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The Cosmere #30
丕賱匕賷 兀囟丕亍賴 賳賵乇 丕賱卮賲爻
丕賱匕賷 兀囟丕亍賴 賳賵乇 丕賱卮賲爻 亘賯賱賲 亘乇丕賳丿賵賳 爻丕賳丿乇爻賵賳 ... 賲賳匕 爻賳賵丕鬲 賲囟鬲貙 賰丕賳 賱丿賷賴 乇賮丕賯 爻賱丕丨貙 賵賯囟賷丞 賷丐賲賽賳 亘賴丕貙 賱賰賽賳 丕賱丌賳貙 丕賱乇噩購賱 丕賱匕賷 賷購胤賱賽賯 毓賱賶 賳賮爻賴 丕爻賲 (賳賵賲丕丿)貙 賱丕 賷毓乇賽賮 爻賵賶 丨賷丕丞 丕賱賴乇賵亘. 賷購噩亘賻乇 (賳賵賲丕丿) 毓賱賶 丕賱賯賮夭 賲賳 毓丕賱賲賺 廿賱賶 丌禺乇賺 囟賲賳 賰賵賳 (賰賵夭賲賷乇)貙 賵鬲購胤丕乇丿賴 (爻乇賷丞 丕賱賱賷賱) 丕賱賯丕爻賷丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞貙 賵鬲亘丿兀 兀丨丿丕孬 乇賵丕賷鬲賳丕 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賴亘胤 毓賱賶 賰賵賰亘賺 噩丿賷丿貙 賵爻購乇毓丕賳 賲丕 賷噩賽丿 賳賮爻賴 賲購丨丕氐乇賸丕 毓賱賶 丕賱賮賵乇 賵爻胤 氐乇丕毓 亘賷賳 胤丕睾賷丞 賵丕賱賲購鬲賲乇賽賾丿賷賳 丕賱匕賷 賱丕 賷購乇賷丿賵賳 爻賵賶 丕賱賴乇賵亘 賲賳 丕賱鬲丨賵購賾賱 廿賱賶 毓亘賷丿 賱丿賷賴. 賵賰購賱 匕賱賽賰 鬲丨鬲 丕賱鬲賴丿賷丿 丕賱賲購爻鬲賲賽乇 賱卮乇賵賯 丕賱卮賲爻 丕賱匕賷 爻鬲丐丿賷 丨乇丕乇鬲賴 廿賱賶 廿匕丕亘丞 丕賱丨噩丕乇丞. 賱賰賽賳賴 睾賷乇 賯丕丿賽乇 毓賱賶 賮賴賲 賱購睾鬲賴賲! 賴賱 賷爻鬲胤賷毓 賲賵丕氐賱丞 丕賱氐乇丕毓貙 賵丕賰鬲爻丕亘 丕賱賯賵賾丞 丕賱賰丕賮賷丞 賱賱賯賮夭 禺丕乇賽噩 丕賱毓丕賱賲貙 賯亘賱 兀賳 賷丿賮毓 噩爻丿賴 兀賵 毓賯賱賴 丕賱孬賲賳 丕賱賳賴丕卅賷責
Hardcover
First published October 1, 2023
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About the author
Brandon Sanderson
468听books264k听followersI鈥檓 Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, comes out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that will see the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard鈥檚 Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Secret Project Four (with its official title reveal coming October 2023). These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. The third era of Mistborn is slated to be written after the first arc of the Stormlight Archive wraps up.
In November 2020 we saw the release of Rhythm of War鈥攖he fourth massive book in the New York Times #1 bestselling Stormlight Archive series that began with The Way of Kings鈥攁nd Dawnshard (book 3.5), a novella set in the same world that bridges the gaps between the main releases. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it鈥檚 the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. The fifth volume, Wind and Truth, is set for release in fall 2024.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, and various novellas available on Amazon, including The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you鈥檝e read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, come out in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the Legion series, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. There鈥檚 a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart,The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you鈥檙e already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan鈥檚 notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com鈥攁nd check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, comes out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that will see the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard鈥檚 Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and Secret Project Four (with its official title reveal coming October 2023). These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.
November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. The third era of Mistborn is slated to be written after the first arc of the Stormlight Archive wraps up.
In November 2020 we saw the release of Rhythm of War鈥攖he fourth massive book in the New York Times #1 bestselling Stormlight Archive series that began with The Way of Kings鈥攁nd Dawnshard (book 3.5), a novella set in the same world that bridges the gaps between the main releases. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it鈥檚 the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. The fifth volume, Wind and Truth, is set for release in fall 2024.
Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, and various novellas available on Amazon, including The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you鈥檝e read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.
I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, come out in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.
Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the Legion series, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. There鈥檚 a lot of material to go around!
Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart,The Emperor鈥檚 Soul, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you鈥檙e already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.
I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan鈥檚 notes.
Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com鈥攁nd check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.
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January 22, 2023Watch him announce an additional 17 books that he wrote in the time it took us to read these four.
October 6, 2023
Simply fantastic, and hands down the best Brandon Sanderson book in years.
This book rocks, it鈥檚 everything I could have dreamed of when I first heard of the secret projects, and I legitimately think this is the best Sanderson book since Rhythm of War back in 2020. So to back up a bit for the 2 of you watching this who don鈥檛 know, last year Brandon Sanderson announced he had secretly written 4 books that he would release quarterly in 2023 via kickstarter, and it became by far the most successful kickstarter of all time.
My impression of these kickstarters before this book has been mixed. I absolutely loved Tress of the Emerald Sea, thought The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England was just so-so, and thought Yumi and the Nightmare Painter was written for a different audience than me. But this book鈥�.this book beat them all, and makes me very happy with the secret projects overall and more than that, really restores my faith in the direction that Sanderson is taking his books.
I鈥檝e always been a fan of the way Sanderson writes his books, and consider him one of my favorite authors. But I鈥檝e had a lot of concerns with the direction of the cosmere in terms of the way it has gone from a subtle easter egg hunt in the books, to an overarching narrative akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while I like Marvel, and honestly think that the Cosmere going in that direction might be a good thing, I haven鈥檛 liked how Mistborn Era 2 handled that direction and was concerned that this path was the new way. Maybe it still is, but this book certainly switched things up in an amazingly positive way.
But before we go into the tie-ins specifically, let鈥檚 talk slow down and talk about this book on it鈥檚 own.
The setting of this book needs to be talked about in detail, because it鈥檚 Stormlight level amazing. Basically, this book takes place far into the future in what feels like the cosmere space age. It鈥檚 common for people to jump between planets. On the planet this book takes place on, the planet is extremely small and spins slowly. The star that the planet is orbiting around is so close that it emits so much heat that if the sunlight touches you, you die instantly. But the sunlight also contains investiture (think, mana). The sun is reflected by the planetary rings so they do have daylight, but when the sun rises fully it kills everything. So the people who live on the planet constantly have to keep on the move to stay ahead of the sunlight via hoverbikes and hovering airships.
There are two main factions in this book, one led by the Cinder King who is extremely powerful and quite evil - and one that is trying to stay away from the Cinder King. When the Cinder King catches people, he will either chain people to the ground and make them get burned to death, collecting their remnants on the next pass around the world, which is used for fuel - or turns them into mindless drones that obey his every will.
Now you mix all this together, and what we are left due to the fact everyone has to stay on the move is the fastest paced Brandon Sanderson book by a long shot, it feels like it almost never lets up off the gas and it鈥檚 such a wonderful change of pace from the normal Sanderson technique of easing you slowly into the world and the story.
The protagonist of this story is a character you will already know if you鈥檝e read some of his other books, but I don鈥檛 want to ruin that for you as it鈥檚 fun to uncover that mystery. But this character is basically playing the role of a lone wanderer, kind of an old Clint Eastwood typer character from a classic western, where he shows up, has to save the local population, and walks away into the sunset when his job is done. I happen to love old westerns, so to read this in fantasy form was a real treat.
There are the usual Sanderson twists and turns not just to the plot, but with what we know of the magic and the world themselves, and it tied together into an epic final showdown that I鈥檝e come to expect, and to love from him.
So earlier in this review I talked about why the cosmere tie in鈥檚 here worked so much better for me than some of his other books, namely the 4th book in Mistborn Era 2, The Lost Metal. I think it will be hard to explain without really planning this review out, which I never do, but I鈥檒l do my best. I think I loved this version for two primary reasons:
1st, in the Lost Metal we got a book that was so heavily dependent on intense cosmere knowledge across multiple different series, that it almost made me feel like you have to have devoted yourself to Cosmere lore to be able to appreciate the book. And while I am one of those people, I also read literally hundreds of fantasy books and I just can鈥檛 remember things to the level that I would have in the past if I just kind of got deeply rooted into a few series. Many of the things went over my head, and it felt just overly done. But in this book, you only need a loose knowledge of some of the books to be able to get 95% of what is going on. I think if you just read the first two Stormlight books, you are good to go - even though reading some Mistborn and reading one of the short stories, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell will give you more background. And it鈥檚 been over 3 years since I read the 2nd Stormlight book, and I felt like I got virtually everything I needed to know still stuck in my brain here. That鈥檚 the right way to do these cosmere tie-ins. Go ahead and make them prevalent, but don鈥檛 lock out people from enjoying the content if they haven鈥檛 re-read the books recently.
I think the 2nd reason these cosmere tie-ins worked so well is because this was a standalone book. You don鈥檛 have to read this to appreciate the other books, or at least I don鈥檛 think you will. This feels like a great little fan service book that didn鈥檛 need to be written, but thankfully was. I love that.
So overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the Cosmere, which I feel like nowadays is most fantasy readers. It鈥檚 a wonderful addition, and one of Sanderson鈥檚 best books - and hands down the best secret project book even over Tress of the Emerald Sea, which was awesome. And while I know that will likely be an unpopular opinion as I鈥檓 pretty confident most people will end up liking Tress more, I just can鈥檛 get over how wonderful this book was and how much it really stands up to some of the huge, epic books that Sanderson has written.
October 21, 2023
This review is a copy of the transcript of my video review of
3.5/5 stars
The Sunlit Man is a detailed exhibition of the bright future of Sanderson鈥檚 vision. Sooner or later, fans of the Cosmere must not miss reading this dedicated tribute novel from Brandon Sanderson to his readers.
Here we are. It has been one year and a half since Sanderson broke the record for the number one most-funded Kickstarter campaign with his four secret projects announcement. Today, The Year of Sanderson is over. The fourth and final secret project, The Sunlit Man, is here. And it has been read. My 2023 reading year has been sunnier thanks to the existence and anticipation of each secret project novel. To recap, after experiencing a drought of Cosmere novels since the release of Rhythm of War in November 2020, we have, in return, been blessed with four new Cosmere novels since November 2022. Yes, four Cosmere novels in less than a year. The Lost Metal, and three of the four secret project novels: Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and finally, The Sunlit Man. Where did The Sunlit Man rank in my excitement level? It was my second most anticipated secret project, immediately after Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. As a diehard fan of the Cosmere universe and The Stormlight Archive, it is imperative for me to read every book related to the series. Even if or when the story does not take place on Roshar, like this one. This is why The Sunlit Man was my second most anticipated secret project and the result? Well, honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. Let's talk about it. And I will start by discussing some required reading first. And then, I will move on to talk about the parts that did not work with me first because I want to end this review on a more positive note.
If you haven鈥檛 been paying attention, Sanderson has mentioned that starting from The Lost Metal, many new book releases in the Cosmere universe will no longer put the Cosmere interconnections as Easter Eggs. And I believe that circumstance has been applied to The Sunlit Man. When Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter came out, the reading suggestions and guidelines for Sanderson鈥檚 Cosmere changed among reviewers. I鈥檓 not here to question or discuss any of those reading guides, but I do agree strongly that Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter can be read, and highly enjoyed without reading any other Cosmere books first. I have seen other readers reading any one of these two books as their first Sanderson novel and loving the heck out of them. But for The Sunlit Man, I do not think the book can be enjoyed without doing some required reading first. I cannot see it. As Sanderson said, this one is written for the fans of the Cosmere who have been there with him throughout his career. And the myriad of Cosmere terminologies and connections reflected that. My recommendation is this: do not read The Sunlit Man until you read at least all of The Stormlight Archive books, including Dawnshard novella. This isn鈥檛 merely to understand what the main characters frequently talk about but also to enhance your reading experience. I probably would have rated this book 2.5 or 3 stars if I hadn鈥檛 read all the books available in the Cosmere first. No kidding. I am caught up to the Cosmere, and even then, there were some frustrating parts caused by missing information and context that I, and everyone, can鈥檛 attain yet. Because, well, the books where the events the characters and I鈥檓 referring to aren鈥檛 published yet.
The Sunlit Man is a story about Nomad. Years ago, he had comrades in arms and a cause to believe in, but now the man who calls himself Nomad knows only a life on the run. Forced to hop from world to world in the Cosmere whenever the relentless Night Brigade gets too close, Nomad lands on a new planet and is instantly caught up in the struggle between a tyrant and the rebels who want only to escape being turned into mindless slaves鈥攁ll under the constant threat of a sunrise whose heat will melt the very stones. Unable to understand the language, can he navigate the conflict and gain enough power to leap offworld before his mind or body pays the ultimate price? That鈥檚 the premise of the novel.
Like the previous three books, there is a new storyline to tackle on this planet named Canticle, and it could make The Sunlit Man a standalone novel. But in my definition, it is not. As I said, it is possible to read Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter without reading any other Cosmere books first. One of the main reasons behind this is that the main characters in the new planet are new characters in the Cosmere. We haven鈥檛 seen them before in any other books. These books were their first appearance. Nomad is a supporting character in The Stormlight Archive. He has been there since the beginning of the series. The Sunlit Man takes place after the events of the unreleased book 5 of The Stormlight Archive. We don鈥檛 know how long exactly, but my point is this. His character鈥檚 background and many parts of his characterizations and development can be read in The Stormlight Archive. Not in The Sunlit Man.
In The Sunlit Man, the plotline and the significant character development are driven by Nomad鈥檚 determination to redeem himself over a supposedly horrible set of events we cannot read yet. And hearing Nomad saying he's not the same man as before or he is stressing over key events he vaguely referred to repeatedly became seriously repetitive and annoying after a while. No, Nomad. I do not know what you're talking about. The book hasn't even been written yet. The book has not been published yet! Other than Nomad, there is another main character, Auxiliary, who is always together with Nomad. And again, for the same reason, because I couldn't tell who he was or because the details of his origin are not written yet, it was difficult for me to feel invested in Aux's predicament and struggle.
In most situations, I probably would not have minded withholding information up to this level. But it's a different situation when the main character constantly refers to the event. It truly felt like I was missing, at least, a book I should read first. Technically, yes, I did. Everyone does. Having The Sunlit Man taking place decades after The Stormlight Archive 5 is the biggest reason why my enjoyment of it increased and decreased. It felt like Sanderson was telling us some events we should know have happened without showing them yet. Because of this, the pivotal moments did not feel earned or satisfying enough, which usually isn't the case with Sanderson's books. Usually, with Sanderson鈥檚 books, this kind of scene could make me skip a heartbeat with their immense impact. Here, I was like, 鈥淥oohhh, that was cool.鈥� And then, I move on to the next page. Fortunately, there were stunning interior illustrations to stamp these scenes in my mind more vividly. But more on this later. Let鈥檚 talk about the pacing.
If you have read the previous three secret projects, you will know Sanderson employed an experimental voice or storytelling in his books. All four novels felt distinct from one another. And I loved Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, but I couldn鈥檛 get with The Frugal Wizard. In this case, the tone and writing style in The Sunlit Man is undoubtedly more attuned to the mainline Cosmere novels, but the pacing is experimental. In The Sunlit Man, Sanderson intentionally utilizes breakneck pacing with non-stop action after action after action. And because Sanderson is already very limited in the character development of Nomad and Auxiliary because he MUST NOT spoil readers on the events that happened in The Stormlight Archive 5, this breakneck pacing made it even more challenging to care and feel invested in the character鈥檚 journey. There were not enough calm moments to develop the characters. The supporting characters, Elegy and Rebeke, felt forgettable and uninteresting. It is true I have read all the books in The Stormlight Archive, and again, Nomad has been there since The Way of Kings. However, most of Nomad鈥檚 inner struggle and conflict here relies on overcoming the events we haven鈥檛 read yet. But as a precious character in The Stormlight Archive said, despite not knowing the details of the events that transpired, moving forward with the book is the only path I have left for now.
That summed up my thoughts on the elements that did not click with me in this novel. I know. I know. I have been quite negative in my review so far. But rest assured, it is not all disappointing. My opinion is an unpopular opinion. And remember, most of the issues I had lie in the fact that I felt like I skipped reading some necessary books to read first before reading The Sunlit Man. I am 90% sure I would love The Sunlit Man more when I reread the book in the future after I read book 5 of The Stormlight Archive, and more new books in the universe. For now, what did I love about The Sunlit Man? The benefit from all of these? The compelling element of mysteries and questions raised based on what occurred were absolutely there. No doubt about it. And with Sanderson explicitly holding out information to not spoil the events of the unreleased or unwritten books, my excitement for the release of Knights of Wind and Truth, the tentative title for Stormlight Archive 5, has soared dramatically. This book works absolutely well as a teaser to make fans of the Cosmere and The Stormlight Archive exponentially more excited for the upcoming book 5 in November 2024. I was so stressed over not knowing the intricacies of what the hell had happened.
And, of course, it goes without saying it was wonderful to visit a new world in the Cosmere universe. I don鈥檛 think it is an exaggeration to assume that, as time goes by and we have more books out in the universe, the future quality of Cosmere books will be bright. That said, the accessibility of the upcoming Cosmere books will, understandably, not be friendly to newcomers to the Cosmere. It has become a constant debate and question to ask where to start with reading Sanderson鈥檚 books? This past year, it has become more complicated and filled with nuance. Take The Sunlit Man, for example. As Sanderson said, this is a book written for the fans of the Cosmere, and as a fan, I am thrilled with all the inclusions of the terminologies and magic from other worlds I鈥檝e read. Adonalsium. Hoid. Scadrial from Mistborn. Sel from Elantris and The Emperor鈥檚 Soul. Nalthis from Warbreaker. Roshar from The Stormlight Archive. Threnody from Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. Or even those without any dedicated book yet, like Yolen. All of these played a part in The Sunlit Man, and I loved them all. It felt like Sanderson took us on a quick nostalgic trip regarding what we have known about the Cosmere, and my excitement for the future of this universe burns powerfully. Even though I am not satisfied with the missing information, the known callback to scenes, moments, and characters from the books available and already published in The Stormlight Archive was awesome. It made me realize I should pay more attention to Nomad when I reread The Stormlight Archive next year. Despite some of my criticisms, it is impossible to deny that the big moments in the final quarter of The Sunlit Man, accompanied by the colored artworks, were badass.
Finally, it is time to review the production value of The Sunlit Man Dragonsteel edition. Unlike the previous three secret projects, where one artist was tasked with illustrating both the cover and interior arts of one novel, Sanderson and the Dragonsteel team hired three artists to provide their skills for The Sunlit Man. First, we have Kudriaken, the cover artist. In my opinion, out of the four Secret Project novels, this is my favorite cover art. The red background, Nomad with his sword in the center, gold foiling, and black sprayed edges are a combination tough to beat. And at the back of the book, we have Elegy in the center with no text to disturb the artwork. Loved it. Ernanda Souza is in charge of the 6 fully colored illustrations. They are the front and back endpapers, and then 4 more interior arts. All of them look phenomenal. Souza captured the crucial scenes and elevated them with her vivid artwork. Without her contribution, I do not think these scenes would have such a strong effect on me. And the last artist, Nabetse Zitro, illustrated the other 11 black-and-white interior arts. This is where I felt underwhelmed. Zitro is an incredible artist. Look at his portfolio, and you will realize they are mind-blowing. The interior artworks in The Sunlit Man reflected only a fraction of Zitro's usual high standard. It is unfortunate, but I honestly think the overall production value of The Sunlit Man Dragonsteel edition, priced at $40, is still superior to many other fantasy books in the same price range.
Overall, though still great and incredible in some sections, my rating for The Sunlit Man will have to be 3.5 stars for now. This makes The Sunlit Man, just like Elantris, the lowest-rated Cosmere novel for me. Fortunately, although The Sunlit Man was not as impressive as Tress of the Emerald Sea or Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I have faith that my reading experience of it would improve so much in the future. Plus, 3.5 stars is still a good rating in my definition. As a concluding installment to The Year of Sanderson, The Sunlit Man is a fitting novel that allows readers of Cosmere to trace the past we had and experience the future of the universe. I want to thank Brandon Sanderson, Isaac Stewart, the entire Dragonsteel team, and all the artists鈥擧oward Lyon, Steve Argyle, Aliya Chen, Kudriaken, Ernanda Souza, and Nabetse Zitro鈥攊nvolved in the creation of the four secret project novels. Now, the wait for Knights of Wind and Truth continues. Journey before destination. Let me end this review with a passage of gratitude and parting words from Sanderson.
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3.5/5 stars
The Sunlit Man is a detailed exhibition of the bright future of Sanderson鈥檚 vision. Sooner or later, fans of the Cosmere must not miss reading this dedicated tribute novel from Brandon Sanderson to his readers.
鈥淚deals are like statues in the wind. They seem so permanent, but truth is, erosion happens subtly, constantly.鈥�
Here we are. It has been one year and a half since Sanderson broke the record for the number one most-funded Kickstarter campaign with his four secret projects announcement. Today, The Year of Sanderson is over. The fourth and final secret project, The Sunlit Man, is here. And it has been read. My 2023 reading year has been sunnier thanks to the existence and anticipation of each secret project novel. To recap, after experiencing a drought of Cosmere novels since the release of Rhythm of War in November 2020, we have, in return, been blessed with four new Cosmere novels since November 2022. Yes, four Cosmere novels in less than a year. The Lost Metal, and three of the four secret project novels: Tress of the Emerald Sea, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and finally, The Sunlit Man. Where did The Sunlit Man rank in my excitement level? It was my second most anticipated secret project, immediately after Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. As a diehard fan of the Cosmere universe and The Stormlight Archive, it is imperative for me to read every book related to the series. Even if or when the story does not take place on Roshar, like this one. This is why The Sunlit Man was my second most anticipated secret project and the result? Well, honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. Let's talk about it. And I will start by discussing some required reading first. And then, I will move on to talk about the parts that did not work with me first because I want to end this review on a more positive note.
鈥淣omad and the sky weren鈥檛 currently on speaking terms. But they鈥檇 been intimate for some time in the past, and he still knew his way around her place.鈥�
If you haven鈥檛 been paying attention, Sanderson has mentioned that starting from The Lost Metal, many new book releases in the Cosmere universe will no longer put the Cosmere interconnections as Easter Eggs. And I believe that circumstance has been applied to The Sunlit Man. When Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter came out, the reading suggestions and guidelines for Sanderson鈥檚 Cosmere changed among reviewers. I鈥檓 not here to question or discuss any of those reading guides, but I do agree strongly that Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter can be read, and highly enjoyed without reading any other Cosmere books first. I have seen other readers reading any one of these two books as their first Sanderson novel and loving the heck out of them. But for The Sunlit Man, I do not think the book can be enjoyed without doing some required reading first. I cannot see it. As Sanderson said, this one is written for the fans of the Cosmere who have been there with him throughout his career. And the myriad of Cosmere terminologies and connections reflected that. My recommendation is this: do not read The Sunlit Man until you read at least all of The Stormlight Archive books, including Dawnshard novella. This isn鈥檛 merely to understand what the main characters frequently talk about but also to enhance your reading experience. I probably would have rated this book 2.5 or 3 stars if I hadn鈥檛 read all the books available in the Cosmere first. No kidding. I am caught up to the Cosmere, and even then, there were some frustrating parts caused by missing information and context that I, and everyone, can鈥檛 attain yet. Because, well, the books where the events the characters and I鈥檓 referring to aren鈥檛 published yet.
鈥淏ut he could still hear. And somehow, in shutting out the light鈥� there within the blackness of his own design鈥� he felt something. Something of the person he鈥檇 once been. Words once spoken. In a moment of glorious radiance.鈥�
The Sunlit Man is a story about Nomad. Years ago, he had comrades in arms and a cause to believe in, but now the man who calls himself Nomad knows only a life on the run. Forced to hop from world to world in the Cosmere whenever the relentless Night Brigade gets too close, Nomad lands on a new planet and is instantly caught up in the struggle between a tyrant and the rebels who want only to escape being turned into mindless slaves鈥攁ll under the constant threat of a sunrise whose heat will melt the very stones. Unable to understand the language, can he navigate the conflict and gain enough power to leap offworld before his mind or body pays the ultimate price? That鈥檚 the premise of the novel.
Like the previous three books, there is a new storyline to tackle on this planet named Canticle, and it could make The Sunlit Man a standalone novel. But in my definition, it is not. As I said, it is possible to read Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter without reading any other Cosmere books first. One of the main reasons behind this is that the main characters in the new planet are new characters in the Cosmere. We haven鈥檛 seen them before in any other books. These books were their first appearance. Nomad is a supporting character in The Stormlight Archive. He has been there since the beginning of the series. The Sunlit Man takes place after the events of the unreleased book 5 of The Stormlight Archive. We don鈥檛 know how long exactly, but my point is this. His character鈥檚 background and many parts of his characterizations and development can be read in The Stormlight Archive. Not in The Sunlit Man.
鈥淭he winds made him remember who he had been: a man who would have died before treating people as he鈥檇 done today. No, the storm did not offer him refuge. As much as he liked the rain鈥� as much as it felt right to him鈥� the memories were too painful.鈥�
In The Sunlit Man, the plotline and the significant character development are driven by Nomad鈥檚 determination to redeem himself over a supposedly horrible set of events we cannot read yet. And hearing Nomad saying he's not the same man as before or he is stressing over key events he vaguely referred to repeatedly became seriously repetitive and annoying after a while. No, Nomad. I do not know what you're talking about. The book hasn't even been written yet. The book has not been published yet! Other than Nomad, there is another main character, Auxiliary, who is always together with Nomad. And again, for the same reason, because I couldn't tell who he was or because the details of his origin are not written yet, it was difficult for me to feel invested in Aux's predicament and struggle.
In most situations, I probably would not have minded withholding information up to this level. But it's a different situation when the main character constantly refers to the event. It truly felt like I was missing, at least, a book I should read first. Technically, yes, I did. Everyone does. Having The Sunlit Man taking place decades after The Stormlight Archive 5 is the biggest reason why my enjoyment of it increased and decreased. It felt like Sanderson was telling us some events we should know have happened without showing them yet. Because of this, the pivotal moments did not feel earned or satisfying enough, which usually isn't the case with Sanderson's books. Usually, with Sanderson鈥檚 books, this kind of scene could make me skip a heartbeat with their immense impact. Here, I was like, 鈥淥oohhh, that was cool.鈥� And then, I move on to the next page. Fortunately, there were stunning interior illustrations to stamp these scenes in my mind more vividly. But more on this later. Let鈥檚 talk about the pacing.
鈥淗e put his hands to his skull, digging his fingers into the skin. How could he run so hard and never get anywhere? The journey was supposed to be the important part, wasn鈥檛 it? Why, then, was he so miserable?鈥�
If you have read the previous three secret projects, you will know Sanderson employed an experimental voice or storytelling in his books. All four novels felt distinct from one another. And I loved Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, but I couldn鈥檛 get with The Frugal Wizard. In this case, the tone and writing style in The Sunlit Man is undoubtedly more attuned to the mainline Cosmere novels, but the pacing is experimental. In The Sunlit Man, Sanderson intentionally utilizes breakneck pacing with non-stop action after action after action. And because Sanderson is already very limited in the character development of Nomad and Auxiliary because he MUST NOT spoil readers on the events that happened in The Stormlight Archive 5, this breakneck pacing made it even more challenging to care and feel invested in the character鈥檚 journey. There were not enough calm moments to develop the characters. The supporting characters, Elegy and Rebeke, felt forgettable and uninteresting. It is true I have read all the books in The Stormlight Archive, and again, Nomad has been there since The Way of Kings. However, most of Nomad鈥檚 inner struggle and conflict here relies on overcoming the events we haven鈥檛 read yet. But as a precious character in The Stormlight Archive said, despite not knowing the details of the events that transpired, moving forward with the book is the only path I have left for now.
鈥淐onquest doesn鈥檛 remove countries鈥� It removes lines on a map. Unity requires something else.鈥�
That summed up my thoughts on the elements that did not click with me in this novel. I know. I know. I have been quite negative in my review so far. But rest assured, it is not all disappointing. My opinion is an unpopular opinion. And remember, most of the issues I had lie in the fact that I felt like I skipped reading some necessary books to read first before reading The Sunlit Man. I am 90% sure I would love The Sunlit Man more when I reread the book in the future after I read book 5 of The Stormlight Archive, and more new books in the universe. For now, what did I love about The Sunlit Man? The benefit from all of these? The compelling element of mysteries and questions raised based on what occurred were absolutely there. No doubt about it. And with Sanderson explicitly holding out information to not spoil the events of the unreleased or unwritten books, my excitement for the release of Knights of Wind and Truth, the tentative title for Stormlight Archive 5, has soared dramatically. This book works absolutely well as a teaser to make fans of the Cosmere and The Stormlight Archive exponentially more excited for the upcoming book 5 in November 2024. I was so stressed over not knowing the intricacies of what the hell had happened.
鈥淭hat depended. In Nomad鈥檚 experience, it wasn鈥檛 when life was utterly terrible that people rebelled. It instead happened when life improved to the point that people had time to think, time to wonder. The capacity to imagine.鈥�
And, of course, it goes without saying it was wonderful to visit a new world in the Cosmere universe. I don鈥檛 think it is an exaggeration to assume that, as time goes by and we have more books out in the universe, the future quality of Cosmere books will be bright. That said, the accessibility of the upcoming Cosmere books will, understandably, not be friendly to newcomers to the Cosmere. It has become a constant debate and question to ask where to start with reading Sanderson鈥檚 books? This past year, it has become more complicated and filled with nuance. Take The Sunlit Man, for example. As Sanderson said, this is a book written for the fans of the Cosmere, and as a fan, I am thrilled with all the inclusions of the terminologies and magic from other worlds I鈥檝e read. Adonalsium. Hoid. Scadrial from Mistborn. Sel from Elantris and The Emperor鈥檚 Soul. Nalthis from Warbreaker. Roshar from The Stormlight Archive. Threnody from Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. Or even those without any dedicated book yet, like Yolen. All of these played a part in The Sunlit Man, and I loved them all. It felt like Sanderson took us on a quick nostalgic trip regarding what we have known about the Cosmere, and my excitement for the future of this universe burns powerfully. Even though I am not satisfied with the missing information, the known callback to scenes, moments, and characters from the books available and already published in The Stormlight Archive was awesome. It made me realize I should pay more attention to Nomad when I reread The Stormlight Archive next year. Despite some of my criticisms, it is impossible to deny that the big moments in the final quarter of The Sunlit Man, accompanied by the colored artworks, were badass.
鈥淏ecause鈥� sometimes it鈥檚 not about you individually. Sometimes it鈥檚 about being a symbol. Sometimes you just adopt the name you鈥檙e given because it inspires people. I鈥檝e seen it happen. Didn鈥檛 think it would happen to me.鈥�
Finally, it is time to review the production value of The Sunlit Man Dragonsteel edition. Unlike the previous three secret projects, where one artist was tasked with illustrating both the cover and interior arts of one novel, Sanderson and the Dragonsteel team hired three artists to provide their skills for The Sunlit Man. First, we have Kudriaken, the cover artist. In my opinion, out of the four Secret Project novels, this is my favorite cover art. The red background, Nomad with his sword in the center, gold foiling, and black sprayed edges are a combination tough to beat. And at the back of the book, we have Elegy in the center with no text to disturb the artwork. Loved it. Ernanda Souza is in charge of the 6 fully colored illustrations. They are the front and back endpapers, and then 4 more interior arts. All of them look phenomenal. Souza captured the crucial scenes and elevated them with her vivid artwork. Without her contribution, I do not think these scenes would have such a strong effect on me. And the last artist, Nabetse Zitro, illustrated the other 11 black-and-white interior arts. This is where I felt underwhelmed. Zitro is an incredible artist. Look at his portfolio, and you will realize they are mind-blowing. The interior artworks in The Sunlit Man reflected only a fraction of Zitro's usual high standard. It is unfortunate, but I honestly think the overall production value of The Sunlit Man Dragonsteel edition, priced at $40, is still superior to many other fantasy books in the same price range.
Overall, though still great and incredible in some sections, my rating for The Sunlit Man will have to be 3.5 stars for now. This makes The Sunlit Man, just like Elantris, the lowest-rated Cosmere novel for me. Fortunately, although The Sunlit Man was not as impressive as Tress of the Emerald Sea or Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I have faith that my reading experience of it would improve so much in the future. Plus, 3.5 stars is still a good rating in my definition. As a concluding installment to The Year of Sanderson, The Sunlit Man is a fitting novel that allows readers of Cosmere to trace the past we had and experience the future of the universe. I want to thank Brandon Sanderson, Isaac Stewart, the entire Dragonsteel team, and all the artists鈥擧oward Lyon, Steve Argyle, Aliya Chen, Kudriaken, Ernanda Souza, and Nabetse Zitro鈥攊nvolved in the creation of the four secret project novels. Now, the wait for Knights of Wind and Truth continues. Journey before destination. Let me end this review with a passage of gratitude and parting words from Sanderson.
鈥淭his is one of my last chances to talk to many of you about the wonderful event that was the Kickstarter, so let me take an extra moment to tell you why I dedicated this book to you, the fans. I sincerely believe that books don鈥檛 live until they鈥檙e read. While I think I鈥檇 write even if nobody was reading鈥� it鈥檚 who I am鈥� I thrive because I know the stories are being brought to life by all of you. In this, stories are a special kind of art, particularly ones written down. Each of you imagines this book, and its characters, a little differently鈥� each of you puts your own stamp on it, making it yours. I don鈥檛 think a story is quite finished until that has happened to it鈥� until the dream in my head has become a reality (even if briefly) in yours. And so this book is yours, as are all of them once you read them. Thank you so much for bringing life to my work, and to the Cosmere.鈥�
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November 29, 2024
2024: Re-read for WaT!
2023: Turns out I was wrong: Yumi is not my favorite Secret Project after all; it鈥檚 this one 鈥� this fast-paced, action-packed gift to all Cosmere fans. I hope you are as excited about this as I am, excited about the heavy cosmere implications, with Roshar (Stormlight Archive) and Threnody (Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell) as the most note-worthy, but also Scadrial to a lesser extent (Mistborn). [Taldain (White Sand) and Nalthis (Warbreaker) come up as well.] Reading this truly felt like a grab bag of Cosmere goodies, leaving me in state of perpetual excitement. So if you are a Cosmere novice, you might feel really lost, which is why I don鈥檛 recommend it to you in that case.
The story begins very much in medias res: our third-person narrator, a character Cosmere veterans already know (and no, it鈥檚 not Wit), fleeing the so-called Night Brigade for reasons yet unknown, has world-hopped himself into an unfortunate execution-by-sun situation. Why execution by sun? Because we find ourselves on a planet where the population constantly needs to be on the move in order to escape the trajectory of the sun rays that incinerate everything in their path. This constant movement is made possible by floating 鈥渃ities鈥� that are actually comprised of aircrafts, which can easily be detached, thus disassembling those cities. So yeah, it shouldn鈥檛 surprise anyone that Brandon鈥檚 worldbuilding 鈥� this time set in the space age of the cosmere 鈥� is once again creative and visually awesome.
But it鈥檚 not just the worldbuilding that keeps you invested; it鈥檚 also the action-driven plot. From the beginning, we are given clues as to who our narrator is and what he has gotten himself into, first and foremost not via exposition, but mostly via captivating action sequences.
Just as the action drives this, so does the need for answers to oh so many questions: Who is Nomad, our narrator, even if it is clear early on from which planet he hails? Why and what is he fleeing? What is this Night Brigade pursuing him? What exactly is his so-called Torment, which leaves him unable to attack others and where did it come from? How is Wit involved? Who are those people with the ember hearts? And where do those ember stones come from? What form of Investiture is at work here? What are the rules of this hard magic system? Is Aux, a disembodied voice in Nomad鈥檚 head, a spren and why is he dead? What happened with the Dawnshard in the past?
All of these questions 鈥� and many more 鈥� are answered, which makes this book immensely satisfying. Indeed, we get more information on another character, one shrouded in mystery. If you鈥檝e supported the Kickstarter Miniature campaign, you might have heard the name Zellion before. Now you will finally learn more about them!
There鈥檚 not much else I can tell you without getting into spoiler territory, but I think it鈥檚 good to know going into this that the book-immanent plot, Nomad being stranded on Canticle and thus being forced to help its people, is resolved but the larger story arc 鈥� you鈥檒l know it when you see it 鈥� will not be; I assume it鈥檒l be continued another time. I feel knowing what to expect might benefit your reading experience.
So here we are. The final Secret Project. Brandon has literally dedicated this fourth book (and his 50th overall!) to all us Cosmere fans, stating he wanted to give us more insight into Cosmere lore and, in our worldhopper Nomad, a character who will be vital to future events. Now the story is truly finished, with us readers 鈥渂ringing life to [Brandon鈥檚] work, and to the Cosmere鈥� 鈥� just as Brandon wanted.
PS: After listening to a few chapters of the audiobook, I鈥檓 really happy with the new narrator, William DeMeritt. His voice is wonderfully sonorous. I鈥檒l definitely listen to the whole book at some point.
****
March 31, 2022: I NEED MORE. Like right now! The first ten chapters just aren鈥檛 enough. Brilliant, exceptional, amazing. Sanderson is such a tease! This secret project is the one I鈥檓 currently most excited about.
Sanderson has stated that this book is more true to his previous narrative style which he wanted the reader to experience after his more 鈥渂izarre鈥� narrative voices in the other secret projects. I can also confirm that this one has a lot of action already, which he has also stated as his objective.
Be warned though: This book is for Cosmere veterans only, with numerous implications and references to other worlds. This Cosmere girl is ecstatic about this book!
You can read the first ten chapters here:
2023: Turns out I was wrong: Yumi is not my favorite Secret Project after all; it鈥檚 this one 鈥� this fast-paced, action-packed gift to all Cosmere fans. I hope you are as excited about this as I am, excited about the heavy cosmere implications, with Roshar (Stormlight Archive) and Threnody (Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell) as the most note-worthy, but also Scadrial to a lesser extent (Mistborn). [Taldain (White Sand) and Nalthis (Warbreaker) come up as well.] Reading this truly felt like a grab bag of Cosmere goodies, leaving me in state of perpetual excitement. So if you are a Cosmere novice, you might feel really lost, which is why I don鈥檛 recommend it to you in that case.
The story begins very much in medias res: our third-person narrator, a character Cosmere veterans already know (and no, it鈥檚 not Wit), fleeing the so-called Night Brigade for reasons yet unknown, has world-hopped himself into an unfortunate execution-by-sun situation. Why execution by sun? Because we find ourselves on a planet where the population constantly needs to be on the move in order to escape the trajectory of the sun rays that incinerate everything in their path. This constant movement is made possible by floating 鈥渃ities鈥� that are actually comprised of aircrafts, which can easily be detached, thus disassembling those cities. So yeah, it shouldn鈥檛 surprise anyone that Brandon鈥檚 worldbuilding 鈥� this time set in the space age of the cosmere 鈥� is once again creative and visually awesome.
But it鈥檚 not just the worldbuilding that keeps you invested; it鈥檚 also the action-driven plot. From the beginning, we are given clues as to who our narrator is and what he has gotten himself into, first and foremost not via exposition, but mostly via captivating action sequences.
Just as the action drives this, so does the need for answers to oh so many questions: Who is Nomad, our narrator, even if it is clear early on from which planet he hails? Why and what is he fleeing? What is this Night Brigade pursuing him? What exactly is his so-called Torment, which leaves him unable to attack others and where did it come from? How is Wit involved? Who are those people with the ember hearts? And where do those ember stones come from? What form of Investiture is at work here? What are the rules of this hard magic system? Is Aux, a disembodied voice in Nomad鈥檚 head, a spren and why is he dead? What happened with the Dawnshard in the past?
All of these questions 鈥� and many more 鈥� are answered, which makes this book immensely satisfying. Indeed, we get more information on another character, one shrouded in mystery. If you鈥檝e supported the Kickstarter Miniature campaign, you might have heard the name Zellion before. Now you will finally learn more about them!
There鈥檚 not much else I can tell you without getting into spoiler territory, but I think it鈥檚 good to know going into this that the book-immanent plot, Nomad being stranded on Canticle and thus being forced to help its people, is resolved but the larger story arc 鈥� you鈥檒l know it when you see it 鈥� will not be; I assume it鈥檒l be continued another time. I feel knowing what to expect might benefit your reading experience.
So here we are. The final Secret Project. Brandon has literally dedicated this fourth book (and his 50th overall!) to all us Cosmere fans, stating he wanted to give us more insight into Cosmere lore and, in our worldhopper Nomad, a character who will be vital to future events. Now the story is truly finished, with us readers 鈥渂ringing life to [Brandon鈥檚] work, and to the Cosmere鈥� 鈥� just as Brandon wanted.
PS: After listening to a few chapters of the audiobook, I鈥檓 really happy with the new narrator, William DeMeritt. His voice is wonderfully sonorous. I鈥檒l definitely listen to the whole book at some point.
****
March 31, 2022: I NEED MORE. Like right now! The first ten chapters just aren鈥檛 enough. Brilliant, exceptional, amazing. Sanderson is such a tease! This secret project is the one I鈥檓 currently most excited about.
Sanderson has stated that this book is more true to his previous narrative style which he wanted the reader to experience after his more 鈥渂izarre鈥� narrative voices in the other secret projects. I can also confirm that this one has a lot of action already, which he has also stated as his objective.
Be warned though: This book is for Cosmere veterans only, with numerous implications and references to other worlds. This Cosmere girl is ecstatic about this book!
You can read the first ten chapters here:
April 10, 2025
i highly recommend not reading this book (or review) until you are up to date with the stormlight archives. in fact, this story takes place a very long time after stormlight 5 (which as of me typing up this review, has not been released), and the main character is a beloved side character who has been there since the start of the series. but because of these two things, this reading experience really leaves you wondering how that next stormlight book is going to go. (why am i emotional just thinking about it and typing this? lol)
this next paragraph is also going to be a spoilery synopsis explanation, so please use caution - but basically the tl;rd is that the mc of this book, now called nomad, has been given the dawnshard by someone we all know and love, and by doing so he cannot hurt living people, and the night brigade is constantly after him, and why he is constantly running throughout the cosmere. At the start of this book, he lands on a planet and finds himself not only physically stuck, but also emotionally stuck by rebels who are trying to beat a tyrant enslaving them. oh, and the threat of the sun coming to burn them all alive.
but we learn even more about sprens, and bonding to them, and maybe being able to bond again after an oath is broken. And we learn more about investiture and the use of breath equivalent units as a measurement, which was wild and very cool! But we get to see a man be shaped by the events, both bad and good, to make him who he is in the present moment. yet also reminding us, that we always have the power to change who we are are, burn away what we don't want to hold, and decide what we wish to fight for.
i know this whole review has spoilers but this one is just too big to post out in the open:
this book was very expertly crafted, and will truly mean a lot to all cosmere fans. the acknowledgement was also very beautiful, and was able to bring a tear to my easily-cryable eyes. i truly know stormlight 5 is going to be a heartbreaking masterpiece even more now, and because of this book - i am truly counting the days. but now鈥� let me go cry some more that we are no longer receiving secret projects every three months.
trigger + content warnings: gore, physical abuse, violence, talk of loss of a loved one, loss of a parent in past, human sacrifice, slavery, death, explosions, self harm for magic, mention of vomit, blood
| | | | |
Tress of the Emerald Sea 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽�
The Frugal Wizard鈥檚 Handbook for Surviving Medieval England 鈽呪槄
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter 鈽呪槄鈽呪槄鈽�
October 25, 2023
4.25
I gotta say when I started this I had so much fun with this book but there was a part that was hugely impacted by my slump and the last bits that were just not about to grip me as the first half did.
This was a great gift from Sanderson to us and I'm so sad year if the Sanderson has officially ended (waiting for defiant!) This has given us such unique beautifully written stories.
You cannot know what happened to nomad or what will happen to him because these are the events that take place AFTER SA5 but we got answers as to how and why that happens.
Nomad was a new and complex character to me until I linked him to who he really was and he was so different from the character that I'm used to but I guess that what character development does to a person.
The plot was fun to read but the side characters tbh were not the fun and that made a part of the plot near the end very boring but I was in a slump as well.
The writing style was as usual brilliant! I absolutely loved this installment by Brandon as well.
As if now my standings of the secret projects are:
1. Tress of the emerald sea 4.62
2. Yumi and the nightmare painter 4.48
3. The sunlitman 4.25
4. The frugal wizards guide to surviving medival England 3.70.
I will miss this era alot and will hope that Sanderson does something like this again :)!
~~~
Couldn't get much reading done am almost don't though. This is one of the best Sanderson books that I have ever read. Hands down.
~~~
I got jinxed. No fast food for me am sick 馃
Page 324, 68% read.
The effort on the weekend building while simultaneously while keeping everything else interesting is peak brandon Sanderson.
~~~
Literally the amount of food that I have received whilst reading this book 馃槶馃槶 like the day before yesterday my friends brought some KFC with them as they came for a sleepover. Yesterday my family was meeting me so I got dominos and today my roommate ordered Dunkin for him and myself 馃槶馃槶 I really think I should prolong finishing this.
~~~
Reading this with domino's cheese pizza while seeing Auxiliary be the sassiest honorspren. Yes even more than Syl 馃き
~~~
I apologize for my constant dump but I need to let it out.
It's so clear that they are on nalthis because my breath becomes to yours was the main part of the magic system in Nalthis which takes place in warbreaker. The people though are referred to as Thernodites . Could they be worldhoppers from Nalthis residing is thernody or are there or are they from thernody but worldhopped to Nalthis. Hmmm.
~~~
Nomad is a very important character from the stormlight archive. I'm simultaneously reading oathbringer and am 50% through. Idk how nomad is on a different planet and how he got there maybe I'll know in the next books but how does it affect the main plot and what does the cinder king do? It's all so well put.
Brandon is a mastermind.
~~~
Since I can't update I'll update her. This books has got me in the feels 馃馃槷鈥嶐煉� I honestly did not expect that..
~~~
I asked around and I got to know there's no major spoilers aside from the obvious so I'm good to go.
~~~
' "Kal" he asked into the storm.' A MASSIVE SHRIEK PT.1. ' "Aw, Damnation." And said with a sigh "Wit what the hell are you doing here?"<\i> SHRIEK PT.2 I LAUGHED SO HARD AT THIS 馃馃槶
~~~
The amount of cosmere referencs in this one. Like I'm eating it all up and I'll make sure to leave no crumvs because gimme all the referenc, cameos 馃
~~~
Okay chapter one was so good!! Like this is exactly how you start a novel. Heard this is on the darker side of the cosmere so 馃き馃き
~~~
I GOT THE BOOK AND IM LITERALLY GOING TO COMPLETE A FATE INKED IN BLOOD AND THEN PAUSE ALL THE BOOKS IM CURRENTLY READING BECAUSE THIS IS THE CHOSEN ONE.
~~~
Brandon Sanderson and his team outdid themselves with this series of secret projects because look at the cover and the content that we got this year! Truly beautiful...
I gotta say when I started this I had so much fun with this book but there was a part that was hugely impacted by my slump and the last bits that were just not about to grip me as the first half did.
This was a great gift from Sanderson to us and I'm so sad year if the Sanderson has officially ended (waiting for defiant!) This has given us such unique beautifully written stories.
You cannot know what happened to nomad or what will happen to him because these are the events that take place AFTER SA5 but we got answers as to how and why that happens.
Nomad was a new and complex character to me until I linked him to who he really was and he was so different from the character that I'm used to but I guess that what character development does to a person.
The plot was fun to read but the side characters tbh were not the fun and that made a part of the plot near the end very boring but I was in a slump as well.
The writing style was as usual brilliant! I absolutely loved this installment by Brandon as well.
As if now my standings of the secret projects are:
1. Tress of the emerald sea 4.62
2. Yumi and the nightmare painter 4.48
3. The sunlitman 4.25
4. The frugal wizards guide to surviving medival England 3.70.
I will miss this era alot and will hope that Sanderson does something like this again :)!
~~~
Couldn't get much reading done am almost don't though. This is one of the best Sanderson books that I have ever read. Hands down.
~~~
I got jinxed. No fast food for me am sick 馃
Page 324, 68% read.
The effort on the weekend building while simultaneously while keeping everything else interesting is peak brandon Sanderson.
~~~
Literally the amount of food that I have received whilst reading this book 馃槶馃槶 like the day before yesterday my friends brought some KFC with them as they came for a sleepover. Yesterday my family was meeting me so I got dominos and today my roommate ordered Dunkin for him and myself 馃槶馃槶 I really think I should prolong finishing this.
~~~
Reading this with domino's cheese pizza while seeing Auxiliary be the sassiest honorspren. Yes even more than Syl 馃き
~~~
I apologize for my constant dump but I need to let it out.
It's so clear that they are on nalthis because my breath becomes to yours was the main part of the magic system in Nalthis which takes place in warbreaker. The people though are referred to as Thernodites . Could they be worldhoppers from Nalthis residing is thernody or are there or are they from thernody but worldhopped to Nalthis. Hmmm.
~~~
Nomad is a very important character from the stormlight archive. I'm simultaneously reading oathbringer and am 50% through. Idk how nomad is on a different planet and how he got there maybe I'll know in the next books but how does it affect the main plot and what does the cinder king do? It's all so well put.
Brandon is a mastermind.
~~~
Since I can't update I'll update her. This books has got me in the feels 馃馃槷鈥嶐煉� I honestly did not expect that..
~~~
I asked around and I got to know there's no major spoilers aside from the obvious so I'm good to go.
~~~
' "Kal" he asked into the storm.' A MASSIVE SHRIEK PT.1. ' "Aw, Damnation." And said with a sigh "Wit what the hell are you doing here?"<\i> SHRIEK PT.2 I LAUGHED SO HARD AT THIS 馃馃槶
~~~
The amount of cosmere referencs in this one. Like I'm eating it all up and I'll make sure to leave no crumvs because gimme all the referenc, cameos 馃
~~~
Okay chapter one was so good!! Like this is exactly how you start a novel. Heard this is on the darker side of the cosmere so 馃き馃き
~~~
I GOT THE BOOK AND IM LITERALLY GOING TO COMPLETE A FATE INKED IN BLOOD AND THEN PAUSE ALL THE BOOKS IM CURRENTLY READING BECAUSE THIS IS THE CHOSEN ONE.
~~~
Brandon Sanderson and his team outdid themselves with this series of secret projects because look at the cover and the content that we got this year! Truly beautiful...
October 27, 2023
Despu茅s del desastroso chasco que tuve con uno de sus proyectos y que me aburre ya un poco el Cosmere con tantas vueltas y enorme longitud que est谩 abarcando, decid铆 leerlo ya que se supone que trae de vuelta al "acci贸n Sanderson".
Bien pues me he aburrido como un percebe solo en el fondo del oc茅ano. Desarrollo el porqu茅.
Veo much铆simo esfuerzo por centrarse en las referencias y gi帽os al Cosmere. Mucho.
No me ha entrado desde el principio hasta el final pero para nada esta novela, vale, los fans del Cosmere les encantar谩 estos gi帽os pero en mi humilde opini贸n son demasiados y me lleg贸 a aburrir e incluso fre铆r la cabeza ya que much铆simo no lo tengo fresco.
Lo curioso es que por otra parte sin esos gui帽os o referencias la novela se queda vac铆a. En este los personajes son los m谩s flojos que he le铆do de Sanderson, muy flojos. Y es que su protagonista no se desarrolla aqu铆. Pero los dem谩s tampoco se salvan..
Interesante Worldbuilding e ideas como siempre las de este autor. Desde las ciudades flotantes, la brigada nocturna u otras parafernalias. Todo eso genial, como siempre un genio. Pero tambi茅n noto que va decayendo.
Tiene su buena dosis de acci贸n pero no s茅 no le llega a lo que viv铆a y me emocionaba la acci贸n con Kelsier, Vin u otros personajes. Todo, todo en conjunto me ha parecido insuficiente como digo especialmente los personajes. E ins铆pido.
Muchos, much铆simos gi帽os en los que se parece esforzar y centrar pero a su vez le quitas eso y se queda en nada. Buenas ideas pero me falla y aburre todo lo dem谩s.
Las referencias y gi帽os exigen haber le铆do y seguido de cerca a Sanderson. Hasta me he perdido o no sab铆a qu茅 eran ciertas cosas. No iba a releer nada para refrescar, obvio. Y esto pasa mucha factura.
El pasado de su personaje y muchas partes de sus personalidad y desarrollo se desarrollan en "El Archivo de las Tormentas" no en este libro.
A mi me pas贸 factura ya que los personajes se me quedaron ins铆pidos. La trama no me lleg贸 a interesar o atrapar y sobretodo..
En mi humilde opini贸n el Rey Incandescente es aunque no tengan que ver, se queda en un intento de ser una sombra algo floja de lo que en su momento fue el Lord Legislador. No le llega ni de lejos. Echo de menos aquellos villanos.
Fans del Cosmere que lo tengan muy fresco lo disfrutar谩n igual m谩s que yo, pero me falta m谩s sabor, enganche, personajes y emoci贸n a la hora de seguir y esas escenas de acci贸n de ESE Sanderson.
Es una pena porque s贸lo lo que sale de la mente de este autor incansable suele ser como m铆nimo entretenido, si hasta se llev贸 cinco estrellas y no le hizo falta a su trama nada m谩s que una puta tiza. Pero claro, ten铆a todo lo dem谩s y no le sobraba nada..
Me sigo quedando con el Sanderson de sus comienzos. De sus proyectos s贸lo el primero me ha gustado a falta de Yumi.
Esta es mi humilde y respetuosa opini贸n sobre uno de los autores que me hizo descubrir y gozar la fantas铆a. Pero hace tiempo que para mi Sanderson tan decidido por hilar y expandir ese Cosmere dej贸 de ser ESE Sanderson y darme lo que en su momento me conquist贸. Me flojean varias cosas de sus 煤ltimas novelas.
Aunque para gustos...鉁嶏笍馃帺
Bien pues me he aburrido como un percebe solo en el fondo del oc茅ano. Desarrollo el porqu茅.
Veo much铆simo esfuerzo por centrarse en las referencias y gi帽os al Cosmere. Mucho.
No me ha entrado desde el principio hasta el final pero para nada esta novela, vale, los fans del Cosmere les encantar谩 estos gi帽os pero en mi humilde opini贸n son demasiados y me lleg贸 a aburrir e incluso fre铆r la cabeza ya que much铆simo no lo tengo fresco.
Lo curioso es que por otra parte sin esos gui帽os o referencias la novela se queda vac铆a. En este los personajes son los m谩s flojos que he le铆do de Sanderson, muy flojos. Y es que su protagonista no se desarrolla aqu铆. Pero los dem谩s tampoco se salvan..
Interesante Worldbuilding e ideas como siempre las de este autor. Desde las ciudades flotantes, la brigada nocturna u otras parafernalias. Todo eso genial, como siempre un genio. Pero tambi茅n noto que va decayendo.
Tiene su buena dosis de acci贸n pero no s茅 no le llega a lo que viv铆a y me emocionaba la acci贸n con Kelsier, Vin u otros personajes. Todo, todo en conjunto me ha parecido insuficiente como digo especialmente los personajes. E ins铆pido.
Muchos, much铆simos gi帽os en los que se parece esforzar y centrar pero a su vez le quitas eso y se queda en nada. Buenas ideas pero me falla y aburre todo lo dem谩s.
Las referencias y gi帽os exigen haber le铆do y seguido de cerca a Sanderson. Hasta me he perdido o no sab铆a qu茅 eran ciertas cosas. No iba a releer nada para refrescar, obvio. Y esto pasa mucha factura.
El pasado de su personaje y muchas partes de sus personalidad y desarrollo se desarrollan en "El Archivo de las Tormentas" no en este libro.
A mi me pas贸 factura ya que los personajes se me quedaron ins铆pidos. La trama no me lleg贸 a interesar o atrapar y sobretodo..
En mi humilde opini贸n el Rey Incandescente es aunque no tengan que ver, se queda en un intento de ser una sombra algo floja de lo que en su momento fue el Lord Legislador. No le llega ni de lejos. Echo de menos aquellos villanos.
Fans del Cosmere que lo tengan muy fresco lo disfrutar谩n igual m谩s que yo, pero me falta m谩s sabor, enganche, personajes y emoci贸n a la hora de seguir y esas escenas de acci贸n de ESE Sanderson.
Es una pena porque s贸lo lo que sale de la mente de este autor incansable suele ser como m铆nimo entretenido, si hasta se llev贸 cinco estrellas y no le hizo falta a su trama nada m谩s que una puta tiza. Pero claro, ten铆a todo lo dem谩s y no le sobraba nada..
Me sigo quedando con el Sanderson de sus comienzos. De sus proyectos s贸lo el primero me ha gustado a falta de Yumi.
Esta es mi humilde y respetuosa opini贸n sobre uno de los autores que me hizo descubrir y gozar la fantas铆a. Pero hace tiempo que para mi Sanderson tan decidido por hilar y expandir ese Cosmere dej贸 de ser ESE Sanderson y darme lo que en su momento me conquist贸. Me flojean varias cosas de sus 煤ltimas novelas.
Aunque para gustos...鉁嶏笍馃帺
November 8, 2024
Loved the Cosmere implications in this one but not gonna lie wasn鈥檛 my favorite.
3.8/5
3.8/5
September 30, 2024
鈥淗e had no answers. He didn鈥檛 know his destination. Maybe that was why he was so lost. Hard to be anything else if you didn鈥檛 know where you were going.鈥�
Reading through the Cosmere standalones that came from the Year of Sanderson has been an absolute treat (and the world鈥檚 he has created), and this one has been no different. It was a treat to see a familiar face navigate a Mad-Max-esque world, where, after years of running and only looking out for himself, he is faced with a small resistance in a world ruled by a tyrant and consisting solely of ships that are constantly outrunning the deadly sun that will burn them to a crisp if it catches them. This was the most action-packed of the standalones and had a very sci-fi/dystopian feel, which was quite fun to read. Nomad鈥檚 inner turmoil is highlighted well in the story as the man who hasn鈥檛 been able to stop running has to decide whether or not to help another group who can also never stop running. This draws from epic action dystopians and its fast-paced and quick-witted nature gives the reader the feel that we too are on the run. The world is incredibly unique, as expected from Sanderson. It is also one of the most scientifically-described worlds, as the narration at times gets turned into a mini physics lesson.
The arc of this story had me at the edge of my seat and I hope we get to see Nomad in this way again. The side characters were also very fleshed out and paralleled his life in so many ways, creating a greater emotional impact for me. I cannot stress enough that this is not really a standalone. At the very earliest, it should be read after you are caught up on the Stormlight Archives, and I would recommend waiting until you are completely caught up on Cosmere before delving into this one. I promise it鈥檚 worth it. As Sanderson says in his endnotes, this secret project was for his readers and, boy, does he deliver with an epic story and some wild Cosmere lore drops.
As always, the art, done by Ernanda Souza, Nabetse Zitro, and Kudriaken, was fantastic and enhanced my reading experience. This made me excited to delve into fantasy again; a genre I've long been in a slump for.
Reading through the Cosmere standalones that came from the Year of Sanderson has been an absolute treat (and the world鈥檚 he has created), and this one has been no different. It was a treat to see a familiar face navigate a Mad-Max-esque world, where, after years of running and only looking out for himself, he is faced with a small resistance in a world ruled by a tyrant and consisting solely of ships that are constantly outrunning the deadly sun that will burn them to a crisp if it catches them. This was the most action-packed of the standalones and had a very sci-fi/dystopian feel, which was quite fun to read. Nomad鈥檚 inner turmoil is highlighted well in the story as the man who hasn鈥檛 been able to stop running has to decide whether or not to help another group who can also never stop running. This draws from epic action dystopians and its fast-paced and quick-witted nature gives the reader the feel that we too are on the run. The world is incredibly unique, as expected from Sanderson. It is also one of the most scientifically-described worlds, as the narration at times gets turned into a mini physics lesson.
The arc of this story had me at the edge of my seat and I hope we get to see Nomad in this way again. The side characters were also very fleshed out and paralleled his life in so many ways, creating a greater emotional impact for me. I cannot stress enough that this is not really a standalone. At the very earliest, it should be read after you are caught up on the Stormlight Archives, and I would recommend waiting until you are completely caught up on Cosmere before delving into this one. I promise it鈥檚 worth it. As Sanderson says in his endnotes, this secret project was for his readers and, boy, does he deliver with an epic story and some wild Cosmere lore drops.
As always, the art, done by Ernanda Souza, Nabetse Zitro, and Kudriaken, was fantastic and enhanced my reading experience. This made me excited to delve into fantasy again; a genre I've long been in a slump for.
October 13, 2024
Zdecydowanie najlepszy sekretny projekt Sandersona.
Recenzja:
Recenzja:
September 12, 2024
Some great Cosmere-advancing things, but overall I found it a bit, dare I say, boring? Unengaging might be the better term, at least until the last few chapters. Full RTC.
October 18, 2023
丕賱亘鬲賴 丕賲鬲蹖丕夭 賵丕賯毓蹖賲 鄄.鄣 爻鬲丕乇賴 賴爻鬲 丕賲丕 禺賵亘 诏賵丿乇蹖丿夭 賴爻鬲 賵 囟毓賮丕蹖 乇賵 賲禺卮 馃毝馃徎鈥嶁檧锔�
丿乇 讴賱 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 禺蹖賱蹖 噩匕亘賲 賳讴乇丿. 鄢郯 丿乇氐丿 丕賵賱 讴鬲丕亘 讴賴 丿丕卮鬲蹖賲 丿賳蹖丕卮賵 賲蹖賮賴賲蹖丿蹖賲貙 鄢郯 丿乇氐丿 亘毓丿蹖 鬲丕夭賴 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲蹖賲 亘亘蹖賳蹖賲 讴蹖 亘賴 讴蹖賴貙 蹖賴賵 鄞郯 丿乇氐丿 丕禺乇 鬲丕夭賵賵賵賵賵賳丿馃槄
賲賳 亘賴 丿賵 毓賱鬲 讴鬲丕亘賵 鬲丕 丕禺乇 禺賵賳丿賲 蹖讴蹖 亘禺丕胤乇 丕卮丕乇賴丕 賵 丨乇賮丕蹖 nomad 乇丕噩亘 讴丕夭賲蹖乇 賵 丿丕賳卮丕乇丿 賵 丿賵賲蹖卮 亘禺丕胤乇 丌讴爻 賳丕夭賳蹖賳賲馃ス馃槏
蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 亘禺丕胤乇 丌讴爻 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿丕丿賲 賵 蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 賳蹖賲 亘毓丿蹖 賴賲 亘禺丕胤乇 趩賴賱 丿乇氐丿 丕禺乇蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賴 丕賳氐丕賮丕 禺賵亘 亘賵丿
丿乇 讴賱 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 禺蹖賱蹖 噩匕亘賲 賳讴乇丿. 鄢郯 丿乇氐丿 丕賵賱 讴鬲丕亘 讴賴 丿丕卮鬲蹖賲 丿賳蹖丕卮賵 賲蹖賮賴賲蹖丿蹖賲貙 鄢郯 丿乇氐丿 亘毓丿蹖 鬲丕夭賴 賲蹖禺賵丕爻鬲蹖賲 亘亘蹖賳蹖賲 讴蹖 亘賴 讴蹖賴貙 蹖賴賵 鄞郯 丿乇氐丿 丕禺乇 鬲丕夭賵賵賵賵賵賳丿馃槄
賲賳 亘賴 丿賵 毓賱鬲 讴鬲丕亘賵 鬲丕 丕禺乇 禺賵賳丿賲 蹖讴蹖 亘禺丕胤乇 丕卮丕乇賴丕 賵 丨乇賮丕蹖 nomad 乇丕噩亘 讴丕夭賲蹖乇 賵 丿丕賳卮丕乇丿 賵 丿賵賲蹖卮 亘禺丕胤乇 丌讴爻 賳丕夭賳蹖賳賲馃ス馃槏
蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 亘禺丕胤乇 丌讴爻 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿丕丿賲 賵 蹖讴 爻鬲丕乇賴 賳蹖賲 亘毓丿蹖 賴賲 亘禺丕胤乇 趩賴賱 丿乇氐丿 丕禺乇蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴賴 丕賳氐丕賮丕 禺賵亘 亘賵丿
December 5, 2023
Me ven铆a quejando de que con los 煤ltimos libros de Sanderson necesitas haber le铆do todo el Cosmere para entenderlo y eso repercut铆a en la acci贸n y la trama. Pues me ha callado la boca con la 煤ltima novela secreta.
Para leer El hombre iluminado necesitas haber le铆do al menos el primero de El Archivo de las Tormentas y algo de Mistborn. Y da la casualidad de que esos son los proyectos que m谩s me gustan en el Cosmere de Sanderson. A esto le a帽adimos una historia que me ha recordado a la Torre Oscura de King, o a los antiguos westerns donde un forastero llega a un pueblo para poner orden.
Aqu铆 vemos a N贸mada, nuestro protagonsita que solo conoce la vida a la fuga. Obligado a saltar de un mundo a otro en el Cosmere cada vez que la Brigada Nocturna le gana demasiado terreno.
Y el planeta en el que aterriza es de los mejores wordlbuildings de Sanderson de los 煤ltimos a帽os. Un planeta en el que no te puede tocar el sol porque te fr铆e y la gente est谩 obligada a vivir movi茅ndose perpetuamente en la sombra gracias a ciudades flotantes.
Aqu铆 volvemos a ver un poco al Sanderson m谩s 茅pico e imagino que me ha gustado porque me ha tocado la fibra con ciertas referencias a libros pasados y que la trama me ha resultado mucho m谩s emocionante que las anteriores novelas secretas. Pero tambi茅n les doy la raz贸n a los que se quejan de la saturaci贸n de gui帽os y referencias.
De todas formas, es de agradecer un autor que escriba tanto y tan seguido. Es imposible tener un nivel de 10 siempre pero nos da varias historias que disfrutar al a帽o y creo que eso no lo hace nadie m谩s ahora mismo.
Para leer El hombre iluminado necesitas haber le铆do al menos el primero de El Archivo de las Tormentas y algo de Mistborn. Y da la casualidad de que esos son los proyectos que m谩s me gustan en el Cosmere de Sanderson. A esto le a帽adimos una historia que me ha recordado a la Torre Oscura de King, o a los antiguos westerns donde un forastero llega a un pueblo para poner orden.
Aqu铆 vemos a N贸mada, nuestro protagonsita que solo conoce la vida a la fuga. Obligado a saltar de un mundo a otro en el Cosmere cada vez que la Brigada Nocturna le gana demasiado terreno.
Y el planeta en el que aterriza es de los mejores wordlbuildings de Sanderson de los 煤ltimos a帽os. Un planeta en el que no te puede tocar el sol porque te fr铆e y la gente est谩 obligada a vivir movi茅ndose perpetuamente en la sombra gracias a ciudades flotantes.
Aqu铆 volvemos a ver un poco al Sanderson m谩s 茅pico e imagino que me ha gustado porque me ha tocado la fibra con ciertas referencias a libros pasados y que la trama me ha resultado mucho m谩s emocionante que las anteriores novelas secretas. Pero tambi茅n les doy la raz贸n a los que se quejan de la saturaci贸n de gui帽os y referencias.
De todas formas, es de agradecer un autor que escriba tanto y tan seguido. Es imposible tener un nivel de 10 siempre pero nos da varias historias que disfrutar al a帽o y creo que eso no lo hace nadie m谩s ahora mismo.
October 26, 2023
Perseguido por la Brigada Nocturna, N贸mada se ve obligado a saltar de mundo en mundo del Cosmere en una huida que parece no tener fin... Hasta que llega a un planeta en el que se ver谩 involucrado en un conflicto entre un tirano y los rebeldes que han decidido plantarle cara. En este planeta la gente vive en constante movimiento, huyendo de un amanecer y un sol que lo destruye todo, siempre a pocas horas de la destrucci贸n, y quiz谩 sea esa similitud con su propia situaci贸n la que hace que N贸mada tome partido en el conflicto.
"El hombre iluminado" es la 煤ltima de las novelas secretas, la m谩s fren茅tica y la m谩s interconectada con otras historias del Cosmere, especialmente de "El archivo de las tormentas". Si en las otras las referencias son gui帽os o ata帽en a personajes o elementos secundarios de la trama, en esta son una parte fundamental de su entramado, por lo que es necesario estar al d铆a con el resto de novelas (sobre todo con El archivo y con Arcanum Ilimitado) para entender la mayor parte de lo que est谩 pasando aqu铆. Si bien creo que a pesar de recomendar leerlas en un determinado orden, las otras dos novelas secretas se podr铆an llegar a leer independientes (con Trenza es as铆 y con Yumi si me apuras mucho, puede que tambi茅n), con esta s铆 que desaconsejo absolutamente leerla independiente. Qui茅n empiece por aqu铆 a leer a Sanderson se va a encontrar absolutamente perdido.
Y bien... Si esta novela es TAN Cosmere y est谩 tan relacionada con una de mis sagas favorit铆simas de Sanderson... 驴Por qu茅 no consigui贸 apenas removerme? 驴Por qu茅 sent铆a que no estaba leyendo a Sanderson? 驴Qu茅 fallo?
Despu茅s de darle muchas vueltas al asunto creo que la respuesta ser铆a... El ritmo. Al principio de la rese帽a ya dije que es la novela m谩s fren茅tica de todas, y aunque para muchos esta sea una buena noticia, para mi no lo es tanto. Con el tiempo he descubierto que soy una lectura que disfruta m谩s de historias pausadas, que se cuecen a fuego lento, en las que el desarrollo de personajes tiene un papel fundamental. Es algo totalmente cuesti贸n de gusto personal, pero en este caso ha chocado totalmente con el estilo de esta novela. La acci贸n es constante, y siento que no ha habido momentos para llegar a conocer a los distintos personajes que aparecen en ella, ni siquiera a N贸mada. Y cuando falla esa conexi贸n, esa empat铆a por los personajes, todo lo dem谩s se me cae. 驴Por qu茅 voy a sentir miedo por un personaje que no me remueve nada? 驴Por qu茅 voy a estar en tensi贸n en las continuas escenas de acci贸n por unos personajes que apenas conozco? Hay mucha gente que critica libros como "Juramentada", "El pozo de la ascensi贸n" o "Elantris" por ser quiz谩 demasiado lentos o introspectivos. Yo tambi茅n lo hice en alg煤n momento de mi vida, pero en este siento que ahora necesito que en las sagas haya libros o momentos as铆. Momentos que me permitan descansar entre tanta acci贸n, que me permitan entrar en la mente de los personajes y conocerles mejor. Que hagan que me importen. Porque los personajes de Sanderson siempre me gustan mucho, y esta vez me ha sorprendido mucho y me ha impactado que... Simplemente me diesen igual.
Y entiendo que esta es un poco la t贸nica de las novelas secretas: no estaban pensadas para publicarse en un principio y no son tan meticulosas, ni tienen quiz谩 las pretensiones de una novela normal. Son m谩s 谩giles, exploran estilos diferentes y se centran m谩s en la acci贸n. Pero inevitablemente, a煤n sabiendo esto, muchos vamos a ellas buscando lo que solemos tener en el autor de forma habitual, y muchos nos llevamos el chasco. A pesar de que, aunque no nos ofrezcan lo mismo, tampoco son malos libros. Simplemente no tienen el mismo objetivo, y creo que se nota.
Otra cosa que he notado es que tras tantas novelas secretas en un mismo a帽o las referencias han llegado a saturarme. Y no quiero que esto se malentienda. Adoro que el Cosmere sea un universo interconectado que poco a poco vaya yendo hacia una trama com煤n en la que todo se entremezcle. Adoro que haya referencias y gui帽os... Pero creo que en estas novelas se ha abusado un poco de ellas, y en esta directamente creo que se cimenta todo en las referencias hasta tal punto de que si las quitas... El libro se queda en nada. Llega un punto en el que los gui帽os pierden impacto, porque hay tantos, hasta varios por cap铆tulo, que ya los esperas. Esa ilusi贸n, ese brinco que me daba en el coraz贸n cada vez que captaba algo en otras historias... Desaparece. En otras novelas las referencias y las conexiones eran m谩s sutiles, y nunca se descuidaban los personajes o la trama en favor de ellas. Tenemos ah铆 "El metal perdido", cuya trama tambi茅n se apoya mucho en las conexiones, pero a煤n as铆 me encant贸. Porque siento que tiene su propia personalidad, su propia esencia, y los personajes han tenido su espacio. Pero en esta... Siento que todo lo que pasaba me daba igual, porque lo que importaba era saber qu茅 pr贸ximo detalle de "El archivo" iba a descubrir.
A pesar de todo esto, que s茅 que me he explayado... No es una mala novela, de verdad. Es una historia entretenida, con buen ritmo (para mi demasiado alto, pero cuesti贸n de gustos) y que se lee muy bien. Pero no me ha dejado al terminarlo esa emoci贸n, ese poso que me dejan otros libros de Sanderson. El final creo que lo remonta, pero incluso hay varias partes hacia la mitad en las que he llegado a desconectar. Creo que le sobran acci贸n y p谩ginas, y una historia al estilo "Esquirla del amanecer" o "Danzante del filo" le hubiese sentado mejor. Algo m谩s cortito que fuese m谩s al grano. A煤n as铆 me lo he pasado bien ley茅ndolo y asom谩ndome una vez m谩s a eso tan enorme que se nos viene en esta gran aventura que es el Cosmere.
"El hombre iluminado" es la 煤ltima de las novelas secretas, la m谩s fren茅tica y la m谩s interconectada con otras historias del Cosmere, especialmente de "El archivo de las tormentas". Si en las otras las referencias son gui帽os o ata帽en a personajes o elementos secundarios de la trama, en esta son una parte fundamental de su entramado, por lo que es necesario estar al d铆a con el resto de novelas (sobre todo con El archivo y con Arcanum Ilimitado) para entender la mayor parte de lo que est谩 pasando aqu铆. Si bien creo que a pesar de recomendar leerlas en un determinado orden, las otras dos novelas secretas se podr铆an llegar a leer independientes (con Trenza es as铆 y con Yumi si me apuras mucho, puede que tambi茅n), con esta s铆 que desaconsejo absolutamente leerla independiente. Qui茅n empiece por aqu铆 a leer a Sanderson se va a encontrar absolutamente perdido.
Y bien... Si esta novela es TAN Cosmere y est谩 tan relacionada con una de mis sagas favorit铆simas de Sanderson... 驴Por qu茅 no consigui贸 apenas removerme? 驴Por qu茅 sent铆a que no estaba leyendo a Sanderson? 驴Qu茅 fallo?
Despu茅s de darle muchas vueltas al asunto creo que la respuesta ser铆a... El ritmo. Al principio de la rese帽a ya dije que es la novela m谩s fren茅tica de todas, y aunque para muchos esta sea una buena noticia, para mi no lo es tanto. Con el tiempo he descubierto que soy una lectura que disfruta m谩s de historias pausadas, que se cuecen a fuego lento, en las que el desarrollo de personajes tiene un papel fundamental. Es algo totalmente cuesti贸n de gusto personal, pero en este caso ha chocado totalmente con el estilo de esta novela. La acci贸n es constante, y siento que no ha habido momentos para llegar a conocer a los distintos personajes que aparecen en ella, ni siquiera a N贸mada. Y cuando falla esa conexi贸n, esa empat铆a por los personajes, todo lo dem谩s se me cae. 驴Por qu茅 voy a sentir miedo por un personaje que no me remueve nada? 驴Por qu茅 voy a estar en tensi贸n en las continuas escenas de acci贸n por unos personajes que apenas conozco? Hay mucha gente que critica libros como "Juramentada", "El pozo de la ascensi贸n" o "Elantris" por ser quiz谩 demasiado lentos o introspectivos. Yo tambi茅n lo hice en alg煤n momento de mi vida, pero en este siento que ahora necesito que en las sagas haya libros o momentos as铆. Momentos que me permitan descansar entre tanta acci贸n, que me permitan entrar en la mente de los personajes y conocerles mejor. Que hagan que me importen. Porque los personajes de Sanderson siempre me gustan mucho, y esta vez me ha sorprendido mucho y me ha impactado que... Simplemente me diesen igual.
Y entiendo que esta es un poco la t贸nica de las novelas secretas: no estaban pensadas para publicarse en un principio y no son tan meticulosas, ni tienen quiz谩 las pretensiones de una novela normal. Son m谩s 谩giles, exploran estilos diferentes y se centran m谩s en la acci贸n. Pero inevitablemente, a煤n sabiendo esto, muchos vamos a ellas buscando lo que solemos tener en el autor de forma habitual, y muchos nos llevamos el chasco. A pesar de que, aunque no nos ofrezcan lo mismo, tampoco son malos libros. Simplemente no tienen el mismo objetivo, y creo que se nota.
Otra cosa que he notado es que tras tantas novelas secretas en un mismo a帽o las referencias han llegado a saturarme. Y no quiero que esto se malentienda. Adoro que el Cosmere sea un universo interconectado que poco a poco vaya yendo hacia una trama com煤n en la que todo se entremezcle. Adoro que haya referencias y gui帽os... Pero creo que en estas novelas se ha abusado un poco de ellas, y en esta directamente creo que se cimenta todo en las referencias hasta tal punto de que si las quitas... El libro se queda en nada. Llega un punto en el que los gui帽os pierden impacto, porque hay tantos, hasta varios por cap铆tulo, que ya los esperas. Esa ilusi贸n, ese brinco que me daba en el coraz贸n cada vez que captaba algo en otras historias... Desaparece. En otras novelas las referencias y las conexiones eran m谩s sutiles, y nunca se descuidaban los personajes o la trama en favor de ellas. Tenemos ah铆 "El metal perdido", cuya trama tambi茅n se apoya mucho en las conexiones, pero a煤n as铆 me encant贸. Porque siento que tiene su propia personalidad, su propia esencia, y los personajes han tenido su espacio. Pero en esta... Siento que todo lo que pasaba me daba igual, porque lo que importaba era saber qu茅 pr贸ximo detalle de "El archivo" iba a descubrir.
A pesar de todo esto, que s茅 que me he explayado... No es una mala novela, de verdad. Es una historia entretenida, con buen ritmo (para mi demasiado alto, pero cuesti贸n de gustos) y que se lee muy bien. Pero no me ha dejado al terminarlo esa emoci贸n, ese poso que me dejan otros libros de Sanderson. El final creo que lo remonta, pero incluso hay varias partes hacia la mitad en las que he llegado a desconectar. Creo que le sobran acci贸n y p谩ginas, y una historia al estilo "Esquirla del amanecer" o "Danzante del filo" le hubiese sentado mejor. Algo m谩s cortito que fuese m谩s al grano. A煤n as铆 me lo he pasado bien ley茅ndolo y asom谩ndome una vez m谩s a eso tan enorme que se nos viene en esta gran aventura que es el Cosmere.
October 17, 2023
Brandon Sanderson has proven yet again that he is an absolute machine at writing stories.
The Sunlit Man is a thrilling, fun, action-packed installment in the Cosmere. I鈥檓 sure that if, like me, you are already neck deep into his work - you will love this as much as I did. There are so many references to his other work in this book, so many tie-ins I wasn鈥檛 expecting, and a general expansion on Cosmere lore that I delighted in learning about.
As always with Sanderson, the world building and magic are top notch. And as always, they are intrinsically tied to the emotional beats of our protagonist. Who in this case is a world-hopping outlaw named Nomad.
Nomad, without saying anything in the way of spoilers, is someone you鈥檒l quickly realize belongs to the world of another of Sanderson鈥檚 series. He鈥檚 on the run from a group called The Night Brigade, and the book starts with a thrilling sequence of him arriving on a new planet and being forced to adapt to his situation on the fly. This set the pace moving forward, which I loved. This entire book was hard to put down, with each chapter leaving me desperate for the next.
I would say that you absolutely need to have read The Stormlight Archive to read this. There is a lot that won鈥檛 make sense or will be a spoiler for the series if you haven鈥檛 already. This is unlike the other Secret Projects, which I think are readable on their own.
The reason that this book gets only 4 stars from me - despite being incredibly fun, surprisingly emotional, and a wonderful addition to the Cosmere - is that I felt like the side characters were not great, and the villain fell a little bit flat for me. Some of the supporting cast was great - Aux, Rebeka, and Elegy to name a few. But there were many more that I just didn鈥檛 connect with and felt like the influx of names and people felt unnecessary. The cast could have been trimmed to just a handful of named characters with the same effect.
All in all though, I can鈥檛 believe he pulled this off. The fact that Sanderson wrote 4 BOOKS in a year on top of other stuff and they all ended up being this high of quality鈥� what the hell man!?? HOW?? ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN???
鈥�.. as a writer myself, I am only a little bit jealous.
I鈥檓 very content with the year of Sanderson. Excellent way to cap it off.
The Sunlit Man is a thrilling, fun, action-packed installment in the Cosmere. I鈥檓 sure that if, like me, you are already neck deep into his work - you will love this as much as I did. There are so many references to his other work in this book, so many tie-ins I wasn鈥檛 expecting, and a general expansion on Cosmere lore that I delighted in learning about.
As always with Sanderson, the world building and magic are top notch. And as always, they are intrinsically tied to the emotional beats of our protagonist. Who in this case is a world-hopping outlaw named Nomad.
Nomad, without saying anything in the way of spoilers, is someone you鈥檒l quickly realize belongs to the world of another of Sanderson鈥檚 series. He鈥檚 on the run from a group called The Night Brigade, and the book starts with a thrilling sequence of him arriving on a new planet and being forced to adapt to his situation on the fly. This set the pace moving forward, which I loved. This entire book was hard to put down, with each chapter leaving me desperate for the next.
I would say that you absolutely need to have read The Stormlight Archive to read this. There is a lot that won鈥檛 make sense or will be a spoiler for the series if you haven鈥檛 already. This is unlike the other Secret Projects, which I think are readable on their own.
The reason that this book gets only 4 stars from me - despite being incredibly fun, surprisingly emotional, and a wonderful addition to the Cosmere - is that I felt like the side characters were not great, and the villain fell a little bit flat for me. Some of the supporting cast was great - Aux, Rebeka, and Elegy to name a few. But there were many more that I just didn鈥檛 connect with and felt like the influx of names and people felt unnecessary. The cast could have been trimmed to just a handful of named characters with the same effect.
All in all though, I can鈥檛 believe he pulled this off. The fact that Sanderson wrote 4 BOOKS in a year on top of other stuff and they all ended up being this high of quality鈥� what the hell man!?? HOW?? ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN???
鈥�.. as a writer myself, I am only a little bit jealous.
I鈥檓 very content with the year of Sanderson. Excellent way to cap it off.
November 1, 2023
Quick warning. I am normally a person who thinks Cosmere reading orders are bit overblown, and that connections without context spoil way less and are less important than people act like they are.
So that being said.
DO NOT READ THE SUNLIT MAN UNTIL YOU ARE CAUGHT UP ON THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE. Incase someone in the future is reading this, first off grats on the time travel. Second as i'm writing this Rhythm of War is the most recent novel in The Stormlight Archive. I have a feeling if this came out after Stormlight 5 people would say it spoiled Stormlight 5 because it alludes to things that happen on Roshar after Stormlight 4, but as someone who has not gotten Stormlight 5, without context I still have no damn clue what's happening in that book. Still thought, don't read this until you have read at least Oathbringer.
Ok, the actual book.
I quite liked it. This is pretty easily the fastest paced Sanderson book, which is not good or bad, it just is. But it has been a while since I have read a book where from cover to cover the characters are just in a constant struggle to survive, and it definitely had me turning them pages. I hadn't thought of it during the book, but in the postscript Sanderson compared it to Mad Max story, and ya bang on. Familiar, old character who looks young thrown into some ridiculously dangerous local problem. It has a very similar feel, except Nomad is a lot more talkative than Max.
Very Cosmere stuff heavy, really well paced, the world is incredibly creative, one thing I have loved about Sanderson being in stand alone mode for the secret projects is that we get more of his more wild worldbuilding ideas, and I have really liked them all. And I really enjoyed the way it all came together and ramped up. This probably isn't a life changing story, or a book I am going to think about at night for years to come, but holy hell did I have fun.
8.1/10
So that being said.
DO NOT READ THE SUNLIT MAN UNTIL YOU ARE CAUGHT UP ON THE STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE. Incase someone in the future is reading this, first off grats on the time travel. Second as i'm writing this Rhythm of War is the most recent novel in The Stormlight Archive. I have a feeling if this came out after Stormlight 5 people would say it spoiled Stormlight 5 because it alludes to things that happen on Roshar after Stormlight 4, but as someone who has not gotten Stormlight 5, without context I still have no damn clue what's happening in that book. Still thought, don't read this until you have read at least Oathbringer.
Ok, the actual book.
I quite liked it. This is pretty easily the fastest paced Sanderson book, which is not good or bad, it just is. But it has been a while since I have read a book where from cover to cover the characters are just in a constant struggle to survive, and it definitely had me turning them pages. I hadn't thought of it during the book, but in the postscript Sanderson compared it to Mad Max story, and ya bang on. Familiar, old character who looks young thrown into some ridiculously dangerous local problem. It has a very similar feel, except Nomad is a lot more talkative than Max.
Very Cosmere stuff heavy, really well paced, the world is incredibly creative, one thing I have loved about Sanderson being in stand alone mode for the secret projects is that we get more of his more wild worldbuilding ideas, and I have really liked them all. And I really enjoyed the way it all came together and ramped up. This probably isn't a life changing story, or a book I am going to think about at night for years to come, but holy hell did I have fun.
8.1/10
October 6, 2023
I definitely like this book better than Wizarding Guide but I did not enjoy this as much as Yumi and Tress. I would probably rate more of a 3.5/5.
Check out my review here if you so choose!
While the other books were able to easily be read as standalone novels, I do not feel like this can be read as a standalone. You almost need to have read all of Sanderson鈥檚 books to enjoy this one; especially Stormlight. I definitely would recommend reading Stormlight before this book. (I saw another review mention some stories from Arcum Unbounded as well) The main character is from Roshar so there are a lot of references to that series. My problem was that it had been so long since I last read the Stormlight book, that I do not remember everything which made the book more frustrating for me. Especially when it came to terminology鈥攁lmost need a glossary to help jump my memory for this book. You get some explanation of things, but it is not until later in the book do you get the little pieces here and there.
It鈥檚 frustrating knowing you should know something but you just cannot remember鈥攖hat is how I felt reading this book.
Without giving spoilers, the main premise of the book is about Nomad who has world-hopped to another planet and when he jumps to this planet he is instantly thrown into an execution/prisoner situation in which he is to be executed by the sun. The sun on this planet is a death sentence therefore the people on this planet are constantly running away from the sun. They are never sitting in one place, they live in moveable cities of ships and are constantly faced with the threat of the sun and the changing landscape. There is also a tyrant on this world called the Cinder King who is hunting down Nomad and the group he is with. Nomad is also being hunted by the Night Brigade鈥攖his explains why he is always running from planet to planet and why he will continue to be important in later stories.
Since the main character is from Roshar, if you read the Stormlight books you will believe this is someone you should know, but the book refuses to tell you until later in the story. It's annoying not knowing who the main character really is, you are constantly giving references but it seems to be a secret for some reason. This took away the enjoyment of the story for me since I kept trying to guess who the person was instead of just enjoying the story. I prefer stories where you are sharing the story with the main character rather than the main character constantly keeping information from you and giving you bits and pieces.(this started to give me the same frustration I had with SP2)
I will say this was an enjoyable read, it just was not my favorite. I did enjoy the book more later on and there were some good scenes towards the end. But I did not find it shocking, or groundbreaking. It just felt like a good in-between novel to read between Stromlight books.
I know a lot of people will enjoy this book because I believe the majority of Sanderson鈥檚 fans love the whole Cosmere premise and can remember all the details and intricacies of the magic systems and politics. But personally, I am not really a huge fan of the Cosmere landscape. I am having a hard time keeping track of everything, and I am starting to feel like I cannot just pick up one of his books and enjoy it unless I am caught up on every book he has written in the Cosmere worlds. I don鈥檛 want to constantly be rereading his books every time I want to pick up one of his books. This book references the magic system of Warbreaker, Mistborn and tons of Stormlight references. I understand a lot of people will disagree with me on this point but I have really enjoyed the books by Sanderson that are able to stand on their own鈥攅ven if they are part of the Cosmere. I just felt like this book required me to be refreshed on Stormlight and I wasn鈥檛, which took away some of my enjoyment. Maybe if I reread this book during my Stormlight reread I would feel differently, but I just was not that excited by this book in the end.
Check out my review here if you so choose!
While the other books were able to easily be read as standalone novels, I do not feel like this can be read as a standalone. You almost need to have read all of Sanderson鈥檚 books to enjoy this one; especially Stormlight. I definitely would recommend reading Stormlight before this book. (I saw another review mention some stories from Arcum Unbounded as well) The main character is from Roshar so there are a lot of references to that series. My problem was that it had been so long since I last read the Stormlight book, that I do not remember everything which made the book more frustrating for me. Especially when it came to terminology鈥攁lmost need a glossary to help jump my memory for this book. You get some explanation of things, but it is not until later in the book do you get the little pieces here and there.
It鈥檚 frustrating knowing you should know something but you just cannot remember鈥攖hat is how I felt reading this book.
Without giving spoilers, the main premise of the book is about Nomad who has world-hopped to another planet and when he jumps to this planet he is instantly thrown into an execution/prisoner situation in which he is to be executed by the sun. The sun on this planet is a death sentence therefore the people on this planet are constantly running away from the sun. They are never sitting in one place, they live in moveable cities of ships and are constantly faced with the threat of the sun and the changing landscape. There is also a tyrant on this world called the Cinder King who is hunting down Nomad and the group he is with. Nomad is also being hunted by the Night Brigade鈥攖his explains why he is always running from planet to planet and why he will continue to be important in later stories.
Since the main character is from Roshar, if you read the Stormlight books you will believe this is someone you should know, but the book refuses to tell you until later in the story. It's annoying not knowing who the main character really is, you are constantly giving references but it seems to be a secret for some reason. This took away the enjoyment of the story for me since I kept trying to guess who the person was instead of just enjoying the story. I prefer stories where you are sharing the story with the main character rather than the main character constantly keeping information from you and giving you bits and pieces.(this started to give me the same frustration I had with SP2)
I will say this was an enjoyable read, it just was not my favorite. I did enjoy the book more later on and there were some good scenes towards the end. But I did not find it shocking, or groundbreaking. It just felt like a good in-between novel to read between Stromlight books.
I know a lot of people will enjoy this book because I believe the majority of Sanderson鈥檚 fans love the whole Cosmere premise and can remember all the details and intricacies of the magic systems and politics. But personally, I am not really a huge fan of the Cosmere landscape. I am having a hard time keeping track of everything, and I am starting to feel like I cannot just pick up one of his books and enjoy it unless I am caught up on every book he has written in the Cosmere worlds. I don鈥檛 want to constantly be rereading his books every time I want to pick up one of his books. This book references the magic system of Warbreaker, Mistborn and tons of Stormlight references. I understand a lot of people will disagree with me on this point but I have really enjoyed the books by Sanderson that are able to stand on their own鈥攅ven if they are part of the Cosmere. I just felt like this book required me to be refreshed on Stormlight and I wasn鈥檛, which took away some of my enjoyment. Maybe if I reread this book during my Stormlight reread I would feel differently, but I just was not that excited by this book in the end.
December 22, 2024
I read The Sunlit Man because it is book 4.5 of the Stormlight Archive.听 While it did include some familiar characters, I could not have been more surprised by the content.听 Suffice it to say that there are spaceships in the story!听 As for the quality of the narrative, it is not bad, but it also does not hold a candle to the other Stormlight books and novellas.听 In fact, what this story reminds me of most is an episode of Dr. Who.听 WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD听 It has so many of the classic Who elements--purposefully confusing the reader/viewer, virtually non-stop action, a stranger who mysteriously appears on the scene and has superior knowledge and abilities to all the locals.听 I like to read everything in a series that I am following, but I easily could have missed this installment without too many regrets.听
August 10, 2024
鈥淵ou never get to be ready. You just have to move forward anyway.鈥�
This was the fourth and final secret project, and in terms of enjoyment, it鈥檚 my second favorite after Tress! When it first came out, I saw some mixed reviews that raised concerns. However, I believe this one is crucial to the cosmere universe since it ties into the other stories, making it feel "more canonical," in a sense. I agree with others that this book requires a solid grasp of the cosmere to fully appreciate, but as someone who hasn鈥檛 yet read Rhythm of War, I still found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Sanderson鈥檚 writing remains as captivating as ever, showcasing his talent for world-building and crafting intricate characters. This time, the pacing felt notably different; the narrative is packed with rapid-fire action scenes, which I enjoyed, though some readers might prefer a bit more breathing room between them. Typically, Sanderson鈥檚 books start slowly and build up to the renowned Sanderlanche, and this one followed that pattern, but put it on steroids!
The book features imaginative world-building set in the future, with a magic system centered around sunlight, which ties into the story鈥檚 title. It takes place after the events of the fifth Stormlight book鈥攕till unreleased at the time鈥攕o there are a few spoilers for earlier books, and some events are mentioned vaguely, which might be frustrating. However, it also piques my interest to revisit this book after finishing the Stormlight series to catch any details I might have missed.
At its heart, it鈥檚 a story of vengeance, yet it carries Sanderson鈥檚 unique touch. The narrative unfolds with a sense of mystery鈥攕ome elements of which I didn鈥檛 fully grasp鈥攁nd is packed with action. The illustrations are stunning, and I wish Sanderson would consider hiring illustrators permanently for his future works. This marks his 50th book, dedicated to his readers, which I find sweet and touching!
October 27, 2023
Puede que parezca un poco injusto, pero voy a tratar de establecer mis razones. Al final, El Hombre Iluminado no es mejor ni peor que el resto de las famosas 鈥榥ovelas secretas鈥�: su particularidad principal es que est谩 mucho m谩s conectada al resto del Cosmere que el resto. Por lo tanto requiere m谩s lectura previa, aunque no creo que este aspecto en s铆 demerite al libro.
No, tengo otras razones por las cuales decid铆 ponerle una puntuaci贸n 鈥榖aja鈥� al libro. Algunas son de mis preferencias como lector de fantas铆a y otras por lo que creo que son problemas objetivos de la novela. Entonces vayamos por las primeras: me est谩 preocupando que la magia dura de Sanderson se est谩 volviendo menos m谩gica. Ahora hablamos de unidades de investidura y capacidades de salto, de porcentajes y mediciones. Para m铆 una magia que es cognoscible, que se puede medir y determinar y que tiene causas y consecuencias conocidas no es magia y lo siento mucho. Era una cosa casi maravillosa en Elantris y en El Camino de los Reyes, pero especialmente desde El Ritmo de la Guerra se ha vuelto sumamente mec谩nica. En este libro se repiten las partes que me parecieron m谩s sopor铆feras del cuarto volumen del Archivo y que tienen que ver con lo que parece ser una afici贸n de Sanderson por la ingenier铆a mec谩nica. A m铆 estas partes me desconectaron abiertamente del libro.
El Cosmere prosigue su agresiva 鈥榤arvelizaci贸n鈥� con m谩s y m谩s puentes narrativos entre sus mundos y esto es de agradecerse. Aqu铆 s铆 se necesita conocer varias novelas para entender bien todo, as铆 que no recomendar铆a a nadie que no est茅 pr谩cticamente al corriente.
Los dem谩s problemas me parecieron relativos al porqu茅 de esta novela, cu谩ndo se public贸 y qu茅 es lo que describe. No voy a marcar spoilers porque luego 欧宝娱乐 me oculta todo, pero ir茅 con cuidado. El protagonista de esta novela, N贸mada, es un personaje secundario del Archivo de las Tormentas que ahora vive como fugitivo brincando mundos por todo el Cosmere. Uno de los problemas principales es que este personaje es uno de los 煤nicos dos miembros de cierto querido grupo que no ha sido tan desarrollado como los dem谩s en las novelas principales. Y como esta novela est谩 ambientada a帽os despu茅s del quinto libro que falta un a帽o para publicarse entonces no se sabe bien cu谩l es su trasfondo y qu茅 es lo que lo ha llevado a ser as铆. Por lo tanto, termina sinti茅ndose como una versi贸n deslavada y repetida de Kaladin, y el cl铆max de la novela parece como un refrito.
Entonces El Hombre Iluminado sirve m谩s como un largo 鈥榯easer鈥� de cosas que vendr谩n en el Cosmere que una novela que se sostenga por sus propios m茅ritos.
Lecturas requeridas: todo el Archivo de las Tormentas, incluyendo Esquirla del Amanecer. Sombras del Silencio y de preferencia haber le铆do los siete de Mistborn.
No, tengo otras razones por las cuales decid铆 ponerle una puntuaci贸n 鈥榖aja鈥� al libro. Algunas son de mis preferencias como lector de fantas铆a y otras por lo que creo que son problemas objetivos de la novela. Entonces vayamos por las primeras: me est谩 preocupando que la magia dura de Sanderson se est谩 volviendo menos m谩gica. Ahora hablamos de unidades de investidura y capacidades de salto, de porcentajes y mediciones. Para m铆 una magia que es cognoscible, que se puede medir y determinar y que tiene causas y consecuencias conocidas no es magia y lo siento mucho. Era una cosa casi maravillosa en Elantris y en El Camino de los Reyes, pero especialmente desde El Ritmo de la Guerra se ha vuelto sumamente mec谩nica. En este libro se repiten las partes que me parecieron m谩s sopor铆feras del cuarto volumen del Archivo y que tienen que ver con lo que parece ser una afici贸n de Sanderson por la ingenier铆a mec谩nica. A m铆 estas partes me desconectaron abiertamente del libro.
El Cosmere prosigue su agresiva 鈥榤arvelizaci贸n鈥� con m谩s y m谩s puentes narrativos entre sus mundos y esto es de agradecerse. Aqu铆 s铆 se necesita conocer varias novelas para entender bien todo, as铆 que no recomendar铆a a nadie que no est茅 pr谩cticamente al corriente.
Los dem谩s problemas me parecieron relativos al porqu茅 de esta novela, cu谩ndo se public贸 y qu茅 es lo que describe. No voy a marcar spoilers porque luego 欧宝娱乐 me oculta todo, pero ir茅 con cuidado. El protagonista de esta novela, N贸mada, es un personaje secundario del Archivo de las Tormentas que ahora vive como fugitivo brincando mundos por todo el Cosmere. Uno de los problemas principales es que este personaje es uno de los 煤nicos dos miembros de cierto querido grupo que no ha sido tan desarrollado como los dem谩s en las novelas principales. Y como esta novela est谩 ambientada a帽os despu茅s del quinto libro que falta un a帽o para publicarse entonces no se sabe bien cu谩l es su trasfondo y qu茅 es lo que lo ha llevado a ser as铆. Por lo tanto, termina sinti茅ndose como una versi贸n deslavada y repetida de Kaladin, y el cl铆max de la novela parece como un refrito.
Entonces El Hombre Iluminado sirve m谩s como un largo 鈥榯easer鈥� de cosas que vendr谩n en el Cosmere que una novela que se sostenga por sus propios m茅ritos.
Lecturas requeridas: todo el Archivo de las Tormentas, incluyendo Esquirla del Amanecer. Sombras del Silencio y de preferencia haber le铆do los siete de Mistborn.
October 30, 2023
This review was originally posted on
The Sunlit Man is the last of the four books Brandon Sanderson wrote while not touring due to the Covid travel restrictions that was part of the most successful Kickstarter of all time.听 The other books in the the four book Kickstarter were for his wife and son, but Sunlit Man is for the fans.听 It features one of the characters from the Stormlight Archives after the events of the yet to be completed book 5 of that series.听 Written as a standalone, this is much like the Hulk, Quantum Leap or the old Westerns where the wanderer shows up to save the day before moving along.听 It will definitely help your enjoyment of the book if you have at least read to book 2 or 3 of the Stormlight Archives or any of Sanderson's works set in the Cosmere or else you might not understand the magic system and some of the finer points of The Sunlit Man.
Nomad is one of the well known characters from the Stormlight Archives and some of the fun of this book is discovering who he is and why he might be on the run going by a different name and jumping planet to planet.听 With his friend Aux, who may or may not be a spren from Roshar, he has jumped onto a planet this time about to sacrifice a bunch of people to the sun.听 There are so many questions the reader will have in the first few chapters as we learn just bits and pieces along the way of this character on the run from the Night Brigade, why he isn't allowed to harm anyone, how he is tied to Wit, why did he hold the Dawnshard for awhile and why is his spren almost dead.听 There were a lot of questions from the very beginning and in true Sanderson fashion they are doled out a little at a time during the story to help us understand this characters and the life he is living today, without spoiling anything that might be happening in future books from the original series.
Nomad finds himself on a world with two different sets of people.听 One is the Cinder King, a man with a burning ember in his heart keeping him alive.听 He is cruel and looking to dominate the entire planet.听 The other set of people spend most of their time dodging the Cinder King and the Sun.听 On this planet the full force of the sun will annihilate anyone it's path and leave behind a soul stone.听 These are used as power sources by people on the planet to keep their flying cities running.听 For the Cinder King this means using the people he is trying to conquer to fuel his empire, for the resistance it means letting loved ones volunteer when it is their time.听 The investiture on this planet is so strange and Nomad needs to figure out how to use it if he is ever going to escape this planet and stay ahead of the Night Brigade.
The things I loved about this story are really the things I love about most Sanderson stories.听 The worldbuilding is incredible, the people are complex and the heroes are always broken.听 Nomad has a past he is still trying to outrun and that brings up a slew of questions.
How long should he run, is this a life worth living, he used to fight for people.听 He used to be a different man.
The story is great, the plot, the villain, the discoveries made, and sacrifices given.听 It was a true heroes tale and journey.听 Maybe our Nomad will regain part of the man he used to be, maybe he won't.听 But I will hope to see him in future Cosmere tales.听 Whether as the main character or just someone who tags along for part of the adventure, I don't care as I enjoyed the journey our intrepid Knight seems to be on and hope that somehow and in someway he finds whatever redemption he is searching for. This was my favorite out of all four of the Kickstarter books and thought it was a great way to end the journey we started with Sanderson a year ago.
I want to say that one of the other great things about all of the Kickstarter books have been the art inside.听 Brandon Sanderson loves to show you some of the details of his worlds and I liked the art in this book so much.听 I listened to the audio but I went through the ebook to see all the artwork and will one day reread the words with my eyes to enjoy this story again with the art at the same time.
Narration:
William Demerit narrated one other Sanderson book I have read.听 He was really perfect for this role as well.听 The narrators for The Stormlight Archives are great but it was nice to get a new voice for a new main characters and enjoy the performance from a PoV.听 William captured all of the characters so well.听 I really felt for Nomad and Aux as more of their tale was revealed slowly.听 He was a great new voice for a fantastic new lead.听 His pacing for the story was great and really added to my overall enjoyment.
Listen to a clip:听
The Sunlit Man is the last of the four books Brandon Sanderson wrote while not touring due to the Covid travel restrictions that was part of the most successful Kickstarter of all time.听 The other books in the the four book Kickstarter were for his wife and son, but Sunlit Man is for the fans.听 It features one of the characters from the Stormlight Archives after the events of the yet to be completed book 5 of that series.听 Written as a standalone, this is much like the Hulk, Quantum Leap or the old Westerns where the wanderer shows up to save the day before moving along.听 It will definitely help your enjoyment of the book if you have at least read to book 2 or 3 of the Stormlight Archives or any of Sanderson's works set in the Cosmere or else you might not understand the magic system and some of the finer points of The Sunlit Man.
Nomad is one of the well known characters from the Stormlight Archives and some of the fun of this book is discovering who he is and why he might be on the run going by a different name and jumping planet to planet.听 With his friend Aux, who may or may not be a spren from Roshar, he has jumped onto a planet this time about to sacrifice a bunch of people to the sun.听 There are so many questions the reader will have in the first few chapters as we learn just bits and pieces along the way of this character on the run from the Night Brigade, why he isn't allowed to harm anyone, how he is tied to Wit, why did he hold the Dawnshard for awhile and why is his spren almost dead.听 There were a lot of questions from the very beginning and in true Sanderson fashion they are doled out a little at a time during the story to help us understand this characters and the life he is living today, without spoiling anything that might be happening in future books from the original series.
Nomad finds himself on a world with two different sets of people.听 One is the Cinder King, a man with a burning ember in his heart keeping him alive.听 He is cruel and looking to dominate the entire planet.听 The other set of people spend most of their time dodging the Cinder King and the Sun.听 On this planet the full force of the sun will annihilate anyone it's path and leave behind a soul stone.听 These are used as power sources by people on the planet to keep their flying cities running.听 For the Cinder King this means using the people he is trying to conquer to fuel his empire, for the resistance it means letting loved ones volunteer when it is their time.听 The investiture on this planet is so strange and Nomad needs to figure out how to use it if he is ever going to escape this planet and stay ahead of the Night Brigade.
The things I loved about this story are really the things I love about most Sanderson stories.听 The worldbuilding is incredible, the people are complex and the heroes are always broken.听 Nomad has a past he is still trying to outrun and that brings up a slew of questions.
鈥淗e put his hands to his skull, digging his fingers into the skin. How could he run so hard and never get anywhere? The journey was supposed to be the important part, wasn鈥檛 it? Why, then, was he so miserable?鈥�
How long should he run, is this a life worth living, he used to fight for people.听 He used to be a different man.
鈥淏ut he could still hear. And somehow, in shutting out the light鈥� there within the blackness of his own design鈥� he felt something. Something of the person he鈥檇 once been. Words once spoken. In a moment of glorious radiance.鈥�
The story is great, the plot, the villain, the discoveries made, and sacrifices given.听 It was a true heroes tale and journey.听 Maybe our Nomad will regain part of the man he used to be, maybe he won't.听 But I will hope to see him in future Cosmere tales.听 Whether as the main character or just someone who tags along for part of the adventure, I don't care as I enjoyed the journey our intrepid Knight seems to be on and hope that somehow and in someway he finds whatever redemption he is searching for. This was my favorite out of all four of the Kickstarter books and thought it was a great way to end the journey we started with Sanderson a year ago.
I want to say that one of the other great things about all of the Kickstarter books have been the art inside.听 Brandon Sanderson loves to show you some of the details of his worlds and I liked the art in this book so much.听 I listened to the audio but I went through the ebook to see all the artwork and will one day reread the words with my eyes to enjoy this story again with the art at the same time.
Narration:
William Demerit narrated one other Sanderson book I have read.听 He was really perfect for this role as well.听 The narrators for The Stormlight Archives are great but it was nice to get a new voice for a new main characters and enjoy the performance from a PoV.听 William captured all of the characters so well.听 I really felt for Nomad and Aux as more of their tale was revealed slowly.听 He was a great new voice for a fantastic new lead.听 His pacing for the story was great and really added to my overall enjoyment.
Listen to a clip:听
June 23, 2024
Lost for words at how gripping and immersive this experience was.
It truly made me realise how immense the worlds that Brandon Sanderson has built are. I was so invested in Nomad and Aux and it felt - although worlds apart in setting and trope - like a perfect Stormlight Archive novel.
With many new faces and a few old ones (no spoilers), it was a perfect fiftieth Sanderson book.
I genuinely cannot fault anything about it.
5/5
It truly made me realise how immense the worlds that Brandon Sanderson has built are. I was so invested in Nomad and Aux and it felt - although worlds apart in setting and trope - like a perfect Stormlight Archive novel.
With many new faces and a few old ones (no spoilers), it was a perfect fiftieth Sanderson book.
I genuinely cannot fault anything about it.
5/5
October 1, 2023
Sanderson does something special in this book.
I think it's been a while since Brandon has written anything this dark and serious, which can make for quite a shock when you pick it up. It's not grimdark of course, but it's taking some ideas that have been explored in the Stormlight Archive and really asking some difficult questions in response.
The *theme* in this book is really strong and really well done. I don't want to say too much about it, but there's several things running in parallel which drive the message and the tone so hard. There's so many different things all working together so smoothly to tell this story.
The amount of Cosmere stuff going on here is an absolute blast of course. The gloves are off, and in this case the finished product is phenomenal.
I also feel like I've noticed Brandon being a bit more subtle and thoughtful in his writing than usual. It's not quite my favorite of the Secret Projects, but I do think it's probably the "best written" of them.
I received a free copy of this book as a beta reader, but purchased a copy for myself.
I think it's been a while since Brandon has written anything this dark and serious, which can make for quite a shock when you pick it up. It's not grimdark of course, but it's taking some ideas that have been explored in the Stormlight Archive and really asking some difficult questions in response.
The *theme* in this book is really strong and really well done. I don't want to say too much about it, but there's several things running in parallel which drive the message and the tone so hard. There's so many different things all working together so smoothly to tell this story.
The amount of Cosmere stuff going on here is an absolute blast of course. The gloves are off, and in this case the finished product is phenomenal.
I also feel like I've noticed Brandon being a bit more subtle and thoughtful in his writing than usual. It's not quite my favorite of the Secret Projects, but I do think it's probably the "best written" of them.
I received a free copy of this book as a beta reader, but purchased a copy for myself.
October 24, 2023
Sanderson lo volvi贸 a hacer
Hablar de este libro sin soltar una retah铆la de spoilers es muy complicado, pero pod茅is considerar esta novela como un "Avengers" del Cosmere. No por la presencia de personajes sino porque es necesario haberse le铆do TODO lo que se ha publicado de este universo para poder entender cada una de las mil referencias a las novelas anteriores.
N贸mada es un personajazo, Auxiliar m谩s de lo mismo y este mundo... donde la investidura se saca de un sol que derrite hasta las piedras es muy interesante. Se nota mucho que Sanderson nos ha dado esta novela como aperitivo para hacernos ver lo que se viene en el futuro del universo.
A mi parecer, esta es la mejor Novela Secreta de las cuatro si est谩s al d铆a con el Cosmere, pero si no has le铆do todo lo relacionado con el universo el mejor sigue siendo Trenza.
Estoy deseando ver a d贸nde quiere llevarnos Sanderson con todo esto, una pena que hasta el a帽o que viene no salga el quinto libro del archivo.
5 estrellas bien merecidas.
Hablar de este libro sin soltar una retah铆la de spoilers es muy complicado, pero pod茅is considerar esta novela como un "Avengers" del Cosmere. No por la presencia de personajes sino porque es necesario haberse le铆do TODO lo que se ha publicado de este universo para poder entender cada una de las mil referencias a las novelas anteriores.
N贸mada es un personajazo, Auxiliar m谩s de lo mismo y este mundo... donde la investidura se saca de un sol que derrite hasta las piedras es muy interesante. Se nota mucho que Sanderson nos ha dado esta novela como aperitivo para hacernos ver lo que se viene en el futuro del universo.
A mi parecer, esta es la mejor Novela Secreta de las cuatro si est谩s al d铆a con el Cosmere, pero si no has le铆do todo lo relacionado con el universo el mejor sigue siendo Trenza.
Estoy deseando ver a d贸nde quiere llevarnos Sanderson con todo esto, una pena que hasta el a帽o que viene no salga el quinto libro del archivo.
5 estrellas bien merecidas.
January 31, 2024
Me ha parecido una novelita flojeta y algo gen茅rica en general (quiz谩s, funcionar铆a mejor como novella), pero la info cosmeriana y los gui帽itos bien salvan los muebles y nos dejan rucando la cabeza as铆 como alg煤n que otro WTF. El hombre iluminado nos lleva hasta el futuro lejano en la l铆nea cronol贸gica del Cosmere, y adem谩s, lo hace con un personaje familiar 鈥� pero que es secreto de estado鈥� que hasta el d铆a de hoy era un secundario y tendr谩 un papel crucial, seg煤n el propio Sanderson, en el futuro del Cosmere.
N贸mada lleva, desde hace a帽os, una vida a la fuga, obligado a saltar de un mundo a otro en el Cosmere cada vez que la implacable Brigada Nocturna le gana demasiado terreno. As铆 acaba en un nuevo planeta y de inmediato se ve implicado en la trifulca entre un tirano y los rebeldes que solo pretenden evitar que los conviertan en esclavos sin mente. Y todo bajo la amenaza constante de un amanecer cuyo calor derrite la misma piedra. El hombre iluminado se lee a toda pastilla, en una huida constante hacia delante que nunca para de ganar impulso. Es la t铆pica historia del oeste, donde un forastero llega a un nuevo lugar y ayuda a poner orden, pero en otro planeta un poco m谩s caluroso.
Siento pensando en ella que solo salva los muebles gracias a sus conexiones con el Cosmere. Y eso, probablemente, lo dice todo. Gracias a que identificamos qui茅n es N贸mada desde los primeros compases, ganamos una importante historia de fondo para su personaje y nos involucramos un poco m谩s emocionalmente. No obstante, la novela mantiene su nivel habitual de entretenimiento, pero El hombre iluminado se nota sin pulir, sin algo m谩s que nos atrape a parte de sus conexiones.
El villano es un poco de opereta, los secundarios apenas tienen relevancia en la historia y lo 煤nico fascinante 鈥� a parte de estos v铆nculos ya mencionados鈥� es el mundo creado por Sanderson y el sistema m谩gico implementado de C谩ntico, adem谩s de alguna aparici贸n estelar. Y es que si la trama flojea, en comparaci贸n, el planeta y su sistema de magia resulta fascinante e intrigante a partes iguales. El mundo de C谩ntico es bombardeado constantemente con rayos solares mortales que derriten la piedra y remodelan el paisaje en cada vuelta, raz贸n por la cual los habitantes del planeta han estado viviendo una vida n贸mada y siempre en movimiento para escapar del sol. Viven en ciudades m贸viles y flotantes capaces de dividirse en unidades m谩s peque帽as en cualquier momento.
Si miramos los cuatro Proyectos Secretos de cerca, este es obviamente el m谩s conectado con todo el Cosmere. Es m谩s, el propio Brandon lo dedica a todos los fans desde el principio. Y es que entre toda la aventura, no hay solo gui帽os o peque帽as referencias como suced铆a antes, sino que es obligado para que el lector pueda disfrutar El hombre iluminado que conozca unas cuantas cosas antes. Es m谩s, dir铆a que lo mejor es ir totalmente al d铆a, pero otros discutir谩n el caso y dictar谩n sentencia.
Rese帽a completa en el blog:
N贸mada lleva, desde hace a帽os, una vida a la fuga, obligado a saltar de un mundo a otro en el Cosmere cada vez que la implacable Brigada Nocturna le gana demasiado terreno. As铆 acaba en un nuevo planeta y de inmediato se ve implicado en la trifulca entre un tirano y los rebeldes que solo pretenden evitar que los conviertan en esclavos sin mente. Y todo bajo la amenaza constante de un amanecer cuyo calor derrite la misma piedra. El hombre iluminado se lee a toda pastilla, en una huida constante hacia delante que nunca para de ganar impulso. Es la t铆pica historia del oeste, donde un forastero llega a un nuevo lugar y ayuda a poner orden, pero en otro planeta un poco m谩s caluroso.
Siento pensando en ella que solo salva los muebles gracias a sus conexiones con el Cosmere. Y eso, probablemente, lo dice todo. Gracias a que identificamos qui茅n es N贸mada desde los primeros compases, ganamos una importante historia de fondo para su personaje y nos involucramos un poco m谩s emocionalmente. No obstante, la novela mantiene su nivel habitual de entretenimiento, pero El hombre iluminado se nota sin pulir, sin algo m谩s que nos atrape a parte de sus conexiones.
El villano es un poco de opereta, los secundarios apenas tienen relevancia en la historia y lo 煤nico fascinante 鈥� a parte de estos v铆nculos ya mencionados鈥� es el mundo creado por Sanderson y el sistema m谩gico implementado de C谩ntico, adem谩s de alguna aparici贸n estelar. Y es que si la trama flojea, en comparaci贸n, el planeta y su sistema de magia resulta fascinante e intrigante a partes iguales. El mundo de C谩ntico es bombardeado constantemente con rayos solares mortales que derriten la piedra y remodelan el paisaje en cada vuelta, raz贸n por la cual los habitantes del planeta han estado viviendo una vida n贸mada y siempre en movimiento para escapar del sol. Viven en ciudades m贸viles y flotantes capaces de dividirse en unidades m谩s peque帽as en cualquier momento.
Si miramos los cuatro Proyectos Secretos de cerca, este es obviamente el m谩s conectado con todo el Cosmere. Es m谩s, el propio Brandon lo dedica a todos los fans desde el principio. Y es que entre toda la aventura, no hay solo gui帽os o peque帽as referencias como suced铆a antes, sino que es obligado para que el lector pueda disfrutar El hombre iluminado que conozca unas cuantas cosas antes. Es m谩s, dir铆a que lo mejor es ir totalmente al d铆a, pero otros discutir谩n el caso y dictar谩n sentencia.
Rese帽a completa en el blog:
March 30, 2024
Out of all the Secret Projects books, The Sunlight Man was the one I was the most excited to read. After finishing reading all the previous Secret Projects stories and enjoying them, I had been even more hyped to pick this book up.
The Sunlight Man, the last Secret Project book, is different than the rest of them. While the other books have a more or less kind of connection to the Cosmere universe, The Sunlight Man is the most connected to it.
Our main character's name is Nomad and he's a traveler. He's Skipping from planet to planet, trying to hide from a mysterious group called the Night Brigade. We find Nomad in a small world struggling with an enormous sun trying to kill everyone and everything. Because of the extreme temperatures, the humanity lives in the shadows, in hovering airships. Their clock is ticking - they can be killed either by the sunlight or by a tyrant called the Cinder King who's obsessed with the idea of unity, the need of control and the will of becoming the most powerful being. He makes ember men and ember women out of people - they became enhanced reflexes and strength, but lose their minds in the process. Oh, and parts of their chests are burnt away. Literally.
Nomad, who knows nothing outside of running away, wants to find a power source and a way to escape the planet. The rebels that he meets are supposed to be his way out. But when he gets to know them and their desperate fight to find freedom and to keep being alive, he finds himself struggling between his need to escape and the need to help them achieve their goal.
Honestly, I should enjoy reading The Sunlight Man. Hell, I should really, really love it. But I had a huge trouble with connecting to the characters, even the main ones. And, because of it, I couldn't bring myself to care about what was happening in the book. The only moments my mind felt sharp and focused were the little ones where the names I knew were mentioned. While most of the time I was like 'oh, okay', the moment a name of someone I knew showed up, I was like 'OMG WHAT??'. It shouldn't surprise me, considering the big connection The Sunlight Man has to the Cosmere universe, but I found myself feeling shocked and positively surprised. I wish I could feel so alive while reading the book as much as I was when I saw the previously known names being mentioned :(
The Sunlight Man, the last Secret Project book, is different than the rest of them. While the other books have a more or less kind of connection to the Cosmere universe, The Sunlight Man is the most connected to it.
Our main character's name is Nomad and he's a traveler. He's Skipping from planet to planet, trying to hide from a mysterious group called the Night Brigade. We find Nomad in a small world struggling with an enormous sun trying to kill everyone and everything. Because of the extreme temperatures, the humanity lives in the shadows, in hovering airships. Their clock is ticking - they can be killed either by the sunlight or by a tyrant called the Cinder King who's obsessed with the idea of unity, the need of control and the will of becoming the most powerful being. He makes ember men and ember women out of people - they became enhanced reflexes and strength, but lose their minds in the process. Oh, and parts of their chests are burnt away. Literally.
Nomad, who knows nothing outside of running away, wants to find a power source and a way to escape the planet. The rebels that he meets are supposed to be his way out. But when he gets to know them and their desperate fight to find freedom and to keep being alive, he finds himself struggling between his need to escape and the need to help them achieve their goal.
Honestly, I should enjoy reading The Sunlight Man. Hell, I should really, really love it. But I had a huge trouble with connecting to the characters, even the main ones. And, because of it, I couldn't bring myself to care about what was happening in the book. The only moments my mind felt sharp and focused were the little ones where the names I knew were mentioned. While most of the time I was like 'oh, okay', the moment a name of someone I knew showed up, I was like 'OMG WHAT??'. It shouldn't surprise me, considering the big connection The Sunlight Man has to the Cosmere universe, but I found myself feeling shocked and positively surprised. I wish I could feel so alive while reading the book as much as I was when I saw the previously known names being mentioned :(
November 12, 2023
THIS! This is why Brandon Sanderson is my favourite writer.
Such a fantastic story, proving once again that Sanderson can write any genre of books well (I originally had this shelved as 'fantasy' but after finishing it switched to 'science fiction, which is actually awesome). Everything was just so well done. The action, the characters, the plot. The flippin' Cinder King. What a great villain! The world is so unique and ominous, one of my favourite worlds Branderson has written about. Man, I hope we visit it again. This also reinforced my desire to have a Spren, and my love for 'Nomad.'
Honestly, no complaints from me. Contrary to what some readers were saying, I don't think this book info-dumped at all, and was magnificently paced for what Brandon was going for, and my favourite of the Secret Projects. An exciting, pulse-pounding sci-fi book, reminiscent of Mad Max. Also, though this is old news by now, very Cosmere heavy. This one is for the well-read Cosmere fans only. Depressing that we won't be getting another SP in three months. Way to end the year of Sanderson with a banger!
The Sunlit Man: 4/5 stars.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: 4/5 stars.
Tress of the Emerald Sea: 3.75/5 stars.
The Frugal Wizards Handbook For Surviving Medieval England: 3.5/5 stars.
Such a fantastic story, proving once again that Sanderson can write any genre of books well (I originally had this shelved as 'fantasy' but after finishing it switched to 'science fiction, which is actually awesome). Everything was just so well done. The action, the characters, the plot. The flippin' Cinder King. What a great villain! The world is so unique and ominous, one of my favourite worlds Branderson has written about. Man, I hope we visit it again. This also reinforced my desire to have a Spren, and my love for 'Nomad.'
Honestly, no complaints from me. Contrary to what some readers were saying, I don't think this book info-dumped at all, and was magnificently paced for what Brandon was going for, and my favourite of the Secret Projects. An exciting, pulse-pounding sci-fi book, reminiscent of Mad Max. Also, though this is old news by now, very Cosmere heavy. This one is for the well-read Cosmere fans only. Depressing that we won't be getting another SP in three months. Way to end the year of Sanderson with a banger!
The Sunlit Man: 4/5 stars.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: 4/5 stars.
Tress of the Emerald Sea: 3.75/5 stars.
The Frugal Wizards Handbook For Surviving Medieval England: 3.5/5 stars.
November 3, 2023
My gosh, reading this only made the wait for Stormlight 5 even more excruciating. The Sunlit Man is the most Cosmere-aware book to come out from the secret projects that is directly connected to the main Cosmere storyline, albeit taking place pretty far in the future. This book cannot be read on its own without having read at least The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, and Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (references to the world is in this novella long overdue, in my view).
While I enjoyed Tress and Yumi more, the main character here with his connection to The Stormlight Archive with all the Rosharan references were the key highlights for me, as well as the incredible worldbuilding (but of course!). I'm so hyped to start rereading the entire series next year for the most anticipated book release, not only for next year, but possibly my entire life thus far.
While I enjoyed Tress and Yumi more, the main character here with his connection to The Stormlight Archive with all the Rosharan references were the key highlights for me, as well as the incredible worldbuilding (but of course!). I'm so hyped to start rereading the entire series next year for the most anticipated book release, not only for next year, but possibly my entire life thus far.
January 3, 2025
Such a fun book written with a Sci Fi vibe but ties closely into the Cosmere. I鈥檓 not convinced it must be read before Wind and Truth or after Rhythm of War but I鈥檓 glad I did. I鈥檓 especially glad I read it after Dawnshard and The Lost Metal but not necessary.
There is a big reveal of the MC that has a bigger payoff if you鈥檝e been reading the Stormlight Archive books so that is super fun.
The pacing was a bit quicker than an average Sanderson book and the world building is fantastic and it鈥檚 a new location (or at least to me it was鈥t鈥檚 hard to tell with Sanderson if some things have popped up elsewhere 馃槣.
I love that he wrote this during COVID as a gift to his fans. The Secret Projects are all so good! Well, at least Tress and Yumi were and they were written for his wife. I never read Frugal Wizard and that was just for him, it was a fun project but Sunlit was for us 馃
I鈥檒l definitely reread this one sometime. It may not be a 5 star for everyone but I rate based on how much fun I had and I had so much fun visiting this place. I guess I like the Sci-Fi meets Western with bizarre worlds. Still has heart 鉂わ笍 馃槣馃榿
There is a big reveal of the MC that has a bigger payoff if you鈥檝e been reading the Stormlight Archive books so that is super fun.
The pacing was a bit quicker than an average Sanderson book and the world building is fantastic and it鈥檚 a new location (or at least to me it was鈥t鈥檚 hard to tell with Sanderson if some things have popped up elsewhere 馃槣.
I love that he wrote this during COVID as a gift to his fans. The Secret Projects are all so good! Well, at least Tress and Yumi were and they were written for his wife. I never read Frugal Wizard and that was just for him, it was a fun project but Sunlit was for us 馃
I鈥檒l definitely reread this one sometime. It may not be a 5 star for everyone but I rate based on how much fun I had and I had so much fun visiting this place. I guess I like the Sci-Fi meets Western with bizarre worlds. Still has heart 鉂わ笍 馃槣馃榿
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