2022 Mistborn Re-read:

They sat there together. Two friends at the edge of the world, at the end and start of time.

This little novella packs a punch and is not only integral to the Mistborn story but the Cosmere as a whole.

2018 Mistborn Re-read: This story is bigger and more significant than I remembered.

Worth the time to read and learn more about the Cosmere.

Original read
"The Shards," Khriss said, drawing Kelsier's attention, "are not God, but they are pieces of God. Ruin, Preservation, Autonomy, Cultivation, Devotion...There are sixteen of them."

It meant age, and he had a sudden impression of a strange symbol made from four dots and some lines that curved, like ripples in a river.

I, incorrectly, have been avoiding reading Sanderson's novellas. I thought the novellas would be one off stories where there was no connection to anything and, in the end, how good can a novella be?

I was wrong.

Whatever preconceived notions I had about novellas, especially ones that are set in Sanderson's Cosmere, were incorrect. After finishing "Bands of Mourning" there was an afterword from Sanderson who wrote about there being another secret and encouraged readers to give "Mistborn: Secret History" a read. I wanted to read more Mistborn so I decided to go against my judgement and give the novella a read, and it was incredible.

If you feel the way I do about novellas then let me assure you this works to fill in some of the holes of the original Mistborn trilogy, touches on some events in "Bands of Mourning" and, for me at least, began making connections to Elantris and Stormlight Archive. "Secret History" is a great Mistborn read, it is important to the story but would have been difficult to write in originally, so splitting it off was a great choice. You are brought back to Kelsier's death and are shown events you have already seen, but you now view them in a different light. It would be best to read this after you completed the original trilogy, otherwise two whole books would be spoiled in the process.

What I didn't expect from this story was the connection it would have to the Cosmere. I enjoy reading Sanderson novels, but I have avoided reading theories, and looking for connections between books over the years I have been a Sanderson fan. It's neat that each story has the same character, but that was never enough for me to dig for more clues. "Secret History" doesn't help answer that question, but what it does is discuss is how the Realms within the Cosmere operate, and subsequently, all other Sanderson novels follow as well. This was a "Cosmere for Idiots" and it got my attention in a big way.

There were some pretty huge revelations for me in the book when Kelsier walked out to the ocean and had a conversation with Khriss. I re-read paragraphs multiple times, was tempted to highlight it all, but instead went for a digital bookmark in my Kindle. For someone who wasn't interested in how everything was connected in the Cosmere before I am now fully on board, and am looking at the other novellas I skipped.