Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

By Brandon Sanderson

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection - Brandon Sanderson
  • Release Date: 2016-11-22
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 456 Ratings

Description

An all-new 120-page Stormlight Archive novella, "Edgedancer," will be the crown jewel of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, the first book of short fiction by #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

The collection will include nine works in all. The first eight are:

“The Hope of Elantris” (Elantris)
“The Eleventh Metal” (Mistborn)
“The Emperor's Soul” (Elantris)
“Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes 28 through 30” (Mistborn)
“White Sand" (excerpt; Taldain)
"Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell” (Threnody)
“Sixth of Dusk” (First of the Sun)
“Mistborn: Secret History” (Mistborn)

These wonderful works, originally published on Tor.com and elsewhere individually, convey the expanse of the Cosmere and tell exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, including the Hugo Award-winning novella, “The Emperor's Soul” and an excerpt from the graphic novel "White Sand."

Arcanum Unbounded will also contain the 120-page Stormlight Archive novella "Edgedancer," which will appear in this book for the first time anywhere. It is a story of Lift, taking place between Words of Radiance and the forthcoming Oathbringer.

Finally, this collection includes essays and illustrations for the various planetary systems in which the stories are set.

Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson

The Cosmere

The Stormlight Archive

The Way of Kings
Words of Radiance
Edgedancer (Novella)
Oathbringer

The Mistborn trilogy

Mistborn: The Final Empire
The Well of Ascension
The Hero of Ages

Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne series
Alloy of Law
Shadows of Self
Bands of Mourning


Collection
Arcanum Unbounded

Other Cosmere novels
Elantris
Warbreaker

The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians
The Scrivener's Bones
The Knights of Crystallia
The Shattered Lens
The Dark Talent

The Rithmatist series
The Rithmatist

Other books by Brandon Sanderson

The Reckoners

Steelheart
Firefight
Calamity

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Reviews

  • Love it!

    5
    By Oodd B Narr
    For fans of Sanderson and his amazing universe.
  • Brandon never stops amazing

    5
    By LewsTherinKinslayer
    An amazing collection I can’t recommend enough!
  • Lift is one of my least favorite characters in the Stormlight series ...

    4
    By Markus1023
    ... 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.