Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

I love Brandon Sanderson books. He is an excellent author and storyteller. The worlds that he creates are amazing and the characters in them make you want to read more and more about each. This is a great collection of his novellas and introductions/glimpses into some of the worlds of the cosmere.

This book is worth reading for any Cosmere fan. You get to see how the seemingly disjoint magic systems of these various worlds all have the same common base in the Shards. Plus, you get to read s new Brandon Sanderson book, which is always a treat.

I love the fact that it helps bring the entire universe of all three planes of existence and all shards and how they impact all three planes. Very deep story development in a very fun way. The multi media aspect of it is great as well.

For those familiar, these stories complement nicely his existing works. They add depth, and are really fun.

For those new to Sanderson, many of these stories would serve as great introductions, however, you'll want to wait to read the Mistborn story here until after you've read the first three novels. It won't make sense and it will spoil what I consider a great resolution.

Loved this little compilation! It's nice to get all these novelettes in one book to read all at once! I've loved reading Brandon Sanderson's books from the very beginning. And now that I've read pretty much everything I can get my hands this far, I excitedly jumped at the chance to read something new (Edgedancer).

Brings the Cosmere into focus. I never knew it existed before but felt there were some synchronises (real word) :) in Brandon's different stories. These stories explain this and are generally a good read in their own right.

I recommend this book to readers who are already fans of Sanderson's Cosmere novels. While the short stories and novellas can stand alone, they are much more satisfying when read in the larger context of Sanderson's larger works.

Even if you own most of the already released stories, arcanum is well worth the price. The introductions add a feel to the greater realm of cosmere and the new stories are written with a master's pen.

Arcanum Unbounded fills in several gaps in the cosmere stories. It also opens more than a few doors. Mr. Sanderson is going to be selling books for a very long time. I suspect that all roads lead to Roshar.

I’m a huge fan of Sanderson’s work, and I love that the stories and the other stuff in this anthology give such a great deep dive into the lore, history, and size of the cosmere. Definitely worth a few dozen reads.

Such a great companion to the Cosmere novels! Sanderson's short stories are fantastic, and to have them all collected together and paired with commentary on the Cosmere itself is just fantastic. Well worth the read.

My husband hid my copy when it came in an attempt to read it first (I've read everything but he still hasn't read Elantris...so I won the battle). We love BranSan, and Arcanum Unbounded is another book we can't wait to share with the friends we've introduced to the cosmere.

Brandon Sanderson is a force of nature who manages to put out huge volumes of high quality fantasy every year. This collection of short stories is a great way to learn some more about the universe that Sanderson's stories exist in, the Cosmere. It has shorts from some planets we have not visited, and some that are set on the planets his major series take place on.

Sanderson really adds to his already existing foundation of stories with wonderful background additions to further bring them to life. Also we get to see a new addition to his sphere of planescapes with an original story that presents to us another facet of his writing talent. Well done.

This compilation of novellas works really well to tie together Sanderson's larger pieces of work. You get to explore different parts of the world's he has crafted and learn the stories that took place outside the larger books. He also has a postscript for each story which gives a neat commentary.

My fascination with the Cosmere started with Mistborn but expanded quickly. This collection has a couple stories I had read previously, and several more that I hadn't. As a fan it's good to learn more about worlds and characters I've already grown to love, and find new loves along the way.

This is a book for Brandon Sanderson nerds. If you're new to Brandon Sanderson, I recommend starting with the first Mistborn trilogy, starting with Mistborn: The Final Empire. If you're a Sanderson nerd like me, what more is there to say than that this book contains secrets that you will want to know?!

Bought this chiefly for the Stormlight Archive story, but ended up enjoying several others in this book. Mr. Sanderson does a great job of getting the reader to invest in his characters as well as making you feel like you are immersed in his fantasy world.

While most of the stories in this volume can be found in other places, the new Edgedancer short story makes this a worthwhile purchase and read. The system descriptions are also fantastic and full to bursting with clues and foreshadowings on further events on multiple worlds.

I appreciate that Brandon and team put together all the short stories. They, are, as usual, quite excellent. Edgedancer also does a great job of showing more of the Stormlight world while following a fun and unique character.

Edgedancer definitely gets me hooked again and ready for Oathbringer...and the short essays on the planets are sprinkled with little tidbits veterans of the cosmere will find interesting. I had already read all the old shorts and novellas but it was well worth reading again!

Amazing collection of works from a spectacular author. If you're a fan of Sanderson, you have probably read a majority of these pieces elsewhere. However, the Stormlight story to finish the book is worth every penny.

I bought this book as a pre-order on the store. When it arrived I was thrilled to see all that it entailed. I especially liked how its a collection of a lot of Brandon Sanderson's smaller stories including several of his newest released items like white sands. After looking at it I only had a small inkling of sadness that the white sands were in black and white instead of color. It doesn't make the book less then expected I guess I would have preferred it so I don't have to buy White sands separately however it is amazing and even has a new story never before released. A great gift for anyone who likes fantasy and if they are a Brandon Sanderson fan then it is a must have.

I love Sanderson, the Stormlight Archive (best series out there with the possible exception of Lynch's "Gentleman Bastards"), is amazing. That being said, I don't really like Lift. She seems like a cheap copy of Wayne who I also don't like. They have the same mannerisms, dislike rich types, etc. I don't mind authors recycling characters usually, but Lift/Wayne annoy me. "Shadows for Silence etc"and "Sixth of the Dust" are my favorite stories so of course Sanderson seems ambivalent about expanding those worlds. All in all a great book/read, can't wait for the new "Stormlight Archieve" and Sanderson, stop writing characters like Lift and Wayne. You do great with character development except the eccentric supposedly humorous types.

This is a collection of short stories, so one shouldn't expect a single narrative with a complete arc (build-up and pay off).

Having said that, I think Brandon Sanderson shines in short stories. In particular, those which aren't appendices to his other completed series (which feel like commentary to me and involve too much fan gratification) but rather standalones: he comes up with the most interesting points and snappy ways of delivering them. I like The Emperor's Soul, Shadows for Silence and Sixth of the Dusk all a lot (I would also recommend you lookup Firstborn and Defending Elysium).

I wish I was in your position and hadn't already read most of these stories. If I could wipe my memory and read these stories fresh again, I'd be so happy! These stories are so interesting with complex characters and excellent settings. This would be a great way to introduce someone to Brandon's Cosmere universe for Christmas!

I like Mr Sanderson's work and read most of the books he writes. While I know the Mist world series is very popular with his fans, I am "misted out". This volume had a few short Mist stories. That's why I gave it a 3 instead of a 4. Also, I like his longer books much better than the novelettes. That's why I would have rated it a 4 instead of a 5.

A collection of excerpts from novellas and novels alike. All existing in the same universe. All connected in one way or another.
Now, don't go thinking this is everything crammed into one book. No, no. Not quite. You're not exactly reading all, or nor in their entirety, of Sanderson's books here, but his "excerpts," shortstories, novellas. The Emperor's Soul is not in its complete form here, only it's excerpts. If anything its a shorter version of the novel itself with chapters cut out for faster pace. Granted, however; I have not read the Emperor's Soul yet. The graphic novel White Sand is the same thing, as well as Elantris. If you were expecting to read everything in their entirety, then don't buy this book. You could be disappointed.
Regardless, I did find Arcanum Unbounded to be enjoyable. I haven't read many of Brandon's novels. Stormlight Archive being the only one so far. So it was nice to get a taste of his other books. Arcanum discusses the Cosmere, the author's universe, and the different forms of magic in each of the planets that dot it. It gives nice little explanations of each planet before the story within them. Brandon's magic is new and refreshing from the standard elemental or -mancing types of magic that are rampant in most, if not all, fantasy/fiction novels. From Forgery, copying objects by transforming something else with Soul Stamps, to Surgebinding the gravitational forces for Lashings on yourself to fall through the sky or move other objects in the environment.
Chapters of Mistborn that have not been included with the novels are present here in the point of view of Kelsier. Without going too far, two of the Sixteen Shards of Adonalsium are discussed here. Don't read that part if you haven't read the Mistborn series yet. The debut of the Stormlight Archives' novella Edgedancer is also in the collection. I really enjoyed Lift's character in her interlude chapter in Words of Radiance. It was great to read her own novella of her unique perspective. I hope to read much much more of her in the future Stormlight books.

For a person who has read most or all of Brandon Sanderson's novels, Arcanum Unbounded delivers very little to the table. Oh, sure. Mistborn's new chapters of Kelsier and Edgedancer are new, but thats about it. But to a person who HASN'T read most of them, then this is a decent book to try out or get a taste of his various novels to read later. Several novels are on my list now thanks to Arcanum Unbounded.
Regardless if you've bought this book already or not, I do recommend for you to just go buy Brandon's novels to not only enjoy them (which I know you will) but to chase after Hoid. It's pretty fun that way if you choose to, althought it isn't necessary to enjoy each of the novels. They are wonderfully separate in their own right.

How is the Kindle version of this book more expensive than the Hardcover version? Who is driving this price gouging, the publisher or the store? Isn't affordability supposed to be one of the major benefits of Kindle books?

I'm turning into a Brandon Sanderson fan. I read his two Stormlight novels and really enjoyed them. Since the third doesn't seem to be coming out any time soon, I thought I'd explore several worlds of the Cosmere, the magical universe connecting many of his stories, and this collection of stories from several different worlds seemed like a good place to start. I enjoyed the first story in this collection a lot, but at the start of the second, he cautions that there are some spoilers with respect to the Elantris series. Do I really want to read two or three 600 page novels so as to avoid the spoilers in one particular story?

I read this for the Stormlight story, which is fantastic and makes the wait till November even more difficult. But I can honestly say all the other short stories are just as good. I loved everyone of them. I was especially captivated with the world building of the Cosmere Brandon included with each new world. If you enjoy reading Brandon, and have already read Stormlight, Mistborn and Elantris, I highly recommend this. Of course if you have already read those you were already going to read this anyways.

Just finishing this volume of Sanderson shorter stories and novellas. I love them, but then I have loved everything I have read by him. This is the 16th book I have by him in my library. That includes one I am listening to. This collection takes you to planets all over his Cosmere. All stories tie to each other in a slender fashion. The violence is not graphic and if there is true sexual content I don't remember it.

This book is a must have for fans of Brandon Sanderson's cosmere novels. It has great tie-ins and expansion to some previous novels. If you haven't read Sanderson's other cosmere novels, order them along with this one. Read them first and then read this one as it is a collection of short stories, some of which are more enjoyable if you have read the novels first.

A great collections of Novellas and Short Stories that give you a little insight on the Cosmere of Brandon Sanderson. I would highly recommend NOT to read this until you have read all of the Mistborn Series, Stormlight Archives and Elantris to date. As it contains spoilers for these series. I think my favorite short story was Shadows of Silence in the Forest of Hell. It was a great thrill to read and I hope that Brandon Sanderson revisits this story. Quickly followed up by EdgeDancer as Lift is my favorite character from the Stormlight Series other than Jasnah.

Every single story started with me stepping uncomfortably into a new world with characters that I am not sure that I will like.

Every single story ends with me reluctantly stepping away from that world of characters whom I have grown to love.

To pass on this collection of stories is to miss out on some amazing journeys.

If you're like me and read everything Sanderson writes, you've already read around 500 pages of this book. They should have sold the new novella separately for around 5-10usd . Just a way for the publisher to make money by republishing old stuff.

I like the authors major works, but this is just a mishmash of stuff that doesn't really fit together in any discernible way, except be being part of a huge, loosely connected universe. It didn't really add anything to any of the stories I've read but it did get me interested in one that I didn't. The rest was just like jumping into part of a world that I didn't know, which goes against all of the best things about sanderson's 1000+ page books.

This is good for supporting the author but I didn't enjoy the reading much.

This book has the usual great Brandon Sanderson writing and story telling, no complaints there. However, a good chunk of the book is duplicate content, stories I've bought before. Given the price of the book I was expecting all new content.

Ah, the Cosmere. No living author has so successfully created a multiverse as Brandon Sanderson, or come up with such wildly varying worlds to fill it with.

And given how prolific the man is, it's not surprising that -- in addition to his many novels -- he's also produced a string of novellas and short stories set in his Cosmere worlds. And finally, they can all be found together in "Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection," which strings together every story in the Cosmere thus far that can't be used to prop up a couch, from the Hugo Award-winning "The Emperor's Soul" to a brand new novella. To a fan of Sanderson's work, this is like a box of fine chocolates.

The stories are arranged according to the worlds they are set in, with most of them being in the Scadrian System (the world of Mistborn) and two of them set in the Selish System (the world of "Elantris" and "The Emperor's Soul"). These stories tend to be strongly attached to the novels Sanderson has written in their worlds, such as a story about Raoden hearing what Ashe was getting up to during the battle for Elantris; the post-death adventures of Kelsier; and his Allomancy training under Gemmel and his first true battle.

But there are other stories that stand more alone -- a master forger is called upon to create an artificial soul for the assassinated emperor; the invasion an island where magical birds grant powers to their masters; and an awe-inspiring bounty hunter in a haunted forest who seeks a legendary assassin. It also contains an excerpt of the "White Sand" graphic novel, and the prose draft that inspired it -- a story about Kenton, a young man determined to be a sand master.

And yes, there's a new novella here: "Edgedancer," set in the world of Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series. Lift and her spren Wyndle leave the palace unexpectedly, and end up in the underground city of Yeddaw (which allegedly has ten varieties of "awesome pancakes"). But of course, the city also has the dangerous man she calls Darkness -- and when he learns that she's there, Lift finds herself enmeshed in a new and deadly situation.

In addition to the stories themselves, Sanderson writes an introduction where he describes his early writing career and the inspiration of the Cosmere, and a postscript where he discusses its concepts and publication history. For instance, for "The Emperor's Soul," he discusses how Korean stamps were a shaping influence on the tale. And before each new world is explored, he includes a brief overview of the planet, its quirks, and the Shards that have shaped it.

Brandon Sanderson's fictional worlds are always very complicated and imaginative, and anything smaller than a doorstopper tends to leave you desperately craving a fuller exploration of whatever world the story takes place in. So "Arcanum Unbounded" makes an outstanding accompaniment to his novels -- some of the stories further flesh out those novels ("Mistborn: Secret History"), while others take the readers to entirely new worlds ("Shadows For Silence In The Forest Of Hell").

And honestly, almost all of the stories are outstanding, with "Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania" being the one mediocre tale of the bunch. They show the wide variety of magics that Sanderson's fertile imagination is able to conjure, his robust writing style with plenty of detail, and his nimble wit ("please don't get yourself killed. It would be traumatic. Why, I think it would take me months and months to get over it!"). Each story winds through at a fairly quick pace, with some dark twists (Kelsier being trapped in the Well) woven into their fabric.

And his characters are a thoroughly likable bunch. Some -- like Kelsier, Ashe, Raoden and Lift -- are from the novels he's written, and these stories allow for greater fleshing-out of their personalities. But just as engaging are the new characters he introduces, such as the practical Dusk, the butt-kicking innkeeper/bounty-hunter Silence, and and the clever and cunning Shai.

"Arcanum Unbounded" is an essential accompaniment to Sanderson's Cosmere tales -- when he isn't building on his previous works, he's crafting new tales in richly-imagined worlds. A delight for fantasy fans.

I’m kind of skipping the blurb this time, since this is a collection of short stories.

So, Brandon Sanderson’s The Arcanum Unbounded is an interesting book both as it is written and for what it is. Unfortunately it also relies pretty heavily on the reader not only being a fan of Sanderson’s work but also having read all of his previous works. That more than kind of cools me on the book, though it is more or less exactly what’s on the label. This is going to be a bit of a weird one.

There are two big issues that I have with Arcanum Unbounded. The reliance on the reader having read everything in Sanderson’s Cosmere is the lesser of the two. The more major issue I have is his habit of including an afterword on the stories, on its own it wouldn’t be too bad but as part of this particular book it clashes terribly with the framing device introduced at the beginning and make the book very easy to put down. A pretty easy fix for this would have been removing either the framing device, which ties the book together as a concept, or the afterwords, which feel a little like reading the author’s blog rather than a book. I’m much more interested in the framing device, that someone has collected these story bits from all over the Cosmere, because it ties in. But I’m also a “death of the author” kind of reader and feel like if the author has to explain something outside of the story itself, then it isn’t written well enough. Obvious biases are, in fact, obvious.

The issue of it feeling like everything else prior to this is required reading bounces around a bit. The first story is by far my favorite and feels like a whole entity unto itself, I don’t feel lost for details and could enjoy myself freely. It’s immediately followed by a short story set towards the end of Elantris that, having not read that novel, I was completely lost on which made it feel super long and just draining to get through. It’s not bad in most of the stories but, combined with the afterwords, can feel tiresome.

That said, the stylistic choices made were interesting and in several stories it felt like the author was having fun with the writing. The novella about the Survivor was great once I got into it and it started feeling like its own thing instead of a spin on something else. So this is ultimately a pretty mixed bag for me. The writing is solid throughout, but then the plotting is overly referential. The stories that stand alone are a ton of fun, but then others feel like fragments of something bigger.

At the end of the day, I give Arcanum Unbounded a three out of five. If you’re a big fan of Sanderson’s you’ll probably enjoy it immensely. If not, maybe check it out from the library first or give one of his other books a shot.

A great collection of short stories and novellas in the cosmere, the larger setting that links many of Brandon Sanderson's individual book series like Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson plans for these series to eventually intersect directly, and there have been growing hints of the behind-the-scenes cosmere business in his latest novels, but this collection openly canonizes for the first time the fact that so many of his stories take place in one larger shared universe. Most of these stories have been published individually before, but it's nice to have them collected in one place, and reading them all together emphasizes the cosmere connections that they share (helped along with new introductory materials from the perspective of a cosmere inhabitant exploring the various worlds).

As a whole, Arcanum Unbounded is not a good introduction to Sanderson or the cosmere, as several of the stories either require context from his finished novels or spoil major plot elements thereto. The individual stories White Sand, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, Sixth of the Dusk, and The Emperor's Soul stand alone just fine, and in fact I still consider the last of these to be one of Sanderson's finest, most moving pieces. But the other stories in this anthology should only be read after Elantris, the first Mistborn trilogy, and the first two Stormlight books at a minimum. For any Sanderson fan who is caught up on those cosmere novels, this collection is an essential addition to our understanding of the larger plot, filled with Brandon's trademark inventive worldbuilding and magical systems in addition to important Mistborn and Stormlight happenings. It may only be for hardcore fans, but it certainly delivers to that audience.

Fans of Brandon Sanderson and his Cosmere universe will be excited by this anthology which goes far to explain Sanderson's thinking and planning for his writing as one of science fiction/fantasy's premier authors. The book is a collection of riches. There are nine novellas and short stories, a graphic novel excerpt as well as illustrations of each selection.

Some of these selections have been published at Tor over the years. There is an all-new novella from the Stormlight world as well as a Mistborn novella that has never been in print before. Collected here together, they are a treasure trove for Sanderson fans.

My personal favorite was the first selection, The Emperor's Soul, which is taken from the world of Sanderson's first novel, Elantris. In it, the Emperor has been attacked and his mind left a void. If word of his condition leaks, there will be pandemonium and dire consequences. The emperor's advisers decide to take a gamble. They reach into the dungeons and bring up a witch named Shai. She has been imprisoned for forging a national treasure. The advisers make a bargain with Shai. If she can restore the emperor she can have her freedom. She is given three months. Neither side trusts the other and each schemes to accomplish their own goals within this massive task. This novella won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2013.

Each story is intricate and shows evidence of the careful planning behind it as well as revealing another slice of the universe Sanderson has created. His first well-known trilogy was the Mistborn novels. Sanderson was chosen to finish Robert Jordan's Wheel Of Time series when he was unable to do so. He is currently working on the Stormlight Archives world. One of the most fascinating facts is that Sanderson had started planning and populating these worlds that make up the Cosmere universe as early as his high school days. The complex interconnected universe is an example of the best fantasy writing to be found today. This book is recommended for Sanderson fans as well as fantasy/science fiction writers.

Arcanum Unbounded... a treasure trove of Cosmere information.

When I bought this book, I had actually already read most of the stories within. There were a couple very short Mistborn stories that I hadn't yet read, and Edgedancer of course (the reason I bought it), but for the most part I had already read them. Sixth of the Dusk, Emperor's Soul, Shadows for Silence, etc. All great Cosmere stories collected here for your reading pleasure.

As I mentioned, the main draw for me was Edgedancer. Which was excellent and definitely worth the buy. I was also pleasantly surprised at the little 'system intros' written in-world by Khriss. To explain, the stories in this book are separated by planet. Meaning all the stories that take place in a certain star system in the Cosmere are grouped together (ex: first you have the Elantris stories on Sel, and there are the Mistborn stories on Scadrial, Edgedancer takes place Roshar, etc.) So before each of these sections there is a little overview of that star system; it lists what the system is like, what the planets are like in terms of size and gravity, which Shards may be present or were once present in the system, and even has a little star map. Things of that nature. To any Cosmere geek, this may not all be brand new info, but it is (as far as I'm aware) the first time that this type of information has been put down in print by the man himself. I thought it was really cool, and exciting, that this sort of information was being catalogued.

These are still, for the most part, just side stories. And frankly completely unnecessary to enjoy Brandon's main series. But for any fan of his books this is well worth picking up. Consider it 4.5 stars, as maybe half of the stories within are 4-star stories, and some others are 5. Edgedancer is a 5 star, as is Secret History, and the system intros are fantastic.

Reader thoughts:
What a huge short book! The collection was more than just a bunch of short stories. It had a page or so of commentary for each one, how it fit into the cosmere universe, and why/how Sanderson wrote it.

I didn't quite pay attention to what I was getting here, and I bought Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell at the same time. Oops. I also already owned The Emperor's Soul and Secret History, although not in audio format. Oh, well. Sanderson books are worth owning twice.

Eight Sanderson sized novellas? No wonder this book is so big.

My favorite two were Allomancer Jak (we get such great footnotes and a fun tale that sounds like the wild west, except with allomancy and koloss) and Edgedancer (we get to hear more about Lift and her awesomeness even as she "avoids" responsibility!).

Actually, I'm really glad Sanderson revisited Lift. She was one of my favorite side characters, and I'm really happy we're going to see more of her later, even if it's not until Stormlight 4 (gar, I hope Sanderson lives long enough to finish this series). I love Lift's voice and her talents, both that she can slick herself with awesome and that she can turn food into awesomeness (aka, stormlight). I love how much she pretends to just be in the city to eat pancakes, but she's really there to save someone's life. I totally empathize with her desire to not grow up. I love it.

Writer thoughts:
Sanderson broke the mold on a few of these stories. Allomancer Jak is particularly different. It had more footnotes than The Dark Talent. I love that nearly half the book is commentary by Jak's close friend (or his writer? His assistant who researches his life?). Anyway, this friend inserts his own ideas into Jak's version of events, pointing out plot holes and impossibilities (like the fact that Jak licking the cave wouldn't help him find enough tin to burn).

What other book does this? Why did Sanderson do it this way?

Here's what he gains. Well, it allows him to use two distinct voices. 1, a fun and completely unreliable narrator, and 2, a trusted but dusty-voiced commentator. Also, it lets him catch the audience up on the story (since we only see episodes 28 through 30) and hear a little about Jak's audience (since the commentator refers to them frequently). In this way, we get a more complete tale than Jak would have given us by himself, and we can laugh at Jak along with his commentator.

Nine short(ish) story. Some marvelous, some meh.
Disclaimer: I didn't read the 1st Mistborn series, but I read the 2nd, while I read 2nd Stormlight book but not the 1st.

"The Emperor's Soul" was breathlessly fabulous. Forging a painting, forging the Emperor's scepter, does it prepare a crook to forge the most impossible thing?

“Sixth of Dusk” was a native dealing with an imperialist apologist, but who is the worst guy? The end twist is amazing.

"White Sand" comes in 2 versions: graphic & prose. Amazing story, I want a sequel.

“Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Epsiodes 28 through 30” is an over-the-top penny-dreadful adventure where the heroic hero heroically gets through amazingly adventurous adventures, like leaping off a cliff into an overflowing river. Or like tucking his notes into his waterproof pocket, then writing the last paragraph, then jumping into the river - nice writing trick. The footnotes on this story, written by his valet, are utterly hilarious, don't read it in public. *snicker*

The last story, whose name I can't remember, focuses on pancakes. Because pancakes are important! Also a Mistborn kid runs away form the palace and feeds the hungry and foils an assassin. She also finds another Mistborn and the meaning of life while she's at it, but PANCAKES.

I’m a huge fan of pretty much everything Brandon Sanderson writes. I think it’s especially cool that many of his books are set on different planets in the same universe (the “Cosmere”), and that he plans to connect them all into an overarching story in the future. So when I found out that there was a Cosmere short fiction collection coming out, I was really excited to get it (even though I’ve already read many of the stories in it.)

First, I’ll talk about the book’s structure. I thought it would just be organized like a regular short story collection, but it actually has more. There are in-universe write ups (written by Khriss, the same woman who writes the Ars Arcanum at the end of all Brandon’s other books) about each planetary system featured in the book and how the magic there works. I’ve read a lot of Cosmere theories and interviews by Brandon about the Cosmere, and there’s quite a bit of information in these that has not been covered anywhere yet. Also, there are gorgeous illustrations for each story, and postscripts by Brandon about how the story came to be.

There’s one new novella in this book that has never been published before – Edgedancer, which is set in the world of the Stormlight Archive and features Lift, who we’ve met in an interlude in Words of Radiance. The Stormlight Archive is probably my favorite series by Brandon, so I was particularly excited to read this story, and of course it did not disappoint. It offers great moments of character growth, and it seems like it will be important to understand how a particular character’s attitude changes between Words of Radiance and the upcoming third book. Plus, Lift is a great character and I’d love to keep reading about her. Also, we see a few new things about Roshar, I wasn’t expecting more worldbuilding and answers from such a short story. My only complaint is that now I really, really cannot wait a year for the next book.

There were two other stories that were new to me, although they have been published previously in the Mistborn RPG books – The Eleventh Metal and Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania. They were fun stories, I enjoyed The Eleventh Metal a bit more because it featured Kelsier, and who doesn’t love Kelsier? Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania was a nice homage to pulp adventure, though.

I did reread all the stories I’d read previously as well. I absolutely love The Emperor’s Soul, I think it’s a really great standalone novella, and the fact that it’s set in the same world as Elantris and that it ties into the Cosmere just makes it better. The Hope of Elantris is a very simple story, but it’s cute, and it’s nice to see some of the backstory of what secondary characters were up to during the climax of Elantris. Mistborn: Secret History is pretty cool, I think it’s one of the first ones to actually delve directly into what’s going on with the Cosmere a little bit. I don’t want to say too much about it because even the protagonist’s name is a spoiler.

I guess White Sand will be new to a lot of readers, but it’s one of Brandon’s unpublished books that you can email him to get a copy of, and I’ve done that. It’s being published as a graphic novel series now, and the book excerpts both the graphic novel and the beginning of the unpublished book. I was afraid that the excerpt wouldn’t be satisfying enough by itself, but I think it manages to tell a good and complete story.

I first read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell in George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois’ anthology Dangerous Women, and I love it. Threnody is a fascinating world, and the characters are different from the ones Brandon usually writes – darker and more serious. Sixth of the Dusk also has a very un-Brandon-like protagonist (someone who has trouble articulating himself), and the world is in a very interesting period as it evolves into the industrial age, prodded along by spacefaring humans. I think both of these stories are the most atmospheric in the book and I’d love to hear more from their world and characters in the future.

Overall, I’d highly recommend this collection. I think most of the stories would work for someone unfamiliar with Brandon Sanderson’s other work and the Cosmere just as well – the only ones I’d be iffy about are Mistborn: Secret History, which is set during the original Mistborn trilogy and probably doesn’t have much impact without reading it, and The Hope of Elantris, which is likewise set during Elantris.

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson is by far the best best collection of short fiction by a single author that I have read. There is no denying that Brandon Sanderson is an amazing author, but every single story in this collection really helps showcase that talent.

I think Arcanum Unbounded is the perfect book for anyone who is a fan of Brandon Sandersons and is looking for something to tide them over until his next major release. It’s a fantastic collection of short stories and novellas set on almost every Cosmere world he has written so far, with the exception of Warbreaker, as well as a number of worlds we haven’t had a chance to visit yet.

While the majority of the stories in the collection have been published before, there is plenty of new information contained within to make it worth purchasing. We get some awesome star charts of every Cosmere world featured in the collection as well as a brief introduction to each of them. There is a lot of Cosmere related information contained within these introductions and I think people will be dissecting them quite a bit over the next few months.

I was originally going to review every story in this collection until I realized I would probably have to write my own novel just to cover them all. So I will only talk about the one novella that I was most excited to read, which is probably the same one that everyone else is looking forward to the most. Edgedancer. I actually put off reading Edgedancer for almost two weeks just because I knew that once it was over that was it, there would be no more new Stormlight stories to read for another year. I’m glad I finally caved in and read it however.

Edgedancer is definitely the best story in the entire collection. Lift has always been one of my favorite characters in the entire Cosmere, and I think Edgedancer does an excellent job of showing just why that is so. She’s such a fun character to read about and it’s fascinating to watch her evolve and grow as a person throughout the story as she tried to figure out just who she wants to be and what she wants to do with her life. Lift’s interlude was great, but in Edgedancer we get some deeper insight into just who Lift is and how she acquired some of her unique abilities. We also get a look at some parts of Roshar we haven’t visited yet and may not really see in the main books, which is always interesting.

So, to briefly recap for anyone who didn’t make it through my wall of text — Arcanum Unbounded is a book I think everyone should buy. It’s more than just a collection of short stories and novellas, it really gives us a deeper look into the inner workings of the Cosmere. I highly recommend that people read the rest of Brandons books before picking up a copy as some of the stories are full of spoilers.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Generally I don’t purchase collections of stories from authors. But as with everything else Brandon Sanderson (BS) I break away from my normal habits and feel good about it.

Why is this collection of stories worth purchasing if you have most of the stories in it already?

Duh, because it is Brandon Sanderson. But no really. He didn’t just throw a bunch of stuff he has already written in a book just to make more money. These stories all have one thing in common. They are all happening in the Cosmere so in some later way they will be connected.

Khriss (a worldhopping scholar that has shown up in various Sanderson books) does an intro into each of the stories in a new system giving a brief overview of the shards present in that system and the type of magic system happening there. If you are a geek like me these intros both answered some questions while raising others. You don’t have to be deep into the cosmere aspect of BS’s writing to enjoy his books but if you are this is just an added bonus.

After each story is a postscript written by BS that explains why this was a story he decided to write and maybe some of the ideas behind it. My favorite postscript was for Hope of Elantris (HoE). (view spoiler) It was a very interesting story and of course he tells it better but I liked where the inspiration came from.

The other great thing is additional artwork that is included at the beginning of every story. In addition there is a map of the solar system indicating where every planet is and the constellations they are attached to. I again bow down to the forethought and planning that has gone into the massive worldbuilding that has been done up to this point for the Cosmere it is really staggering. There is always something a little extra for those who read Sanderson and he delivers here as well.

I had read most of the stories in this book so I will only be officially reviewing Edgedancer

I loved Lift in the interlude of Words of Radiance (WoR). Her character and story was one that interested me a lot. She is so different than anyone else that we have yet seen with a spren. In fact she doesn’t even acknowledge that her spren is in fact a spren, instead she calls him a Voidbringer all the time. I find her irreverence and childishness sort of refreshing.

So after coming into some of her power in WoR she has lived in the palace with her good friend Gawx but apparently it is time to go.

*** ”Oh mistress,” he said “Can’t we stop playing out here, please?” We need to get back to the Azimir!”
“Go back?” Lift stood up. “We just escaped that place!”
“Escaped! The palace? Mistress, you were an honored guest of the emperor! You had everything you wanted, as much food, as much –“
“All lies,” she declared hands on her hips. “To keep me from noticin’ the truth. They was going to eat me.” ****

Lift has always had a very different view of the world and that hasn’t changed any in this novella. She is definitely one in a million and has decided to set off to find someone or something. I was a bit shocked to learn it was Darkness himself.

The best thing about this novella besides Lift is getting a little insight into what Nalan (a.k.a. Darkness), Szeth and Nightblood (favorite sentient sword ever) are up to after the events in WoR. But not only that there is the introduction of ‘The Sleepless’ and some hints dropped about the Heralds and their madness along with who Nightwatcher might be.

I really don’t want to give too much away but this is a story that lets you see Lift’s transition from semi obnoxious pre-teen being blown around by the wind to someone who might just be an important force that everyone has underestimated up to this point.

*** "We watch the others. The assassin. The surgeon. The liar. The highprince. But not you. The others all ignore you … and that, I hazard to predict, is a mistake.” ***

There are novellas between books that are just extra and I don’t think you need to read them to carry on with the story but with what we learn about Szeth and Darkness along with the Sleepless I think this is one that is a must read before the next Stormlight book.

In a perfect world BS will release Edgedance as a single before Oathbringer but I haven’t heard anything about that at this time. Still if you can find a copy you need to read it first.

Other Reviews

Secret History (Mistborn 6.5) ★★★★★

The Emperor’s Soul ☆☆☆☆☆

Sixth of Dusk ★★★★

Shadows of Silents in the Forests of Hell ☆☆☆

Hope of Elantis – Review to Come ★★★

The Eleventh Metal – Review to Come ☆☆☆☆

Allomancer Jack and the Pits of Elantia, Episodes twenty-Eight Through Thirty – Review to Come (the commentary was super funny) ★★★★

White Sands – Review to Come ☆☆☆☆

This is a collection of stories, some not so short, set in Sanderson's Shard Worlds.
Once again I will lament over the fact that here is another excellent author whose work has escaped my radar. In all fairness to my self, I try not to be obsessive in my reading and I try to have something in my life besides books. Grand kids, wives, family all intrude upon reading 24/7. So maybe not knowing Sanderson's work isn't a major faux pax. I am not normally fond of collections, I like meaty, full throttle books. This book however surprised me and I really enjoyed it. Describing the work is difficult, particularly when there is reference to the full books with which the short stories are connected.

The Emperor's Soul was sufficiently long to really get into it. Sanderson provided the necessary character complexity to be able to relate to the Forger. She became alive and thus well worth following. The story stood alone quite well.

The Hope of Elantris was good but not as satisfying. It stood alone OK but did not provide enough depth.

Reviewing a book of short stories does not mean reviewing each story in the book. Some of them stood alone quite well and others really could use more length to make them appealing.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and will seek out Sanderson's full works.

I liked the interludes between stories that provided a look into the author's psychic.

Brandon Sanderson’s first short (well, shortish) story collection has something for everyone: new readers looking for shorter entries into his work, deep fans seeking clues to the larger story unfolding behind the scenes, writers and listeners to Sanderson’s craft-oriented podcast looking for insight into his process—it’s all there. Plus some stuff we’re not so sure about.

But first, the goods: of the nine pieces collected here, four are solid gold novellas, excellent examples of why Sanderson is one of the best-selling authors in fantasy. The worlds are imaginative, the magic systems unique and engaging, the characters spunky and well-motivated, and the plots wring all the excitement and surprises they can from those elements. Maybe the best is the first piece, The Emperor’s Soul, involving a girl imprisoned for her forbidden (stamp-based) magical skills, plotting not only to save her life but engineer her escape under ever steeper time constraints. Sixth of the Dusk is a tropical romp with psychic birds and steampunk colonialists; Shadows for Silence is a clever woman’s solution to family and economic strains in a ghost-haunted forest; and Mistborn: Secret History is probably a good read for those unfamiliar with Sanderson’s work, and a lot of fun for those who’ve read his Mistborn series.

Which brings us to the second group this books appeals to: the deep fans. We get a lot more about the Cosmere and the larger story connecting Sanderson’s series, as well as dips back into favorite worlds. Key to these are the star charts for each system in the Cosmere, along with notes from a new (and apparently important) character about them, and the god-shards ruling them. A little more accessible for those just wanting fun fiction is Mistborn: Secret History, a deep dip back into the Mistborn trilogy, lots of fun—aaand I can’t really say anything else about it without spoilers. There’s also a short story set in the world of Sanderson’s first novel, Elantris, and a brief one about Kelsier from before the events of the first Mistborn trilogy. And, a strange collection of in-world fiction about Allomancer Jak.

These last three bring us to the not-as-great parts of Arcanum Unbounded: a couple short stories, the Allomancer Jak humorous-ish collection, and some blurbs from Sanderson’s graphic novel, none of which really add up to great fiction. This part of the collection feels rushed, the plots and writing less than Sanderson’s best, and sort of slotted in to either fill space or conveniently collect all the rare goodies deep fans might want but not be willing to, say, buy a board game for. For new readers, they’re likely better skipped, and even for deep-ish fans such as myself, they were more of interest for their glimpses into unseen parts of the Cosmere than for their standalone quality as fiction.

The same might be said for Edgedancer, the only new piece of fiction in the collection, featuring a much-loved character from The Stormlight Archives. The story is interesting, and we get more of spunky Lift and her wacky ways, but… the magical-twist ending payoff Sanderson is so known for feels a little flat, the prose a little less polished, Lift’s character a little less punchy than she is in Words of Radiance. The novella feels rushed, and less than Sanderson’s best—a criticism I think unfortunately applies to his most recent shorter novels, The Bands of Mourning and Calamity. Let’s hope it’s because he’s focusing so much attention on the Stormlight Archive sequence, and not because he’s too pressured with deadlines, or letting his craft slip as his readership cements.

As ever, Sanderson does tip a hat to those of us fans who are also aspiring writers, with interesting notes after each piece about writing it, and a blurb from his 1999 not-to-published White Sands novel.

But what to think of Arcanum Unbounded as a whole? Mostly good things: for those who haven’t read the novellas it contains, they’re well worth the purchase price. For fans dying for a little more Sanderson before the massive dose of Stormlight scheduled for fall of next year, it’s a decent holdover—and I can’t help suspect the reason they released it when they did, to hold us all over. But if you’ve read the previously-released novellas, and aren’t a deep Cosmere fan, the new and rarer material in here may not be worth the purchase price.

For those with only the downloadable audio version, no whispersync companion, and a desire to skip around a bit, this may be useful (as compiled by jumping around in the Audible app):

The Emperor's Soul: Chapter 3
The Hope of Elantris: Chapter 20
The Eleventh Metal: Chapter 23
Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania: Chapter 25
Mistborn: Secret History: Chapter 27
White Sand: Chapter 55
Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell: Chapter 59
6th of the Dusk: Chapter 64
Edgedancer: Chapter 68

Incomplete since I haven't marked the sections discussing the various systems or the locations of the prologues or introductions, but perhaps someone will find it useful.

Already owning all but one of the previously, individually released novellas, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. For one, the previously unreleased Stormlight novella, Edgedancer was worth it all by itself! It was phenomenal! And fun! And seemingly very important to the overall Cosmere story. But, let's say Sanderson eventually releases Edgedancer as a standalone for $4. This book would STILL BE WORTH IT. Before each section of stories, Khriss gives a brief description of the main planets and solar systems in the Cosmere. I enjoyed that nearly as much as I enjoyed the stories. There is another thing I did not expect to see in this book: a snippet from the White Sand graphic novel AND a corresponding snippet from the actual White Sand novel. Having read the graphic novel when it came out, I couldn't help but wonder what I was missing from the non-graphical version. I am happy to say that the creators of the graphic novel did so well translating that I found Sanderson's original did not add anything! At least in the snippet provided in this collection.
Now, if you're not already a Sanderson fan - or if you don't follow the Cosmere story, this will not have the same appeal.

There are certain books in this world that you wish you could read again for the first time. Brandon Sanderson's books are like that. Don't read Arcanum Unbounded until you've read Sanderson's other works. In order to appreciate this collection, you need to have read his other series. This is a gift for fans from a fantastic author.

I witnessed firsthand last night how much this author appreciates his fans, as he greeted and signed books until well past midnight in Seattle. He took the time to give each fan a personalized experience, and my 14-year-old daughter (who's read almost all of his books) couldn't stop talking about how kind and funny he was. I've been to 30+ books signings, and I've never seen an author take so much time with each fan to chat and laugh and answer questions.

If you love the Cosmere, go savor these stories.

So far I have only read Edgedancer from this book, after finishing Words of Radiance. I am glad I did since Lift shows up routinely in Oathbringer but her background is not explained in depth, and knowing her back story makes it more enjoyable. I am almost finished Elantris now so I will be able to go back into this book and read the related stories. Next up will be the Mistborn series. The concept of the Cosmere is so awesome and I can't wait to see if and how these distinct places in their own systems will relate in the future.

I love Brandon Sanderson's books and I can't wait for the third in the Stormlight Archives Series. However I only liked Edgedancer out of all the short stories in this book. I would have preferred to buy it independently.

This book arrived in perfect (new) condition. I purchased this for my husband as it has a short story from the Stormlight Archives in addition to many other short stories from different series by Brandon Sanderson. We've read his Mistborn Series and just finished the first two of his Stormlight Archives. We both really like his writing! This book is a treasure trove of small stories from several series of his. Makes me want to read some of his other series while we wait for that last Stormlight to come out... *grins*

Sanderson continues to prove he is in a class of his own when it comes to the world of Fantasy novels. He may put out new material at an unbelievable pace (often times multiple 500-1,000 page books a year) but every single book is a treasure of a read. Be aware though that Arcanum Unbound is not a collection of stories for those new to the world of Sanderson, aka The Cosmere. This collection is more like a gift to his hardcore fans and avid readers- and what a gift it is!

Still in process of reading it. May post another review and/or modify this one.

I got this book prior to reading Elantris. So paused on reading this one and reading Elantris first. The 2nd story in this book, the Hope of Elantris has the basic timeline off. This is pretty peeving. The story starts off as the end of the Elantris but the very details that make Elantris exciting and thrilling are ruined by Hope of Elantris. Ugh.

This was a well written anthology of the Cosmere. It gives a great background of several storylines that have only been mentioned in previous series. It also gives great insight into characters that have limit development in the main story line.

This collection gives you an extra peek into many of Sanderson's worlds, with some interesting lore behind the Cosmere. Lift is far and away the highlight in Edgedancer. Sanderson fans won't be disappointed.

I just discovered the cosmere about 4 months ago and have since devoured every single book. ? This is such a wonderful expansion of the cosmere, I normally struggle to finish short story anthologies but I read this in two days.

Every time I start another one of Sanderson's books my wife complains because I'm pretty much useless for days while I dive into the Cosmere. This book just made me even more impatient for his next novel.

I love Brandon Sanderson, so I'm naturally bias in his favor; however, these short stories from different worlds in the Cosmere are a wonderful way to quickly tap into a small part of his huge, over-arcing narrative. This collection also contained a blurb from his graphic novel, which I will now be buying.

Before reading this book I already read all of Sanderson's main Cosmere works (stormlight, mistborn, warbreaker, elantris) but I hadn't read any of the short stories. Sanderson's first collection of short stories was a real treat.

All the stories are great, and expand on the Cosmere, but Edgedancer is a Lift novella that is basically a short novel, and it was a really nice bridge between books 2 and 3, with world building and history that reminds me of what New Spring was for the Wheel of Time.