The Cosmere expands

Brandon Sanderson, born on december 19th 1975, started writing at a young age, although at first he was a reluctant reader. When he was 28, in the year 2003, he had already written twelve novels, none of which were accepted by publishers. Two years later Elantris saw daylight; this was the sixth novel he'd written. And a year later the first of the Misborn trilogy: The Final Empire saw sunlight. His career skyrocketed when he was asked to finish Robert Jordan's much acclaimed The Wheel of Time-series. Which he did with verve. Brandon Sanderson writes so much that a lot of other writers would like him to stop, so they can catch up. Each year at least one book, but usualy more, are published and added to his repertoire.

He is currently working on his magnum opus The Stormlight Archive, which has an estimated 10 books planned. He is currently writing the 5th book. Each book in this series saw at least 1000 pages and are realeased on a three to four-year basis. This is so Brandon Sanderson can write other things in between and he has some distance and can refocus once he gets back to it.

Brandon Sanderson is also renowned for the magic systems he envisions, which he also teaches in Creative Writing Lectures at BYU. These lectures he gives each year, are also available on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9X4eSi42vQ&list=PLRO9W1Nmh6clZP-IAhMeMpMru7vJaW7KJ ). He teaches these lectures at least since 2015 (but that might be longer). He is a Grandmaster of the Fantasy-genre.

During the corona pandamic, when everyone was secluded inside their homes, he wrote 4 secret novels, which he funded using Kickstarter. That turned out the biggest fundraising of all time as of january 2024. The money that came in he used not only to fund the 4 secret books, but also to back multiple writers who were also raising funds for their books using kickstarter.

The Sunlit Man is the fourth of the secret novels. The story is about the character Nomad, who arrives on a small planet where direct sunlight vaporizes everything. The people on the planet are constantly on the move, and most are being suppressed by the Cinder King and his Charred. Nomad has teleported to this planet and has not a lot of energy, or Investiture, left. He needs to replenish his Investiture before he can leave. Although the Charred are similar to him, they do not have the training he received in fighting, nor do they have his agility and mindset when it comes to fighting.

This book takes place in the (far?) furture of one of the characters that also plays a part in The Stormlight Archive. People that have not yet read any of the Cosmere books, are better off first reading one of those, so they do not drown in the vocabulary used in the Cosmere. Also it doesn't become exactly clear why Nomad is running (and not fighting) from the Night Brigade - and became what he is now -, or how the Night Brigade knows where he is. What I do like is that you get more background on a character that makes his appearence early in The Stormlight Archive. You get to know what a trained Sharbearer can become and do, although the story frequently hints that he has 'fallen'.

The book is split in 58 (very) short chapters and an epilogue, which makes for simple and quick reading.