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Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Brandon Sanderson (Author), Michael Kramer (Narrator), Kate Reading (Narrator),

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Welcome to New York Times and Sunday Times best seller Brandon Sanderson's first collection of short fiction.

These wonderful works, originally published individually, have been collected for the first time and convey the true expanse of the Cosmere. Telling the exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, Arcanum Unbounded includes the Hugo Award-winning novella The Emperor's Soul and the never-before-published Stormlight Archive novella Edgedancer.

The collection includes nine works in all:

Edgedancer (Stormlight Archive)
'The Hope of Elantris' (Elantris)
'The Eleventh Metal' (Mistborn)
The Emperor's Soul (Elantris)
'Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania' (excerpt, Mistborn)
'Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell' (Threnody)
'Sixth of Dusk' (First of the Sun)
'Mistborn: Secret History' (Mistborn)

This superb collection also includes essays which offer insight into the numerous worlds in which the stories are set.

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Product details

Listening Length	21 hours and 51 minutes
Author	Brandon Sanderson
Narrator	Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
Audible.com.au Release Date	24 November 2016
Publisher	Orion
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B01LZSLOY9
Best Sellers Rank	1,631 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 114 in Epic Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals) 249 in Military Fantasy (Books) 288 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

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Anirudh Balaji Rajagopalan

Refreshing and entertaining as always

Reviewed in Australia on 20 July 2017

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The draw will be (the somewhat mediocre) stormlight novella but the highlights are two other previously published stories in Sixth of the Dusk and Shadows for Silence in the forests of hell. The latter in particular is just fantastic, with plain and perfect bringing to life a collection of characters who are much more than they appear-and yet another inventive new magic system.

Dude is a machine, more power to him. Look forward to the next visit to the Cosmere.

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Beautiful

Reviewed in Australia on 27 November 2020

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I’m a sucker for any and all Cosmere stories - love this collection so much! Love this cover artwork series as well - matches all my Stormlight editions.

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Lextipper

Writing that makes you feel good inside - marvellous read!

Reviewed in Australia on 8 December 2017

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This novelette is a must read (or strongly recommended) before book 3 - it is Sanderson at his crispest & best - it really makes you feel good - Lift is a truly inspiring character - don’t miss her.

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Amazon Customer

Brilliant. Absolutely amazing.

Reviewed in Australia on 14 November 2017

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Brandon is an amazing writer with an easy flowing style. The only issue I have Is I can't put the books down once I start.

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Michael Hands

Enjoyable

Reviewed in Australia on 10 January 2017

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Whilst not as good as his main features, Sanderson proves himself to be an excellent weaver of stories and worlds

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James Salisbury

Recommended

Reviewed in Australia on 8 November 2019

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100% what i wanted and loving it.
would highly recommend for every Brandon Sanderson fan

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Stories of the Cosmere worlds

Reviewed in Australia on 3 December 2016

Ah, the Cosmere. No living author has so successfully created a multiverse as Brandon Sanderson, or come up with such wildly varying worlds to fill it with.

And given how prolific the man is, it's not surprising that -- in addition to his many novels -- he's also produced a string of novellas and short stories set in his Cosmere worlds. And finally, they can all be found together in "Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection," which strings together every story in the Cosmere thus far that can't be used to prop up a couch, from the Hugo Award-winning "The Emperor's Soul" to a brand new novella. To a fan of Sanderson's work, this is like a box of fine chocolates.

The stories are arranged according to the worlds they are set in, with most of them being in the Scadrian System (the world of Mistborn) and two of them set in the Selish System (the world of "Elantris" and "The Emperor's Soul"). These stories tend to be strongly attached to the novels Sanderson has written in their worlds, such as a story about Raoden hearing what Ashe was getting up to during the battle for Elantris; the post-death adventures of Kelsier; and his Allomancy training under Gemmel and his first true battle.

But there are other stories that stand more alone -- a master forger is called upon to create an artificial soul for the assassinated emperor; the invasion an island where magical birds grant powers to their masters; and an awe-inspiring bounty hunter in a haunted forest who seeks a legendary assassin. It also contains an excerpt of the "White Sand" graphic novel, and the prose draft that inspired it -- a story about Kenton, a young man determined to be a sand master.

And yes, there's a new novella here: "Edgedancer," set in the world of Sanderson's Stormlight Archives series. Lift and her spren Wyndle leave the palace unexpectedly, and end up in the underground city of Yeddaw (which allegedly has ten varieties of "awesome pancakes"). But of course, the city also has the dangerous man she calls Darkness -- and when he learns that she's there, Lift finds herself enmeshed in a new and deadly situation.

In addition to the stories themselves, Sanderson writes an introduction where he describes his early writing career and the inspiration of the Cosmere, and a postscript where he discusses its concepts and publication history. For instance, for "The Emperor's Soul," he discusses how Korean stamps were a shaping influence on the tale. And before each new world is explored, he includes a brief overview of the planet, its quirks, and the Shards that have shaped it.

Brandon Sanderson's fictional worlds are always very complicated and imaginative, and anything smaller than a doorstopper tends to leave you desperately craving a fuller exploration of whatever world the story takes place in. So "Arcanum Unbounded" makes an outstanding accompaniment to his novels -- some of the stories further flesh out those novels ("Mistborn: Secret History"), while others take the readers to entirely new worlds ("Shadows For Silence In The Forest Of Hell").

And honestly, almost all of the stories are outstanding, with "Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania" being the one mediocre tale of the bunch. They show the wide variety of magics that Sanderson's fertile imagination is able to conjure, his robust writing style with plenty of detail, and his nimble wit ("please don't get yourself killed. It would be traumatic. Why, I think it would take me months and months to get over it!"). Each story winds through at a fairly quick pace, with some dark twists (Kelsier being trapped in the Well) woven into their fabric.

And his characters are a thoroughly likable bunch. Some -- like Kelsier, Ashe, Raoden and Lift -- are from the novels he's written, and these stories allow for greater fleshing-out of their personalities. But just as engaging are the new characters he introduces, such as the practical Dusk, the butt-kicking innkeeper/bounty-hunter Silence, and and the clever and cunning Shai.

"Arcanum Unbounded" is an essential accompaniment to Sanderson's Cosmere tales -- when he isn't building on his previous works, he's crafting new tales in richly-imagined worlds. A delight for fantasy fans.

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Top reviews from other countries

Alaran

Across the Cosmere

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2018

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Primarily ‘Arcanum Unbounded’ is a collection of various short stories and novellas from Sanderson that take place in the Cosmere; the ‘universe’ within which he has set the many of his novels. Most were previously available in other formats.

It also serves as an explanation, to a certain small degree, as to how all the worlds and events in these stories might possibly be linked or even tie together in the greater expanse of the Cosmere. Reflecting this purpose, the book is structured in such a way that the stories are laid out corresponding to the various star systems they belong to.

Each system is introduced not by the actual author but by the character of Khriss. In this way these introductions are presented as accounts of the continuing researches and observations of Khriss into the Cosmere. Khriss herself has previously appeared in Sanderson’s works. She has a substantial role in the first volume of ‘White Sand’, Sanderson’s graphic novel series. She also makes an enigmatic appearance in the ‘Mistborn’ series during its second era. Furthermore, it is revealed that she, rather than the actual author, is meant to be the writer of the ‘Ars Arcanum’ section that frequently features among the appendices of Sanderson’s novels.

The collection is a combination of several seemingly virtually independent stories set in their own corner of the Cosmere and others that relate to or elaborate upon other existing series by Sanderson.

There are three instalments from the ‘Mistborn’ series, two of which were previously available with the Mistborn Adventure Game. The other, ‘A Secret History’, is of considerable interest as it is probably the story that most reveals deeper connections between the interrelated Cosmere. However, it should definitely not be read before the original Mistborn trilogy.

The collection opens with the novella ‘The Emperor’s Soul’ which is set in the world of ‘Elantris’ but seems quite unrelated to the events of that novel. There is also a short story featuring some of the characters from ‘Elantris’ that serves as a bit of a sequel to the novel.

There is an excerpt from the graphic novel series ‘White Sand’. Alongside it, and of more interest, is the inclusion of the same part of the story but in prose form as it was originally intended.

‘The Stormlight Archive’ is represented here by ‘Edgedancer’, which is probably the highlight of this collection by point of fact of it being the only absolute new material included here (it has subsequently been published individually as both an ebook and a limited edition small hardback). Set predominantly between ‘Words of Radiance’ and ‘Oathbringer’, it focusses upon the character of Lift who appeared briefly in ‘Words of Radiance’. As such, ‘Edgedancer’ shouldn’t be read before ‘The Way of Kings’ or ‘Words of Radiance’ as events in this novella are, in several ways, a result of the fallout from the final stages of ‘Words of Radiance’.

Overall, there is a lot to be enjoyed here, but the collection probably raises more questions than it answers. It is quite plausible that a welcome second volume could materialise at some point.

18 people found this helpful

catdad

Short Story heaven

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2017

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When you hit the new year, after a heavy swath of reading over the holiday period you sometimes want something a little lighter or smaller to dip into whilst you get ready to expound the sheer volume of what the previous year had in store, sort of a book diet if you will. Its at times like this that short stories become a firm favourite for many readers and when an author that many love brings together a collection, its like a special buffet that allows you to pick and choose.

What this title brings together is a whole set of tales from his Cosmere series and its a book that I soon found myself lost within the pages, only to emerge once I'd finished each story. They're well written, help to delightfully expand the Cosmere and all round give the reader that special treat to help ease them back into work with magical outings to help take them away during travel time or work breaks. A magical offering and one that I'm pleased I saved for the new year.

5 people found this helpful

Mark

Great Read. Don`t read without completing other Cosmere books first.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2018

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As expected, a great read. For some reason I have avoided reading this collection for a while now, but glad I finally got around to it. These stories really filled in some gaps for me in the Cosmere Universe. Not recommended for new comers to the Universe I think, as there are spoilers for other books. I waited until I had read the other Cosmere books before touching this, and I was not disappointed. I love the little intros that explained some of the history etc to the various systems. You really get a feel for the immensity of the world that Sanderson has created.

4 people found this helpful

april

Not for me...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 December 2019

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Seduced by the price, i tried this...but it is not for me...i want simpler plots, simpler characters, less philosophy and less violence...this text jumps (abruptly) from pedestrian concerns into fantastical horrors...the changes are, for me, too rapid...sorry...i have understood that many people like s., but this little taste was enough for me...i will read more standard prose, as usual, in the future...

2 people found this helpful

Rearda

You must read this if you have read Mistborn, etc.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 October 2018

Verified Purchase

There's nothing to dislike about Brandon Sanderson's storytelling. This anthology fills in a lot of untold or hinted at side stories from his mythologies, especially Mistborn. I was intending to use this as airport reading (short stories are good for that!), but it was so good I finished it before I'd even packed!

One person found this helpful

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