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Mistborn is the entry point to Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere for most readers — and for good reason. It has everything that makes Sanderson great: an inventive and rigorously logical magic system, a propulsive heist plot, characters who earn your investment, and a finale that uses the rules it established to do something genuinely surprising. The ending of the first trilogy, in particular, is one of the most satisfying conclusions in modern fantasy.
So what do you read next? Here are ten books that scratch similar itches.
1. The Stormlight Archive — Brandon Sanderson
The obvious answer first: if you loved Mistborn’s magic system and Sanderson’s approach to world-building, the Stormlight Archive is him doing the same thing at maximum scale. Four books published, each enormous, each excellent. Start with The Way of Kings. Full guide to Sanderson’s books here.
Rated 4.8 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
2. The Shadow of What Was Lost — James Islington
If what you loved about Mistborn was the intricate magic system, the plot that rewards attentive reading, and the satisfying trilogy structure — Islington does all of this. The Licanius Trilogy is complete, the ending is exceptional, and it stands as the best Sanderson-adjacent series by someone who isn’t Sanderson. Full review here.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
3. The Lies of Locke Lamora — Scott Lynch
If what you loved was the heist structure and the ensemble of misfit criminals — this is the book. The Gentleman Bastard Sequence follows a gang of con artists in a fantasy Venice, and the plotting is as intricate as anything Sanderson has produced.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
4. The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss
Slower and more character-focused than Mistborn, but the magic system — Sympathy, which has genuine internal logic and costs — will satisfy the same part of your brain. Kvothe is a more literary creation than Vin but equally compelling. Full reading guide here.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
5. Senlin Ascends — Josiah Bancroft
The heist-and-mystery DNA is different here, but the sense of a beautifully constructed world being revealed one layer at a time — and a plot that pays off every setup it makes — is strongly present. The Books of Babel is the best-kept secret in current fantasy. Full review here.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
6. The Rithmatist — Brandon Sanderson
A standalone Sanderson set in an alternate-history United States, where Rithmatists draw magical chalk lines that come to life and fight. The magic system is one of Sanderson’s most inventive and visually distinctive. Shorter and more accessible than the Cosmere epics.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
7. The First Law Trilogy — Joe Abercrombie
If what you valued in Mistborn was the subversion of expected fantasy outcomes — the way Sanderson sets up tropes and then does something unexpected with them — Abercrombie is the author who does this most ruthlessly. Darker in tone, less optimistic in worldview, equally excellent. Full review here.
Rated 4.5 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
8. The Faithful and the Fallen — John Gwynne
The satisfying complete-story structure and the sense of a world genuinely at stake are shared with Mistborn. Gwynne’s four-book series has a similar feel of epic stakes delivered through intimate character work, and the ending pays off its four-book setup. Full review here.
Rated 4.4 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
9. The Way of Kings — Brandon Sanderson
Listed separately from the Stormlight Archive entry above because it deserves its own mention: if you read Mistborn and found yourself primarily invested in the magic system and the Cosmere connections, The Way of Kings is where both of those go to their logical maximum. The magic is more complex, the Cosmere threads are more visible, the scale is genuinely enormous.
Rated 4.8 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
10. The Divine Cities — Robert Jackson Bennett
For readers who loved the way Mistborn used its magic system to explore questions about oppression and liberation — the Divine Cities trilogy does the same thing through a different lens, asking what it means to live after the gods are dead and who gets to control the story of what they were. Full review here.
Rated 4.3 Stars. Buy on Amazon.
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- 11 of the Best Books by Brandon Sanderson
- Words of Radiance Review
- 10 Best Fantasy Books Like The Blade Itself
- The Best Fantasy Book Series of All Time
Check out Sunset In the East — a mind-bending short story collection from Ben Luxon.
