If you are reading Mistborn with the intention of continuing on to Sanderson’s other Cosmere works afterwards, I would highly suggest reading Mistborn: Secret History after you finish The Hero of Ages. I like to say it’s like a “Nick Fury showing up in the post-credits scene of Iron Man” moment, where you really first get a glimpse of how the various different stories and series are connected.
Wait. I don’t have any meta knowledge about Sanderson’s work, are you saying the Mistborn series and the Stormlight Archives have a connection to each other? How exciting!
Super small suggestion, but check out elantris and warbreaker also by brandy sandy before you drip into stormlight archive or secret history. They’re not required by any means to enjoy any of the stories here, but they definitely clue you in to a few more Easter eggs than you’d notice otherwise. Iirc, both of those books are available through his website or by emailing his team at no charge. Could be old info but both the books are entirely worth their price anyways imo
So my take in this is that yes, some parts of Secret History make more sense if you’ve read Elantris and Warbreaker, but; Elantris and Warbreaker are relatively hard sells for the more casual reader, kind of hard to get into, in my experience.
I’ve found that giving new readers Secret History first, pulling back the Cosmere curtain just a little, gives them a reason to want to read Elantris and Warbreaker.
Yes, they do! They both take place in the same universe, called the “Cosmere”, on different planets. There are several other works of Sanderson’s that are also in this universe, though not everything he’s written. You can read most stuff as standing on its own perfectly fine, but the further you get into the books, the more connections start to appear.
Sanderson has a page on his website explaining some more for newcomers: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/what-is-the-cosmere/
