Mistborn 7 Books Collection Set

The Mistborn Saga #1-7

by Brandon Sanderson

Now with over 10 million copies sold, The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy saga.
This bundle
Mistborn Boxed Set 9781250267177
The Band of 9780765378583
The Alloy of 9780765368546
Shadows of 9780765378569
The Lost

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison. Kelsier "snapped" and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Genres: Fantasy

4700 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[Starkun ⭐️⚡️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this is apparently an entry for a box set with all 7 Mistborn books, I want to take this opportunity to write a review of the entire Mistborn series. I doubt anyone will see this, but Mistborn means so much to me. It's my first foray back into reading, ever since I stopped in middle school. First foray into the Cosmere. First book series I've ever finished. This journey has taken me MUCH longer than it should have, but I’m happy it’s over.

I’m excited for Mistborn: Ghostbloods whenever that comes out. And I am beyond excited for The Stormlight Archive.


THE GOOD

The characters: Sanderson knows how to write great characters. Even when they start out abrasive or unlikable (Steris and Wayne), he knows just how to develop them the right way. Kelsier's mission to save the skaa and Scadrial, Sazed’s depression arc, Marsh resisting Ruin's control, Elend's growth in becoming a better king, Wayne's journey in TLM to become a better person etc. Vin, Marasi and Steris are great examples on how to write compelling and badass female characters. Wax is my least favorite POV character in Mistborn, and Sanderson still manages to make him great in his own way.

Plotting and twists: This man makes so many freaking plot twists layered into very interesting plots. I didn't even like The Lost Metal's focus on cosmerey stuff, but I still loved the plot. And even loved The Well of Ascension's mystery of who is the Hero of Ages.

Magic systems: No surprise here. The praise for Sanderson's magic systems is what got me into Mistborn, and they did not let me down.

Prose: I like Sanderson's simple prose. It's pretty easy to read, and it can be really descriptive and beautiful. The descriptions of Shards' Intent come to mind. Or the sacrifices of Vin, Elend and Wayne. Or Sazed's Ascension.

Worldbuilding: Sanderson is a master at creating a unique world. From the ash sodden, mist covered, glob ridden, human rights violating world of The Final Empire. To the industrial city of Elendel and New Seran, or the violent politics of the Roughs and Outer Cities. Or the potential behind the magitech of Southern Scadrial. I don't think there are many other fantasy worlds with firearms and industrial revolution. But I could be very wrong, considering my limited experience.

Endings and climaxes: Sanderson's endings and climaxes hit HARD. Even if I have a lot of issues with a book's writing (The Well of Ascension and The Lost Metal), I always have great things to say about how they end. Every time they PUMP ME UP, satisfy absolutely insane plot twists, build up the future of a series, make me ANXIOUS about the future, and break my heart into 16 million pieces. Every. Single. Time. Except for The Alloy of Law lmao, but that book's climax was pure adrenaline.

The Lord Ruler, Autonomy and Paalm: They're easily the best antagonists of the series. I loved how Sanderson gave depth and tragedy to the Lord Ruler, while keeping him as a reprehensible man who could've found better ways to help humanity. Paalm is incredible. Autonomy's meticulous planning and compelling contrast/syncing with Sazed... it was so refreshing after Ruin’s shortsightedness and almost-portrayal as an evil doomsday villain.

Ruin and Preservation's Chessmastery: I love how those two gods manipulated many things throughout the trilogy. I love that Secret History expanded upon Ruin's present plans - manipulating Terris libraries and copperminds, enflaming Sazed's depression, preparing the birth of a child like Vin, arranging Kelsier recruiting Vin. I loved the confirmation Preservation arranged Rashek's Ascension and presently foresaw the possibility Sazed could take the powers. I love that years ago Preservation trusted Kelsier to make his plan work. Preservation's plan is currently my inspiration for writing chessmasters; along with Autonomy, David Xanatos, and the Weird Sisters.


THE NEUTRAL

Preservation: I will give all the praise to Preservation's plan and descriptions of his Intent. And I appreciate Sanderson wrote "God has a Plan for Everything" while including free will and probabilistic future sight. However, I'm mixed on Preservation himself. I think Sanderson leaned too much in the direction of Preservation being the "good god that plans everything," while Ruin is the "evil god who's a stooge." This is especially a shame because of how subversive Mistborn's worldbuilding can be - the prophecies, Chosen One trope, evil emperor, God's role in era 2. I know there are cosmere relevant reasons for why Ruin was relatively dumb and shortsighted... But I think Era 1's plot would be more impactful if Ruin was closer to being the "good guy," the one with the plan, the one who created the prophecies. Especially since Rashek is basically the representation of Preservation, while Kelsier genuinely cared about the world and skaa despite being the representation of Ruin. And it would add to the nuance from era 2. Though... that might require Ruin having a different Intent that allows that caliber of love, future sight, and complex planning. Which goes into fanfiction territory, which I'm happily going into LMAO.

"Rashek was a good man" - This is from Sazed in his note to Spook. And iirc, Elend and Vin had similar thoughts. I understand there was likely so much more to Rashek's motives and history. After all, Kwaan acknowledged his hatred of Khlennium was valid. I understand that Sazed gained much insight into Rashek's thoughts, goals, Ruin's whispers etc. However, I think all that could've been done without calling Rashek a "good man." We lack deep information about Scadrial's ancient history, and we got no POVs from Rashek. And so, that line feels jarring.

Sazed's character arc - I like it. But it could've been better. I would love if he grew into a legitimate, prominent leader of the Terris people. And in the process learned the true depth of Ruin and Preservation's nuance. A person can be an assassin, but desire stability and protection. A person can be a killer, while at the same time a revolutionary who possesses a deep sense of community and love. If a man slaughters life with cold apathy, is he truly a preserver? If a man knows love and works to better the world, is it right to claim he’s only a destroyer?


THE BAD

Ruin: I don't hate Ruin. I said before, I like his plans. He was chilling even when Kelsier's plan and the Fadrex City stuff foiled him. But compared to the Lord Ruler, Autonomy and Preservation, he feels weak as an antagonist or planner or character. There's so much missing in Ruin's writing. Ruin lacks plans within plans. He lacks a nuanced and compelling conflict with his enemy, unlike Autonomy VS Sazed. He feels like a doomsday villain that approaches most things with a sledgehammer. This is preference, but I'm not a fan of this type of villain.

The Terris and Worldbuilding: Sanderson was great at making Scadrial an interesting world. But he didn't make it a deep world. He didn't flesh out the outer Dominances and he wrote the Terris as nothing more than a vehicle to develop Sazed. He only gave crumbs of what happened in Scadrial's ancient history. There was nothing about the Well's previous users, or the very first Terris Prophecies, or an exact number of how many years Ruin was imprisoned. I think this serves as a detriment to the plot's larger machinations.

Tindwyl and Allrianne: Vin, Paalm, MeLaan, Marasi and Steris are much better examples of how good Sanderson's female characters can be. No question. Tindwyl deserved so much better than just being the vehicle for Sazed to fulfill one line of the prophecies. Sazed's character arc could've been an interesting person. Allrianne was just... there.

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entire series is amazing. Both eras are worth the time connecting pieces of the Cosmere