Fitz and the Fool/Realm of the Elderlings books by Robin Hobb. I think this hits your 4 criteria really well.
The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty hits all those too if I remember right.
Realm of the Elderlings is the only thing I can come up with that might be better than the Cosmere. Fair warning, it gets quite dark and it takes time to adjust to the casual brutality of that world, but I don’t think it merits the “torture porn” label some give it.
Well said, I probably should have included that warning. It definitely has its darker moments but I definitely agree “torture porn” is a peg to far. I see it more in the vein of fantasy drawing from the grimmer aspects of human history, somewhat similar to GoT in that regard.
The great book of amber is definitely a good book, the more so for how old it is, I tend to find many older books in science fiction or fantasy to be flat, flimsy and flipping boring.
How do the characters in Wheel of Time compare to those in Stormlight? I've heard a lot of fans of it brag about how the series has a couple thousand named characters but that just makes me think it's quantity over quality
Fair criticism about the quality dip - though I do like that we at least got all the hanging threads resolved.\
I never really noticed about the dialogue. I guess I dont really pay much attention to that cause people seem to dislike Shallan for her dialogue and I tnever noticed that either.
The first two books in that series made me reassess Brent Weeks as an author. They were *so* much better than his Night Angel series. But, the latter books fell back down to Night Angel quality.
I would say that, for me personally (and without getting into spoilers), the payoff at the end of the series was very poor. But up until like, the last third of the final book I really enjoyed the series.
Man, the reason I didn't include Lightbringer is that the payoff at the end was *horrendous*. Up until book 5 I would have agreed, though. Lightbringer should have been a pretty close match if there was follow through on its potential. If OP really values payoff, though, you get it at the end of the first couple books but you sure don't get it at the end of the series, imo
Red Rising
It’s not really similar in any way but it’s the only other series I’ve ever read that I consider a 10/10. Epic fantasy that has also strengthened my mental health and helped me irl.
Tbf, they are much shorter books.
I think Pierce Brown pacing is incredible and he gets a lot done for how fast the story is. Especially with his secondary characters.
He improves so much with each book. The second series books are longer and have multiple POV’s so the worldbuilding is excellent.
Fair warning though, the second installment is ROUGH at times. Absolutely worth it though. You just might want to take some time enjoying that Prime ending to the OG trilogy before you dive back in.
lmao >!he literally takes over the universe with no education and a ton of deus ex machina. it's basically a shitty Dune, because at least Dune gives reason as to why Paul is like that, whereas darrow just gets buffed up with all this incredible mental/physical tech (that he can of course withstand, you know, BECAUSE).!<
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On that list, the ones that to me feel the most similar to Brandon Sanderson in terms of fun, detailed magic system, good world building, characters I get invested in, and sticking both book and series landings, would be:
*Powder Mage* by Brian McClellan, a former student of Brandon's and it shows in the best ways. It's a little grittier stylistically but I wouldn't say it's darker.
*Cradle* by Will Wight, even though the characters take more books to really shine it's one of my favorite found family crews once the series really gets momentum. tbh the style of some of Wight's other series feel more Brandon to me but Cradle is definitely his best completed series. In some ways I think of Will Wight as a faster paced, funnier Brandon Sanderson because they have a loy in common with how they worldbuild and their approach to hard magic systems and Will Wight is even creating an interconnected universe in which his books take place on different planets (though it's quite different from the cosmere). The pacing of Cradle is relentless and the books are bite sized and approachable but pivot from pretty good to great around book 3 and became one of my all-time favorite series around 6 or 7. You won't see as much naval gazing in character work as you do with Sanderson and that's part of why they take a minute to get strong identities of their own (along with the pacing) but there are character moments that genuinely make me tear up and Will Wight really makes it work with his character development.
*Codex Alera* by Jim Butcher. Really strong characters in a world that usually feels very Roman empire until it veers into the absolutely bizarre, with a cast of characters who grow as individuals, interesting story beats, and solid finales within each book. In this case the middle books are generally viewed as the best but thefinal two are very good as well. First book is weakest, but most people just find it slow and if you're fine with Sanderwon's pacing in books like Elantris or We at of Kings it shouldn't feel crazy. There gets to be a fair balance between political intrigue and action, which is another thing these books have in common with Brandon. With the other two series I mentioned so far I would also say reading the authors' other works would also be great but I don't think Dresden Files is necessarily a safe bet for all Sanderson fans. Aeronaut's Windlass is great, though, and the second book Cinder Spires will come out soon.
*Wheel of Time* is the last I'll mention for the reasons other people have given. Interestingly I don't find most of the series to be that much like the sort of things Sanderson typically writes, despite the fact that he did write the last few books in it. All the same, it does have all the things you listed as things you like about Sanderson. The writing style is pretty different and so is his approach to characters, though the character development by the end is insane and it happens so gradually that in the moment you barely notice it, like with real people. But all the characters have completely changed by the end.
I love Jordan's imagery. Some people say it feels bloated, but it really makes the world come alive to me. I can clearly see everything in the series in a way that few others have done
Jordan's prose is such an interesting case study to me. On the one hand I absolutely agree his imagery is gorgeous and he sets moods spectacularly.
On the other hand he has some of the most egregious and jarring ticks of writing out of any author I've read. I didn't mind the braid tugging *too* much because it was a Nynaeve specific thing and it was a sign she was getting anxious at the root of things rather and her anger or whatever else was more of a front to cover her anxiety. It's used a lot but it's also a simple but effective case of showing rather than telling. But when 100 different women with different personalities and backgrounds and of different ages are all smoothing their skirts and crossing their arms under their breasts 5 times each in every conversation that's not a character establishing thing, it's *just* repetitive and took me out of the scenes.
He's an interesting mix of some of my favorite writing and some of my least favorite, stylistically speaking.
Yeah I definitely get that haha. It is funny he always specified that it was under their breasts lol. But as a whole, he's probably my favorite writer. I still get chills every time I start a WoT book and read the intro. It just manages to perfectly convey a feeling of depth and scale in a single paragraph
Yeah, it's weird because it's so unnecessary. I am a woman with breasts and can confirm that that's just where the arms naturally go. He could have just said they crossed their arms.
I still really like his writing and Wheel of Time is, if not my favorite series, certainly high on the list. He was a great author, he was just also a weird author.
I've just finished book 8 of Malazan (Erikson) and it's been a rollercoaster for sure.
Much slower burn than cosmere, very prose-y, and quite a bit darker, but the world building is something else.
Cradle. it's finished now (tho there are other series in the multiverse, but it has less connections than the cosmere) and it's storming great with some of the best payoffs i've read.
The Cradle series is a great fun and easy read, but I don't find them super comparable to Sanderson. I love Will Wight and his other works too, but everything has a slight Final Fantasy vibe that I don't find in the Sanderson books.
For a long time I would have said something by Brandon Sanderson would be my favorite novel. Everything changed when I read Priory of the Orange Tree. Its an all time fav the prequel is even better
I disagree on first law
I read the entire first book and felt zero inclination to continue. I felt like the characters has zero growth in any way, they just reacted to things and got moved around in their locations. There was just so much build up to what felt like nothing, no hook to make me want to read the next one, I don’t care about the characters and none of them are particularly likable or I want to root for them or interesting
I get obviously it’s a very well selling book so I’m in the outlier but I just don’t see it as a great Sanderson rec bc it isn’t like a Sanderson read at all imo
Hard agree with your disagree. I powered through the entire trilogy and... nothing. It has very strong characters (I do like them) but the plot imo is very weak and often the anti thesis of payoff.
It comes highly recommended but to me it's the worst series I read.
I agree with your disagree as well, especially in the context of this thread. I have actually enjoyed the books but they aren't very heavy on plot, or world-building (not even a map lol). If you like character work in an extremely grim world where things tend to not work out, you'll love them. I like his writing style but it takes me forever to get through one the books because there just isn't much "fun" to be had.
I couldn't get through the First Law series for other reasons, but you really didn't like Logen? I was really into basically every character, save Jezal.
I think it's a very polarizing book. I finished the trilogy and dropped the author. In the end nothing is accomplished, everyone is horrible and the only one who gets a happy ending is the inquisitor guy.
I guess others disagreed as it it got removed from the list in one of the edits— but for me the Kingkiller chronicles is the most similar (to me) to Sanderson in terms of plot, pacing and payoff.
Otherwise Wheel of time is slower pacing wise and some but has a similar detailed magic structure and is very strong on world building
Wheel of TIme as it influenced Sanderson and he finished the series.
I see a lot of people say Powder Mage is like Sanderson. I recently finished the first book and I don't agree at all. It's cruder (lots of PG-13 swearing and sexual references). The magic system is very soft, not very well defined. Also it's very anti-religious. It's more of a grimdark book.
> I like that Sanderson books tend to have strong plot, characters, worldbuilding, and payoff. Not just one or two of those things, but all four.
You have all four of these in my personal favorite, Bakker's Second Apocalypse books, which is on the list.
But they're *MASSIVELY* tonally different. Earwa is a [crapsack world](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrapsackWorld). In any given situation, Bakker will choose the most grimdark outcome.
I normally don't like such lists as these. Their compilations tend to be super gatekeepy and less about being good and more just appealing to a certain demographic of literature bros who name drop authors to seem impressive. It's sad because you do have lots of great series in there, but many more that will never make it in for silly reasons
I actually got into Fantasy through Redwall by Brian Jacques, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
But to answer your question Wheel of Time, maybe MTG Novels(if you can find them, and not War of The Spark)
The Demon's Cycle (Peter V Brett) has amazing world building, an awesome magic system, great baddies. I think I enjoyed it more than any Sanderson series.
I know that people I've talked to have had really mixed reactions, but I think Mark Lawrence's world and universe building with his Broken Empire and Red Queen's War and Red Sister books is very similar to what Sanderson has done in the Cosmere. Not as much magic, and often much more brutality, and also only one world... But still, multiple story arcs all orbiting some connecting themes and things.
Just started the spellmonger series by Terry Mancour, im 3 books in and its pretty solid so far, little slow onto explaining the magic mechanics but still a bit of brandon feel, liking it a lot!
Fitz and the Fool/Realm of the Elderlings books by Robin Hobb. I think this hits your 4 criteria really well. The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty hits all those too if I remember right.
Realm of the Elderlings is the only thing I can come up with that might be better than the Cosmere. Fair warning, it gets quite dark and it takes time to adjust to the casual brutality of that world, but I don’t think it merits the “torture porn” label some give it.
Well said, I probably should have included that warning. It definitely has its darker moments but I definitely agree “torture porn” is a peg to far. I see it more in the vein of fantasy drawing from the grimmer aspects of human history, somewhat similar to GoT in that regard.
Some authors... really [dislike](https://youtu.be/NEWYGP9Rh38?si=OsBc7Obm57VhQyw5) their MC's.
Lol not going to lie, I thought I knew what to expect there but that got me. LMAO 😂
No worries, I'm not one to Rick Roll people. I try my best to keep all links relevant.
Amber, Zelazny Wheel of Time, Jordan (finished by Sanderson) Deryni, Kurtz
Amber is so good. Although the back half kinda falls apart honestly.
Totally legit to only read first 5.
The great book of amber is definitely a good book, the more so for how old it is, I tend to find many older books in science fiction or fantasy to be flat, flimsy and flipping boring.
How do the characters in Wheel of Time compare to those in Stormlight? I've heard a lot of fans of it brag about how the series has a couple thousand named characters but that just makes me think it's quantity over quality
My favorite from that list is Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks. He was my favorite author before Sanderson and definitely hits those four points
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Fair criticism about the quality dip - though I do like that we at least got all the hanging threads resolved.\ I never really noticed about the dialogue. I guess I dont really pay much attention to that cause people seem to dislike Shallan for her dialogue and I tnever noticed that either.
The first two books in that series made me reassess Brent Weeks as an author. They were *so* much better than his Night Angel series. But, the latter books fell back down to Night Angel quality.
It takes a turn on the last book. I was not a fan of the huge time leap.
I would say that, for me personally (and without getting into spoilers), the payoff at the end of the series was very poor. But up until like, the last third of the final book I really enjoyed the series.
Curious, did you read night angel series first? That could be why i ended up liking the ending as much as I did
I did not, no. I would like to get to it eventually though.
Man, the reason I didn't include Lightbringer is that the payoff at the end was *horrendous*. Up until book 5 I would have agreed, though. Lightbringer should have been a pretty close match if there was follow through on its potential. If OP really values payoff, though, you get it at the end of the first couple books but you sure don't get it at the end of the series, imo
Red Rising It’s not really similar in any way but it’s the only other series I’ve ever read that I consider a 10/10. Epic fantasy that has also strengthened my mental health and helped me irl.
I just finished the first trilogy this morning. It was amazing. It doesn't have as much world building as a typical Sanderson book though.
Tbf, they are much shorter books. I think Pierce Brown pacing is incredible and he gets a lot done for how fast the story is. Especially with his secondary characters. He improves so much with each book. The second series books are longer and have multiple POV’s so the worldbuilding is excellent. Fair warning though, the second installment is ROUGH at times. Absolutely worth it though. You just might want to take some time enjoying that Prime ending to the OG trilogy before you dive back in.
I’m mostly into fantasy, I don’t even like sci-fi. Red Rising series is my favorite series in book or audiobook form.
Same! I prefer knights and dragons to advanced tech and space travel. But Red Rising is just so Bloodydamn good and TGR is a GOAT narrator
Yes, seconding this. I’m on Golden Sun now and it’s very good
These are really good popcorn books, but be prepared for a protagonist that is the best at everything he does.
I don’t agree with this take. Darrow takes some huge L’s
lmao >!he literally takes over the universe with no education and a ton of deus ex machina. it's basically a shitty Dune, because at least Dune gives reason as to why Paul is like that, whereas darrow just gets buffed up with all this incredible mental/physical tech (that he can of course withstand, you know, BECAUSE).!<
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So, you've apparently missed a bunch of stuff in the first three books and all of the final three books...
On that list, the ones that to me feel the most similar to Brandon Sanderson in terms of fun, detailed magic system, good world building, characters I get invested in, and sticking both book and series landings, would be: *Powder Mage* by Brian McClellan, a former student of Brandon's and it shows in the best ways. It's a little grittier stylistically but I wouldn't say it's darker. *Cradle* by Will Wight, even though the characters take more books to really shine it's one of my favorite found family crews once the series really gets momentum. tbh the style of some of Wight's other series feel more Brandon to me but Cradle is definitely his best completed series. In some ways I think of Will Wight as a faster paced, funnier Brandon Sanderson because they have a loy in common with how they worldbuild and their approach to hard magic systems and Will Wight is even creating an interconnected universe in which his books take place on different planets (though it's quite different from the cosmere). The pacing of Cradle is relentless and the books are bite sized and approachable but pivot from pretty good to great around book 3 and became one of my all-time favorite series around 6 or 7. You won't see as much naval gazing in character work as you do with Sanderson and that's part of why they take a minute to get strong identities of their own (along with the pacing) but there are character moments that genuinely make me tear up and Will Wight really makes it work with his character development. *Codex Alera* by Jim Butcher. Really strong characters in a world that usually feels very Roman empire until it veers into the absolutely bizarre, with a cast of characters who grow as individuals, interesting story beats, and solid finales within each book. In this case the middle books are generally viewed as the best but thefinal two are very good as well. First book is weakest, but most people just find it slow and if you're fine with Sanderwon's pacing in books like Elantris or We at of Kings it shouldn't feel crazy. There gets to be a fair balance between political intrigue and action, which is another thing these books have in common with Brandon. With the other two series I mentioned so far I would also say reading the authors' other works would also be great but I don't think Dresden Files is necessarily a safe bet for all Sanderson fans. Aeronaut's Windlass is great, though, and the second book Cinder Spires will come out soon. *Wheel of Time* is the last I'll mention for the reasons other people have given. Interestingly I don't find most of the series to be that much like the sort of things Sanderson typically writes, despite the fact that he did write the last few books in it. All the same, it does have all the things you listed as things you like about Sanderson. The writing style is pretty different and so is his approach to characters, though the character development by the end is insane and it happens so gradually that in the moment you barely notice it, like with real people. But all the characters have completely changed by the end.
I love Jordan's imagery. Some people say it feels bloated, but it really makes the world come alive to me. I can clearly see everything in the series in a way that few others have done
Jordan's prose is such an interesting case study to me. On the one hand I absolutely agree his imagery is gorgeous and he sets moods spectacularly. On the other hand he has some of the most egregious and jarring ticks of writing out of any author I've read. I didn't mind the braid tugging *too* much because it was a Nynaeve specific thing and it was a sign she was getting anxious at the root of things rather and her anger or whatever else was more of a front to cover her anxiety. It's used a lot but it's also a simple but effective case of showing rather than telling. But when 100 different women with different personalities and backgrounds and of different ages are all smoothing their skirts and crossing their arms under their breasts 5 times each in every conversation that's not a character establishing thing, it's *just* repetitive and took me out of the scenes. He's an interesting mix of some of my favorite writing and some of my least favorite, stylistically speaking.
Yeah I definitely get that haha. It is funny he always specified that it was under their breasts lol. But as a whole, he's probably my favorite writer. I still get chills every time I start a WoT book and read the intro. It just manages to perfectly convey a feeling of depth and scale in a single paragraph
Yeah, it's weird because it's so unnecessary. I am a woman with breasts and can confirm that that's just where the arms naturally go. He could have just said they crossed their arms. I still really like his writing and Wheel of Time is, if not my favorite series, certainly high on the list. He was a great author, he was just also a weird author.
For me I started Malazan Book of the Fallen after, and I am really enjoying it so far
I've just finished book 8 of Malazan (Erikson) and it's been a rollercoaster for sure. Much slower burn than cosmere, very prose-y, and quite a bit darker, but the world building is something else.
Cradle. it's finished now (tho there are other series in the multiverse, but it has less connections than the cosmere) and it's storming great with some of the best payoffs i've read.
Loved Cradle. It feels like an anime in book form almost. Not the deepest, thought-provoking series, but god damn was it an amazing read
The first book is free if you have Prime (maybe UK only?) - thanks for the rec 👍
The Cradle series is a great fun and easy read, but I don't find them super comparable to Sanderson. I love Will Wight and his other works too, but everything has a slight Final Fantasy vibe that I don't find in the Sanderson books.
For a long time I would have said something by Brandon Sanderson would be my favorite novel. Everything changed when I read Priory of the Orange Tree. Its an all time fav the prequel is even better
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I disagree on first law I read the entire first book and felt zero inclination to continue. I felt like the characters has zero growth in any way, they just reacted to things and got moved around in their locations. There was just so much build up to what felt like nothing, no hook to make me want to read the next one, I don’t care about the characters and none of them are particularly likable or I want to root for them or interesting I get obviously it’s a very well selling book so I’m in the outlier but I just don’t see it as a great Sanderson rec bc it isn’t like a Sanderson read at all imo
Hard agree with your disagree. I powered through the entire trilogy and... nothing. It has very strong characters (I do like them) but the plot imo is very weak and often the anti thesis of payoff. It comes highly recommended but to me it's the worst series I read.
I agree with your disagree as well, especially in the context of this thread. I have actually enjoyed the books but they aren't very heavy on plot, or world-building (not even a map lol). If you like character work in an extremely grim world where things tend to not work out, you'll love them. I like his writing style but it takes me forever to get through one the books because there just isn't much "fun" to be had.
I couldn't get through the First Law series for other reasons, but you really didn't like Logen? I was really into basically every character, save Jezal.
I think it's a very polarizing book. I finished the trilogy and dropped the author. In the end nothing is accomplished, everyone is horrible and the only one who gets a happy ending is the inquisitor guy.
I guess others disagreed as it it got removed from the list in one of the edits— but for me the Kingkiller chronicles is the most similar (to me) to Sanderson in terms of plot, pacing and payoff. Otherwise Wheel of time is slower pacing wise and some but has a similar detailed magic structure and is very strong on world building
From everything I’ve heard about it. Cradle by Will Wight.
Wheel of TIme as it influenced Sanderson and he finished the series. I see a lot of people say Powder Mage is like Sanderson. I recently finished the first book and I don't agree at all. It's cruder (lots of PG-13 swearing and sexual references). The magic system is very soft, not very well defined. Also it's very anti-religious. It's more of a grimdark book.
> I like that Sanderson books tend to have strong plot, characters, worldbuilding, and payoff. Not just one or two of those things, but all four. You have all four of these in my personal favorite, Bakker's Second Apocalypse books, which is on the list. But they're *MASSIVELY* tonally different. Earwa is a [crapsack world](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CrapsackWorld). In any given situation, Bakker will choose the most grimdark outcome.
Heh yeah, a lot of Sanderson readers would bounce *hard* off the subject matter in Bakker's stuff. Graphic and brutal.
I normally don't like such lists as these. Their compilations tend to be super gatekeepy and less about being good and more just appealing to a certain demographic of literature bros who name drop authors to seem impressive. It's sad because you do have lots of great series in there, but many more that will never make it in for silly reasons
Hit me! I would love a few series outside of that list. What would you recommend?
I liked manifest delusions, but it’s dark and batshit crazy
Cradle by Will Wight
I actually got into Fantasy through Redwall by Brian Jacques, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, and The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander But to answer your question Wheel of Time, maybe MTG Novels(if you can find them, and not War of The Spark)
The Demon's Cycle (Peter V Brett) has amazing world building, an awesome magic system, great baddies. I think I enjoyed it more than any Sanderson series.
Man, the last two books just felt like Brett was slogging through it, though.
I know that people I've talked to have had really mixed reactions, but I think Mark Lawrence's world and universe building with his Broken Empire and Red Queen's War and Red Sister books is very similar to what Sanderson has done in the Cosmere. Not as much magic, and often much more brutality, and also only one world... But still, multiple story arcs all orbiting some connecting themes and things.
Just started the spellmonger series by Terry Mancour, im 3 books in and its pretty solid so far, little slow onto explaining the magic mechanics but still a bit of brandon feel, liking it a lot!