Sanderson’s Awesome Cosmere is officially coming to Apple TV+

Brandon Sanderson’s epic and sprawling Cosmere universe is coming to Apple TV+, and I am ludicrously excited about it.

The Cosmere on Apple TV+ is a great fit.

Sanderson has apparently shopped around the streamers and studios a bit, and he settled on Apple TV+. Which I think is the perfect match. Pluribus was superb (you can read my review here), and Foundation (which I’m currently watching) seems to be getting better and better.

I also think Apple will allow for the right mix of effects, good writing and dialogue, and (most importantly) are least likely to cancel it.

The deal itself is one to inspire massive hope

Details are still scarce, but, unlike nearly any other deal I can think of, Sanderson is actively in charge of the whole Cosmere project. That can only be a good thing. People like to gripe about showrunners changing the vision or story of a series based on novels, and it is often pretty valid.

The Wheel of Time made some odd choices, for example, which angered the fan base. (It then started to get really good and was cancelled, but that’s a whine for another day.) The Rings of Power was never that great, but it was based on lore, not any particular book. There are lots of other examples.

But when a show sticks closely to the source material, it can work brilliantly. Game of Thrones was great when it was close to the books, but when they ran out, it was shite. The Expanse stuck to the books and was utterly superb. (As were the novels – whole series review here.)

And with Sanderson as the showrunner, it will be his vision. Apparently, he is already writing the film script for Mistborn. (Knowing him, he has probably already finished.) He also gets to hire and fire who plays the main characters, who directs, and so forth.

This is a big deal in every sense.

What you should know if you want to get into the Cosmere

I am still a relative newbie when it comes to Sanderson, but I have yet to read anything of his that I didn’t like. The Cosmere is huge and kind of linked – some can be read individually, others are part of a series.

There are lots of reading orders online, so pick one based on preference.

I read the Mistborn trilogy first, and loved it. There’s a short prequel called The Elventh Metal that I read after.

Next, I read Elantris, then the related shorter stories The Hope of Elantris and The Emperor’s Soul.

Then the one-off novel Warbreaker.

All were great. Now, based on nearly every reading order I’ve seen, The Way of Kings is next. This is the first book of The Stormlight Archive, which will be the TV show.

The deal has only just been struck, so I think I have time to read at least the first couple of Stormlight books before the show comes out.

If you are thinking of getting into Brandon Sanderson and the Cosmere, I can highly recommend it all. At least, all that I have read so far. You should get a move on, though – they are epic.

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