Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
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- Create Date：2021-06-15 09:53:50
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Brandon Sanderson
- ISBN：1473218055
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Summary
Welcome to New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson's first collection of short fiction。 These wonderful works， originally published individually， have been collected for the first time and convey the true expanse of the Cosmere。 Telling the exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect， ARCANUM UNBOUNDED include the Hugo Award-winning novella 'The Emperor's Soul'， an excerpt from the graphic novel 'White Sand'， and the never-before-published STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE novella 'Edgedancer'。 The collection will include nine works in all: 'Edgedancer' （Stormlight Archive） 'The Hope of Elantris' （Elantris） 'The Eleventh Metal' （Mistborn） 'The Emperor's Soul' （Elantris） 'Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania' （excerpt; 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） This superb collection also includes essays and illustrations which offer an insight into the numerous worlds in which the stories are set。
Reviews
Brent Townley
，
The Emperor's soul is by far the best novella in this collection。 It earns 5 stars from me。 On the whole though， this collection earns only 3 stars。 The Emperor's soul is by far the best novella in this collection。 It earns 5 stars from me。 On the whole though， this collection earns only 3 stars。 。。。more
Josie Jones （Lutz）
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I’m on a big Sanderson kick and this definitely added to the hype！ I love how Sanderson used this book of short stories and novellas to add to the already incredible world he created。 He introduces some very compelling characters while also highlighting some already established characters for further development。 I particularly liked Sixth of the Dusk and Edgedancer！
Mike
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Absolutely love this compendium
Ellie
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26/35 stars = 3。75/5 stars （rounding up to 4 as the introductions to each system were amazing and deserve to be praised）。This was a really great anthology of short stories， all of which are set in Brandon Sanderson’s amazing Cosmere。 I’ve been reading the stories as I make my way through each system， and now that I’m up to Roshar I have finally finished！ I did not read 2 of the stories in this collection （Allomancer Jak/White Sand） as I don’t have heaps of interest in the White Sand comics — sor 26/35 stars = 3。75/5 stars （rounding up to 4 as the introductions to each system were amazing and deserve to be praised）。This was a really great anthology of short stories， all of which are set in Brandon Sanderson’s amazing Cosmere。 I’ve been reading the stories as I make my way through each system， and now that I’m up to Roshar I have finally finished！ I did not read 2 of the stories in this collection （Allomancer Jak/White Sand） as I don’t have heaps of interest in the White Sand comics — sorry！！ — and I haven’t read Alloy of Law yet。 Nevertheless， here are my thoughts on each short story in here！ :D The Emperor’s Soul: 3。5/5 stars I was a bit underwhelmed with this story tbh， probably because it won a Hugo and everyone loves it and it’s super hyped up — but it fell a bit flat for me。 The Selish system is easily my least favourite in the Cosmere （for now） and I just couldn’t connect with the world/magic like I can with every other system。 That being said， Shai was brilliant and the story itself was very engaging and clever， as usual。 The Hope of Elantris: 2。5/5 stars I’m just being a Sel basher at this point but this story ultimately just bored me。 I was excited to see Raoden and Sarene （view spoiler）[ （who is PREGNANT yay） （hide spoiler）] but their short and cute scene was not enough to save this story from feeling a tad irrelevant。 I’m very hopeful they’ll play into the larger Cosmere story more down the line， but for now， I am b o r e d of Sel。 :） The Eleventh Metal: 3/5 stars A great little story about Kelsier and a bit more background on how he came to be the man he is in the Mistborn trilogy。 Nothing about this story is particularly groundbreaking， but I just love this character and the shenanigans he gets up to， so I still enjoyed this story， even if it isn’t required reading。 Mistborn: Secret History: 5/5 stars The absolute star of this anthology， in my humble opinion。 Even saying what this is about is major spoilers， so I won’t， but wow is it fantastic！ It has such huge implications for the entirety of the Mistborn trilogy and really made me emotional at some parts。 （view spoiler）[ Kelsier watching over Vin the entire time， seeing her as like a daughter， being so proud of her， like wow I’m going to cry （hide spoiler）] It’s the longest story in this collection and so， so well done。 Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell: 4。5/5 stars This one totally surprised me as I had about 0 interest in this short story （I just wanted to get to Oathbringer） and considered not even reading it。 But I’m so glad I did because it was great。 Silence is a badass and the world of Threnody is so intriguing — I cannot wait for it to connect to the larger Cosmere， however long that takes。 I was so connected to Silence and her conflict， and the ending was seriously perfect。 Sixth of the Dusk: 4/5 stars Another surprise！ Sixth of the Dusk was really interesting and the ending made me want so much more of this world。 Dusk and Vathi weren’t amazing characters， but I liked them enough， and the island of Patji， the world-building， and the conflict established at the end made it very worthwhile。 Edgedancer: 3。5/5 stars Oh， Lift。 I love you， but you were not enough to carry this story。 I did enjoy it — the twists and turns at the end， along with a cameo of my favourite Stormlight character （view spoiler）[ Szeth， with his new friend Nightblood！ （hide spoiler）] made it worthwhile and interesting。 But jeez， couldn’t it have been trimmed down just a tad？ :）Overall such a great anthology of short stories。 Very necessary for those making their way through the Cosmere as the intro page to each system is， frankly， required reading。 Now onto Oathbringer yayayayayay 。。。more
Erika Maki
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Arcanum Unbounded is something that should be read if you’re a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere。 I’ve really liked reading Brandon’s Cosmere this past month and half。 I’ve read some stories in between finishing certain series。 The novellas and short stories featured here on a nice complement to his many series。 The Cosmere is the universe that Sanderson writes most of his novels， such as Warbreaker， The Stormlight Archive， Mistborn， etc。 Although series has its own individual world and setting Arcanum Unbounded is something that should be read if you’re a fan of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere。 I’ve really liked reading Brandon’s Cosmere this past month and half。 I’ve read some stories in between finishing certain series。 The novellas and short stories featured here on a nice complement to his many series。 The Cosmere is the universe that Sanderson writes most of his novels， such as Warbreaker， The Stormlight Archive， Mistborn， etc。 Although series has its own individual world and setting， they are all connected with features or appearances of other characters across series。 Every section of this collection is prefaced by an annotation from Khriss， a character with knowledge about the different worlds in this universe。 This collection also features interesting postscripts from Brandon Sanderson himself。I wasn’t interested in reading a couple entries， so I skipped those。 Here are my thoughts on the ones I did read:The Emperor’s Soul 3/5 stars: I don’t really like Elantris that much， so I wasn’t invested in this， but it was alright。The Hope of Elantris 3/5 stars: This was cute and sweet。 I liked it more than The Emperor’s Soul。Mistborn: Secret History 4/5 stars: Ever since reading the original trilogy both times， I had always wondered what happened to this character afterwards。 This is exactly what I needed。 I missed this character so much。Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell 3/5 stars: This was okay， but I didn’t feel connected to the characters since they’re not featured in any of his main series。Sixth of the Dusk 2/5 stars: This one was weird， and I’m not a fan of stories on islands so I didn’t care about this one。Edgedancer 4/5 stars: This was one I was looking forward to the most since it’s part of The Stormlight Archive series。I liked this novella because I liked Lift’s character in Words of Radiance。 In Edgedancer， Lift is trying to find and protect a Knights Radiant because they’re being hunted by Darkness。 I feel like readers need to read this novella because， according to Brandon Sanderson， she’ll become a major character later on in The Stormlight Archive， and this novella provides some of the character development she needs。 Lift and Wyndle are a funny pair together。 The dynamic they have with each other is fun。 We learn more about the magic system here， crucial characters from the main series appear and important events do occur。 I would say this novella is important to read before Oathbringer， and just fun if you already like this series。My favourite stories in this collection are Mistborn: Secret History and Edgedancer。 I’m glad I read this collection， but it’s not something I would read again as a whole。 I’ve had such a fun time reading the Cosmere。 It’s nice to know that I’m up to date with other Sanderson fans out there now。 。。。more
Caylynn
，
Look， I'm just glad I was finally able to read Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell and Kelsier's short stories/novellas。 That's what I really wanted to find。 Look， I'm just glad I was finally able to read Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell and Kelsier's short stories/novellas。 That's what I really wanted to find。 。。。more
Michelle Kobus
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I'm going to mark the stories I read in this as individual entries on Goodreads， because I've already read 2 through audio and ebook， and at least one will be delayed until I've caught up with era 2 of Mistborn。 I'm going to mark the stories I read in this as individual entries on Goodreads， because I've already read 2 through audio and ebook， and at least one will be delayed until I've caught up with era 2 of Mistborn。 。。。more
Gabi
，
The 5 stars are not the average of the stories， but the concept as a whole。The book is divided into parts according to the systems in the Cosmere and each part is prefaced with a scholarly introduction to planets， shards and powers in this system。 A wonderful overview and connection over what is known of the worlds so far and it hints at some observational group that has access to the worlds via the perpendiculars。Each short story and novella has a postscript wherein the author talks about his m The 5 stars are not the average of the stories， but the concept as a whole。The book is divided into parts according to the systems in the Cosmere and each part is prefaced with a scholarly introduction to planets， shards and powers in this system。 A wonderful overview and connection over what is known of the worlds so far and it hints at some observational group that has access to the worlds via the perpendiculars。Each short story and novella has a postscript wherein the author talks about his motivation for writing the respective story， which also adds to the overall experience。 Especially lovely is the postscript for "The Hope of Elantris" which he dedicated to a pupil of his spouse's。My favourites of the stories themselves were。"The Emperor's Soul"， a beautiful take on art and what is essential to a person's soul， as a incarcerated forger is tempted to forgo her death penalty by re-constructing the personality of the comatose emperor。"Mistborn: secret history"， a story behind the tale of the last of the Mistborn trilogy。 A masterfully spun tale of gods and powers with a hint at the meta behind the meta。 It is my favourite part of the Cosmere books to slowly get piece for piece of the big picture。"Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell"， a headhunter on the stalk for bandits in a forest with very special and strict rules for survival。 I loved the ritualistic nature of the life on this planet。"Sixth of the Dusk"， the first Cosmere story not on a planet affected by shards and the first one with the mentioning of space ships with some kind of Prime Directive。 It is a slow story， but fully immersive in the strange world， where a lone trapper is forwarned by visions of his own death by his avian companion。A wonderfully structured work for anybody who wants to know more about the connections in the Cosmere （and who doesn't？） 。。。more
Holly
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This book has so many funny and heart breaking parts。 It also has a lot of cosmere lore which helps explain a lot in what happens in stormlight archive。
Wildwoila
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Short（er） fiction from the Cosmere universe， showcasing a range of fascinating worlds and distinctive magic systems。 Provides some much needed background to the novels。
Jane
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This is a collection of short stories and novellas， all of which take place in Sanderson's epic fantasy world of Cosmere。 Includes stories with characters from Elantris and the Mistborn series。 So again lots of different types of heros and their different magical powers。I especially enjoyed Sanderson's commentary on the stories between the different tales。 This is a collection of short stories and novellas， all of which take place in Sanderson's epic fantasy world of Cosmere。 Includes stories with characters from Elantris and the Mistborn series。 So again lots of different types of heros and their different magical powers。I especially enjoyed Sanderson's commentary on the stories between the different tales。 。。。more
Shannan
，
A wonderful collection - in no small part because I didn’t even know a few of these existed！ But this collection aptly illustrates just how huge the Cosmere is and how interwoven everyone of the stories manages to be。 I marvel at Sanderson for being able to keep all of this in his head without it exploding。 There’s so much！ With his Cosmere， he’s not only been redefining the fantasy genre as a whole， but what exactly it means to be EPIC。
Franci
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I’m not surprised about this rating！ I loved learning about the other planets and people living there！ I am curious to see which stories will have a connection to full-length cosmere novels
Skylar Smith
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This is an absolute must-read if you’re a fan of Sanderson’s Cosmere。 This collection of short stories and novellas fills in gaps and expands the Cosmere universe so much。 I don’t know what else to say。 I loved them all。
Aden
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critically， this bind up is extremely good。 i’m guessing most cosmere fans would rate this 5 stars seeing how high the rating is。 however， this is my least favorite sanderson book ive read and my rating probably sits around a 3。5-4 simply because i don’t love short stories and novellas。 i like things to be drawn out and fully expanded upon。 that being said， the emperors soul， secret history， and edgedancer， are absolutely incredible。 they more than make up for the rest of the book， which i did n critically， this bind up is extremely good。 i’m guessing most cosmere fans would rate this 5 stars seeing how high the rating is。 however， this is my least favorite sanderson book ive read and my rating probably sits around a 3。5-4 simply because i don’t love short stories and novellas。 i like things to be drawn out and fully expanded upon。 that being said， the emperors soul， secret history， and edgedancer， are absolutely incredible。 they more than make up for the rest of the book， which i did not care for very much 。。。more
Shannon
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This is a collection of short （for Brandon Sanderson） stories set in his cosmere。 I loved reading the short reports on each of the worlds， and "Sixth of Dusk" and "Edgedancer" were my favorites。 While I am not a huge reader of short fiction， I feel that "Sixth of Dusk" and "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" were the most technically suited to be in that format， and I just liked "Sixth of Dusk" most。 As I've recently read Words of Radiance， "Edgedancer" was a fun appendix to that book a This is a collection of short （for Brandon Sanderson） stories set in his cosmere。 I loved reading the short reports on each of the worlds， and "Sixth of Dusk" and "Edgedancer" were my favorites。 While I am not a huge reader of short fiction， I feel that "Sixth of Dusk" and "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" were the most technically suited to be in that format， and I just liked "Sixth of Dusk" most。 As I've recently read Words of Radiance， "Edgedancer" was a fun appendix to that book and well worth tracking down this collection。 I do feel that these stories are primarily of interest to those who have read other cosmere books and would like to fill in more details of those worlds。 。。。more
Myddna
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Ha estado muy entretenido。 Creo que no ha habido ninguna de las historias que no me haya gustado。 Creo que mis favoritas han sido la del mundo bosque y la de Lift。
Cow- Cow
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Of all the books I've read this year， this one is one of my favorites。 I love how it gives a kind of low commitment with all the short stories and how the Cosmere can develop with your own pace invloved。 in all the other brandon sanderdon books I've read there seems to be a sort of commitment level， like how the Stormlight Archive takes a really long time to get through or how there is two series to the Mistborn series， but with this book， you can get a lot of fun and story out of a lot of short Of all the books I've read this year， this one is one of my favorites。 I love how it gives a kind of low commitment with all the short stories and how the Cosmere can develop with your own pace invloved。 in all the other brandon sanderdon books I've read there seems to be a sort of commitment level， like how the Stormlight Archive takes a really long time to get through or how there is two series to the Mistborn series， but with this book， you can get a lot of fun and story out of a lot of short stories。 Overall。。。 a 9/10 。。。more
Ally
，
I normally don't like short stories， but these were excellent。 So great to see more of the planets and get the answers to some questions （though I now have others！）。 Really looking forward to seeing how all of these pan out！ I normally don't like short stories， but these were excellent。 So great to see more of the planets and get the answers to some questions （though I now have others！）。 Really looking forward to seeing how all of these pan out！ 。。。more
Mackenzie
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So many questions answered！ And so many more questions ！！ Haha but it was all so good。 I didn’t read the White Sand because I couldn’t read the graphic novel very well on my kindle。 I’ll have to get that another way。
Pedro Junger
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*4，5
Todd
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Great collection of Cosmere short（ish） stories！
Cody Lasko
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Just a super cool little collection of pieces to tease together Sanderson’s grand plan for his Cosmere。 I love what he’s doing with his written universe and can’t wait to dive into more of it。 I got this mainly for Edgedancer， and it did not disappoint。 Lift proved to be one of my favourite Stormlight characters despite very very little actual spotlight。 To see her get a full novella was a ton of fun reading， and clearly a ton of fun for Sanderson to write。 This is definitely one for the fans。 A Just a super cool little collection of pieces to tease together Sanderson’s grand plan for his Cosmere。 I love what he’s doing with his written universe and can’t wait to dive into more of it。 I got this mainly for Edgedancer， and it did not disappoint。 Lift proved to be one of my favourite Stormlight characters despite very very little actual spotlight。 To see her get a full novella was a ton of fun reading， and clearly a ton of fun for Sanderson to write。 This is definitely one for the fans。 And in that， it succeeds wonderfully。 。。。more
Joe Collins
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Best of the short stories was Emperor's Soul by a mile， easily 5/5。 Secret History （Mistborn 3。5） and Edgedancer （Stormlight 2。5） were also great， as was the White Sand graphic novel。 The other short stories were fine Best of the short stories was Emperor's Soul by a mile， easily 5/5。 Secret History （Mistborn 3。5） and Edgedancer （Stormlight 2。5） were also great， as was the White Sand graphic novel。 The other short stories were fine 。。。more
Gabriel d'Matos
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Every time you think that you know something about the Cosmere， you are wrong。
Piyush Devani
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A really good peak into the Cosmere and how different planets and their stories come together。It certainly piques your interest into the other parts of the Brandon's Cosmere world。I have read Mistborn series and Stormlight 1-3， and it was refreshing to revisit kelsier and Lift。A very good collection indeed to make you read other books with their own unique storylines。 A really good peak into the Cosmere and how different planets and their stories come together。It certainly piques your interest into the other parts of the Brandon's Cosmere world。I have read Mistborn series and Stormlight 1-3， and it was refreshing to revisit kelsier and Lift。A very good collection indeed to make you read other books with their own unique storylines。 。。。more
Jonathan Shaw
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4。5 stars。 There are some real gems in here， notably Mistborn: Secret History and Edgedancer。
javier zamora
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he disfrutado como un niño de los relatos y novellas de esta colección。 el cosmere es una de las creaciones literarias más ambiciosas de la historia。
Christopher Flynn
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A collection of short stories in the cosmere universe with variable quality， your milage may vary。 Definitely not the place to start with Sanderson works， but recommended to fans looking to tie up loose ends and see new worlds。
G。A。Monster
，