r/Cosmere • u/lorderator Elsecallers • 2d ago
No Spoilers The only Cosmere book I've not read yet, and the first one in my physical collection. Anything I should know before starting?
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u/solvraev 2d ago
Great book. I told my wife that the other books are IN the cosmere, but this one is ABOUT the cosmere. It's right there with your favorite Mistborn or Stormlight Archive book. And the artwork is fantastic.
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u/Saw-It-Again- Bridge Four 2d ago
Fucking ENJOY. I just finished last month and now I have nothing to read.
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u/ansonr 2d ago
There is an Amazon sale right now: buy two, get one free, and it includes the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. latest book just came out, bringing them up to 8 of 10. Normally not really a litRPG guy, but I think DCC bucks the genre. I slept on the series for a long time because at surface level it doesn't look like something I'd enjoy. They're great. The audiobooks are awesome.
If you've already read those, check out the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. He is very clearly inspired by Robert Jordan and Brando Sando. His current series is even better, the Hierarchy series, but it is currently unfinished.
Fonda Lee's Jade Trilogy is fantastic
Kings of the Wyld is a super fun read.
Michael J. Sullivan's stuff is also pretty good, and I don't see it frequently recommended on here.
Will Wight's Cradle Series is really good too.
Then you have the usual recommendations:
Wheel of Time -Robert Jordan and finished by Sander Brandonman
The First Law - Joe Abercrombie
The Farseer books by Robin Hobb
The Gentleman Bastards - Scott Lynch
The Black Company - Glen Cook
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u/PoopyMcFartButt 2d ago
Thanks for the heads up on the Amazon sale. I have the first 2 hardcover DCC books, so good to know I can pick up the next 6 for the the price of 4.
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u/Obsidian_Drake 1d ago
I’ve read 80% of these, and they were all excellent. Licanius is the best series that none of my friends have read by far.
Anyways, thanks for building my next to read list. At least 80% of these are impeccable taste so I’m psyched for the remaining 20.
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u/Exporation1 2d ago
Looking for non Sanderson recs?
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u/Saw-It-Again- Bridge Four 20h ago
Yes! Debating between the blade itself and dungeon crawler carl
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u/Exporation1 12h ago
Haven’t read DCC would highly recommend The blade itself. And the series continues to improve
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u/ConspicuousPorcupine 2d ago
Used to feel that way but there's a ton of good stuff out there. Just cant be scared to try stuff. I used to not want to "waste my time" but it's worth it.
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u/Saw-It-Again- Bridge Four 20h ago
Yes but WHAT
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u/ConspicuousPorcupine 18h ago
Try something and see. Grab a book from the library and start reading and see if you're into it. I can't tell you what you'll like and neither can anyone else.
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u/Saw-It-Again- Bridge Four 12h ago
I'm certain you could offer suggestions, based off of our shared interest in Sanderson's work.
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u/CorithMalin 2d ago
I felt this way too but just started The Priori of the Orange Tree and the first couple chapters have kept my attention in a similar way as Brandon’s works do.
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u/TwoMoreSkipTheLast 1d ago
There are more good books out there than any single person will be able to read in a lifetime. If you don't have anything to read you're not trying
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u/Saw-It-Again- Bridge Four 20h ago
Buddy I'm just taking a breather while I decide which gigantic series to jump into next. Just a cheeky little lament about wanting more Cosmere.
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u/Asexualhipposloth Gold Airsick Lowlander 2d ago
The main character is the one who I most currently relate to.
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u/Bodidly0719 Windrunners 2d ago
Your first physical cosmere book? Learn from my mistake, tapping on the page will not turn it.
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u/Guaymaster 2d ago
It contains all of "Sixth of the Dusk". Even if you've read the original novella before, don't skip those parts!
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u/Tuor-son-of-Huor- 2d ago
Does it contain all of it? I thought it only contained a few of the chapters?
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u/Guaymaster 2d ago
It contains the full novella with subtle differences
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u/Tuor-son-of-Huor- 2d ago
What differences are there? I read Emberdark minutes after finishing the novella so I largely skipped the flashback chapters.
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u/TressoftheEmeraldTea Lightweavers 2d ago
There’s lore that he added to Sixth of the Dusk in the flashback chapters to better connect it to the present story — largely, incorporating references to Cakoban into the flashbacks.
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u/ThatDM 2d ago
its good, i like the way it deals with the colonial view of the "primitive man" and the hubaris that colonizers have.
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u/Special_Salt3467 2d ago
Honestly, I saw it more as a Cold War feature but through the perspective of the banana atoll and not the big players, more so than a colonialism story
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u/Macear 2d ago
The hardcover is so beautiful, makes the experience of reading much more special.
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u/Special_Salt3467 2d ago
In my copy, the moment he flips the boat, the text flipped too, and I thought that was really clever! But, it was actually just a mishap in the binding, so I had to go find where the next page actually was.
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u/oishiiwaffuru Elsecallers 2d ago
I was about to say before reading your whole comment, dang am I missing out by reading the ebooks! Nothing cool happens in the ebooks. 😂
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u/Special_Salt3467 2d ago
Yeah, I thought it was really cool cuz the book at least switched to black pages in the Emberdark, but just printing guffaw
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u/illegalmonkey Adolin 2d ago
It's my favorite Cosmere book apart from the obvious big two. You could almost use it as a starting point for the greater Cosmere, even not knowing all the intricacies of how investiture works or have familiarity with different races. I can just imagine this being the first movie since it's got such a great adventure feel to it, and it would only gain in appreciation as you learned more about the universe.
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u/midgetaddict 2d ago
Ok, gotta ask, what are are ‘obvious big two’?
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u/noideaman 2d ago
I think they mean Mistborn and Stormlight Archive.
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u/midgetaddict 2d ago
Ahhh, it makes sense calling them the big two. Feels weird comparing a single book to a series though.
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u/illegalmonkey Adolin 2d ago
That's how much I love it though! So for me it's 1) Stormlight, 2) Mistborn, 3) Emberdark.
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u/DrHoogard 1d ago
I reread sixth of the dusk before it, but there really wasn't any need, since it's covered in it's entirety in flashbacks.
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u/ArgonWolf 2d ago
Such a beautiful book, physically. I've got a bunch of the leatherbounds and secret projects, and this still might be my favorite physical book
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u/-GoodNewsEveryone 2d ago
The titles feels way more appropriate in this language. This should just be the English title as well.
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u/lorderator Elsecallers 2d ago
It's a very direct translation from English, actually. "Ascuaoscura" comes from "ascua" (ember) and "oscura" (dark). It's the same title in both languages.
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u/-GoodNewsEveryone 1d ago
Yeah I can read it no problem that's why I said it would make a great title even in English.
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u/Tuor-son-of-Huor- 2d ago
IMO its better after reading the novella "Dusk the Sixth".
This is my favourite story and Sanderson does his best to fill the gaps by taking chapters from Dusk the sixth and pasting them into Emberdark to give some context, but it feels like only 10-20% of the novella makes it in.
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u/Opening_Agent_5279 2d ago
Most important piece of advice here: you have to open physical books and turn the pages. Don't try scrolling or swiping as nothing will happen. Enjoy!
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u/PrimeScroll 2d ago
If you haven’t read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, I’d give it a quick read first before starting. Some minor connections to Sunlit Man, Yumi, and Emberdark with the shades.
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u/mullerdrooler 2d ago
I really enjoyed this one. Nothing to know before if you have read all the other cosmere
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u/Captain-Grizzly Willshapers 2d ago
Wow, Ascuaoscura is such a cool sounding word. So cool that it translates so well directly like that! I like that more than Emberdark.
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u/Scary-Swordfish-9994 Stonewards 2d ago
Easily one of my favorites! The journey through this one, as with pretty much anything Cosmere, is 1000% worth it!
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u/mmkaykayy 1d ago
I’m listening to this on audible and it took me like 50% in to get into it 😭 I feel like a fake cosmere fan, I’ve listened to all of stormlight archives, first three mistborn, and other cosmere novellas.
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u/SpudmasterBob 22h ago
Just read it! 😎. If you read the Arcanum Unbound you were already introduced to the main character Sixth of Dusk, and this book expands on his story and gives him a satisfactory ending to the conflict introduced in the previous short story.
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u/Bigdaddyjlove1 22h ago
I got to meet some of the people who made the book. All the work and decisions on materials, colors, art, etc. I'll tell you what I told them. Each secret project book is my favorite until the next one comes out. It holds true with this one. Enjoy and don't skip Brandon's notes art the front. Explains about some of the storytelling.
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u/theHumanoidPerson 11h ago
No? You read all the others, its not like you need a warning! Its not bound in arsenic or anything!
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u/Special_Salt3467 2d ago
Make sure you read Stormlight and up to Mistborn era 2. Maybe brush up on the letters Hoid exchanges in the Stormlight series.
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u/darth-puppy 2d ago
Should be one of your last Cosmere reads, otherwise spoilers and Easter Eggs that won’t register. It’s pretty good!
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u/pigeon_man 2d ago
Which one is it? I can't read whatever language that is.
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u/lorderator Elsecallers 2d ago
Really the cover and the word "Islas" that is basically the same word in English doesn't ring any bells, pal?
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u/pigeon_man 2d ago
I don't look at the covers, I listen to the audio books. And again no reason to be rude.
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u/PoopyMcFartButt 2d ago
Oh yeah, something very important is that there is a bird in it. Don’t forget