menacekop Posted September 27, 2017 Posted September 27, 2017 57 minutes ago, Nymeros said: I know. What I meant is that if you were a casual reader, you wouldn't even recognize the 'easter eggs.' Zahel is just another old odd ardent (why would he be a shapeahifting alien?), Nightblood is just another spren blade (why wouldn't it be?), the 17th Shard is no different from the 100 other secret societies native to Roshar, yadda yadda, so on and so forth Personally i cant imagine a "casual reader" picking up a 387k word count epic fantasy novel, no storming way that happens often enough for this to be an issue. And as you said a "casual" reader of SA would not even notice the references anyway. And I'm sure when Sanderson begins to introduce the Cosmere concept in SA directly he will do so in a way that still does not directly require you to read his previous novels to follow the main storyline. Remember the main characters are completely dumb to the idea of the Cosmere so the reader will be introduced to its secretes within the context as the SA characters.
shadowwisp Posted September 28, 2017 Posted September 28, 2017 (edited) 20 hours ago, Calderis said: I would. I highly doubt there will be anything required to read for SA that isn't SA. I wasn't suggesting that he made it free because it was required. But since Warbreaker is tied to SA more than any other book and everyone says to read Warbreaker, having free access to Warbreaker would lessen any potential irritation from casual readers. Otherwise people would be complaining how they felt pressured to buy an entire book that had little to do with SA but at the same time, they would feel that they wouldn't fully enjoy SA if they didn't buy and read it. In addition, by having free access to Warbreaker, you maximize the number of people who would recognize Vasher and Nightblood in SA. They do a bit of googling/talk to friends and discover the Cosmere. I have actually seen this happen frequently on reddit. Edited September 28, 2017 by shadowwisp
Kingsdaughter613 she/her Posted September 28, 2017 Posted September 28, 2017 18 hours ago, Toaster Retribution said: One easter egg which I am hyped to see explained is the Letter. It is written by Hoid and Frost, neither who are native to Roshar. Most of us are buying that Brandon can explain Hoid, but how will he go about working Frost into everything? And the other things that are name-dropped in there... Skai, Bavadin, Aona... that might be an unresolved mystery for non-Cosmere fans. This was already done in HoA's epigraphs. It wasn't explained then, and I don't think it needs to be explained now. Some things can remain a mystery. To a casual reader it's just world building, like Tolkien putting random fragments of myth all over LotR. You don't NEED to read the Silmarillion to enjoy it (though I do recommend giving the book a try.) Besides, it's more comprehensible than random number ciphers! Plenty of people will never even figure out what those say. I doubt it will impact their reading too much. Just us Sharders who MUST crack all the codes and find every last reference, and every possible connection. The rest of the readers will just enjoy the journey...
Art Posted September 28, 2017 Posted September 28, 2017 I am confident that Sanderson will give us sufficient information on these being travellers from other worlds with other strange powers but in a way consistent, contained, and explained by SA as a complete arc. You could learn more by going elsewhere, but it will be developed enough to make sense and feel a part of the story (and not just a throwaway) if all you read is SA.
MistbornAlpaca he/him Posted October 25, 2017 Posted October 25, 2017 TWoK was the first Sanderson book I read, and really the first fantasy period (aside from Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and the Hobbit) I devoured the book, and it was wonderful! Then I read WoR, and it was great too. At that point, I didn't even know the Cosmere existed, and I still had a great time. I think all of the easter eggs and direct references actually add a depth to the series that many other books lack. Now on my pre-Oathbringer SA reread, I'm noticing all of these easter eggs, and it really adds a lot to my reading. Conclusion: Casual non-Cosmere aware readers won't be thrown out by all the easter eggs, and Cosmere fans love them. It adds another layer of meaning to SA as well that I really love.
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