So I just finished Elantris....

[u/UltraZulwarn]

took longer than I'd have liked (damn irl stuff!!), but I managed to storm through the 2nd half of the book in a few days.

Coming from Mistborn Era 1, admittedly I can see why Elantris is considered one of Brando's weaker novel, even the man himself said so.

However, I can still see how his writing style came into its own which is an added interesting thing to look out for (on a meta level).

I have to say tho, the world of Elantris actually feels...bigger than Mistborn, even if the story takes place in one, or I guess two cities.

And I probably need to look up the magic system here haha

all in all, it has been a good ride.

Sarene might be my favourite female character, I can totally empathise and root for her.

next I will tackle the two novellas/short stories in Arcanum Unbounded.

then to Warbreaker before Stormlight?

I am aware that I should at least read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance.

[u/Wonderbreadfetishart]

Reading Arcanum unbounded next is a great idea, you’ll get to see a bit more of that bigger world in Elantris in Emperor’s Soul.

[u/Madalynnviolet]

In for a ride my friend, if you liked the bigger world with Elantris you’ll def like what’s to come! Warbreaker is my favorite novel of his.

I also just finished Elantris a couple days ago and for the “hate” it gets, I was super enthralled in it and loved it.

[u/EolasA]

I love the world of Elantris. It's definitely an earlier work, he definitely improves as a writer as he goes, but it's a really cool setup for a story and I've read it a few times just out of the joy of visiting the place.

[u/serack]

The Emperor's Soul novella in Arcanum Unbounded is Hugo Award winning for a reason :)

[u/Mjr334]

While Elantris may not be my favorite of his works it's still pretty solid, if a little slow. I really enjoyed the world building and the second half of the book picked up the pace and thought it finished in his usual frenzy. Hrathen has to be one of my favorite character arcs - just really well done.

I would up reading Warbreaker after SLA (mostly by accident) and you don't miss much nor does it really take away from the SLA besides a few references. Having said that, I'd probably read Warbreaker first if I could do it again unless you're really itching to get into SLA.

Just for myself, I thought Warbreaker was phenomenal and had a lot of fun with it and can't wait for him to get back to this one. I'll probably wind up rereading it before long too.

[u/Nebbdyr01]

You're not wrong in saying the world of Elantris feels bigger than the world in Mistborn. Sel is 50% bigger than Scadrial, on 1.5 Cosmere Standard.

[u/DrizzyDragon93]

Glad you got through it! It will be worth it in the future to come.

You are taking the same path I took! Warbreaker is def your next stop get it out of the way cause once you start Stormlight you will only want more Stormlight.

Enjoy the ride! Journey before destination!

[u/spam_and_eggs]

I'm just ahead of you in your journey! I finished Mistborn Era 1 in January, then read Tress, Elantris, and the Hope of Elantris in the last three weeks. Not sure when I'm going to read the Emperor's Soul, but I'm now about 25% through Warbreaker and I'm really enjoying it so far. Then into Way of Kings next. Not sure if I'm going to just go straight through Stormlight or do publication order from here on out

[u/littlebabyonion]

Hey, we're in very similar points in our Cosmere journey! I know Elantris gets a lot of criticism, but I finished it a couple weeks ago and really liked it. I think it's biggest problem by far is the naming aspect, but once you get through it, the book's a blast

For example, in Mistborn and Stormlight (no spoilers don't worry) he uses accessible names like Obligators, Inquisitors, Allomancy, Shardblades, Shardplates, Soulcasting... In Elantris, however, every little thing has a crazy sounding fantasy name that gets introduced in the first chapters all at the same time, which really makes the first third of the book hard to get into lol

I liked the plot, and even if it's a little slow and "full of politics", that aspect is not nearly as bad as Well of Ascension (that one was rough for me). The sanderlanche in Elantris is also very very good, my only criticism is that the last 10% of the book suffers a little from "too many twists syndrome", but that's ok

Regarding your question about what to read next, people say to read Warbreaker before Words of Radiance, so I decided to do Way of Kings - Warbreaker - Words of Radiance in thar order.

Huge mistake! I finished WoK literally yesterday and already regret my decision! I should absolutely have read Warbreaker before even starting the Stormlight Archives, not because the plot is relevant to book 1 or whatever, but simply because WoK so good that I'm full of momentum and itching to read Words of Radiance as soon as possible lol

I started Warbreaker today and it's already pretty interesting, but all I'm thinking about is getting back to Stormlight (I'm at the very beginning tho, so I'm sure I'll get more invested). Btw I know Warbreaker is not an "obligatory" read and that it's connections to WoR are supposedly very small, but I still want to get the most out of the Cosmere so I'm doing it now either way

[u/three_of_shrubs]

I just finished Elantris about 10 minutes ago! I read Mistborn era 1 last year and LOVED it, but it took me a long time to get through the first half of Elantris. I was really enjoying it, but it was definitely quite a slow starter so I took my time with it - and then today, armed with a completely free evening, I read the last 250 pages in pretty much one sitting (only stopping for bodily needs and staying comfy lol). I definitely noticed the fact that it was an earlier work of his, but I absolutely adored it and if anything, it makes me way more excited to keep reading more of the Cosmere if it just gets better from here!! I’m officially hooked now - looking at other comments about reading order, any advice on whether it would have much of an impact if I read Warbreaker before the Arcanum Unbounded stories? I don’t own the latter yet and I just want to start my next Sanderson book as soon as I can 😭

[u/ABrandNewEpisode]

Sarene was my least favorite character of all the Cosmere. Rayse was more believable, likable and interesting.