What makes us so intrigued?

[Turos he/him]

I went to make this post in a couple other sections, but I think (hope even) that it may elicit some cosmere spoilers as examples, so I made it here just in case.

What is it exactly about the Cosmere mysteries that get us each so fascinated in trying to figure out the next secret and puzzle it all together, and that much for years? What singular elements really get your sherlock caps on for the long haul?

Its obvious that Brandon is doing it right, whatever it is. What exactly, and even in depth, is that thing he has done and keeps doing?

[Eternal Khol he/him]

Having a great number of interconnected magic systems and planets helps.

its especially intriguing when we get some tid bits about the magic or cosmere overall and then get to see these wonderfully created characters going through these same problems and slowly figuring them out while still telling their own story.

i live for the day when we get to see a bunch of characters from different planets openly discussing Uncle Ado and his/shards magics

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Eternal Khol

[The Awakened Salad they/them]

I think for me it was the realisation that the books I’d been reading and loving for the past year were all interconnected. When different series by an author are all set in the same universe, it gives the opportunity for crossovers, big or small, subtle hints at something greater, and an overarching story going on behind the scenes, and the cosmere provides all of those things.

[Elegy he/him]

Brandon has also proven that his eventual answers are plausible, satisfying, and potentially guessable, so we have a fundemental trust that it will all eventually make sense and that it's possible to get it right due to foreshadowing etc. I think there's been enough "I knew it!"s and "I should have known!"s in his books to make us feel both gratified and challenged to go on and try.

[Turos he/him]

3 hours ago, Elegy said:

Brandon has also proven that his eventual answers are plausible, satisfying, and potentially guessable, so we have a fundemental trust that it will all eventually make sense and that it's possible to get it right due to foreshadowing etc. I think there's been enough "I knew it!"s and "I should have known!"s in his books to make us feel both gratified and challenged to go on and try.

From a mechanical point of view, this is really the core of it, isn’t it? It happens in cool scenes and through powerful characters we’ve grown attached to, but without this underlying expectation, nobody would bother to pore over maps and tiny details in book covers or the way characters say what they are saying and try to find any thing that reveals more of the big picture. He’s already given hints that there’s always another secret, and we keep finding little answers just to discover more questions which we know have clues somewhere out there, or soon will.

[Spren of Kindness she/her]

For me, it's the moments of growth, like Kaladin's Ideals, the end of HOA, Dalinar at Thaylen City and so on.  But it's also the characters and the worlds.  It sucks me in, and it makes me care.  Something about Sanderson's writing makes me care about the characters and worlds so much.

[Negative_Null]

The characters get me into a story, but it's the moments like that that keep me coming back for more. Vin's battle with the Inquisitors, I am Hope, the Elantris chasm line, and of course The Clap. Sanderlanches are his little aluminum traps to keep you there

[Turos he/him]

Lol Sanderlanches is now the official term for awe-inspiring moments.

[Negative_Null]

Sanderson's Avalanches. Sanderlanches. I'm not the first to use it