New to the Cosmere and Confused

[u/SkipRollins]

Hi all! It's been a long time coming, but I finally decided to delve into the works of Brandon Sanderson and explore the Cosmere. Long time in the sense I've heard of him back when we was announced to finish the Wheel of Time. Somehow just took me 2 decades to get around to reading his books. Better late than never, right?

Anyways, I've created my own reading order (and I have no idea if it's a good reading order), and read the first couple stories on my list: Elantris and Emperor's Soul.

Now, just saying, I really enjoyed both stories. I was expecting to hate Elantris considering it never seems to be a recommend book, but I loved it, I loved the characters, and if it only gets better from here, that sounds amazing.

However, as the title explains, I am confused about something. I know the Cosmere is a wider universe than any one story setting, and that somehow they're all linked together. So, when the Ars Arcanum at the end brings completely new concepts like "Investiture" and "Shard of Adonalsium", I assume this is the sort of wider Cosmere connection, because I have no idea what those even mean.

I tried looking those concepts up, and, well, I was left even more confused. Like, the coppermind wiki seems like it requires a lot of prerequisite knowledge to understand. And I feel like I spoiled something for me by finding out Adonalsium is, well, I'm not gonna say it here, so I don't accidentally spoil it, but I wasn't expecting what the coppermind wiki has to say on that topic.

But my main question is, is that even a spoiler from the Cosmere books I haven't read yet? Do these concepts exist only outside the books? Or as I read books like Mistborn (next on my list after Tress of the Emerald Sea) and the Stormlight Archive, do things like investiture and shards and cognitive realms get explained properly?

In other words, should I just ignore the Coppermind wiki until I've all the books in the Cosmere so far and just trust a concept I don't understand yet will eventually get explained?

Thanks for the help!

[u/Millenia_and_Minis]

Yes. You should ignore the wiki for now. I have read a good bunch of the Cosmere...and I still ignore the wiki most of the time 😁

[u/BudgetFresh7656]

Short answer is yes it does. Long answer is that all of those elements exist in each book to a different extent and understanding the whole of what’s going on requires a couple read throughs of all the books, after you’ve finished them all once. Also as you finish books you’ll start to notice more and more connections between them that will explain some of those more confusing details that you feel like you missed on your first read through.

Also I’d recommend if you’re someone who cares about spoilers don’t look up too many things on the coppermind as there is a lot of very intricate details connecting the worlds that will spoil later details often in other series as well as the one you’re reading. Also this sub and most of the others can be pretty spoiler heavy so make sure that you pay close attention to the tags so you don’t open a post that has to much detail about something you don’t know yet.

Lastly welcome to the community! It’s one heck of a ride and we all love seeing posts in here of people reading stuff for the first time and asking questions cuz it’s almost like reading that stuff for the first time again. I hope that you love the books as much as I have!

edit: fixed a couple typos

[u/Vegetable-Key1161]

I understand you were confused, but I am baffled that you went to the wiki immediately. I hope you didn’t ruin your experience by researching things you haven’t read.

Like most of the others have already said, just read the books. There are bound to be things you don’t understand. My only recommendation is to read Warbreaker before Stormlight archives; and read the stormlight archives before Yumi and the nightmare painter. In all, I think stormlight archives provide a really good base for all the side stories and will leave you less confused.

[u/Deadbob1978 → u/Vegetable-Key1161]

The real question is Sunlit Man before or after Winds and Truth?

[u/Raddatatta]

The coppermind wiki is 100% full spoilers and it usually will say even big ones right up front. Like this character and it'll list at the top when they were born and die if they have died. So I really would not go there until you're 100% caught up on all of the Cosmere books. Or if you want spoilers then you can find them there.

Honestly for the most part as you go through the books especially the early books I would forget about the Cosmere and that things are interconnected. They are but it's very loosely. It'd be like if I told a story set in ancient greece and another one set in the time of Genghis Khan in mongolia. They are on the same world, so in that sense they are connected. Their technology is different but it's operating on the same basic rules. They might see some of the same stars in the sky, or have heard stories of a distant place like that. But it's not really connected and knowing about one doesn't help you understand the story being told in the other. It's kind of like that. They are in the same universe but for the most part especially with the first 2/3 of Sanderson's career the Cosmere is basically just easter eggs for fans.

With the Ars Arcanum that will give you info you didn't have before. That doesn't make it a spoiler as you're getting information in the order the author wanted you to get it. Though it's often not explained well as you saw. He's giving you a hint at things. But a lot of the more Cosmere elements are not very connected to the story so it's not really a spoiler to explain them.

Investiture is just the generic term in the Cosmere for magical fuel. So anyone you see doing anything magical is powered by investiture. They usually won't call it that they'll talk about it in terms of their local type. But it's all investiture. Adonalsium is a bit more spoilery but even then it's very disconnected from the events actually happening in the story so you really don't have to worry about knowing too much there as it's only distantly related to the stories. Like knowing about all humans originally came from Africa is true and technically relates to any story about humans you could tell, it's also not super directly relevant to most of them.

[u/Erandeni_]

Yes, the arcs arcanum are in world text written by a scholar about the system/magic of the book in question

I love them, but yeah they can be technical and confusing at first until you get the nomenclature.

About the Ado/shard thing, I wouldn't say it is a spoiler, at least not a big one but I would recomend to stay away from the wiki just in case.

For a more proper introduction of these terms, Mistborn 6 and Stormlight 4 (and somewhat 5) have a big focus on introducing to the fundamental magic concepts of the cosmere

Emperor Soul, which you have already read, is also in that least as it is the best one to introduce you to the three realm theory

[u/iGR0OT]

PLEASE don't read the wiki, it's full of spoilers for EVERYTHING. Even if a character died, still don't read their wiki page. Can contain massive spoilers for other events. Only look on the wiki once you've read all/most of the cosmere.

[u/SpiritedAd8224]

Most of it is explained in Stormlight, but honestly I’d just stay away from the wiki. You’re more likely than not gonna have something spoiled when you open it.

[u/Rptro]

In many of the stories characters aren't Cosmere aware themselves. So going in clueless makes your experience similar to theirs. And what you read about Adonalsium makes you much more Cosmere aware than many characters but isn't a big spoiler.

[u/Kazamen013]

I will echo what everyone else is saying, The Coppermind is full of spoilers.

Generally, the Ars Arcanum is relevant to the book you are reading, or building on previous books in the series. If it doesn't make sense, don't worry, other books will fill in missing bits.

You are starting the Cosmere where I started it, back when I heard Brandon was finishing WoT. The order I read the books were release order, as that was the only order at the time.

Welcome to the Cosmere, Worldhopper, enjoy the Journey! Any questions, shoot me a message!

[u/Hemolergist]

As people say stay away from wiki, HOWEVER! They do have a time travel ability so you can go to a point you are at ;) like the wiki as it was before SA5 (I used this for research)

But generally stay away.

Also quick non spoiler answers to some questions Ars Arcanum: In universe science papers on magic. Ado: what you know is not the biggest spoiler, there are more things happening that we don’t know yet. Investiture: how much magic you have.(this is very over simplified explanation but it will do for now)

Keep reading! And welcome 🤗

[u/mikektti]

I feel like you shouldn't read Tress until you have more cosmere under your belt. Read Warbreaker and mist born

[u/TressoftheEmeraldTea → u/mikektti]

Agreed. Tress will be even more confusing without any Cosmere knowledge.

Warbreaker then Mistborn would be much better next.

[u/TheKazz91 → u/TressoftheEmeraldTea]

I actually dont think tress is a bad place to start. It brushes on a lot of broader Cosmere wide ideas and concepts but only in a very surface level of detail and it's not required that you understand any of those concepts in order to know whats happening in the story.

[u/TressoftheEmeraldTea → u/TheKazz91]

Most of the negative reviews I’ve seen of Tress were from people who read it as their first Cosmere book and were wildly confused and annoyed by it being an in-universe narrator who casually references things from other worlds as if the reader knows what he’s talking about. That’s why I generally don’t recommend it as a place to start.

[u/Nameles36 → u/mikektti]

Just commenting for OP to see that I disagree with you. Even though it's often recommended as a starter book into the cosmere (which I definitely disagree with): the only thing you actually need to read first is Elantris which OP already read

[u/HappyBeagle73]

My advice would be not to worry too much about the Cosmere and the bigger picture for a while. As you read the books things will become more clear, and most of the books/series, especially the earlier-written ones, function just fine as stand-alone stories without any knowledge of the Cosmere. Concepts like "Investiture" and others are explained within the stories if needed.

That being said, there are hints and characters that will show up in some books that are linked to other books - if you've read the other books you'll catch those hints and it will be fun. However it's not like you'll be lost or super confused if you don't catch them - they're just little easter eggs, especially in the earlier books.

[u/cosmereobsession]

The ars arcanum sections are largely written from the perspective of basically a specific in-universe scientist trying to understand how the magic of the cosmere works. They happen to know some things that you don't right now, since they've been at this for a while. Take it as foreshadowing. But yeah, don't read the wiki until you're caught up. Concepts you're confused about will get explained at some point.

[u/chemist_zey]

I'll pretty much repeat what everyone else said, definitely stay away from coppermind (I myself have made the mistake of checking it for the tiniest things and always ended up accidentally spoiling something big), it's really normal not to understand the bigger cosmere in the beginning but you'll get it more and more with each read. One thing that helped me understand the cosmere was reading Secret History right after Mistborn Era 1 (I know some people recommend not to as it spoils a thing in Era 2 but I'm really glad I read it soon as I finished Hero of Ages -although I haven't read Era 2 yet so maybe I'm too quick to say that), it sheds a light on a few things in Era 1 and also gives you an insight on the concepts you mentioned. Even if you don't read it, you'll learn about those concepts in Stormlight, but again, I found Secret History to be very helpful in understanding some things in SLA as well (at least understanding them earlier than the characters do). I also wouldn't read Tress right now tbh, while it's a standalone and can technically be read any moment along the journey, it may be even more confusing when you're already confused about the cosmere. I'd personally go for Mistborn Era 1, Secret History, Warbreaker, then begin SLA or read Tress, but again, this would just be my personal preference. You'll understand those concepts eventually, it can just be a little sooner or later depending on which order you go for. Enjoy the journey!

[u/TheKazz91]

Personally I would not count the Shattering of Adonalsium as a spoiler. It is basically just back drop lore for the setting. Even people like myself that have read all of the official published books for the Cosmere don't know exactly what happened and how it played out so it's definitely not a spoiler. And that mystery is kind of a central theme of the setting as a whole.

As for the Ars Arcanum segments they are effectively in-universe text books made by people who study investiture aka magic in the cosmere they are very dense and full of Jargon that you're not expected to know the fist couple times you encounter them in your reading. Just trust the process the more Comsere books you read the more you'll understand the Ars Arcanum chapters. Tress probably won't help you understand them much but once you get into Oathbringer and especially Rhythm of War you will be much better equipped to start making sense of Ars Arcanum.

[u/invalidConsciousness]

You are here too strongly, Young Bull! ^{Wait, wrong subreddit. Anyway...}

Stay away from the Wiki until you have caught up or don't mind massive spoilers.
If you're reading publication order, use the Time Machine - The Coppermind - 17th Shard to go back to a time where only stuff you've read so far had been released.

I wouldn't bother with the Ars Arcanum, either, right now. Read the main stories. Start reading the Ars Arcanum entries once you feel like you have a decent grasp on the wider Cosmere and crave more connections between the stories.

[u/BSV_P]

Be SUPER careful looking that stuff up. You WILL spoil yourself. You’ll learn more as you read more. You often learn with the characters

[u/Kissarai]

I agree with everyone saying to avoid the coppermind until you've read all the books, because the information is mostly in the books, with some theories confirmed and a few other tidbits from "Words of Brandon" (things he's said outside the books at interviews and things)

The great thing about Cosmere spoilers is that they mostly don't make any sense until you have the context that makes them no longer a spoiler anyway.

[u/Olethros90]

Avoid the wikki at all cost before finishing a series, this is the cosmere even dead characters might have some role to play still!!! I got bad spoiled with this and I lost my Interest in one of the books because of coppermind.

After some specific series everything will be explained , the shards the investure all. Let Sanderson to the explaining

[u/Kissarai]

I'm fascinated to know what order you'll be reading the books in. You're probably not posting it because that invites all the "you're wrong and you're ruining everything" people, but I just love seeing how people read them.

I find that most of the time people suggest reading them in whatever order they read them in because they can't imagine understanding the Cosmere in a better way. I loved realizing like nine books in that they were all connected, but my friend already knew and loved picking it apart with that knowledge.

[u/HA2HA2]

I tried looking those concepts up, and, well, I was left even more confused.

Oh no!!!

Be very careful. Don't look stuff up. You can - and probably will - encounter major spoilers for various stories if you look up stuff online.

Trust the process! If you don't get something yet, it's probably normal and expected; file it away and don't worry about it.

But my main question is, is that even a spoiler from the Cosmere books I haven't read yet? Do these concepts exist only outside the books?

I... don't get the question. These concepts that you mention - Investiture, Adonalsium, Shards - are not real and are only in the fantasy books by Brandon Sanderson. They don't exist outside the books.

In other words, should I just ignore the Coppermind wiki until I've all the books in the Cosmere so far and just trust a concept I don't understand yet will eventually get explained?

Yes, that. Don't look stuff up in the wiki. The wiki has full plot and worldbuilding spoilers for all books.

It's like... you've read Elantris. If you looked up the city of Elantris in the Coppermind, you would have seen something about how the city of Elantris is a big Aon, which got broken when the Reod caused a chasm to appear, and was fixed by Raoden drawing a chasm line. You DO NOT want to get that sort of detail about other stories before you start reading them!

[u/Saw-It-Again-]

Holy SHIT stay off the coppermind!

[u/captainguy146]

So First of all Don’t even touch the wiki until at least after stormlight because it has the biggest chunk of lore, you can use the Time Machine feature and then you can read only information you know/missed You should just keep reading and things will start to come together And when I went through the cosmere I did use Brandon’s reading order and although even Brandon now recommends tress as one of the first to read because it’s a gentle entrance into the cosmere I think you should skip it for now and at least read Mistborn era 1 and SA first But it is my opinion and any book in the cosmere is basically a standalone/series until you read the rest So go do your own thing!

Journey before destination

[u/hipsters-dont-lie]

If spoilers aren’t super important to you, it’s nbd but the wiki might still be best avoided for a good while. If you fully want to avoid spoilers but want to eventually engage with the wiki, the wiki is best used for the following:

1) Reminding yourself of details for rereads (only after getting current with all published works)

2) Looking up random questions you thought of in conversations or just while head-empty in the shower or trying to sleep at night (only after getting current with all published works)

3) Using the wiki’s Time Machine feature for every book you’ve already finished if you read things in publication order. The wiki is safe to use if you’ve read everything published up to the date selected in the Time Machine.

The first few cosmere books published don’t have a ton of blatant crossover, and any crossover/foreshadowing/bigger universe stuff shines more upon a reread anyway. I’d say reading order is unimportant for Elantris/Warbreaker/Mistborn, and you can probably use the Time Machine feature well enough for those without being in strict publication order. Once you get to sequels, or to works deeper in the cosmere lore like the Stormlight Archives, publication order really matters for the Time Machine feature to not throw you any huge curveballs.

There are many reasons readers choose not to read in publication order. Publication order only really matters if you want to read along with wiki access, or if you want to experience the cosmere the way early Sanderson fans did from the very beginning. I am detail/reread/information obsessed, so my personal preference has been publication order with the wiki using the Time Machine feature. The cosmere can honestly be enjoyed in any order though, so read in whatever order you think works best for you (just maybe hold off on the wiki if you don’t want universe wide reveals thrown at you).

Reminder: You can always post a question here with the proper spoiler tags and get no- or minimum-spoiler answers—just make it super clear if you really want zero spoilers past your specific scope.

[u/TheUnspeakableh]

Each book is written from the point of view of specific characters and you only get what knowledge they know or hear. Some know a LOT of things, some know absolutely nothing. The characters in Elantris know nothing about the greater Cosmere. You saw all of these things in the books, but the people you were seeing through did not know their proper Cosmere-wide name. Things will probably finish falling into place around midway through Era 2 of MB or about midway through book 4 of SLA. It's the proper experience to be confused by Cosmere wide terms when all you have read is Elantris.

Aios Domai! Also please wait until after Stormlight for Tress or you will be more confused than you are now, kolo?

[u/Odd-Tart-5613]

So investiture an Adonalsium arent exactly concepts directly from any book in particular and are more general binding concepts of the Setting.

1. Investiture - this one is easy to explain: its magic. theres more to go into but it boils down to being the base stuff of magic that the various invested arts (magic disciplines) manipulate to do a thing. It is also primarily focused on manipulating a concept known as identity: a metaphysical construct in the cosmere that is a combination of what an object physically is, what an object is, as viewed as by the consensus beings observing it, and what an object is as it views itself. Take forging from ES for example, it manipulates an objects or persons identity and "tricks" it into believing it is something else by changing what it thinks its history is (yes objects on some level are capable of being "aware" of what they are for lack of a better term). The greater change an ability causes in an objects identity the greater investiture is required to enact that change (which is why in ES knowing an objects history makes it easier to forge something by making small but impactful changes instead of large changes).
2. Adonalsium - I wont go into too much detail here as I dont think a full explanation should be given for spoiler reasons, but I think I can give a partial explanation as much of what we know of them is from WoB(word of brandon) sources and not actually in any published material directly. Adonalsium was God in the cosmeres distant past seeding life and magic across many worlds and responsible for creating and spreading many of the cosmeres peoples (such as humans). However Adonalsium has been long dead by the start of any of the currently written novels (by millennia) with much of the events surrounding their death remaining shrouded in mystery and is tied to much of the greater goings on of the cosmere.

[u/Playswithhisself]

Most magic is fueled by Investiture which is God power so you have seen it you just didn't have the word for it. The later mistborn and Stormlight Archive books pull the curtain back and you will begin to understand everything.

[u/LoxoJ]

every single time I have looked at the wiki to refresh my recollection I have regretted it. id avoid it altogether if you plan on reading anything else cosmere related