Mistborn Books in Order
Mistborn is Brandon Sanderson's metal-magic epic - allomancers ingest and burn metals for powers, and the hero of the first trilogy is a thief crew planning to overthrow a god-emperor who has ruled a thousand years of ash. The saga runs in eras: the original trilogy (2006-2008), then the Wax and Wayne era (2011-2022), which jumps three centuries to a Wild-West-industrial world of railways and guns where allomancy meets detective work. A third era is planned but undated - and it is one shelf inside the wider Cosmere universe this site maps on the Stormlight page. This page sequences the whole shelf, both eras and the stories between (2006–present).
Where to start
The Final Empire (2006), Era 1 book one - the heist against the Lord Ruler, and Vin's arc from street thief to Mistborn. There is no other door.
The complete list
Tick the boxes off as you read, or for the bookshelf.
| Year | Title | Series / type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Final Empire | Era 1 #1 — start here | |
| 2007 | The Well of Ascension | Era 1 #2 | |
| 2008 | The Hero of Ages | Era 1 #3 — the trilogy closes | |
| 2011 | The Alloy of Law | Era 2 #1 — Wax and Wayne, 300 years on | |
| 2015 | Shadows of Self | Era 2 #2 | |
| 2016 | The Bands of Mourning | Era 2 #3 | |
| 2016 | Mistborn: Secret History | Novella — only after Era 1; spoils the finale | |
| 2016 | Arcanum Unbounded | Cosmere story collection, incl. Secret History | |
| 2022 | The Lost Metal | Era 2 #4 — Era 2 closes; Era 3 undated |
Does the reading order matter?
Era 1, strict: The Final Empire (2006), The Well of Ascension (2007), The Hero of Ages (2008) - one continuous revolution and its cost. Era 2, the Wax and Wayne novels: The Alloy of Law (2011), Shadows of Self (2015), The Bands of Mourning (2016), The Lost Metal (2022) - complete at four, and readable without Era 1 but built to pay off Era 1 knowledge, so first-timers should still go in order. Between them: Mistborn: Secret History (2016), a novella that runs alongside Era 1's climax and spoils it flat - read only after The Hero of Ages - and the Arcanum Unbounded collection (2016), which gathers it with the rest of the Cosmere shorts. Era 3 is planned with no publication window; Sanderson's current slate runs through Stormlight Arc 2 and the secret-project lines first
Which one is the best?
The Final Empire (2006), the heist-trilogy opener; The Hero of Ages (2008), the ending that recontextualizes everything; The Lost Metal (2022), the Era 2 finale.
Related guides
Readers finishing this shelf usually want the map next door: Brandon Sanderson books in order, The Stormlight Archive books in order, Dune books in order. Every guide follows the same format — the shelf, the entry point, the honest answer about order.
Make it a project
Pick a session size and let the days accumulate — at the pace our reading speed test measures, most shelves above clear in a few weeks of half-hours. Every guide on the books in order shelf follows this same format, and when a book lands, its 8-question quiz is waiting on the original book quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What order should you read Mistborn books in?
Era 1 strict (2006-08) → Era 2 strict (2011-22) → Secret History only after #3. Era 3 undated.
Where should I start with Mistborn?
The Final Empire (2006), #1 of Era 1.
How many Mistborn books are there?
Seven novels and the Secret History novella across two complete eras, with Era 3 planned and undated - the anchor series of Sanderson's Cosmere and a #1 New York Times bestselling line in both eras. As of October 2026 this list is current.
What was Mistborn's first book?
The Final Empire (2006) — the first row of the list above.