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Melissa Een
Personally I'd reccomend having read Elantris and Mistborn. Not because they have any real bearing on the plot, but because they are referenced and your appreciation of the novel will be deepened by knowing those references.
Sidus
This is my third book after Elantris and novela Emperor´s soul. There are slight mentions of things, which you might notice, but they are completely unimportant. This book stands on its own.
Ron Suhodrev
It contains a major spoiler for the first Mistborn trilogy
Ashwin
Having read the book, I don't think you need to read other books in the cosmere but there are easter eggs you will miss if you havent
Personally, you should be good to start this book. You might just want to know a bit about Hoid
Personally, you should be good to start this book. You might just want to know a bit about Hoid
Hannah
As others have said, your understanding of the book won't be hampered if you haven't read any of the other books in the Cosmere; at most, there are a few technical terms thrown around referencing the magic systems of other worlds. In rough order of importance, I'd say you *could* read The Final Empire (no need to finish the trilogy yet-- the first one explains the magic system), Warbreaker, and Elantris. (I myself haven't actually read Elantris, so someone who has, feel free to correct me.)
Your enjoyment of the book, on the other hand, might be greater if you've encountered Hoid in a few other series, enough to know to look out for him and more or less (as far as we can tell) what his deal is. For that, you can read anything in the Cosmere, but I personally think he's at his best in The Stormlight Archive.
TL;DR: Fortunately, there's really not a way to go wrong here, no matter what you do. Enjoy! :)
Your enjoyment of the book, on the other hand, might be greater if you've encountered Hoid in a few other series, enough to know to look out for him and more or less (as far as we can tell) what his deal is. For that, you can read anything in the Cosmere, but I personally think he's at his best in The Stormlight Archive.
TL;DR: Fortunately, there's really not a way to go wrong here, no matter what you do. Enjoy! :)
Dave
You can read this as your first novel, but you'll miss a lot of references. They'll probably just go over your head, so won't detract from this novel.
Having said that, I loved the Connections to the cosmere as much as I loved the novel itself, so I'd recommend reading as many other novels as you can first.
Having said that, I loved the Connections to the cosmere as much as I loved the novel itself, so I'd recommend reading as many other novels as you can first.
Luke
You shouldn't read any other books until you read Tress of the Emerald Sea. It has nothing to do with spoilers or understandability. It's just that this book is that good.
Prashant Tiwari
If you want to read 'Mistborn' series in future, then first read those books first or else you will get spoiler for Mistborn.
Dakota
I personally think this is a great Cosmere starting point!
BessieBookworm
The book is really good on its own. I would recommend Stormlight Archive, just to help understand Hoid’s character and the Cosmere. If you don’t want to read FOUR HUGE BOOKS though, just read Tress. It’s a great book.
Petr
I would like to know how the book reads without knowing anything about Cosmere stuff from other books in series. It is positioned as a standalone book but IMHO there is lots of technicalities mentioned that would bother me personally if I would know nothing about them (all the stuff about investiture, bonds, interplanetary travels, kandras, advanced tech, many things and people Hoid mentions in passing, etc.). I would feel like I miss something.
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