The Sunlit Man Book Review

Today, we will be diving into the Cosmere as we review The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson. Find out what we thought of this fantasy novel by one of the most popular fantasy authors at the moment!

The Sunlit Man Summary

Nomad has just arrived on the planet Canticle as he flees from the Night Brigade. Canticle is a small planet where the heat from the sun kills anyone exposed to it. The people on the planet live on floating cities that can disconnect and fly away as smaller vehicles to stay ahead of the sun at all times. 

As soon as Nomad arrives to Canticle, he is captured by The Cinder King who is a warlord. Nomad escapes and finds himself in a rebel group that is trying to find a home that is protected from the sunlight where they can settle in peace.

But in order to do so, Nomad has to help them to overthrow The Cinder King. This isn’t Nomad’s fight but he can’t leave them like this to be killed. Which is why he throws his lot with them, giving them a chance at survival and a fresh start.

Commentary

The Sunlit Man is the fourth book that Brandon Sanderson wrote for his secret project in 2023, a part of his record-shattering Kickstarter campaign. The novel has been described by Sanderson and critics as a Mad Max type of novel as Nomad also visits a new planet and can’t speak the language.

This novel is part of the Cosmere world that Sanderson has built that connects many of his novels. While you don’t have to read the previous novels in the Cosmere, they do help understand the characters and the backstory a lot better.

As a big fan of Sanderson, I enjoyed this novel and loved the connections to previous books. But this novel was fun to read as we got to learn more about Nomad and his unique abilities. Sanderson has established himself as the best worldbuilder when it comes to fantasy novels and even in a shorter novel like this, Sanderson is still able to excel.

Conclusion

The Sunlit man is a fantastic fantasy novel and showcases Sanderson’s incredible worldbuilding ability as well as writing a likable character. Seeing Sanderson approach Mad Max with his own angle was fun and I would love to see more novels like this from Sanderson. This is a novel I would recommend to everyone who loves reading fantasy and is yet one more amazing novel by Sanderson in his amazing writing career!

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