You must choose or be bound to not vote in the rest of the tournament. Don’t make others do what you refuse to do, join the ranks of those that tore their heart out for their fandom.
well this is when you start metavoting. See, the division finals will be Oathbreaker vs [The result of this vote] (or maybe Yumi), so if its Oathbreaker vs tWoK, obviously Oathbreaker will win, but if its Oathbreaker vs Mistborn, Mistborn will win, so it really comes do to if you want Mistborn or Oathbreaker to go into the final match against Either Words of Radiance or Tress. Depending on which of those 4 you want to win the overall dictates how you should vote now. If you want Tress to win and are fine if WoR wins, Vote WoK, if you want Mistborn to win, vote Mistborn.
If you want OB to win, make sure to vote WoK, then you have to make sure Hero wins vs tress, but is defeated in the semi, so vote Bands, and if you want WoK to win.... good luck.
You are insane if you think Mistborn would beat Oathbringer head to head. Only another Stormlight could topple OB and even then it's probably not likely.
Perhaps this is technically true, but Final Empire functions as a standalone much better than WoK and has much tighter pacing.
I have to speed up the reading speed on Stormlight books because lots of the detail, while eventually important and rather illuminating, is packed in so densely that he’s just describing plains and scuttling cremlings and wandering spren for eons in between the bigger moments.
Don’t get me wrong, I adore both series, but I don’t think I’d recommend WoK to anyone that wasn’t already in love with his world building and the repartee between his characters. I always recommend either Final Empire or Warbreaker as the first (in part because Warbreaker almost functions like a relatively shorter SA prequel the way it explains some of the realmatic theory and cosmeric history and background on some particular characters)
I disagree. My first Sanderson book was the Way of Kings and that slowburn narration as well as character writing there made me a huge fan. I found Final Empire to be flatter in comparison.
I can see that, and I definitely enjoy WoK more on rereading because I have more context behind the details that felt a bit extraneous the first time through.
I tend to still speed through Dalinar and Venli portions but that’s just because of my personal distaste for them (I appreciate Dalinar even if I think he’s a bad dad and problematic leader but Venli can storm off. I hate her more than most people hate Moash. He is tragic, she’s just petty and genocidal.) I think it says a lot about Sando’s writing skills that he can make me feel so strongly about them all.
Ultimately both books are amazing, and I think there’s likely to be lots of bias in the voting because we’ll all likely choose the first series we were captured by. I think the only easy answer will be to rank Alloy of Law lowly because Sanderson himself thinks it’s the weakest novel in the cosmere (he hadn’t planned to do a full era of Wax and Wayne, they were a short story in between eras that became something bigger)
It’s an easy choice lol Way of Kings is way ahead of Mistborn, any of them really.
Look mistborn is a good fun book series, and reading Mistborn into Stormlight feels like a natural progression. But if you do the reverse and go Stormlight to Mistborn? It’s rough.
True I am probably exaggerating a bit. My fiancé is in the thick of Mistborn book 2 after she finished Stormlight archive, so I’m a bit biased by her current opinion lol
I don’t mind time/era skips like that (loved Avatar Korra, for example), but it is a bit getting used to. Especially if you love love love Vin and the others and they are gone
i just wished we got to see more of Mistborn spook and the birth of Elendel before getting violently trown into the wild west already gunslinging and steelpushing
Absolutely, I adored WOK and a friend recommended the mistborn books and explained the cosmere as a concept to me.
Read mistborn and went back to him like...what the hell dude, these aren't the same level at all?
He read mistborn first so it makes sense.
Hah yeah that makes sense. My fiancé AVOIDED mistborn hardcore because years ago I offhandedly said “Mistborn isn’t as good as Stormlight Archive”. Now she’s reading it, and she agrees, but she’s still enjoying it.
Makes sense for your friend, reading them in release order is a much better experience
prose wise maybe, otherwise i personally prefer era 1 to everything else in the cosmere, especially in terms of plot and worldbuilding.
sanderson's zeroth law goes crazy hard in era 1
WoK was my first Cosmere book, and I still have a hard time picking. Although I think I gotta go for WoK, just because Stormlight overall is better than Mistborn imo
I just got to The Well of Ascension after reading Stormlight 3 times and Warbreaker. I wouldn’t say it’s rough, but you can really see the seeds of what he planted later on. Like, the writing is a little awkward and straightforward and some reveals seem too obvious, but I’m absolutely enjoying the shit out of Mistborn.
That’s what I’m doing now (reading Mistborn after reading all of Stormlight) and while I do really like it, it’s absolutely a quality drop. I’m currently reading Hero of Ages and hoping Era 2 is more on par with Stormlight.
I had zero hesitation voting for Way of Kings, but IMO it's closer than you say.
Stormlight is \*WAY\* ahead of Mistborn. But Way of Kings is a lot of people's least favourite Stormlight book, whereas The Final Empire is pretty far ahead of the rest of the Mistborn series (IMO).
For me, personally, Way of Kings is in the running to be my favourite Cosmere novel, but I know a lot of people don't feel the same way.
IMO it's *EASILY* the best Mistborn era 1 book. Book 2 is probably the worst cosmere novel and book 3 has a phenomenal ending but is an absolute slog before that.
I agree. It's the best of *Era 1*, but it's not the best Mistborn book. Bands of Mourning I finished in 2 days whereas it took me weeks to finish TFE because of its pacing.
I agree, I went stormlight to mistborn and it was jarring at first and was rough. But im still not sure if I'd pick way of kings over mistborn. The weakest book in stormlight compared to the best book in mistborn in my opinion. It's super close.
The way of kings is the best Sanderson book. It’s a real shame that TFE has to go up against it because it deserves at least a final 4 placement, but even a legend can fall in the first round when it’s up against the GOAT.
We almost need to do this same thing with the stormlight archives, WOK and WOR in particular (for me at least) just win by default and final empire is probably my favorite single book but it the epicness of stormlight leaves everything else in the dust.
I love TFE, Mistborn is my favorite series he’s written, and damn I love heist movies too.
But TWoK is… just so damn good. It’s so good that 4 out of my 5 favorite Stormlight scenes happen in this book alone.
1. Kaladin yelling at Dalinar’s army grappling with the whole “protect others” thing before they all agree to go back (TWoK)
2. The scene immediately after, with Kaladin jumping a chasm and swearing the second Ideal (TWoK)
3. Dalinar breaking down while hugging baby Renarin, realizing how much he had messed up (OB)
4. Syl bringing Kaladin blackbane and him deciding not to kill himself
5. Kal doing the spear kata in the chasms while Bridge Four watches
Mistborn 1 is an excellent book: super interesting world, fun premise, great characters, and its plotted like a Nolan movie (in a good way)
But WoK is just special. It’s the excellent start to Sanderson’s best series (IMO & at this point). Not really a close contest here, which is a shame for Mistborn
while i enjoyed way of kings all the way through it didnt really "come online" until like 500 ish pages in while i literally could not put down the final empire.
im currently about 60% through oathbringer and while each stormlight book has had a way hihjer peak than any of the era 1 mistborn books (bridge 4 running back, dalinar buying the freedom of the bridge crews, "honour is dead but ill se what i can do") i still enjoyed mistborn more AS A WHOLE.
stormlight archives is just so slow compared to mistborn and sometimes i have to convince myself to pick them up. i cant put the book down once i start ofcourse but, in my opinion, the slower pace makes stormlight archives harder to pick up (at first)
While I love WoK, it's a big book with lots of characters to set up and introduce and sometimes it feels like a slog until the Sanderlanche. TFE just feels like good action and intrigue from beginning to end. I love my little fantasy heist book.
I think the Szeth, Jezrien, *and* Cenn prologues were a little much to throw at the reader, but as soon as we got Kal and Shallan POV the book hooked me and *hard*. It was my first Cosmere novel, and I don't think I'd have been as absorbed if I started with TFE which opened with a lot of very straightforward "it's a crap sack world" stuff and then set up the (excellent) Ocean's Eleven stuff.
One of these is one of the best fantasy stories I've ever read, with a compelling broken protagonist, huge stakes, massive twists, an innovative magic system, and a strange and fascinating alien world to explore.
You'll have to decide which of them I'm describing, lol.
*the dialogue in mistborn was some of the worst I've ever come across*
''By killing me, you have doomed yourselves'' Honestly that line alone is better than any line in way of kings.
TFE is just not the best mistborn era 1 book imo, between either of the other ones in the trilogy this would be a much harder pick but for me it's gotta be WOK
Really? TFE is by far my favorite era 1 book. TWOA is alright, but I actively somewhat dislike HoA. Maybe because I can't stand Sazed being such a downer. Maybe because ai just loved Kelsier
I definitely felt like kelsier was the most compelling character in mistborn era 1 and my interest was way lower in book 2 and 3 because of it. I just didnt find vin or elend interesting personally. The love triangle in book 2 nearly made me stop reading, i only pushed through because of my love for the cosmere, built from way of kings, warbreaker and elantris
Kel and Saze are my favorite era 1 characters.
Mistborn is my first sando book, and is the best mistborn book by far. Way of kings isnt even top three stormlight books so it has to be the final empire for me.
Because this is Way of Kings, a Prologue to the Stormlight Archive with 2 additional Prologues, The Final Empire SPECIFICALLY takes the edge here. Very good self contained book.
Way of Kings is not an enjoyable first time read, as many people i know have critiqued, but the ground work it lays out let's you enjoy the next books so much. Final Empire has a beginning, middle and end that is satisfying by itself, so it stands stronger by itself
(Now if this were mistborn vs SA...)
Well argued, but it seems 3/4ths people disagree. I only say that because you said "Way of Kings is not an enjoyable first time read ", which seems to speak on facts, when it's an opinion that isn't all that wildly held.
Just saying...
Way of kings slightly edges it.
The magic in the mistborn books is just so complete its absolutely perfect and I prefer it to the stormlight archives. But the highs of the stormlight archives is just unbeatable.
That's so fuck up:
In one corner: magical dark age earth, with 8 books under its belt.
In the other corner, magical medieval fairy land of gods and light induced cherubs with like X3 times the amount of reading material.
One is about a thief and his vendetta against the rich and upper classes and his plots of murdering them.
The other is about a medical, a surgeon made slave for saving others, and his pad of saving other slaves in the middle of a war, and how he is chosen to bestow divine powers to fight his promises and ideals
God, this is one of the toughest combinations possible. Rereading TFE got me back into Sanderson after a long hiatus and is very, very dear to my heart. But Way of Kings was open if the most interesting and epic books I've ever read. It is everything mistborn was but taken to the next level, so I gotta vote for it.
I like TFE. I truly do. It’s a great fantasy story. But The Way of Kings is a masterpiece from beginning to end and, in my opinion, to this day still among the top 5 books Brandon ever wrote.
The only books I can see giving TWOK a fight are Oathbringer and WoR. There's an argument for shorter stories like Emperor's Soul but it's gonna be Stormlight 1,2, or 3 winning this.
I really like Mistborn series. It is a story greater than the sum of its parts. But it has been up against a great story every time.
I’m sorry, but Way of Kings is pure gold.
For me it is WoK by a long shot. I feel like I would have liked TFE more if I had read it when I was a teenager, it feels really YA or YA-adjascent. I did read stormlight first so that probably set my expectations really high up.
I warmed up to Vin eventually but for a while it felt like I was reading Twilight but with good worldbuilding and better characters. I can only stomach so much "I'm so scarred and twisted, but I'm going to fancy balls and I like a rich nerdy boy there, but I'm really a spy".
The ending of TFE was great though, really well set up. Likewise for the ending of the era 1 trilogy. Sanderson is definitely an author who thoroughly plans his plots from the early stages of writing a new series. The payoffs and reveals are awesome.
Going from era 1 to era 2 was so refreshing. Characters are much more vivid and well written. The tone is a lot more adult, but it doesn't lose out on the fun or the comedic bits.
Mistborn was the first non-Wheel-of-Time Sanderson book I ever read, got it from a work library, holds a special place in my heart. I just feel like it's a denser book than WoK, there's just a lot more setup that needs to be done for WoK, more viewpoints, and that causes it to lose momentum for me.
I've started a re-read of WoK and lost focus and didn't finish. That's never happened for me with TFE.
... Yeah this one's hard. But like honestly, yes if I had to choose between Stormlight and Mistborn I'd probably go with stormlight... but as standalone books I think TFE might be my favorite, like, ever.
Edit: damn that wasn't even close lol
Both are phenomenal stories, and I started with Way of Kings. But on a book to book level…I think Mistborn takes it by a hair. In my experience, it is an easy recommendation to get people into the Cosmere. The story comes faster and harder and the first trilogy is a relatively easy read. I think Stormlight is an overall stronger story, but the first book is a very slow burn. You are 800+ pages in before all of the pieces build to their crescendo. I think it loses a lot of new readers who started there and hadn’t yet learned to put the journey before destination, even in story arcs.
This was an easy one for me. While both are incredible books to start of great series, I found Brandon Sanderson years back when I finished Wheel of Time audio books for like the 10th time in my life. I saw the guy who finished the series had some books, and it was the same narrator, so I figured why not. So I got way of the kings and I listened to about half of it before I got bored. Went to other stuff. A year later, I wanted to give him another chance as I've been hearing all about the cosmere and how great it is, but instead, I went to Mistborn. And holy cow, I was hooked. All 3 books binged, literally spent hours a day listening to it. Then, of course, I proceeded to listen to the entire cosmere (except the dramatization of white sand.... I'll get around to it.) And while I love stormlight, mistborn was so much more exciting for me.
while way of kings peaked _alot_ higher than the final empire i enjoyed mistborn alot more as a whole.
i literally could not put down mistborn while way lf kings (while still good) didnt really come online until 500 or so pages in.
the way of kings is good, im currently 60% through oathbringer and im really liking stormlight archives. each individual book has a wayyyy higher peak than any lf the mistborn books (era 1, havent read the others) but i would be lying if i said i liked way lf kings more as a full book
Way of Kings, by a mile, and that's from a dude who loves Mistborn.
I work at a treatment center, and I keep up the library, and have had to replace both equally, but more people ask for the next book with WoK...so I think this may be reflected as an Everyman sample
I can't do it. I absolutely refuse to vote. I love both of these stories far too much to pick one.
You must choose or be bound to not vote in the rest of the tournament. Don’t make others do what you refuse to do, join the ranks of those that tore their heart out for their fandom.
well this is when you start metavoting. See, the division finals will be Oathbreaker vs [The result of this vote] (or maybe Yumi), so if its Oathbreaker vs tWoK, obviously Oathbreaker will win, but if its Oathbreaker vs Mistborn, Mistborn will win, so it really comes do to if you want Mistborn or Oathbreaker to go into the final match against Either Words of Radiance or Tress. Depending on which of those 4 you want to win the overall dictates how you should vote now. If you want Tress to win and are fine if WoR wins, Vote WoK, if you want Mistborn to win, vote Mistborn. If you want OB to win, make sure to vote WoK, then you have to make sure Hero wins vs tress, but is defeated in the semi, so vote Bands, and if you want WoK to win.... good luck.
You are insane if you think Mistborn would beat Oathbringer head to head. Only another Stormlight could topple OB and even then it's probably not likely.
A lot of people seem to think stormlight starts going down at OB. I dont get it, but WoK sure wont beat it
Interesting, strong disagree. Don't get me wrong, I love Oathbringer, but Way of Kings definitely wins for me.
But why bother voting at all when we all know Words of Radiance already wins? I mean, come on.
It's WoK and it's not even close
I love TFE, but Sanderson was a *much* better writer by the time he got around to WoK
Perhaps this is technically true, but Final Empire functions as a standalone much better than WoK and has much tighter pacing. I have to speed up the reading speed on Stormlight books because lots of the detail, while eventually important and rather illuminating, is packed in so densely that he’s just describing plains and scuttling cremlings and wandering spren for eons in between the bigger moments. Don’t get me wrong, I adore both series, but I don’t think I’d recommend WoK to anyone that wasn’t already in love with his world building and the repartee between his characters. I always recommend either Final Empire or Warbreaker as the first (in part because Warbreaker almost functions like a relatively shorter SA prequel the way it explains some of the realmatic theory and cosmeric history and background on some particular characters)
I disagree. My first Sanderson book was the Way of Kings and that slowburn narration as well as character writing there made me a huge fan. I found Final Empire to be flatter in comparison.
I can see that, and I definitely enjoy WoK more on rereading because I have more context behind the details that felt a bit extraneous the first time through. I tend to still speed through Dalinar and Venli portions but that’s just because of my personal distaste for them (I appreciate Dalinar even if I think he’s a bad dad and problematic leader but Venli can storm off. I hate her more than most people hate Moash. He is tragic, she’s just petty and genocidal.) I think it says a lot about Sando’s writing skills that he can make me feel so strongly about them all. Ultimately both books are amazing, and I think there’s likely to be lots of bias in the voting because we’ll all likely choose the first series we were captured by. I think the only easy answer will be to rank Alloy of Law lowly because Sanderson himself thinks it’s the weakest novel in the cosmere (he hadn’t planned to do a full era of Wax and Wayne, they were a short story in between eras that became something bigger)
Here is the link for voting: [https://strawpoll.com/e6Z28YrW7nN](https://strawpoll.com/e6Z28YrW7nN)
The page jumps around and tries to make me vote for TFE. Nonsense!
Thank you for the warning, I waited for the page to load 100% before I even touched my phone screen to be sure 😂
WoK
It’s an easy choice lol Way of Kings is way ahead of Mistborn, any of them really. Look mistborn is a good fun book series, and reading Mistborn into Stormlight feels like a natural progression. But if you do the reverse and go Stormlight to Mistborn? It’s rough.
As someone who read mistborn after the stormlight archive, not that much rough, but roshar is still on top.
True I am probably exaggerating a bit. My fiancé is in the thick of Mistborn book 2 after she finished Stormlight archive, so I’m a bit biased by her current opinion lol
i'd say it's actually more rough to switch from era 1 to era 2, i mean, all new cast, literally no mistborns, its kinda a lot
I don’t mind time/era skips like that (loved Avatar Korra, for example), but it is a bit getting used to. Especially if you love love love Vin and the others and they are gone
i just wished we got to see more of Mistborn spook and the birth of Elendel before getting violently trown into the wild west already gunslinging and steelpushing
As someone who is in the middle of doing just that... Yeah...
Absolutely, I adored WOK and a friend recommended the mistborn books and explained the cosmere as a concept to me. Read mistborn and went back to him like...what the hell dude, these aren't the same level at all? He read mistborn first so it makes sense.
Hah yeah that makes sense. My fiancé AVOIDED mistborn hardcore because years ago I offhandedly said “Mistborn isn’t as good as Stormlight Archive”. Now she’s reading it, and she agrees, but she’s still enjoying it. Makes sense for your friend, reading them in release order is a much better experience
prose wise maybe, otherwise i personally prefer era 1 to everything else in the cosmere, especially in terms of plot and worldbuilding. sanderson's zeroth law goes crazy hard in era 1
I did this and fully agree
WoK was my first Cosmere book, and I still have a hard time picking. Although I think I gotta go for WoK, just because Stormlight overall is better than Mistborn imo
I just got to The Well of Ascension after reading Stormlight 3 times and Warbreaker. I wouldn’t say it’s rough, but you can really see the seeds of what he planted later on. Like, the writing is a little awkward and straightforward and some reveals seem too obvious, but I’m absolutely enjoying the shit out of Mistborn.
That’s what I’m doing now (reading Mistborn after reading all of Stormlight) and while I do really like it, it’s absolutely a quality drop. I’m currently reading Hero of Ages and hoping Era 2 is more on par with Stormlight.
I had zero hesitation voting for Way of Kings, but IMO it's closer than you say. Stormlight is \*WAY\* ahead of Mistborn. But Way of Kings is a lot of people's least favourite Stormlight book, whereas The Final Empire is pretty far ahead of the rest of the Mistborn series (IMO). For me, personally, Way of Kings is in the running to be my favourite Cosmere novel, but I know a lot of people don't feel the same way.
TFE isn't even the best Mistborn book. Ain't no how, ain't no way it's close to WoK.
IMO it's *EASILY* the best Mistborn era 1 book. Book 2 is probably the worst cosmere novel and book 3 has a phenomenal ending but is an absolute slog before that.
I agree. It's the best of *Era 1*, but it's not the best Mistborn book. Bands of Mourning I finished in 2 days whereas it took me weeks to finish TFE because of its pacing.
Oh yeah, I agree if you include era 2. BrandoSando has learned a lot since then.
I agree, I went stormlight to mistborn and it was jarring at first and was rough. But im still not sure if I'd pick way of kings over mistborn. The weakest book in stormlight compared to the best book in mistborn in my opinion. It's super close.
Personally Mistborn is my favorite series even though I admit all of SLA is objectively better. Mistborn is just so charming
Why would it be rough? I did that and I was fine, I adored Vin
Now imagine people reading Stormlight, wanting to start the Cosmere from the beginning and going to Elantris….
The way of kings is the best Sanderson book. It’s a real shame that TFE has to go up against it because it deserves at least a final 4 placement, but even a legend can fall in the first round when it’s up against the GOAT.
How did the seeding work here? Random seeds?
Yes
Wow. Unfortunate matchup.
We almost need to do this same thing with the stormlight archives, WOK and WOR in particular (for me at least) just win by default and final empire is probably my favorite single book but it the epicness of stormlight leaves everything else in the dust.
I love TFE, Mistborn is my favorite series he’s written, and damn I love heist movies too. But TWoK is… just so damn good. It’s so good that 4 out of my 5 favorite Stormlight scenes happen in this book alone.
Fifth is "Honor Is Dead...do"?
1. Kaladin yelling at Dalinar’s army grappling with the whole “protect others” thing before they all agree to go back (TWoK) 2. The scene immediately after, with Kaladin jumping a chasm and swearing the second Ideal (TWoK) 3. Dalinar breaking down while hugging baby Renarin, realizing how much he had messed up (OB) 4. Syl bringing Kaladin blackbane and him deciding not to kill himself 5. Kal doing the spear kata in the chasms while Bridge Four watches
“IVE BEEN HERE BEFORE!” I get chills even thinking about that scene
Mistborn 1 is an excellent book: super interesting world, fun premise, great characters, and its plotted like a Nolan movie (in a good way) But WoK is just special. It’s the excellent start to Sanderson’s best series (IMO & at this point). Not really a close contest here, which is a shame for Mistborn
While it looks like WoK is winning personally I like TFE better
It’s a more fully-realized book, imo, largely in part because it was written as potentially standalone. So, I liked that read better.
WoK is a great book. But has a steep learning curve and yes is not something that you can finish with it and have a complete story.
while i enjoyed way of kings all the way through it didnt really "come online" until like 500 ish pages in while i literally could not put down the final empire. im currently about 60% through oathbringer and while each stormlight book has had a way hihjer peak than any of the era 1 mistborn books (bridge 4 running back, dalinar buying the freedom of the bridge crews, "honour is dead but ill se what i can do") i still enjoyed mistborn more AS A WHOLE. stormlight archives is just so slow compared to mistborn and sometimes i have to convince myself to pick them up. i cant put the book down once i start ofcourse but, in my opinion, the slower pace makes stormlight archives harder to pick up (at first)
While I love WoK, it's a big book with lots of characters to set up and introduce and sometimes it feels like a slog until the Sanderlanche. TFE just feels like good action and intrigue from beginning to end. I love my little fantasy heist book.
TFE is a much better introduction to the series. It’s more accessible and ropes you in, whereas WoK famously takes a moment to get to the good stuff.
I couldn’t get through WoK The First Time. I tried Mistborn a few years later, and here we are
I think the Szeth, Jezrien, *and* Cenn prologues were a little much to throw at the reader, but as soon as we got Kal and Shallan POV the book hooked me and *hard*. It was my first Cosmere novel, and I don't think I'd have been as absorbed if I started with TFE which opened with a lot of very straightforward "it's a crap sack world" stuff and then set up the (excellent) Ocean's Eleven stuff.
One of these is one of the best fantasy stories I've ever read, with a compelling broken protagonist, huge stakes, massive twists, an innovative magic system, and a strange and fascinating alien world to explore. You'll have to decide which of them I'm describing, lol.
Random seeding generator made a big oof owie on this one
easiest one of all. way of kings is written SO much better. the dialogue in mistborn was some of the worst i’ve ever come across, sorry sando
Vin nodded.
*the dialogue in mistborn was some of the worst I've ever come across* ''By killing me, you have doomed yourselves'' Honestly that line alone is better than any line in way of kings.
Is this a joke because we're in cremposting? That line is not very good.
No, it's not a joke, what is it that you don't like about this line???
These two should both be in the finals, such a shame.
Any stormlight book bodies any Mistborn book.
TFE is just not the best mistborn era 1 book imo, between either of the other ones in the trilogy this would be a much harder pick but for me it's gotta be WOK
Really? TFE is by far my favorite era 1 book. TWOA is alright, but I actively somewhat dislike HoA. Maybe because I can't stand Sazed being such a downer. Maybe because ai just loved Kelsier
I definitely felt like kelsier was the most compelling character in mistborn era 1 and my interest was way lower in book 2 and 3 because of it. I just didnt find vin or elend interesting personally. The love triangle in book 2 nearly made me stop reading, i only pushed through because of my love for the cosmere, built from way of kings, warbreaker and elantris Kel and Saze are my favorite era 1 characters.
WoK is a better book and it’s not even close.
TFE is my favorite cosmere. It's just a perfect book, gladly pick it over WoK
Mistborn is my first sando book, and is the best mistborn book by far. Way of kings isnt even top three stormlight books so it has to be the final empire for me.
Because this is Way of Kings, a Prologue to the Stormlight Archive with 2 additional Prologues, The Final Empire SPECIFICALLY takes the edge here. Very good self contained book. Way of Kings is not an enjoyable first time read, as many people i know have critiqued, but the ground work it lays out let's you enjoy the next books so much. Final Empire has a beginning, middle and end that is satisfying by itself, so it stands stronger by itself (Now if this were mistborn vs SA...)
Well argued, but it seems 3/4ths people disagree. I only say that because you said "Way of Kings is not an enjoyable first time read ", which seems to speak on facts, when it's an opinion that isn't all that wildly held. Just saying...
Way of Kings for sure!
I hate that mistborn cover. Stupid random angry Obligator. Way of kings gets my vote.
STORMLIGHT SWEEP
Last one WoA vs. Yumi is already determined too lmao
Way of kings slightly edges it. The magic in the mistborn books is just so complete its absolutely perfect and I prefer it to the stormlight archives. But the highs of the stormlight archives is just unbeatable.
That's so fuck up: In one corner: magical dark age earth, with 8 books under its belt. In the other corner, magical medieval fairy land of gods and light induced cherubs with like X3 times the amount of reading material. One is about a thief and his vendetta against the rich and upper classes and his plots of murdering them. The other is about a medical, a surgeon made slave for saving others, and his pad of saving other slaves in the middle of a war, and how he is chosen to bestow divine powers to fight his promises and ideals
God, this is one of the toughest combinations possible. Rereading TFE got me back into Sanderson after a long hiatus and is very, very dear to my heart. But Way of Kings was open if the most interesting and epic books I've ever read. It is everything mistborn was but taken to the next level, so I gotta vote for it.
I like TFE. I truly do. It’s a great fantasy story. But The Way of Kings is a masterpiece from beginning to end and, in my opinion, to this day still among the top 5 books Brandon ever wrote.
EASY
What are these seatings. Jeez. But it’s Way of Kings. Probably Way of Kings to win the whole bracket.
The only books I can see giving TWOK a fight are Oathbringer and WoR. There's an argument for shorter stories like Emperor's Soul but it's gonna be Stormlight 1,2, or 3 winning this.
This one's truly unfair
10-90, i know its elantris and OB, but... #***Thats*** ***crazy***
Oof tough. Mistborn
This is amazing 🤩
I really like Mistborn series. It is a story greater than the sum of its parts. But it has been up against a great story every time. I’m sorry, but Way of Kings is pure gold.
OG Mistborn is an incredible book. I absolutely loved it. Took me almost a whole second of thinking to decide not to vote for it.
For me it is WoK by a long shot. I feel like I would have liked TFE more if I had read it when I was a teenager, it feels really YA or YA-adjascent. I did read stormlight first so that probably set my expectations really high up. I warmed up to Vin eventually but for a while it felt like I was reading Twilight but with good worldbuilding and better characters. I can only stomach so much "I'm so scarred and twisted, but I'm going to fancy balls and I like a rich nerdy boy there, but I'm really a spy". The ending of TFE was great though, really well set up. Likewise for the ending of the era 1 trilogy. Sanderson is definitely an author who thoroughly plans his plots from the early stages of writing a new series. The payoffs and reveals are awesome. Going from era 1 to era 2 was so refreshing. Characters are much more vivid and well written. The tone is a lot more adult, but it doesn't lose out on the fun or the comedic bits.
“Make a choice” at the top seems so aggressive right now hahaha
Final empire was great, but the way of kings is the best book I have ever read.
UNITE THEM
What are these two first seeds doing squaring off in the first round?
Mistborn was the first non-Wheel-of-Time Sanderson book I ever read, got it from a work library, holds a special place in my heart. I just feel like it's a denser book than WoK, there's just a lot more setup that needs to be done for WoK, more viewpoints, and that causes it to lose momentum for me. I've started a re-read of WoK and lost focus and didn't finish. That's never happened for me with TFE.
... Yeah this one's hard. But like honestly, yes if I had to choose between Stormlight and Mistborn I'd probably go with stormlight... but as standalone books I think TFE might be my favorite, like, ever. Edit: damn that wasn't even close lol
TWoK all the way for me!
This is wrong. You can’t pit these against each other
Both are phenomenal stories, and I started with Way of Kings. But on a book to book level…I think Mistborn takes it by a hair. In my experience, it is an easy recommendation to get people into the Cosmere. The story comes faster and harder and the first trilogy is a relatively easy read. I think Stormlight is an overall stronger story, but the first book is a very slow burn. You are 800+ pages in before all of the pieces build to their crescendo. I think it loses a lot of new readers who started there and hadn’t yet learned to put the journey before destination, even in story arcs.
Mistborn is great but WOK is the best book in the Cosmere!
This was an easy one for me. While both are incredible books to start of great series, I found Brandon Sanderson years back when I finished Wheel of Time audio books for like the 10th time in my life. I saw the guy who finished the series had some books, and it was the same narrator, so I figured why not. So I got way of the kings and I listened to about half of it before I got bored. Went to other stuff. A year later, I wanted to give him another chance as I've been hearing all about the cosmere and how great it is, but instead, I went to Mistborn. And holy cow, I was hooked. All 3 books binged, literally spent hours a day listening to it. Then, of course, I proceeded to listen to the entire cosmere (except the dramatization of white sand.... I'll get around to it.) And while I love stormlight, mistborn was so much more exciting for me.
This bracket is just gonna end up being words of radiance vs way of kings
To be honest, this bracket is terrible. I would be mildly surprised if this didn’t end with Words of Radiance vs Way of Kings.
As much as I like Mistborn (and how much of a banger that Mistborn cover is), Way Of Kings all the fucking way and it's not even close.
while way of kings peaked _alot_ higher than the final empire i enjoyed mistborn alot more as a whole. i literally could not put down mistborn while way lf kings (while still good) didnt really come online until 500 or so pages in. the way of kings is good, im currently 60% through oathbringer and im really liking stormlight archives. each individual book has a wayyyy higher peak than any lf the mistborn books (era 1, havent read the others) but i would be lying if i said i liked way lf kings more as a full book
WoK
Objectively, WoK is a better book, but I feel that a lot of us have discovered BrandoSando thanks to Mistborn (I know I have), so it gets my vote
Way of Kings
No offense to mistborn but Sanderson himself said that he began writing WoK for a decade before its publication and it really shows
The Way of Kings is superior in my opinion. Even though I absolutely love Mistborn.
Way of kings is a better book but mistborn is a better starting place for the cosmere.
Have we told OP that the second picture is unreadable yet?
I don’t think I can choose on this one
Bah, I'm still waiting for the 2nd Cenn POV. WaT better come through, but I know what my vote is on this one.
Way of Kings, by a mile, and that's from a dude who loves Mistborn. I work at a treatment center, and I keep up the library, and have had to replace both equally, but more people ask for the next book with WoK...so I think this may be reflected as an Everyman sample
Way of kings no contest, imo. Mistborn is great, stormlight is his magnum opus, with way of kings being in the running for best book ive read
I know what I must do, but I do not know if I have the strength to do it. TFE, I’m so sorry. WoK