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Series · fantasy

Mistborn

by Brandon Sanderson

The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson has 7 known books (8 published). It is best read in publication order, starting with Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006). Mistborn: The Lost Metal is the latest book with a fully recorded publication date.

Books
7 known books (7 novels + 1 novella)
Published
8
First published
2006
Status
ongoing
Shelved under
Fantasy
Start here: Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006) — then read straight through in publication order.
Book one
Cover of Mistborn: The Final Empire
Mistborn: The Final Empire (2006)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. Mistborn: The Final Empire

    Novel
    Mistborn: The Final Empire opens the series on July 17, 2006 at 669 pages, introducing Kelsier, a charismatic thief planning to overthrow the godlike Lord Ruler who has reigned for a thousand years, and Vin, a distrustful street girl who discovers she's Mistborn -- able to burn ingested metals for superhuman power. It's the book that established Sanderson's Allomancy as one of fantasy's benchmark hard magic systems.
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  2. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

    Novel
    Mistborn: The Well of Ascension is the second entry in the Mistborn series, published on August 21, 2007. It was written by Brandon Sanderson. It is the longest book in the series at 784 pages.
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  3. Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

    Novel
    The third book in the Mistborn series, Mistborn: The Hero of Ages was released on October 14, 2008. It runs 760 pages. It was written by Brandon Sanderson.
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  4. Mistborn: The Alloy of Law

    Novel
    Mistborn: The Alloy of Law is number 4 in the Mistborn series, published on November 8, 2011. It runs 360 pages. It arrived 3 years after Mistborn: The Hero of Ages.
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  5. Mistborn: Shadows of Self

    Novel
    Mistborn: Shadows of Self is number 5 in the Mistborn series, published on October 6, 2015. It was written by Brandon Sanderson. A 4-year gap separates it from Mistborn: The Alloy of Law.
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  6. Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning

    Novel
    The sixth book in the Mistborn series, Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning was released on January 26, 2016. It runs 448 pages. It was written by Brandon Sanderson.
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  7. Mistborn: Secret History

    Novella
    An entry in the Mistborn series that falls between Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning and Mistborn: The Lost Metal, Mistborn: Secret History was released on January 30, 2016. It runs just 240 pages, the shortest entry in the series. It was written by Brandon Sanderson.
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  8. Mistborn: The Lost Metal

    Novel
    The seventh book in the Mistborn series, Mistborn: The Lost Metal was published on November 15, 2022. It arrived 6 years after Mistborn: Secret History. It was written by Brandon Sanderson.
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Key facts about the Mistborn series

The Mistborn series has 8 books on our list. Since all 8 are out now, you can read the whole list today. 7 are novels, while the rest is a novella.

Start with Mistborn: The Final Empire, since it opens the publication order in 2006. Mistborn: The Well of Ascension is book 2, from 2007. Mistborn: The Hero of Ages is book 3, from 2008.

Mistborn: The Alloy of Law is book 4, from 2011. Mistborn: Shadows of Self is book 5, from 2015. Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning is book 6, from 2016. Mistborn: Secret History is book 7, from 2016, while Mistborn: The Lost Metal is book 8, from 2022.

We also give a recommended order, while noting it is our own advice. It is not publisher canon.

Mistborn: The Lost Metal is the latest book with a full release date, out on 15 November 2022. The catalogue marks it as ongoing, yet no next book has a date so far.

The books came out between 2006 and 2022, while their length runs from 240 to 784 pages. That is a run of 16 years.

Brandon Sanderson has 48 books on our list. Additionally, they write Elantris, Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians and The Stormlight Archive, plus 3 more series. We shelve the books under fantasy.

About the Mistborn series

Mistborn begins with one of fantasy's great hooks: what if the prophesied hero failed? A thousand years ago the Lord Ruler seized godlike power, and he has reigned ever since over a world of falling ash, nightly mists and enslaved skaa. Into this steps Kelsier, a charismatic thief who survived the Lord Ruler's death-camps, planning the ultimate heist — overthrow the empire — and Vin, a distrustful street girl who discovers she is Mistborn, able to burn ingested metals for superhuman powers. Sanderson's Allomancy remains the genre's benchmark 'hard' magic system: precise rules, endlessly inventive fights.

The original trilogy — The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages — completes a full arc from heist story to apocalyptic theology, with era-defining twists. Sanderson then does something almost no fantasy series attempts: he moves the world forward three centuries. The Wax & Wayne books (The Alloy of Law through The Lost Metal) are Western-flavoured gaslamp mysteries in a world where the trilogy's events have hardened into religion, starring lawman Waxillium Ladrian and his gloriously unreliable partner Wayne.

Seven novels and the novella Secret History are published; a third era, jumping forward again to a 1980s-style world, is planned next in the wider Cosmere sequence.

Frequently asked questions

How many Mistborn books are there?

Seven novels across two eras: the original trilogy (The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages) and the four Wax & Wayne books (The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning, The Lost Metal), plus the novella Mistborn: Secret History.

What order should I read Mistborn in?

By era: Era One trilogy first (Final Empire, Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages), then Era Two (Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, Bands of Mourning, Lost Metal). Read the novella Secret History after The Bands of Mourning.

Can I start with The Alloy of Law?

You can — it was written as an accessible jumping-on point — but it openly spoils the original trilogy's ending, and later Era Two books lean increasingly on Era One characters and cosmology. Starting with The Final Empire is the better experience.

Is there a new Mistborn era coming?

Yes. Brandon Sanderson has announced Mistborn Era Three, a trilogy (working name 'Ghostbloods') set decades after The Lost Metal in a roughly 1980s-technology world. He has said it is his main focus after Wind and Truth, with the first book targeted around 2028 — no titles or firm dates yet.

Do I need Mistborn to read Stormlight, or vice versa?

No. Both stand alone, but they share the Cosmere universe, and reading Mistborn Era One before late Stormlight (and before The Lost Metal's cameo-heavy finale) makes several crossover moments land better.

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