiance reread

annotate warbreaker too while you’re at it

reread way of kings again

and words of radiance

really gotta read emperor’s soul