 Cover art for the Tor Books edition of "The Sunlit Man" | |
| Author | Brandon Sanderson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Cosmere |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Set in | Canticle (planet) |
| Published | 1 October 2023 |
| Publisher | Dragonsteel Entertainment |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 400 (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-1250899712 |
The Sunlit Man is a 2023 fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, set in his Cosmere universe. The novel was the fourth of Sanderson's "secret projects", a result of his record-breaking 2022 Kickstarter campaign.
A man called Nomad is being pursued by the Night Brigade. (Nomad's true name is Sigzil; he is a minor character from The Stormlight Archive .) Nomad and his spren companion Auxiliary arrive on the planet Canticle. Canticle is a very small, inhospitable planet. The heat of the sun kills anyone who is exposed to daylight; the planet's inhabitants live on floating cities, always fleeing from the dawn.
Nomad is immediately captured by the Cinder King, a local warlord. The Cinder King controls his subjects with objects called cinderhearts, which burn away their personalities and turn them into creatures called Charred. Nomad escapes the Cinder King with a woman named Rebeke and her sister Elegy, who has been turned into a Charred.
Nomad reaches the floating city of Beacon. He befriends the citizens there as they flee from the Cinder King. On Canticle, the ships are powered by energy from deceased citizens who are left to burn in the sunlight; their souls interact with the sun to produce power sources for the Beaconites’ cities. The Beaconites believe in a mythical refuge that will be safe from the sunlight. Nomad promises to bring them there, but in reality this shelter is a small research station from Scadrial, which cannot support the population of Beacon.
The Scadrians offer to hire Nomad as a mercenary, but he decides to stay with the Beaconites. They name him Zellion. Eventually, he teaches Elegy to regain part of her humanity. He and Rebeke discover a way to power their cities more efficiently, preventing the need for more sacrifices. Zellion kills the Cinder King and leaves Canticle behind.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanderson wrote four secret novels. In 2022, he announced a campaign on Kickstarter to fund the self-publishing of these novels. This campaign became the most successful Kickstarter campaign of all time. [1] [2] The Sunlit Man became the fourth novel released as a part of this campaign. [3] The four novels were initially distributed as special hardcover editions to Kickstarter backers. Later, the novels were acquired and hardcover editions were published by Tor Books. The Tor Books editions were released three months after each special edition was released. [4]
Lyndsey Luther of Reactor compared the novel to an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Luther believes that the book would likely not be a good starting point for a reader new to the Cosmere universe, stating "If you like to have every question answered, every loose end tied up, every character nuance explained… this will not be the book for you. If you’re okay with just going along for the ride and don’t think too much about the little details, you’ll have a much better time, but you’d likely have an even better time if you’ve read some of the other books in Sanderson’s “extended universe” before jumping in here." Luther enjoyed the novel, comparing Nomad to the protagonist from Mad Max: Fury Road if one were to "make [Max] a visitor from another planet who doesn’t speak the language, give him an actual personality, [and] make him likable from the get-go". [5]
Charles Papadopoulos of Screen Rant wrote that "as a standalone story, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is perhaps the best work to come from Sanderson's Secret Projects. However, The Sunlit Man ... could be the most exciting experience specifically for Cosmere fans." Papadopoulos praised the way in which Sanderson adds science fiction elements to the fantasy universe of the Cosmere, as well as the connections with Sanderson's other novel The Lost Metal . [6]
Brandon Winn Sanderson is an American author of young adult high fantasy and science fiction books. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the Mistborn series and The Stormlight Archive, are set. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including The Reckoners, the Skyward series, and the Alcatraz series. He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan's high fantasy series The Wheel of Time. Sanderson has created several graphic novel fantasy series, including White Sand and Dark One.
Elantris is a fantasy novel written by American fantasy and science fiction writer Brandon Sanderson. The book was published on April 21, 2005, by Tor Books and was Sanderson's first published book. The book gained generally positive reviews, and has been translated into multiple languages. Two related works, Hope of Elantris and The Emperor's Soul, have been released, and two additional novels in the series have been announced.
Mistborn: The Final Empire, also known simply as Mistborn or The Final Empire, is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on July 17, 2006, by Tor Books and is the first novel in the Mistborn trilogy, followed by The Well of Ascension in 2007 and The Hero of Ages in 2008.
Mistborn is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author Brandon Sanderson and published by Tor Books. The first trilogy, published between 2006 and 2008, consists of The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. A second series was released between 2011 and 2022, and consists of the quartet The Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self, The Bands of Mourning and The Lost Metal. Sanderson also released a novella in 2016, Mistborn: Secret History. Sanderson plans to write a third and fourth series.
Warbreaker is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on June 9, 2009 by Tor Books.
The Way of Kings is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the first book in The Stormlight Archive series. The novel was published on August 31, 2010, by Tor Books. The Way of Kings consists of one prelude, one prologue, 75 chapters, an epilogue and nine interludes. It was followed by Words of Radiance in 2014, Oathbringer in 2017, Rhythm of War in 2020 and Wind and Truth in 2024. A leatherbound edition was released in 2021.
The Stormlight Archive is a high fantasy novel series written by American author Brandon Sanderson, planned to consist of ten novels. As of 2023, the series comprises four published novels and two novellas, set within his broader Cosmere universe. The first novel, The Way of Kings, was published on August 31, 2010. The second novel, Words of Radiance, was published in 2014 and debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller List, followed by Oathbringer in 2017 and Rhythm of War in 2020. A fifth novel, named Wind and Truth, is expected to be released December 6th 2024, while writing for the latter half of the series will begin after Sanderson finishes writing the upcoming Era Three Mistborn trilogy and the two Elantris sequels.
This is the bibliography of American fantasy and science fiction writer Brandon Sanderson.
Mistborn: Secret History is a fantasy novella by American author Brandon Sanderson, written as a companion story to the original trilogy of the Mistborn series.
White Sand is a fantasy graphic novel series written by American author Brandon Sanderson and Rik Hoskin, with artwork by Julius Gopez initially, and later by Fritz Casas. The first part of the trilogy, White Sand Volume I, was published on June 28, 2016. The second part was published on February 20, 2018. The third and final part was published on September 18, 2019.
Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection is a collection of epic fantasy short stories and novellas written by American author Brandon Sanderson set in his Cosmere universe. It was published on November 22, 2016 by Tor Books.
Gloomhaven is a cooperative board game for one to four players designed by Isaac Childres and published by Cephalofair Games in 2017. It is a campaign-based dungeon crawl game including a narrative campaign, 95 unique playable scenarios, and 17 playable classes. Since its introduction the game has been acclaimed by reviewers, and has been described as one of the best board games ever made.
Rhythm of War is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series. It was published by Tor Books on November 17, 2020. Rhythm of War consists of one prologue, 117 chapters, 12 interludes and an epilogue. It is preceded by Oathbringer. It is currently both the longest Sanderson novel and longest in the series at 455,891 words, though Oathbringer has a higher page count.
Dark One is a fantasy graphic novel series created by American author Brandon Sanderson, written by Sanderson, Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly with artwork by Nathan C. Gooden. It is the first part of a planned trilogy and the opening volume was published by Vault Comics on May 18, 2021. It is being developed by Sanderson and FremantleMedia North America for a fantasy-drama television series.
Mistborn: The Lost Metal is an urban fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on November 15, 2022, by Tor Books. It is the fourth and final book in the Wax and Wayne series and seventh in the Mistborn series. It is preceded by The Bands of Mourning in 2016 and is to be followed by a new trilogy, written after release of fifth Stormlight Archive book and a novelization of the Cosmere graphic novel White Sand.
Tress of the Emerald Sea is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It is part of the Cosmere fictional universe and the first book of Sanderson's "Secret Projects" Kickstarter campaign. It was exclusively released on January 1, 2023, by Dragonsteel Entertainment to Kickstarter backers, released online as an ebook, epub, and pdf on January 10, 2023, and officially published on April 4, 2023, by Tor Books.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It is part of the Cosmere fictional universe and the third book of Sanderson's "Secret Projects" Kickstarter campaign. It was exclusively released on July 1, 2023, by Dragonsteel Entertainment to Kickstarter backers.
Wind and Truth is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the fifth book in The Stormlight Archive series. It will be published on December 6, 2024. The book will be the planned ending to the front half of the series. Sanderson has said that the latter half of the series will be written after he finishes writing the upcoming Era Three Mistborn trilogy and the two Elantris sequels.
The Cosmere Roleplaying Game is an upcoming tabletop role-playing game based on the Cosmere fictional universe created by American author Brandon Sanderson. Manufactured by Brotherwise Games, the game was first announced in November 2023 by Sanderson's publisher Dragonsteel Entertainment. A crowdfunding campaign was then launched on Kickstarter on 6 August 2024, raising a total of $14.7 million and becoming the most-funded tabletop game on the platform.