The Sunlit Man – Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson called this an action-packed, fast-paced gift to Cosmere fans and he was absolutely correct in that. Sadly, a lot of the references went over my head. I felt lost at times.

And I’ve read most of his books.

Nomad is on the run from the deadly Night Brigade. He hops to a planet where the sun can kill people, scorch plants, and melt stones. The Cinder King, a rising tyrant, has the monopoly on the sole source of energy on the planet, Sunhearts. A small force of rebels is rising up to fight against his maniacal rule. Nomad lands here, ends up in the middle of this battle, stuck because of his lack of Investiture (The energy he was using to planet hop.) and is forced to reconcile a lot of dark emotions as he fights to find a way off the planet before he burns to death.

This book is a standalone, but I do not recommend reading it unless you have read the Stormlight Archives, Mistborn, Warbreaker, and Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. I have not read all of the Stormlight Archives and I also haven’t read Shadows for Silence in Forests of Hell. This made it incredibly challenging to understand all of the terminology and references. In fact, I am positive I didn’t get as much out of this book as I could have. And I’m worried that part of the Stormlight Archives has been spoiled for me. Not a big spoil, but this book definitely gave me some pieces to a puzzle I didn’t even know I was going to solve.

That being said, it was still an enjoyable read.

The worldbuilding is immaculate. The people have to outrun the sun using floating cities or they, and everything they have, will be incinerated. The cities can be disassembled into smaller aircrafts to make escape easier if need be.

With the people constantly on the run, the book has a breakneck pace. If they stop, they die. If they don’t pursue Sunhearts, they run out of energy sources. If they let the Cinder King bully them into a corner, their entire population gets eradicated and no one will be left to stand against tyranny. The tension is constant from the start.

As far as characters go, I definitely found Nomad and Auxiliary to be the most memorable. The side characters, while they had their emotional moments, were relatively flat. They didn’t have a lot of growth. Rebeke and Elegy were the most interesting, Elegy in particular, but I didn’t come to care for them the way I have with other Sanderson characters in the past.

Nomad, on the other hand, is very familiar and loved and cared for. I adore him. His Torment, which doesn’t allow him to harm other people, creates interesting, and somewhat frustrating, moments of conflict. His forced nonchalant attitude makes for some very amusing commentary.

“You’re going to blow your hand off, Auxiliary warned.

‘Eh,’ Nomad said. ‘I’ve got two.'”

The Sunlit Man, pg 78

Yet, despite the risks he takes, his wisdom is evident in the observations he makes about other people and himself. I can’t elaborate on this much without spoiling the book. Just know that he has struggled a lot, especially being on the run for so long, and it is endearing to see him face some of that brokenness.

“Sometimes it’s not about you individually. Sometimes it’s about being a symbol. Sometimes you just adopt the name you’re given because it inspires people.”

The Sunlit Man, pg 291.

Auxiliary is his weapon. He tells Nomad how much Investiture he has, keeps an eye on Nomad’s surroundings when Nomad is having a conversation, and provides playful commentary. I loved him, too.

If it weren’t for how much I liked Nomad and how much I enjoyed his growth, this book would have been a three star read. I didn’t understand all the Cosmere references, I found it frustrating that I felt like I had to read more books, and the side characters lacked true depth. If I was a true Cosmere fan, if I knew all of the references, this book would have been amazing.

But I didn’t. So it wasn’t. Not for me.

This final secret project was a great way to end the year of Sanderson. I’m sad that it’s over, but I’m eager to discuss all of the books. I’ll be ranking them all and writing a post about it soon. Look out for it.

What did you think of the Cosmere references? Did you understand all of them?

4/5.

“You never get to be ready. You just have to move forward anyway.”

Brandon Sanderson, The Sunlit Man