Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

Brandon Sanderson comin out with ANOTHER thrill ful book. I would suggest reading if you like AWESOMENESS!!!

For fans of Sanderson and his amazing universe.

An amazing collection I can’t recommend enough!

... and yet “Edgedancer” made her a whole lot more likable and also features one of my favorite characters. For the sake of not spoiling anything (and because the whole book isn’t about Lift) I don’t want to go into many details, but Edgedancer is definitely worth reading for anybody following the Stormlight series. Also excellent, The Emperor’s Soul. Probably the strongest standalone story in Arcanum Unbounded, or better said, the one I personally enjoyed most. I also really enjoyed Sixth of the Dusk. Having read the first three Mistborn books, which I frankly have very mixed feelings about (great ending, but I barely warmed up to any of the characters), I though the Eleventh Metal was somewhat interesting, but Secret History ... it’s hard to keep things completely spoiler free here, but let’s just say I liked a certain main character better in the main series. There were some interesting revelations and explanations regarding the first three books that I liked, along with other references I didn’t get (probably related to the newer Mistborn books). Continuing with Mistborn, Allomancer Jak was interesting and well written, but felt more like a sample than something that should’ve been in the book on its own. I skipped the Hope of Elantris, because I’m not familiar with that Universe and might want to read that series at some point - it’s a nice thing that Arcanum Unbounded warns the reader of potential spoilers. Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell was alright, it didn’t move me in either direction, but I wouldn’t want to know more about that Universe and its characters. When I hit White Sand, I felt like returning the book (because at that point I only really enjoyed Emperor’s Soul). It’s an excerpt from a graphic novel, which is not only difficult to read in iBooks, but it’s also frankly not what I signed up for. I don’t mind graphic novels in general, but aside from this being a story collection and the technical difficulties, I did not care for the illustrations, characters and story. Then of course, the last two stories put things in perspective and I feel the whole thing justifies 4 stars. If you’re not familiar with (or don’t like) Mistborn and Stormlight Archives, I would recommend not buying this book, and instead just getting Emperor’s Soul. If you enjoyed only one of the aforementioned series and like Sanderson’s writing and world building, it’s a good collection.