The Sunlit Man is the fourth and final of Brandon Sanderson's Secret Projects. Set at some point in the far future, a man calling himself Nomad finds himself on an unusual planet after he world hops in an attempt to outrun his pursuers. His jump lands him immediately in trouble with the local population's authorities as he's unable to understand the language and the world politics. Low on power can Nomad survive long enough on this strange new world to rebuild his strength and move on before the Night Brigade catch up with him?

This was an interesting read, a more serious and dark tale than the three previous Secret Projects. The world set up is fascinating, with the inhabitants perpetually on the move for fear of burning up by the planet's daytime sun, which can reduce a body to ash in moments. It gave me a lot of Mad Max vibes with the frenetic need to constantly keep moving and the technology that seemed haphazardly put together and frequently repaired. While I enjoyed meeting all the characters I just didn't connect to Nomad very well which always robs a story of its enjoyment for me.

Sanderson wrote in his author's note that this book is dedicated to all the Cosmere fans. I have to agree. The Sunlit Man is the most connected of all the Secret Projects and relies on the reader knowing more about the Cosmere, specifically Roshar and events in Stormlight Archives, for full appreciation and context. The friends I read this with thankfully were able to explain the things I was not understanding. While the story stands well on its own I am looking forward to rereading it once I've caught up on Stormlight and see how this changes the experience. ( )

A man decided to agree to a request from his mentor and now he is on the run for his life while unable to fight even though he is a Knight Radiant. The Sunlit Man is a standalone Cosmere novel by Brandon Sanderson that sees a familiar face from Roshar finding himself mixed up with a culture in conflict on a weirdly Invested planet.

A man called Nomad, known to longtime Cosmere fans as Sigzil, arrives on the small planetoid of Canticle on the run from the Night Brigade who want him so they can find the bearer of the Dawnshard he had briefly held. Unfortunately for him the planet is small, and the sun’s light is so intense that it burns and melts the land as well as vaporizes humans. Sigzil soon finds himself caught up in an ongoing rebellion of humans from the floating city of Beacon from the tyrant Cinder King who rules over the large floating city of Union. For most of the novel, Sigzil is the narrator while a native character named Elegy gets a point-of-view near the climax to show all the action that is happening. As a result, the narrative is tight as the reader gets an idea about why Sigzil is so different than when we last saw him and in a far future era of the Cosmere so different than seen before. As usual Sanderson’s worldbuilding and his characters are fantastic while a thrilling climax to the story is just icing on the cake. Give the time period the story takes place in, Sanderson only drops hints about events in various series that have yet to be seen so while Sigzil as the main character is a spoiler that he’ll survive the upcoming fifth Stormlight book and space travel by various cultures there is no massive spoiler that will make anyone mad. It took me a while to read this book, mostly due to real life issues but once I was able to sit down and read the last half the book, it was done in just two days and just shows that when Sanderson is on his game the quality of the work keeps you very much engaged.

The Sunlit Man is a fast-paced novel that only seems to gain momentum as the pages turn with fantastic Sanderson worldbuilding and fleshing out a known secondary character given the spotlight while keeping as yet unseen events hidden from the reader. ( )

Well helllllllo Brandon Sanderson! This (audio)book was fast-paced, and action-packed, and overall... my absolute, hands down, favorite book by Mr Sanderson (with The Frugal Wizard's Handbook For Surviving Medieval England coming in second)!! I am incredibly happy with my decision to get in on his Kickstarter bundle because uwwwww weeee did he come through with an extremely rich, deep, and all around evocative and visceral and dynamic AND many other adjectives that all add up to convey that these (audio)books went above and beyond my wildest expectations!!

Both of my favorite Secret Project novels were diverse, solidly written, scientifically plausible, Space Operas.... in other words, totally my Jam!! Sunlit Man is such a unique (audio)book that both my husband and I were riveted! It is definitely the epitome of what a burgeoning series can build on... or at least that's my dream. If it's a standalone, then not only will I be heartbroken, but Mr Sanderson will have squandered a perfect setup and that makes me sad to think about SO I'll go on believing and hoping and praying that this is the beginning of a beautiful biblio-friendship.

Overall:
I highly recommend this deliciously rich, full-bodied, perfectly paced, action packed, treasure of a SciFi Space Opera. I'll leave it at that... I don't want to taint your expectations with my absolute fervor for this read nor spoil your foray into the glorious mind of Brandon Sanderson!

~ Enjoy ( )

It's becoming more and more clear to me that the more cosmere-heavy a Sanderson book is, the less I will enjoy it. All the world-building and easter eggs come at the expense of story sometimes, something I care far more about than the physics and engineering that make the cosmere go round. The deeper we get into cosmere lore (and Sanderson's career), the more work I have to put in to keep up. I just want a good story, dude.

The last 100 pages saved the book for me, thankfully. And made me excited to read the Stormlight books again in preparation for book 5 (which I'm sure will be very cosmere heavy, sigh). I'm a little sad this is the last secret project book too. Even though most of the books didn't quite measure up to Sanderson's usual standard, it was fun getting a new book once a quarter, especially since each book was pretty different. ( )

Late era Cosmere novel on a new planet with no real new magic system, but a new way to interact with Investiture. Interesting interactions between the main character and his "companion". ( )