The Sunlit Man

A Cosmere Novel

By: Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: William DeMeritt

From the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time—#1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson adds to his Cosmere universe shared by Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive with a new standalone novel that combines fantasy and science fiction. Narrated by William DeMeritt.

Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next.

But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him.

Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun…or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival—but also for his very soul.

Note from Brandon:

I sincerely believe that stories don’t live until they’re heard. While I would write even if no one were listening—it’s who I am—I thrive because I know the stories are being brought to life by all of you. In this, stories are a special kind of art. Each of you will visualize this book, and its characters, a little differently—you will each put your own stamp on it, making it yours. I don’t believe a story is quite finished until that has happened—until the dream in my head has become a reality (even if briefly) in yours.

And so this book is yours, as they all are once you listen to them. Thank you so much for bringing life to my work, and to the Cosmere.

©2023 Dragonsteel, LLC (P)2023 Dragonsteel, LLC

The cosmere son

Too short wish it was about 50 hours longer, I hope Brando writes a few more off this line

Read this book last in your Cosmere journey

You should absolutely read this book, but for more reasons that one, this book should be read LAST in your cosmere reading order, and I’ll tell you why...

Reason 1: the MC’s journey is the most satisfying if you read Wind & Truth first (Stormlight 5) and Wind and Truth is most satisfying if you’ve read… literally everything else (It’s not the end of the world, but major aspects of WaT tie in with Elantris/Warbreaker/Mistborn). Reason 1.5: Regardless of whether it’s satisfying a certain way, it also just outright spoils major events from WaT that this book’s hero was involved in.

Reason 2: Regardless of where you start in the cosmere, the magic usually starts “soft” from your limited perspective… it’s mysterious and nebulous, but interesting and fun, and it often starts limited and grows to be powerful when the heroes discover how to unlock/leverage the magic in some way, or learn some fundamental lie about their world history as it’s been related to them. This book “hardens” massive chunks of cosmere magic systems. If Warbreaker set the nail in the wood, Sunlit Man drove it home. Think of it like George Lucas introducing midi-chlorians into Star Wars. If you like that, that’s great! But it might prevent you from having the childlike wonder for other magic systems in the same universe afterward, just warning you.

Reason 3: What was true for the magic system in Reason 2 is true for the sci-fi fantasy balance as well. This book has astrophysical and geological plot twists, space ships, aviation, all of that stuff. Just know it’s sometimes easier to go from fantasy to sci-fi and not the reverse within the same universe… the fantasy stuff won’t feel as fantastical in my opinion.

If all of the above doesn’t convince you to read this last in your cosmere order (as of WaT publication), then please consider reading these first:
Shadows of Silence in the Forests of Hell (short story from ars arcanum), Stormlight 1-5, and Warbreaker. Those are the must-haves.

Oh, STORMS, you say?

One “Storms” in and I was like EXCUSE ME, WHO ARE WE NOW?! And happy to have figured it out long before they confirmed it and I couldn’t be happier with the choice of character I didn’t know I needed to know more about.

loved an era 4 Sanderson story

this was my first dip into what era 4 could look like for Sanderson works. cosmere fans will love this, although having prior knowledge of at least the stormought archives is a must to get the full potential of this book.

Can’t wait for more!

Another wonderful Cosmere book that connects ts several other stories! I look forward to more like it, utilizing characters we all know and love!