The Sunlit Man by: Brandon Sanderson

 

The fourth secret project from Brandon Sanderson, The Sunlit Man, is the secret project for the fans as The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England was for Brandon and Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter were for his wife Emily.  The Sunlit Man is the Cosmere novel with the most connections to the larger Cosmere and once again is Sanderson putting reader at some point in the future of the series, potentially post-The Stormlight Archive (at the very least post the fifth installment at time of writing this review called Knights of Wind and Truth), and featuring characters from several planets.  The Cosmere has reached the space age and it is an utterly fascinating glimpse of things to come, this coming from a reader who doesn’t read the Cosmere for the massive connections but for Sanderson’s general mastery of modern fantasy.  There are several magic systems at play throughout The Sunlit Man, Hoid’s appearance in particular is fascinating and there is textual information in terms of his actual backstory, and it’s just a novel that ties the Cosmere together into telling a fascinating story of a man finding belonging.

 

This idea of someone finding belonging among people they do not belong to is a recurring idea in Sanderson’s work.  It’s the story of Viv in Mistborn, Kaladin in The Stormlight Archive, both sisters in Warbreaker, and as far back as Reod in Elantris.  The Sunlit Man is the story of Sigzil, a supporting Bridge Four character from The Stormlight Archive and apprentice to Hoid.  The apprentice has pushed himself away from Hoid, come into possession of a Dawnshard and been changed for it, and is just on the run.  It’s that last aspect that sets The Sunlit Man apart, this is a novel that from beginning to end feels as if there is no state of normalcy to begin from.  This is something that The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England actually attempted, but Sanderson used that as almost a springboard to make it work here.  Sigzil, going by Nomad due to his state, is suffering from a Torment and being constantly pursued by the Night Brigade, with his own Investiture allowing instant travel throughout the cosmere.

 

Nomad is a fascinating read: Sigzil while not underserved by The Stormlight Archive clearly had the potential to be a major player.  Much of The Sunlit Man is concerned with Nomad learning a sense of identity: part of the magic system on this world involves the specific loss of identity.  The world is one of heat and gems that can be implanted into people to bring them under the thrall of someone.  These sunhearts cause the person affected to lose their mind, and leaves them charred and burned.  The planet is one of heat and throughout the novel Sanderson excels at making the reader feel the specific kind of almost volcanic heat, despite the heat coming from the planet’s sun.  It’s an oppressive heat, perfect to work in tandem with the use of the Charred and the sunhearts to make a story about finding identity work.  Losing identity is supported by the numerous Cosmere connections: while Sanderson devotes time to characters native to the planet (including a trio almost representing the triple goddess of maiden, mother, and crone though not a goddess in the novel), it’s the many Rosharans, Scadrians, and Threnodites that make the planet itself feel like there is a loss in distinct identity.  There are ideas of choosing one’s own name, and adapting the name to fit what a person has become.  Sanderson uses Nomad among other characters to really explore the idea of the personal power of a name outside of the magic sense.  This does make it a little difficult at times to follow the fact that several characters are using different names in The Sunlit Man, but it also just makes the book all the more fitting.

 

Overall, The Sunlit Man is kind of a novel that works best when you don’t know what the actual plot is going in.  It’s a book that is not new reader friendly for Brandon Sanderson, while the plot is fairly simple, it’s steeped in so many Cosmere connections that you have to already be invested.  It has some of Sanderson’s most interesting thematic work, developing a common theme throughout his larger bibliography, a theme that has been explored in previous Secret Projects in different ways even.  It’s a book that I essentially read within a day on a very long train ride and because of that the rushing nature of the story also works incredibly well.  9/10.