The Sunlit Man
Ratings380
Average rating4.3
4.5 stars!
It's been a few months since I've read a BrandoSando and this book is definitely a great way to reconnect with the cosmere. Lots of cosmere info here, I'm sooo curious about what the SA and MB characters are up to now. There's unexpected stuff about Threnody too. Fingers crossed that the Night Brigade is going to be dealt with sometime in the future to give Nomad some peace.
This book was unacceptable. I like Brandon Sanderson. But this is straight up the worst thing I have read from Sanderson, and Frugal Wizard and The Lost Metal were already a new low. The dialogue and prose is cringey beyond belief, and half the word count seems to be engineering jargon in which Sanderson delights but contributes absolutely nothing to the reader.
Structurally, the entire novel seemed to be action without any sort of setup whatsoever. The characters seem to be complete cardboard cutouts. The worldbuilding was cool, but that's about all I can say about it - for all the thought and effort that went into the math of it, it never grabbed me or seemed to make any sense.
This book was an embarrassment for someone with the talent of Sanderson. It gets a 2/5 because it is technically a self published book, and for a self-published book, it's not bad. But I am expecting significantly more quality in Defiant and Stormlight 5 if I'm going to continue reading Sanderson's work.
Another stellar standalone from the goat.
This book talks a lot about the nature of investiture and covers some of the logic of the magic system found all across the Cosmere. One of the great things about investiture is that it allows the reader to experience wonder and mystery about the “new” magic systems you encounter across Sanderson's work, while also being able to tie all of it back together in an explainable way.
Anyway, not a great starting point if you're new to Sanderson (try Mistborn), but a must read for a fan of the Cosmere.
It was a bit confusing to follow at times. With the jump in technology. But it was oké.
3.75 a lot of cosmere references I did not get and I did not really feel for the mc
(No spoilers)
This was my favourite of the secret projects, simply by being Stormlight adjacent. It was so much fun to read. Hadn't had this much fun in a while.
Fucked up worlds with the sun/moon being the source of problems, my beloved.
The hints start dropping from page 2 and don't stop. It was pretty easy to guess who Nomad was, but it was so enjoyable seeing little references to things we loved in other books. That did not make the other reveals hurt any less, or the ending!
My favorite side character was Adonalsium-will-remember-our plight-eventually (nicknamed AWROPE by yours truly), who did not show up again. Hope he survived the very many catastrophic events.
The only book which gave me a very strong urge to punch Hoid. Brandon will pay my therapy bill which is getting longer with every book!
This was a really fun easy fast read. I had a great time with it, but I don’t know really who this is for or who I would recommend it to. Pretty cool characters on a strange ingesting planet with a novel magic system which all together left me with a lot of questions that I’m looking forward to getting answered in future books.
Contains spoilers
Let’s say there are three items A, B, and C. You can combine A with B in five different ways, and B with C in six ways. And let’s say there are thousands of people who use items every day. It would be very unusual if these people would not go through all possible ways to combine these three items and figure out which of these ways are useful.
If you introduce these items in a fast-paced novel, a reader might not do this by themselves (they don’t have direct access to this universe to test their hypotheses), and they might accept that a discovery is surprising. But now, when you think about the state of the world before this discovery, something seems wrong about it. How come nobody bothered to check this? Isn’t it your main problem? Why is nobody really studying it?
(That is to say, somebody on Canticle would have discovered how to recharge sunhearts long ago without any outside help.)
I liked it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite Sanderson book I've read. The point of this book (according to the author's note) was to give some background about the meta plot happening across the Cosmere (Sanderson's multiverse) but it made it hard to understand/enjoy the book if you haven't read some specific other books.
Before picking up this book, I'd recommend reading:
All of the Stormlight Archive series
Dawnshard
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Arcanum Unbounded
Mistborn series 1 and 2
Basically, he ran in to the problem of needing to reference lots of specific backstory, which took away from the story for me. But it was still entertaining! This is one I would only recommend to a die-hard Sanderson fan.
Age range: 14+
Some violence and stuff but nothing crazy.
"You never get to be ready. You just have to move forward anyway."
The Sunlit Man presents an interesting issue where the main character is one that from the current Stormlight Archive books but many years after where we currently are in time. Names and places you know are brought up but you're in a completely different place with a main character that seems new to you. A lot has happened between now and this future. The story and its world gave me a lot of Mad Max vibes and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Nomad is a wonderful character and I felt emotional throughout this. I left with more questions than anything but I think that was by design.
Emotional Impact 6.75
Characters 7.75
Plot 8.5
Worldbuilding 8
Dialogue / Prose 7.5
Official Rating 7.66
Goodreads Rating 3.75
Forgot to include this back when I read it at the tail end of Japan trip - very cool how this is a glimpse into the ‘future' of the cosmere, lots of cool references again, nice and contained story and was overall enjoyable!
Emotional Impact 6.75
Characters 7.75
Plot 8.5
Worldbuilding 8
Dialogue / Prose 7.5
Official Rating 7.66
Goodreads Rating 3.75
Forgot to include this back when I read it at the tail end of Japan trip - very cool how this is a glimpse into the ‘future' of the cosmere, lots of cool references again, nice and contained story and was overall enjoyable!
If you were to read one and only one Brandon Sanderson book it should be this one. He figured out his formula!
Pues realmente está en 3.5 pero Yumi me gustó mucho más por lo que no quería darle la misma nota.
La historia en sí me gustó, correcta. No me sorprendió mucho más allá de las cosas del Cosmere y lo que más me penaliza es que no me van mucho los temas de ciencia ficción, avances tecnológicos, física, naves espaciales etc eso hace que no me guste tanto la ambientación o me cueste meterme. En general se lee bien y no es complejo.
The Sunlit Man was a pleasant surprise for me. It took me a long time to realize Nomad was a character from the Stormlight Archives, and that I actually knew him! I ended up googling everything about Hoid and Nomad and etc etc. It was a wonderful time.
The book itself was well paced, engaging, interesting, and fun. I loved the clever world and how Brandon built it up, I loved the scientific explanations for all the weird and fantastical nonsense of the world, I loved that the setting was as much of a character as the characters were, and I loved the cathartic release I got from how beautifully everything was tied up. These four books (the secret ones) are probably my favorites of Sandersons even having read Stormlight Archive and Mistborn (first trilogy, my previous favorites of all time). Tress is still number one, but I also haven't read Yumi yet.
No complaints. 5 stars. Would read again.
2.50/5.00
And so, the cosmere expands into science fiction. This is something that I have been expecting for a while now, and the execution is good. Not perfect, not amazing, just good. Reading through this book, I can feel the familiar tone of Sanderson's fantasy novels. Just as I expected, this wade into sci-fi has not changed his tone. He writes as good as he has ever written, just shy of some exceptions. The Sunlit Man tells us another delightfully innovative cosmere story, packed with action and intrigue. The character work is in-line with what I have come to expect with Sanderson's secret project novels, which I think are below his earlier works. Solid fun and action!
But is this the future of the cosmere ? This slightly above average prose, with Investiture thrown around to technology work ? Are we moving away from the details, the exact mechanics of this hard magic system, and moving into soft sci-fi? This is not Mistborn, this is not the Stromlight Archive, this is a poor representation of the spectacular world building of those fantasy masterpieces.
Emotional Impact -> I am not enjoying the cosmere's version of sci-fi. Are we just going to forget that Investiture is just magic and treat it as science ? The Scadrians are being turned into asshole villains, no surprises there, but that is so boring. I enjoyed the fantasy of cosmere, the shards, the oaths, the push and the pull, the creation and destruction. Now spren are turning into AI assistants. The story is action packed, which is the main reason I kept reading. Characters -> I really like the Greater Good. I thought those characters brought a sense of cultural intrigue to the plot. I liked Sigzil as well, but why the Dawnshard? Why the highspren bond? When did he become a skybreaker ? Was this story really needed now ? Why not after Stromlight 5 where it would have been more linear? How the Scadrians have space travel so soon ? How long has Sigzil lived ?Plot -> Not a bad plot, but no big twist. Pretty predictable. Conversation with Wit was nice.Prose -> I really thing Sanderson needs to write better dialogue. This is really missing. I think he always does a great job of world building, but the dialogue is just not very good. World building -> Interesting, very cosmerian, but so shallow. Zero focus on history. The world building reads like a history book.
My new favorite Sanderson book. Cosmere-heads will be stoked at all the worldbuilding (as was I), but the narrative and characterization is some of the best stuff I've in a long time
Overall Rating - 8.5/10
Plot - 9/10 Excellent. The Sunlit Man is Sanderson's homage to “old westerns and their modernized versions, like the Mad Max films.” It's fast-paced and dope as heck. I was gripped the whole time, eager to reach each beat. Plot, character, and world were intertwined in a way that improved each one and kept them all moving forward.
World-building - 10/10 Outstanding. Sanderson, as usual, masterfully creates a vibrant world here. It's unique, complex, and creative. The Sunlit Man is set on Canticle, a planet with one hemisphere always covered in deadly daylight that incinerates those unfortunate souls caught in the sunrise. The planet's inhabitants must always stay on the dark side of the planet, so live in mobile cities that are constantly moving forward. This is a standalone novel but I just know there are so many stories that could be told here.
Characters - 8/10 Very good. Reviewing Cosmere books can be a little weird, because I'm unable to know what the experience would be like if I didn't have a self-awarded MCS (Master of Cosmere Studies). The main POV character, Nomad, is a side character from a different book, so I came into this already having thoughts and feelings about him. That said, I absolutely loved his arc in this book. Nomad is characterized pretty clearly, and his development is satisfying. And as usual, Sanderson weaves that development into the plot in a satisfying way. Rating would be 9/10 if so much of his backstory wasn't “locked” behind spoilers for upcoming Cosmere novels. That made it more difficult for me to really dig into what motivates him.
Prose - 8/10 Very good. I've heard it said that Sanderson doesn't have very good prose. That his writing is too simple/straightforward. And for his first few published novels, I would agree! Here's the thing though: Sanderson is a veteran of putting out well-written, cohesive, creative, and compelling books (I think he said this is his 15th novel?). With that depth experience, his prose are far from lacking at this point. It's not super flowery/poetic, true, but he uses language well, describes places and events in the perfect level of detail, and he conveys the emotional impact of character moments with skill. Also, he writes a DAMN good fight scene.
Theme - 7/10 Good. I don't usually see conveyance of theme as one of Sanderson's greatest strengths. I care enough about his plots, worlds, and (sometimes) characters that theme doesn't really stand out for me. I think he's starting to change that, however. Although I didn't walk away from The Sunlit Man thinking about life in a new way or questioning my perception of morality, Sanderson did communicate themes of redemption, self-realization, and compassion well enough to add fuel to the fiery plot and character moments. Felt big feelings, y'all.
I was unduly harsh on this book on the first attempt but that's only because I rate Sanderson at his best so highly. It's totally fine, if you want to turn the brain off and enjoy a very YA action story.
This book has highlighted something I hadn't considered though, and that is to be worried about the Cosmere mythos becoming too involved in the Stormlight Archive. I desperately hope Sanderson manages to keep the Stormlight Archive as its own semi-standalone series, full of connections to the wider universe but you don't need to know any of those other books to follow whats happening.
I don't even know if it's possible, but a boy can dream.
Esperaba que este libro también estuviera escrito desde la perspectiva de Sagaz. Al no estarlo, es cierto que el principio me costó más, conectar con la historia y poder disfrutarla. Creo que cuando Sagaz aparece a pedirle perdón mi visión de la historia cambió por completo. Quería saber más de Nómada, de que le había llevado a renunciar a sus juramentos y si sería capaz de volver a ellos.
Acabe llorando y sufriendo por Aux.
Creo que para mi ya es imposible no llorar cada vez que leo algo de este hombre... Me siento tan conectada con todos sus personajes y me identifico con todos que cuando les veo sufrir (porque siempre tienen que sufrir) solo quiero ir corriendo a abrazarles y decirles que les adoro.
Lo que más me entristece del final es imaginarme a Nómada por el resto del tiempo teninedo que huir sin Aux, como va a sobrevivir sin nadie a su lado, a nadie al que recurrir... Quiero abrazarle fuertemente.
Espero que en el futuro sea capaz de arreglar aquello que rompió junto a sus juramentos y puedo establecer de nuevo una conexión tan especial con otro Spren sin olvidarse jamás de Aux.
Si le pongo 4 estrellas es porque aunque he conectado muchísimo con Nómada, la trama en general del libro no me parecía tan interesante, ni los personajes secundarios me han preocupado demasiado.