(Spoilers) Your biggest "WHAT THE---?!"

[Gaelan]

Sazed becoming the hero of the ages, without any doubt. In spanish, there's not the neutral term of "it" so the prophecy talked about "him". I couldn't get it until it happened.

 

By the way:

 

TWoK was my first Brandon book and had a ton of twists and shocks (Honor dead, Taravangian, spelling his name right on the first try, etc.)

You got the reputation point with that. I laughed so much 

Edited August 15, 2013 by Gaelan

[ThePrinceofMagnets]

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I can understand why people don't like spoilers, but I love 'em! In fact, I would've totally hated the ending of Well of Ascension if I hadn't known it in advance. I really dislike unexpected downer endings.

In that case I would keep in mind that second parts of three part series (and secomd to last books in general I suppose, as well as middles) generally have super downer endings.

[Morsk]

It's not a single moment, but I remember being overwhelmed at how much backstory Mistborn-3 revealed about Preservation and Ruin creating the planet, and the Lord Ruler working against Ruin the whole time. It's a huge change from the scope of the first two books. It's also a huge amount of revelation about the setting. From Wheel of Time, I was used to stories holding things back forever.

Then I realized the planet was so broken that only a god could fix it, which meant that a god would; I was a bit disappointed once I realized that. But then Sazed ascended with both Shards, which I wasn't expecting at all, which made up for it!

[Gamma Fiend]

My biggest "WHAT THE-?"

Reading a bunch of Sanderson books, then looking online and seeing/figuring out how they're all part of the same Cosmere Universe.

[Miyabi]

Honestly was the fact that Sazed was the Hero of Ages, even though I poured over that first epigraph in TFE for months trying to figure out that the line "hold the future of the world of my arms" was a literal statement. 

[Ete'ni]

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Edited June 23, 2014 by Ete'ni

[blackmagic3]

Other than the Mistborn and Warbreaker ones;

-Parshmen being potential voidbringers

-Taln appearing at Kholinar

-Worldhoppers in TWoK

-Emperors soul when you find out that she made his soul better (more of a "Mother of God" moment)

-When Joel didn't become a rithmatist

-Sadeas pulling out

[Cevine]

"I cannot see the future completely. Cultication, she is better at it than I."

 

That little bit was the final proof for me about the Cosmere. WoK was the last Brandon Sanderson book I read so the Ati namedrop, Hoid appering in more than one book,  and the other chapter inserts (what are they even called?) made it obivious that everything was conected.

 

After guessing a lot of the major plotwists in most of the books, he hit me with this. I really hope he has more of those things in his future books. Its like a book, within a book!

[Arcanist]

Biggest This post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules: More of them during HoA such as
- Sazed as a new "god", metals as the bodies of preservation and Ruin, Coloss as former human beings, the creation of the Final Empire/new world by the Lord Ruler (moving the planet, creating ash-eating bacteria).

And as a bonus: as Marsh tried to kill Sazed in WoA
 

[DocHoliday]

I knew Vin wasn't the HoA in the first line.

"I am  unfortunately the Hero." Definitely not her. 

 I kinda thought Kelsier had a pariah plan up his sleeve midway through Mistborn.

I think the first punch in the gut, IDK why, was OreSeur was TenSoon. I just thought he/it? And Vin had a serious connection that blew her and Ellend out of the water. The betrayal was just too perfect after the discovery of how closely their personalities matched..intrigue just draws me in :-P

[Ausar]

Infinity Blade: Awakening. Ausar being Siris.

 

 

 

The reason the twist works so well is that not only is the reader given the backstory of an entire family fighting the God King as a sacrifice, and then we 'assume' that the family is related to the Deathless in some way, but then with one crossbow shot, the truth becomes beyond clear, and all the pieces fit to togther. Why Siris can wield the Aegis Forms perfectly, and why he has flashes of arrogance and corruption.

 

And the awesome idea that most heroic, naturally pure Siris is in fact a Deathless even Radriar considers despicable? Well that's just the icing on irony cake. 

 

But what makes the twist really  work is the game aspect. Remember, unlike most games with tie in novels, at the time IOS games were pretty barebones. It was literally all gameplay. Brandon turned everything in the game aspect into a plot point.

 

And the main thing that the twist fixed gameplay wise was the concept of not having to regain all your experience every time you died. By making the family just one person, And don't forget, those who played the game were constantly told that this a tale of fathes avenging sons, and the twist would be even more effective for those who played the game first.

 

Sorry for ranting but the fact is, Brandon literally used the gameplay mechanics and used it to create an awesome story with an amazing This post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules twist. 

 

 

So yeah Brandon, thanks for that This post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules of a 'game'-changing ending.

[HydrogenAlpha]

For me the biggest ''What the heck''-Moment is quite easy to describe :
Elantris was my first Sanderson book and after I finished it, it knew Brandon was a genius. So i ordered all the other books he published to that point and started reading.

And in EVERY single book was a person who was called HOID. The second Sanderson book i read was Warbreaker and when he introduced the storyteller i almost flipped my desk. I then consumend Mistborn and after finding another Hoid there, i swore to name my firstborn after Mr. Sanderson.

Edited January 2, 2014 by HydrogenAlpha

[loganmathewjohnson]

For me, it was definitely Saze being the Hero of Ages. It happened at the moment that I realized what was meant by 'They say I will carry the fate of the entire world on my arms.' At the VERY BEGINNING OF THE ENTIRE SERIES. I began to weep softly, praising Sanderson's name as a master storyteller. I called my friend and said: 'I have a series for you to read...' Truly a remarkable ending that demonstrates Sanderson's skill. Weaving the 5th sentence of the first epigraph of the whole series... Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable.

[digitalbusker]

Maybe it's just because I'm currently rereading them, but the reveals in the original Mistborn trilogy stand out for me on this. Well, most of them, anyway. For me, finding out who the Lord Ruler really was was kind of "This guy we barely know turns out not to be this other guy we barely know, but actually this third guy we barely know... Okay?" Although it does make me feel a little guilty any time I give a friend the Mistborn elevator pitch "What if Frodo had kept the Ring?"

 

The Sazed/HoA/Harmony thing hit me hard because I really should have seen it coming. I'm still surprised that I was seriously considering Vin as the Hero after those first couple of epigraphs. The reveals related to Ruin's influence were more satisfying for me, both because I thought they really raised the stakes and because I didn't feel guilty about not seeing them coming.

 

The various twists in WoK don't have the same impact for me, mostly because it's just book one and I don't really expect to understand the world well enough at this point to be all that shocked. You have to lay a lot of pipe to earn a chapter like "A Visit from Verin Sedai". Though Sadeas's betrayal of Dalinar was pretty surprising on a metatextual level--we generally expect Our Heroes to be interpreting their divine visions correctly.

[princess]

I am torn between the moment when Dalinar trades his blade for the bridgemen, and at the end of Rithmatist when it turns out that the scribbler was the cop.  I think I have to go towards Dalinar though.

[ollie99]

Parshmen were the Voidbringers? Say what???

 

Mind Blown!

[Chrono]

The ending of Well of Ascension was a huge punch in the gut for me. Elend gets stabbed, Ruin is released, and Elend becomes a Mistborn. All. In. A. Row. I nearly chucked the book in rage and sorrow. I was like, "What? They went through all this crap and they're supposed to save the world, and now it's screwed? I just... don't understand..." 

 

Another thing that nearly killed me was Taravangian, Dalinar giving up his Shardblade to save the bridgemen, and the reveal that Shallan killed her father. I literally had to read all of these multiple times, just to fully comprehend what just happened. 

 

I'm really hoping that WoR has more of these wham moments. Can't wait!

[bartbug]

When it implies Shallan has a shardblade in such an offhand matter. It took two rereads OF THE BOOK for me to come to terms with that.

 

And Kaladin's Shardblade arch is as breathtaking as Dalinar's is.

[Cromptj]

That Vin actually heard Reen's voice speaking to her.

[Delightful]

Vin duralumin-soothing Straff Venture. That one took my breath away, even though its a relatively minor event.

 

Also, Oathbringer.

[GoneRampant]

I'm gonna break this down by book:

 

Way of Kings: Kaladin's One Man Army trick after I learned that Parshendi were Voidbringers. I was like "That means Kaladin, armed with nought but a spear, fought Voidbringers... and WON. Holy God I'm gonna like this guy."

 

Alloy of Law: Marsh's cameo in the end.

 

Mistborn: Kelsier's first scene with Spook, it got me really hopeful he was coming back... but then Ruin had to be a dick.

[Shaggai]

Szeth at the end of Words of Radiance. Nothing more is needed.

[Curiosity]

Szeth at the end of Words of Radiance. Nothing more is needed.

 

For me, this was more of a "Oh, I know what that is!" *giggles maniacally at the thought of Cosmere-clueless people reading this book*

 

Really, the Cosmere was the biggest shocker of all. I thought that I noticed similarities between his worlds, like the physical, spiritual, and cognitive realms, but discounted them as attributes of Brandon's techniques for world-building. I had read everything by him at the time I found the Cosmere, so it was a lot of sparks going off. 

[Tien'sPetLurg]

There have been many. Kabsal springs to mind. I really liked him. 

[signspace13]

For me, this was more of a "Oh, I know what that is!" *giggles maniacally at the thought of Cosmere-clueless people reading this book*

Really, the Cosmere was the biggest shocker of all. I thought that I noticed similarities between his worlds, like the physical, spiritual, and cognitive realms, but discounted them as attributes of Brandon's techniques for world-building. I had read everything by him at the time I found the Cosmere, so it was a lot of sparks going off.

Yeh this was it for me I had read all of the mistborn books and both stormlights I didn't get tge sword thing and I NEEDED to know so I jumped on the Internet and made probably the must awesome discovery I had ever made

(Also the sheer size of the way of kings hard cover, I knew it was long but when I when in and actually got it I was like "oh my lord what am I getting myself into")