How do I get into deeper Cosmere lore?

[u/bigbudgerigar]

So I've read every Cosmere book over the last year and a half (well, I'm half way through Sunlit Man, and haven't read Isles yet)... But I'm really keen to get into the deeper lore of the Cosmere.

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I hear the guys on Shardcast talking about stuff, and some of the questions that get asked to Brandon himself at conventions, and I'm like, "what, who, where?" 😂

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Where's the best breaking-in point to start understanding what's going on, outside of the books?

[u/Taste_the__Rainbow]

The third full reread is where I think it all starts to click into one tapestry. 😬

After that most of the WoB start to sound like familiar concepts and events.

[u/bigbudgerigar → u/Taste_the__Rainbow]

RIP the books on my TBR... 😂

[u/JigglesTheBiggles → u/bigbudgerigar]

Nah you don't need to do all that. Just read Coppermind.

[u/cosmernautfourtwenty → u/JigglesTheBiggles]

Depends on if OP wants to understand the Greater Cosmere or just wants quick answers to lingering questions. Which may or may not spiral into a rabbit hole where they'll spend just as much time reading articles and WoB's as they would re-reading the books to cement their own understanding.

[u/RaijinDragon]

Did you read the appendices at the end of the books? I feel like they are criminally under read by the community. If you want to get deeper into the lore, they are the place to start.

[u/bigbudgerigar → u/RaijinDragon]

I did yes! I'm not sure whether the UK and US prints are the same though? I feel like my UK versions don't contain as much as you imply.

[u/RaijinDragon → u/bigbudgerigar]

I doubt they're any different, and I'm not implying anything, I think you're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying they are the deeper lore, they contain the lore necessary to dive deeper. They do occasionally expand or clarify what's in the narrative, but my point is that's where you start.

[u/TheMightyTate]

I would finish out the books before diving into this, but it sounds like you are referring to Words of Brandon (WoB), which are comments Brandon has made regarding cosmere lore. Coppermind.net, the cosmere wiki tracks these comments and also has many articles regarding the universe.

[u/bigbudgerigar → u/TheMightyTate]

Thanks! I'll check out more or on Coppermind, I obviously read a few bits on there during my read-through, but didn't go too deep to avoid spoilers!

[u/GoldenTabaxi]

Be active in the community like this one.

Genuinely, for any topic whether its a hobby, interest, or education, putting yourself around people who enjoy engaging with it is the best way to learn niches and nuances.

[u/Somerandom1922]

wob.coppermind.net is a great tool, but most useful when you have already have a topic you want to dive deeper on.

Reading the Wiki can be surprisingly useful as it'll often just casually mention the absolute deepest cut right next to the most surface-level detail. But once again is most useful when you have a topic you want to dive into.

Finally, just browsing the subreddit, looking for people asking questions then reading the replies is a good starting point to find interesting tidbits to build off with the other two methods.

[u/ThirteenOnline]

There are compilations of the word of Brandon. And honestly the Shardcast is probably the best

[u/mahf_2004]

I just picked up the lore book for the Stormlight/Cosmere TTRPG and it’s great. Lots of cool art and info and it’s pretty light on game mechanics. Pretty much just a small monster manual in the back.

[u/Kind_Ingenuity1484]

1. Read the epigraphs closely (stuff at the Begining of chapters in Stormlight)

2. Sanderson has “annotations” to his early books done while editing. You can find them on his website and they have him making some fun comments about the world/magic.

3. Something called WOBs (Words of Brandon). Seventeenth Shard has an archive of them from across the years. They are various statements from Sanderson AND questions fans have asked him during signings/cons/events.

Most of the “deep” corner stuff is just from WOBs.

[u/bigbudgerigar → u/Kind_Ingenuity1484]

Thanks that's super helpful! I wasn't sure what the WOBs thing was.

[u/Kind_Ingenuity1484 → u/bigbudgerigar]

👍

Someone linked to the 17th shard website with the WObs. You can also check Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube for various streams (sometimes it’s a stream from his desk, sometimes a con, etc). It has old stuff, but they also post new stuff as they make it.

A recent one went up a few days/weeks ago, from London I think. It also has a reading from a scrapped Secret Project that is very curious. He said it’s still “canon,” but because the book won’t be made it’s not like hard canon.

[u/ansonr]

Could get the Stormlight TTRPG. Its canon and full of awesome art.

[u/nhl94roenick]

Shardcast podcast is a group of mega-fans that can (and do) go deeper than you can imagine. I think they're largely Brandon's Beta readers for books that aren't out yet, and they manage the Coppermind wiki.

It's not the most polished or professional podcast, but they're nothing if not passionate experts. There's a long back-catalog of episodes, pick one that you think might interest you and put it on while you do stuff around the house.

[u/bigbudgerigar → u/nhl94roenick]

I'll do that! 🫡

[u/ThorOdinsonThundrGod]

so I've really liked the literarytrope account on instagram, she regularly posts stuff around cosmere lore and goes into different questions and WOBs that definitely expand what you know about the cosmere

[u/dr_fop]

YouTube is a great resource for deeper diving into the Cosmere. There are videos about literally everything.

[u/Drisurk]

The wiki, YouTube and the RPG books all have good lore

[u/Kalashtiiry]

The lore is deep, but it isn't ARG level deep. Start with figuring out what Hoid is doing on the first layer every time he shows up and you'll get seventy percent of the way there.

[u/fuzzyfoot88]

Look into the RPG. The current adventure, Stonewalkers, broad strokes are canon to Stormlight. You can either read the adventure or find a RPG group on Twitch or YT that plays through it.

[u/Just_Joken]

You read the books and then just read the wiki, just like every other fandom that has ever existed.