Have given up trying to post these in order, I have.
There’s a really cool thing that Sanderson does, which is collate a series of perhaps unrelated ideas into a cohesive. That might be under selling his skill set– perhaps each of these worlds is built from the ground up from entirely new ideas– but the author note seems to suggest that this story in particular grew from a seed of an idea grafted onto another seed, all of which was planted in the soil of the Cosmere (is that a good metaphor???)
As I run my way through Sanderson’s entire oeuvre I find myself enjoying the respite that are his novellas. I’ve only read two of the stormlight books, but of course I read all seven of the mistborn ones, and they are long. But they’re also impossible to put down, which means that once you start one, you’ve basically removed yourself from being a functioning adult for a couple days. These novellas however, can be started and finished in a particularly focused afternoon break.
There are also real stakes in a Sanderson book. I might be a touch sensitive on this topic having just read Fourth Wing (which I believe lacks stakes) but I’ve always thought this about his work. Characters are injured. Characters make mistakes that cause actual consequences. There are rules, and they can’t be broken. It’s amazing how even in under 100 pages you can have a rock solid understanding of what can and can’t be done, along with getting an entire plot.
So far it seems like while these novellas are written in the Cosmere universe, there aren’t necessarily easter eggs that are required to understand the main work. Which is good! I find it difficult to keep track of little bits and pieces in my rush to absorb the plot and just relish in the art of a storyteller.
So again, if you’re like me and you’ve been waiting to start these books for ages, just do it. You won’t regret it.