It’s official — as of late January 2026, Apple TV+ closed on the rights to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. If you know anything about Sanderson, you know that the universe consists of 20-plus works (novels, novellas, and shorter fiction) — which is a massive acquisition when you consider Sanderson’s world-building, magic systems, and especially the gaping hole Game of Thrones left in the fantasy TV genre.
Right now, Apple TV+ has its sights on two of Sanderson’s most beloved series in the Cosmere universe: Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive, in film and TV formats, respectively. Like any major screen adaptation, anticipating fans are rushing to the shelves to get a head start on what will surely be an epic fantasy ride.
The Mistborn series is relatively straightforward when it comes to reading order, but The Stormlight Archive has a few nuances. While the first five main books in the series are all the basic reader needs, there are a few other important novellas and other Cosmere books to consider adding to the pile if you want every little detail Sanderson layered in. And believe me, there’s a lot.
If this is the first you’re hearing of Sanderson’s epic storytelling, here’s what The Stormlight Archive is about and what order you should read it in before Apple TV+ brings it to life.
What is Stormlight Archive about?
A Brandon Sanderson masterpiece
Brandon Sanderson is a legendary name in fantasy and world-building. While he’s been writing for about two decades and has published 70-plus books, Sanderson was put in the spotlight in 2007 when he was selected to finish The Wheel of Time, a beloved and epic fantasy series, after its author Robert Jordan passed away. Impressed by the first Mistborn novel, Harriet McDougal (Jordan’s editor and wife), asked Sanderson to finish her husband’s last installment and wrap up the series. In pure Sanderson fashion, he elected to write three more instead of one.
Rise to fame aside, The Stormlight Archives follows three main characters: a healer forced to give up his trade and enter soldier-slavery, a scholar with ulterior motives, and a highprice who wants to bring together a broken kingdom. Living on a war-torn planet plagued by monstrous storms and intricate magic systems, each character has a part to play in the dangerous paths ahead of them.
What order should you read The Stormlight Archive series?
It depends on how deep you want to go
There isn’t a secret “best” way to read The Stormlight Archive, no matter how much deliberation you’ll find on Reddit. The series is another installment in Sanderson’s epic Cosmere universe, where all of his intricate fantasy stories take place. As of early 2026, the beloved fantasy author has finished 20-plus Cosmere books, with plenty still in the works.
However, you don’t have to read any of his other series to enjoy and understand The Stormlight Archive. Sanderson intentionally wrote each of the Cosmere series to stand on their own and not depend on others set in the same universe, though he does throw in Easter eggs and minor overlaps that enrich the reading experience. There’s nothing more rewarding than recognizing a name or object reference from another book and becoming the pointing Leonardo DiCaprio meme from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
If you want to stick to the basics, the simplest way to get through The Stormlight Archive is to read the five main books (so far) in order:
- The Way of Kings
- Words of Radiance
- Oathbringer
- Rhythm of War
- Wind and Truth
The list above represents the five official main works of The Stormlight Archive series. Sanderson intends to write five more to complete its 10-book plan. However, he gave his voracious readers even more by publishing two novellas set specifically within The Stormlight Archive series, which can completely enrich the story. Here’s how to read the series with those layered in:
- The Way of Kings
- Words of Radiance
- (Optional) Novella: Edgedancer
- Oathbringer
- (Optional) Novella: Dawnshard
- Rhythm of War
- Wind and Truth
Now, remember what I said about Sanderson writing each series with the intention of it standing alone? 20+ books is an intimidating commitment, but it’s true that reading more of the Cosmere books will broaden your understanding of the magic system, world-building, and general conflict driving each of the series.
Below, each Stormlight-Archive-specific book or novella is in bold, and the optional extras are in plain text:
- The Way of Kings
- (Optional) Warbreaker
- Words of Radiance
- (Optional) Novella: Edgedancer
- Oathbringer
- (Optional) Novella: Dawnshard
- (Optional) The Mistborn series
- Rhythm of War
- Wind and Truth
Warbreaker is a standalone Cosmere novel that fits nicely into The Stormlight Archive series between The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. There’s some deliberation online that it can harm a reader’s momentum by deviating from the main storyline so early in the series, but fast readers shouldn’t notice too much of an interruption. After all, the trade-off is a few “Ah, ha!” moments when you get back to Words of Radiance.
Most readers agree that if you’re going to layer in any relevant addition, Warbreaker makes the most sense. However, there’s also the option to add in the Mistborn series before Rhythm of War, which is a much more intimidating commitment. Mistborn is still unfinished, but Sanderson has already written seven main novels in the series, plus at least one dedicated novella and other shorter pieces.
I would only recommend layering in the Mistborn series if you’re truly yearning to know every single detail Sanderson had in mind when he wrote (and will write) Rhythm of War and the books that follow. If you’re the kind of reader who can’t get enough of Cosmere, you’ll find that reading Mistborn before diving back into the main Stormlight Archive storyline will only make the series richer.
However, remember that The Stormlight Archive will be immensely enjoyable, no matter whether you choose to stick to the main works or layer in other books.
