Mistborn reading order: Era 1, Era 2, what to skip
Mistborn books in order: Era 1 trilogy, Era 2 Wax and Wayne, and where Secret History fits. Start here if / skip if, plus adaptation status on the side.
If you searched Mistborn books in order or Mistborn reading order, you do not need a Cosmere dissertation first. You need a clean Scadrial path: Era 1, then Era 2, then one optional novella with a spoiler warning.
This is the Mistborn-only checklist. Adaptation news sits at the end as a side door, not the main event.
Start here if / skip if
You…
Do this
Have never read Sanderson fantasy
**Start** with *The Final Empire* (Mistborn Era 1, book 1)
Want heist + rule-based magic before a 1000-page epic
**Start** Era 1; save Stormlight for later
Finished Era 1 and hate Western / gaslamp tone shifts
You can **pause** before Era 2, but do not start Era 2 mid-trilogy
Only care about the movie
Read Era 1 first anyway; see adaptation status below
Want every Cosmere deep cut on day one
Still **do not** start with *Secret History* or *The Alloy of Law*
Sanderson’s own FAQ lines up with that entry point: fantasy readers are pointed at Mistborn: The Final Empire or The Way of Kings, and he warns that The Alloy of Law spoils the original trilogy if you jump there cold (What order should I read them in?).
Read these three in order. No skipping. No “just the first one” if you want Era 2 to land.
Order
Book
Notes
1
*The Final Empire*
Heist, Allomancy basics, Vin and Kelsier
2
*The Well of Ascension*
Politics, sieges, the cost of winning
3
*The Hero of Ages*
Trilogy payoff; do not read Era 2 before this
The Final Empire Mistborn Era 1 book one cover
Mistborn Era 2 reading order (Wax and Wayne)
Set centuries later on the same world. Same magic family, different genre temperature: frontier lawman energy into industrial conspiracy. Read after Era 1.
Order
Book
Notes
4
*The Alloy of Law*
Soft reboot tone; still spoils Era 1
5
*Shadows of Self*
Deepens Elendel politics and identity stakes
6
*The Bands of Mourning*
Mythic metalminds, bigger Cosmere edges
7
*The Lost Metal*
Era 2 finale
The Alloy of Law Mistborn Era 2 book one cover
What to skip (and what only looks skippable)
Skip for a first Mistborn pass
Starting on The Alloy of Law without Era 1
Mistborn: Secret History before you finish Era 1 (Sanderson’s site calls the Era 1 spoilers “HUGE”)
Random Cosmere short stories as a substitute for book 2 or 3
Era 3 / Ghostbloods speculation threads pretending those books are out
Do not skip forever, but place carefully
Mistborn: Secret History is a companion novella (also collected in Arcanum Unbounded). Official copy on Sanderson’s Era 1 page is clear: it spoils the original trilogy hard, and it also contains *very minor spoilers for The Bands of Mourning***.
Practical placements fans actually use:
Safer Cosmere-aware path: finish Era 1 → read Era 2 through Bands of Mourning → then Secret History → then The Lost Metal
Era-1-satisfaction path: finish Hero of Ages → read Secret History immediately → accept tiny Bands bleed → continue Era 2
Either works. Starting with Secret History does not.
The Hero of Ages Mistborn Era 1 finale cover
One-table Mistborn order (print this)
#
Book
Era
Required?
1
*The Final Empire*
1
Yes
2
*The Well of Ascension*
1
Yes
3
*The Hero of Ages*
1
Yes
3.5
*Mistborn: Secret History*
Companion
Optional; place after Era 1, ideally after *Bands of Mourning* if you want zero Era 2 bleed
4
*The Alloy of Law*
2
Yes for Era 2
5
*Shadows of Self*
2
Yes for Era 2
6
*The Bands of Mourning*
2
Yes for Era 2
7
*The Lost Metal*
2
Yes for Era 2
Short fiction like The Eleventh Metal or Allomancer Jak is flavor, not a gate. Ignore it until you want completionist crumbs.
The Lost Metal Mistborn Era 2 finale cover
After Mistborn: Cosmere, not chaos
Finished both eras and hungry? Then branch into other Cosmere series. You do not need Stormlight finished to enjoy Mistborn, and you do not need Mistborn finished to open The Way of Kings. You do need Mistborn Era 1 before Mistborn Era 2.
Era 3 (often discussed as Ghostbloods) is upcoming, not a current reading step. Do not leave gaps in Era 1 waiting for it.
Adaptation status (side door)
If you are here because Apple TV / Mistborn screen talk is loud: that is separate from reading order. Keep this page as the book path, and use our living status post for Hollywood: Mistborn movie screenplay milestone: Apple TV status.
