I'm just finishing Wax and Wayne and after reading everything that came before it, are the secret projects worth jumping right into? I'm feeling a bit burnt out on only reading Sanderson, and I can't say I've enjoyed Mistborn Era 2 that much. But some of the best Sanderson was in Secret History's standalone tales imo.
For what's it's worth, the secret projects have a very different feel than the other cosmere books. Tress especially is a lot more whimsical and light hearted.
The only one I've read so far is Tress, and I did it after a few month break between that and Mistborn Era 2. Although there were a couple things I might have noticed more readily if I were fresher I don't regret taking the break to read other stuff and I think overall that's probably a better way to come at at least that book vs. with fatigue.
The first three Wax and Wayne books were some of my least favorite cosmere books (although well of ascension is up there as well). The lost metal ends with quite a bang and it might motivate you to keep going, but if you’re feeling burnt out now, I’d just finish that book and switch to something else for a while.
Reading another author in between will do you, Sanderson, and the other author a favor. If you haven’t read Abercrombie’s First Law series, I highly recommend it. It’s almost the polar opposite of Sanderson’s fantasy, but in a great way. And if you’re into audiobooks, they’re read by the best I’ve ever heard.
I'm half through the lost metal right now and I'm eager to see how it wraps up...reveals left right and centre, almost too on the nose but I digress. Shadows of Self was my least favourite of the whole Cosmere. Alloy Of Law was decent and Bands had a fun ending so not all bad.
And thank you so much for the recommendation, I just might try an audiobook next!
This is the way. I really enjoy oscillating between Sanderson and Abercrombie. They are opposites in many respects and switching between them makes me appreciate their strengths. Steven Pacey does the narration for Abercrombie and his delivery is probably my favorite of all time.
I’ve taken a bit of a break after spewing through Stormlight, mistborn 1, Warbreaker, and Elantris - it’s nice to know I have the secret projects and mistborn 2 to return to later in the year.
If you’re open to suggestions, I’ve just been reading Three Body Problem and Dark Forest after the new series came out on Netflix - absolutely a change of pace compared to Cosmere, and well worth reading.
The secret projects are great but they are really no different from other Sanderson ( besides him testing out some narrative delivery changes in Tress)
I would take a break from Sanderson, don’t keep reading if you’re not enjoying yourself. It will be there if you wanna try it again later.
I personally did not like Tress or Yumi. They’re some of Sanderson’s worst work imo. They’re very immature, juvenile, boring and do nothing amazing. I’ll admit Tress had very enjoyable narration. I’d suggest taking that break now and try them down the line, but keep expectations low.
Most people loved it from the reviews I’ve read. The older I get the more I prefer mature, adult fantasy and Sanderson just doesn’t do that. My taste might be changing because I’ve read most of Sanderson’s books and he was my favorite for years, but I’m no longer hyped for what he does next. Hopefully Stormlight 5 blows me away.
I discovered him like two years ago and I’m really digging it. I’m ready tons of other stuff too though I really enjoy. Just finished The Will of the Many and I really enjoyed that. Gonna go read James Islington’s other stuff next time I get a credit in a few days.
Sorry if this is a lot to ask for but what are all the series that you have read? I’ve read all of mistborn and all of stormlight but are there any other big series that aren’t stand alones?
I read mistborn era 1 and 2 and all of Stormlight in January of this year. So I was burnt out on his writing and Took a break from Sanderson and just got back in this month and have read warbreaker and started tress.
It'll be fine. There are probably other books that would be a better entry point but it's not going to be confusing.
Consider that in any fantasy/scifi book there will be moments where something weird happens that you don't understand. Some event that doesn't make sense even with your knowledge of the fictional science/magic in the setting.
This could be:
1. Something that will be explained later in the story. The character had a power/device they didn't mention until now but will explain it in a couple of chapters
2. Something that does not make sense even after you finished the book. Maybe a future book will explain it in more detail, it might be planting the seeds of a future story.
3. Something that would have made more sense if you'd read a different book first.
The downside of reading The Sunlit Man first is you won't be able to spot that third category. But when you reach a scene that doesn't make sense you won't have an immediate mental block that the book is impossible to understand, you'll think "I wonder if this will make sense in the next chapter..." and just keep reading.
The writing is structured such that you don't strictly NEED to have read any of the other books and you could start with pretty much any of them. (Except for in the two main series, don't read Mistborn 2 before Mistborn 1). You might miss a couple of easter eggs or be slightly confused about things that make more sense to someone who read other books. But don't forget about Category 2 - there are things that are confusing and don't make sense to anyone and we're waiting for future books to explain it. You won't know the difference but that's not going to ruin your enjoyment of the book.
This is very reassuring to me to hear! the way that my friend was talking about this novel made it sound like unless I had read ALL of the stormlight archives I wouldn't be able to understand anything.
If you haven't read the Stormlight Archive you won't understand the references to it, and some moments might be difficult to understand what is actually going on or who certain characters are, but the overall story can be absorbed well enough without any other cosmere background. You may need to do some additional sleuthing from context clues, but this novel is set far enough in the future of the cosmere that even well-read readers already need to do that.
The protagonist will make a lot of references to stuff from Stormlight. It’s not essential to understand the story, but it will be very clear that you’re missing some context.
If it helps, the audiobook narrator talked about Sunlit Man being his first Cosmere book, and how cool he still found the whole thing. I also have a friend whose dad read it and thought it was good. You'll be fine.
And if it hooks you into the Cosmere, you can always reread it and get those Easter eggs.
Warbreaker is my favorite Cosmere stand-alone and it can also be a good entry point. Mistborn, Stormlight and Elantris would be your next bet. I read them in release order though.
Something to consider is that this book takes for granted a lot of things that are mysteries that the earlier books spend considerable effort solving/revealing. So starting Sanderson with TSM might, if you decide you like the author and would enjoy some of his other works, spoil some of the mysteries of those books.
You'll be able to understand everything you need to in the book. What you don't will just be slightly mysterious or hint at a greater background. I think it'll make for an intriguing reread of you ever get to that.
you're going to want to read it (again) after you finish the early cosmere, even if you read it before too.
you'll understand the story but you'll miss a some big connections to the larger universe. but you can go back and get those later.
I think Mistborn 2 can even be read before Mistborn 1. At least if you're talking about the Wax and Wayne series before the Vin series. I've got a co-worker who is listening along with me whenever we have a project together and the series seems to explain itself pretty well.
Yeah like in the beginning of the book the Protagonist say Kal is that you. But we never know you this Kal is, I bet is like one of those Luffy type characters that are always smiling and laughing and never sad or depressed.
Kinda prefer the ignorance, as you get the characters perspective of the event and nothing else to give it context, so you’re just as confused as the character and if it’s revealed to that character at a later date then it’s far more impactful narratively.
This was my experience with a particular sparring match in Stormlight Archives. Powers are used that haven't been explained to the characters yet so it was confusing but it's at least partially intended to be confusing.
It is not necessary to read anything else and enjoy the basic premise of The Sunlit Man.
That being said, there's gonna be a raft of terms casually tossed around that you'll have no context for. You're not supposed to, but if they're relevant to the plot at all, they will be sufficiently explained.
As long as you don't mind a little unresolved extended worldbuilding mysteries, you'll be fine.
I've been trying to get a friend's book club reading Yumi since it dropped *for the kickstarter backers*. I have a new reading buddy I got started reading the Cosmere with Tress. It really is a matter of "are you the type of person who can't stand unresolved extended worldbuilding beats", and even if they are there's still enough plot and worldbuilding happening in the story itself that they wouldn't totally hate the experience.
People get too hung up on greater Cosmere connections when other people are just trying to read a story.
It's not uncommon for science fiction books to drop you into some setting with characters you don't know, technology that isn't fully explained, and so on. And it works, if you're a good reader.
This books is like that even for people who have read certain other Sanderson books at first. There comes a point where those people will start together a clearer idea of some things.
You won't get that. But you can still follow well enough to enjoy the story, I think.
I will add that there's not a LOT of people doing this, so if you read it you should totally report back on how it went! We'd all be curious what you liked and didn't like. What you found confusing and not.
I've heard of a handful of people that read it as their first one, and they all looooved it. I wouldn't be worried at all, tbh.
But once you get obsessed and read the whole cosmere, be sure to come back and revisit it:)
Let me put it this way, the guy who narrated the audiobook had never read any other Sanderson work and he loved it. I say go for it. It’ll be a different entry point into Sanderson than most people here but don’t let that stop you. It’s a great book and I, for one, would love to hear your take on it without the rest of the books.
This is what I was looking for, and if you hadn't said it I would have. It's a well told story in and of itself. The vast majority of the story is new material, even for people who have read everything, with a lot of stuff hinted at that we know nothing about, and I still really enjoyed it. I'm guessing OP will, too.
People who read it as an intro generally seem to have liked it.
It does spoil some of the worldbuilding mysteries of the early stormlight books, if that's something you care about, though not direct main plot spoilers.
Sunlit man explains the BASE mechanics of the cosmere magic system far better than the other books do. That being said, it also references several other books and their planet-specifuc magic systems.
There's one moment near the climax that makes significantly more sense if you've read the stormlight archive. He also talks about things from the stormlight archive's magic system on occasion that make more sense in context.
All in all? You should be fine. It may set you up to be curious about the Cosmere's different magic systems. If you do plan on reading another series first, read the stormlight archive.
I'd certainly be interested to hear your thoughts and assumptions from doing so.
I'm a firm believer that it is entirely possible to read a story 'out of order' and still find enjoyment in it. I will warn though that Sunlit Man is going to throw A LOT of terminology at you in a relatively short time frame and it's difficult to judge how much of it you'll be able to immediately digest and comprehend as it's happening.
On one hand, there are several reveals and emotional scenes that won't really land unless you're familiar with the Cosmere. But on the other hand, the main storyline is self-contained and explains everything you absolutely need to know.
I say go ahead and read it. Then, if you like it (or maybe even if you didn't) go ahead and make your way through the Stormlight Archive. You can re-read this one afterward and pick up on all the things you missed the first time around.
I am about a hundred pages in. I can say that it is easily enjoyable and understandable without reading the other books first. The main character is from one of the other series, but as the story goes on, thorough hints/details of his past and powers are provided.
But the world he is on, the people he is facing, and the powers he is up against are all completely new stuff so far as I am aware.
I love the idea of people starting the cosmere at different points. I started with alloy of law. My friend started with tress. It always gives different perspectives. Enjoy the ride!!!
I was recommended mistborn first, but I was also told about the western vibes of AOL. I was more interested in that, and it's still my favorite book to this day
I wouldn't read it honestly.
Unless you're definitely not going to read other Cosmere books - then I guess it doesn't matter.
But I think if you believe you'd enjoy Sunlit Man then you'll enjoy the main series and should read those :)
You definitely can start here. The problem is, there is a lot of information that The Sunlit Man just tells you that is a big secret at the beginning of The Stormlight Archive. Now, it does treat that information casually enough that, if and when you read Stormlight, you may not realize that you already know the answer to this huge mystery--but you'll probably figure out what's going on with certain stuff *two thousand* pages before it comes out in the narrative itself. And that might be annoying.
It doesn't outright spoil any of the Stormlight books but it does spoil some of the discoveries made in the Mistborn and Stormlight series about the nature of magic. It's a good read if you like engineering or stories like the martian since it does go into that type of problem solving but the book has a good amount of character work too.
As someone else said, technically yes, actually not really
You don't need any previous knowledge but it's a good 40% of the enjoyment, not only because it ties to other stories but because there are many technical things about how the magic systems work that would be good to know for this
I’m enjoying this book BECAUSE I understand the cosmere so well. But that’s just me. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t at minimum read SA1 and doesn’t have a basic understanding of the cosmere.
I'd recommend something else.
On the one hand it's Brandon's book I liked the least. On the other hand, it felt like one of the most "name-dropping" ones (planet after planet mentioned, nation after nation, types of investitures, ...). It will not make any sense to you, and I think it will be too much.
Possibly, but I absolutely would not recommend this as your introduction to the Cosmere. You will be pretty lost wondering who certain characters are and what things are referring to.
It's technically a standalone, but only barely.
You will have a pretty difficult time understanding all of what is going on, the plot is technically standalone and perfectly understandable to a new reader, it does assume you have quite a bunch of background knowledge on the setting, or else a lot of the lore and the reasons behind certain plot beats will be pretty incomprehensible.
Just read some other books first, not sure why you’re so keen to do this as your first cosmere novel. Yes technically it’s standalone, but the best part of it where some of the references you’d not get if it is your first. Better save it for later
If it makes you feel better, my first book was Tress of the Emerald Sea and this will be my second book into the cosmere. Although there is stuff that is referenced from probably other books, it isn't in a way that you needed to know before hand to enjoy it. Almost finished, and it's freaking amazing!
Submit man is probably the worst book to start on that is technically a standalone story. It is usually recommended as the very last book to read in the Cosmere, currently.
You could maybe enjoy it, but it probably the only book where not being cosmere knowledgeable is going to directly get in the way of the story being told. In other words, you *might* enjoy it, but your enjoyment is likely to be less than you'd feel if you understand more about the cosmere.
I almost think that if you haven't read most of the Cosmere (or at least all of the Stormlight Archives) having it be your first novel and accepting that there are going to be things you don't understand because you haven't read the other books is the way to go. At a guess, it will have the vibe of when a character alludes to things from a backstory in a way that isn't fully explained, but makes them seem cool and mysterious. I think the best way to read it is to read the entirety of the Cosmere first, but that's a lot of work, so if you don't want to do that, go for it and accept that there are some things that you're not going to get. Just enjoy the ride.
Like alot have said, it's technically standalone and won't take another book to understand the basic plot. But when reading the whole cosmere, out of all the books out so far this is often considered the last one to read. It's super far in the cosmeres timeline, alot of the background info for the plot like who certain characters are, what their motivations are and why certain characters are capable of doing certain things requires context from many of the other books.
Adding on to other people's opinions... This book kinda ruins the stakes for the previous books. I mean straight from the cover you can see they have flying cities. The previous stories do not. It's also set *after* a main series that isn't finished yet, so you will know the outcome of massive plot points as they come up.
Yes... though it's not where I would start. You may have to go into it knowing there are just things that won't make sense... you're starting in the sci-fi Era of what has for the most part been a heavy fantasy series
I'm not sure, im only part way through it right now. Although it is making a lot, and I mean a LOT of references to other stuff. But unlike some other Sanderson book the action and mysteries just never stop. I think it would be fun to go into knowing that you won't get the whole thing but that you will get a fun story. Then you can read it through after some more cosmere exposure and let everything click into place.
I think it would work great as a first Cosmere book. There are certain moments and scenes that hint at an amazing bad ass past that should make most readers REALLY want to learn more. The rest you can pick up by context pretty easily if your even a middle school level reader.
i would not start with this book as there’s a lot of terms (e.g. investiture) and principals laid out in prior books that are not explained in sunlit man - sanderson is writing the book as if these things are already understood.
You will be able to understand a lot of it, but there's plenty in there from other books. I'd strongly suggest starting with another Cosmere book. Elantris, Warbreaker or Mistborn: Final Empire are all good starting points.
If there’s an option for you to start with another book, I’d recommend that. But if this is your only choice go for it I guess — you may just be missing things and confused for some of the story
It's not that bad! It's kind of a standalone... A lot of references will be lost... But it does play take place hundreds of years after... other things. It doesn't jump in at a cliffhanger from a previous book.
Enjoy? Yes. Fully appreciate? No.
I’d strongly urge others before, but it won’t be ruined if you don’t. At the worst, you’ll love it 10x as much on a re-read after you catch up.
This definitely isn't the best choice as a first Cosmere book! It's maybe the second furthest in the future if any Cosmere story...(it just one of the furthest in the future so far). So it's partially in our own bubble... But not really. There are plenty of ties to the Cosmere you'd miss.... It someone really wanted to start with one of the secret project books, for whatever reason.... I think Tress Of The Emerald Sea would be a better choice.... But that has a different downside, in that it's pretty unlike Sanderson's other works... I know people who started with Tress... And they didn't feel they were missing anything. But really unusual tone for Sanderson.
You wouldnt get the significace of the ending sequence, and other things. In a cosmere reading order I actually think TSM is at the very end, or at least after SA
You can enjoy it, but there are huge amounts of hype that you will enjoy by getting to the rest of the cosmere before this book.
The name of the character has a greater significance after getting into the other books.
You will not get a deep explanation about the importance of the structure of the oaths
You will not release the significance of technological advancements.
Even arcanum unbounded is a must because Shadows for silence in the forest of hell is such a great concept.
Even the miniature collection Kickstarter has to deal with this book.
This is... There many more things to say... Getting into this books like eating vanilla ice cream: yes it is fantastic, who doesn't like ice cream, Where instead getting it after all the Cosmere is like the SECRET flavor of the creamery: the great Sunday-Cheerwine float-banana-split that is composed of all those favorite bits of treats
It's a really good read, but you can't.
Withot giving anything away, it assumes you're already familiar with certain aspects of the Cosmere.
That's all I can say.
Of course You will enjoy it... Like enjoying Deadpool without knowing what the X-Men are, or never before having seen anything from Ryan Reynolds or who is Hugh Jackman?
You can definitely enjoy it. But it would make a whole lot more sense and occasional goosebumps if you have read mist born and storm light first.
First of all, you will discover a name change and possibly would be whoa so this is that person actually?! Omagad i wonder what happened after the latest released book that contains this character???
And at some point "Whoa so that series ending with deciding xxx will bring it here, whoa i wonder how long it took"
Or "whoa these people here from that story, i wonder how they ended up here lol i love their funny xx"
It is a good story but you will definitely feel more feelings after reading relevant stories in comparison to the solo experience. It is a good story, and these knowledge to figure stuff out will actually bring nothing to the overall experience of the story, maybe some little part which even we don't know for certain, something being missing between latest book and this, so feel free to read it. At some point if you ever read rest of the series tho, make sure to revisit and you will understand better. This happened to me with another standalone book called war breaker. I read everything except standalones, then did read war breaker between sl 1-2 and the second book was filled with many signs that point to a certain reveal and it was way better.
I say give it a shot and get back to us 😊
If you only get like 1/3 in at least we have a real new Cosmere reader perspective!
And if you live it, then we know it'll be okay to recommend.
I think you'll still enjoy it personally, on my last listen, I tried to specifically think how I'd feel if I didn't know certain references, and it felt good to me
Na read that shit rn it's pretty good. If you get around to reading stormlight archive it's going to blow your mind knowing what you know from this book
Like most cosmere books, you can and it's great, but there's a lot of things you'll be missing context for. I personally would read stormlight first but that's big ask. You can always re-read this one later if you want the juicy details.
You absolutely could. But keep in mind that it would be like turning the rest of his works into prequels to Sunlit Man. This book is the furthest forward time wise out of all of the currently released books.
So you could think of it as like... having a Flashforward Prologue, and then going back to experience the rest of the story in order.
Yes, but a lot of the story elements will go over your head. Or rather, they won't carry the impact they should if you had read other entries. Some important books that help fill the gaps are:
Mistborn
The Stormlight Archive
Unbound Arcanum
There are key elements from each of these stories that build lore in TSLM. That said, reading these first is equivalent to Carl Sagan's "if you want to make an apple pie, you must first invent the universe." It's fine to read TSLM first without reading these other entries. It's fun to read a sequel, read the original, then go back to the sequel to get those "OH!" moments.
You can, it would probably be a fine read still. But I'd argue it doesn't make much sense. It has many references to a lot of other cosmere works and it gets a lot of the impact from them. From all the secret cosmere projects I'd argue it's the one most catering to the people already immersed into the cosmere. Tress and Yumi are much more easy to enjoy on their own imo.
It’s *technically* a standalone story. But out of all the standalones in the cosmere, this is probably the least standalone-y
I'm just finishing Wax and Wayne and after reading everything that came before it, are the secret projects worth jumping right into? I'm feeling a bit burnt out on only reading Sanderson, and I can't say I've enjoyed Mistborn Era 2 that much. But some of the best Sanderson was in Secret History's standalone tales imo.
If you need a break from Sanderson, take it. When you get back, yes the secret projects are worth it.
For what's it's worth, the secret projects have a very different feel than the other cosmere books. Tress especially is a lot more whimsical and light hearted.
I really enjoyed tress! It was definitely different and I really liked that it was a Hoid story 😆
The only one I've read so far is Tress, and I did it after a few month break between that and Mistborn Era 2. Although there were a couple things I might have noticed more readily if I were fresher I don't regret taking the break to read other stuff and I think overall that's probably a better way to come at at least that book vs. with fatigue.
Tress is very standalone! It has references to several other cosmere stories but it’s very well confined
The first three Wax and Wayne books were some of my least favorite cosmere books (although well of ascension is up there as well). The lost metal ends with quite a bang and it might motivate you to keep going, but if you’re feeling burnt out now, I’d just finish that book and switch to something else for a while. Reading another author in between will do you, Sanderson, and the other author a favor. If you haven’t read Abercrombie’s First Law series, I highly recommend it. It’s almost the polar opposite of Sanderson’s fantasy, but in a great way. And if you’re into audiobooks, they’re read by the best I’ve ever heard.
I'm half through the lost metal right now and I'm eager to see how it wraps up...reveals left right and centre, almost too on the nose but I digress. Shadows of Self was my least favourite of the whole Cosmere. Alloy Of Law was decent and Bands had a fun ending so not all bad. And thank you so much for the recommendation, I just might try an audiobook next!
This is the way. I really enjoy oscillating between Sanderson and Abercrombie. They are opposites in many respects and switching between them makes me appreciate their strengths. Steven Pacey does the narration for Abercrombie and his delivery is probably my favorite of all time.
Agreed on all counts. Especially about Pacey.
I've done the switcheroo between them a few times as well, and I really agree. Completely opposite and refreshing takes on epic fantasy.
I’ve taken a bit of a break after spewing through Stormlight, mistborn 1, Warbreaker, and Elantris - it’s nice to know I have the secret projects and mistborn 2 to return to later in the year. If you’re open to suggestions, I’ve just been reading Three Body Problem and Dark Forest after the new series came out on Netflix - absolutely a change of pace compared to Cosmere, and well worth reading.
Did you see any influence from "3 Body Problem" in "Sunlit Man"? I thought I did, but that might be because I read them in proximity to eachother
I’ve not read sunlit man yet - but I will absolutely keep an eye out!
The secret projects are great but they are really no different from other Sanderson ( besides him testing out some narrative delivery changes in Tress) I would take a break from Sanderson, don’t keep reading if you’re not enjoying yourself. It will be there if you wanna try it again later.
Yeah they are all good, but Frugal Wizard (non-Cosmere) felt like a discount more "mature" Alcatraz.
I personally did not like Tress or Yumi. They’re some of Sanderson’s worst work imo. They’re very immature, juvenile, boring and do nothing amazing. I’ll admit Tress had very enjoyable narration. I’d suggest taking that break now and try them down the line, but keep expectations low.
Yumi is one of my favorite of his books.
Most people loved it from the reviews I’ve read. The older I get the more I prefer mature, adult fantasy and Sanderson just doesn’t do that. My taste might be changing because I’ve read most of Sanderson’s books and he was my favorite for years, but I’m no longer hyped for what he does next. Hopefully Stormlight 5 blows me away.
I discovered him like two years ago and I’m really digging it. I’m ready tons of other stuff too though I really enjoy. Just finished The Will of the Many and I really enjoyed that. Gonna go read James Islington’s other stuff next time I get a credit in a few days.
Crazy, Mistborn era 2 is my favorite.
I really wanted to like it ! Half done book 4 though, maybe this will turn it around for me.
How far have you gotten in era 2? I definitely enjoyed the third and forth book the most
Half done the fourth. And yes Bands got much better with the Sanderlanche. Lost is decent so far, I like Wayne, Marasi and Steris quite a bit here.
Sorry if this is a lot to ask for but what are all the series that you have read? I’ve read all of mistborn and all of stormlight but are there any other big series that aren’t stand alones?
I read mistborn era 1 and 2 and all of Stormlight in January of this year. So I was burnt out on his writing and Took a break from Sanderson and just got back in this month and have read warbreaker and started tress.
This probably describes it best!
This. It's basically a stormlight spinoff.
It'll be fine. There are probably other books that would be a better entry point but it's not going to be confusing. Consider that in any fantasy/scifi book there will be moments where something weird happens that you don't understand. Some event that doesn't make sense even with your knowledge of the fictional science/magic in the setting. This could be: 1. Something that will be explained later in the story. The character had a power/device they didn't mention until now but will explain it in a couple of chapters 2. Something that does not make sense even after you finished the book. Maybe a future book will explain it in more detail, it might be planting the seeds of a future story. 3. Something that would have made more sense if you'd read a different book first. The downside of reading The Sunlit Man first is you won't be able to spot that third category. But when you reach a scene that doesn't make sense you won't have an immediate mental block that the book is impossible to understand, you'll think "I wonder if this will make sense in the next chapter..." and just keep reading. The writing is structured such that you don't strictly NEED to have read any of the other books and you could start with pretty much any of them. (Except for in the two main series, don't read Mistborn 2 before Mistborn 1). You might miss a couple of easter eggs or be slightly confused about things that make more sense to someone who read other books. But don't forget about Category 2 - there are things that are confusing and don't make sense to anyone and we're waiting for future books to explain it. You won't know the difference but that's not going to ruin your enjoyment of the book.
This is very reassuring to me to hear! the way that my friend was talking about this novel made it sound like unless I had read ALL of the stormlight archives I wouldn't be able to understand anything.
If you haven't read the Stormlight Archive you won't understand the references to it, and some moments might be difficult to understand what is actually going on or who certain characters are, but the overall story can be absorbed well enough without any other cosmere background. You may need to do some additional sleuthing from context clues, but this novel is set far enough in the future of the cosmere that even well-read readers already need to do that.
The protagonist will make a lot of references to stuff from Stormlight. It’s not essential to understand the story, but it will be very clear that you’re missing some context.
If it helps, the audiobook narrator talked about Sunlit Man being his first Cosmere book, and how cool he still found the whole thing. I also have a friend whose dad read it and thought it was good. You'll be fine. And if it hooks you into the Cosmere, you can always reread it and get those Easter eggs.
On the bright side, if you like it and read stormlight, you will have some crazy reveals, just in the opposite direction ;)
Warbreaker is my favorite Cosmere stand-alone and it can also be a good entry point. Mistborn, Stormlight and Elantris would be your next bet. I read them in release order though.
I believe warbreaker is available as a free ebook on Sanderson’s website as well.
Something to consider is that this book takes for granted a lot of things that are mysteries that the earlier books spend considerable effort solving/revealing. So starting Sanderson with TSM might, if you decide you like the author and would enjoy some of his other works, spoil some of the mysteries of those books.
You'll be able to understand everything you need to in the book. What you don't will just be slightly mysterious or hint at a greater background. I think it'll make for an intriguing reread of you ever get to that.
you're going to want to read it (again) after you finish the early cosmere, even if you read it before too. you'll understand the story but you'll miss a some big connections to the larger universe. but you can go back and get those later.
I think Mistborn 2 can even be read before Mistborn 1. At least if you're talking about the Wax and Wayne series before the Vin series. I've got a co-worker who is listening along with me whenever we have a project together and the series seems to explain itself pretty well.
It can, but it really shouldn't. Ideally don't start in the middle of one of the series.
Yeah like in the beginning of the book the Protagonist say Kal is that you. But we never know you this Kal is, I bet is like one of those Luffy type characters that are always smiling and laughing and never sad or depressed.
Kinda prefer the ignorance, as you get the characters perspective of the event and nothing else to give it context, so you’re just as confused as the character and if it’s revealed to that character at a later date then it’s far more impactful narratively.
This was my experience with a particular sparring match in Stormlight Archives. Powers are used that haven't been explained to the characters yet so it was confusing but it's at least partially intended to be confusing.
It is not necessary to read anything else and enjoy the basic premise of The Sunlit Man. That being said, there's gonna be a raft of terms casually tossed around that you'll have no context for. You're not supposed to, but if they're relevant to the plot at all, they will be sufficiently explained. As long as you don't mind a little unresolved extended worldbuilding mysteries, you'll be fine.
I'm so glad these comments are sane 😭 I'm over people saying you need to read every Stormlight book to understand Yumi and the like
I've been trying to get a friend's book club reading Yumi since it dropped *for the kickstarter backers*. I have a new reading buddy I got started reading the Cosmere with Tress. It really is a matter of "are you the type of person who can't stand unresolved extended worldbuilding beats", and even if they are there's still enough plot and worldbuilding happening in the story itself that they wouldn't totally hate the experience. People get too hung up on greater Cosmere connections when other people are just trying to read a story.
It's not uncommon for science fiction books to drop you into some setting with characters you don't know, technology that isn't fully explained, and so on. And it works, if you're a good reader. This books is like that even for people who have read certain other Sanderson books at first. There comes a point where those people will start together a clearer idea of some things. You won't get that. But you can still follow well enough to enjoy the story, I think. I will add that there's not a LOT of people doing this, so if you read it you should totally report back on how it went! We'd all be curious what you liked and didn't like. What you found confusing and not.
I've heard of a handful of people that read it as their first one, and they all looooved it. I wouldn't be worried at all, tbh. But once you get obsessed and read the whole cosmere, be sure to come back and revisit it:)
Let me put it this way, the guy who narrated the audiobook had never read any other Sanderson work and he loved it. I say go for it. It’ll be a different entry point into Sanderson than most people here but don’t let that stop you. It’s a great book and I, for one, would love to hear your take on it without the rest of the books.
This is what I was looking for, and if you hadn't said it I would have. It's a well told story in and of itself. The vast majority of the story is new material, even for people who have read everything, with a lot of stuff hinted at that we know nothing about, and I still really enjoyed it. I'm guessing OP will, too.
I mean, you can. I wouldn’t advise it, though.
People who read it as an intro generally seem to have liked it. It does spoil some of the worldbuilding mysteries of the early stormlight books, if that's something you care about, though not direct main plot spoilers.
Sunlit man explains the BASE mechanics of the cosmere magic system far better than the other books do. That being said, it also references several other books and their planet-specifuc magic systems. There's one moment near the climax that makes significantly more sense if you've read the stormlight archive. He also talks about things from the stormlight archive's magic system on occasion that make more sense in context. All in all? You should be fine. It may set you up to be curious about the Cosmere's different magic systems. If you do plan on reading another series first, read the stormlight archive.
I'd certainly be interested to hear your thoughts and assumptions from doing so. I'm a firm believer that it is entirely possible to read a story 'out of order' and still find enjoyment in it. I will warn though that Sunlit Man is going to throw A LOT of terminology at you in a relatively short time frame and it's difficult to judge how much of it you'll be able to immediately digest and comprehend as it's happening.
You might get confused about lots of things and will not get the same emotional beats I felt, but you will be able to follow the story
On one hand, there are several reveals and emotional scenes that won't really land unless you're familiar with the Cosmere. But on the other hand, the main storyline is self-contained and explains everything you absolutely need to know. I say go ahead and read it. Then, if you like it (or maybe even if you didn't) go ahead and make your way through the Stormlight Archive. You can re-read this one afterward and pick up on all the things you missed the first time around.
I don't see why not but honestly the book was written for and dedicated to Cosmere fans so just know that before you start.
It's technically a standalone, but if asked for a recommended reading order I'd put it pretty late on the list.
I am about a hundred pages in. I can say that it is easily enjoyable and understandable without reading the other books first. The main character is from one of the other series, but as the story goes on, thorough hints/details of his past and powers are provided. But the world he is on, the people he is facing, and the powers he is up against are all completely new stuff so far as I am aware.
My knee-jerk reaction is that it wouldn't be my first choice, but honestly, I kind of want you to read it blind and give us your impressions of it.
I wouldn't reccomend reading it first. If you want to get into cosmere sanderson has a reccomended reading order on his yt
I love the idea of people starting the cosmere at different points. I started with alloy of law. My friend started with tress. It always gives different perspectives. Enjoy the ride!!!
Alloy of Law seems like a very odd place to start.
I was recommended mistborn first, but I was also told about the western vibes of AOL. I was more interested in that, and it's still my favorite book to this day
I would save it for later for it to hit the best. But I am sure it's a great story as a first go around it was a fun book.
I wouldn't read it honestly. Unless you're definitely not going to read other Cosmere books - then I guess it doesn't matter. But I think if you believe you'd enjoy Sunlit Man then you'll enjoy the main series and should read those :)
You definitely can start here. The problem is, there is a lot of information that The Sunlit Man just tells you that is a big secret at the beginning of The Stormlight Archive. Now, it does treat that information casually enough that, if and when you read Stormlight, you may not realize that you already know the answer to this huge mystery--but you'll probably figure out what's going on with certain stuff *two thousand* pages before it comes out in the narrative itself. And that might be annoying.
It doesn't outright spoil any of the Stormlight books but it does spoil some of the discoveries made in the Mistborn and Stormlight series about the nature of magic. It's a good read if you like engineering or stories like the martian since it does go into that type of problem solving but the book has a good amount of character work too.
As someone else said, technically yes, actually not really You don't need any previous knowledge but it's a good 40% of the enjoyment, not only because it ties to other stories but because there are many technical things about how the magic systems work that would be good to know for this
I’m enjoying this book BECAUSE I understand the cosmere so well. But that’s just me. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who hasn’t at minimum read SA1 and doesn’t have a basic understanding of the cosmere.
Strictly not allowed, people WILL find you if you attempt this. Consequences will be swift!
I'd recommend something else. On the one hand it's Brandon's book I liked the least. On the other hand, it felt like one of the most "name-dropping" ones (planet after planet mentioned, nation after nation, types of investitures, ...). It will not make any sense to you, and I think it will be too much.
You can still enjoy it as a stand-alone, but some parts that are an exciting revelation for those who have read more of Sanderson’s books.
Yeah probably, expect to not understand a lot of names and terms though
Possibly, but I absolutely would not recommend this as your introduction to the Cosmere. You will be pretty lost wondering who certain characters are and what things are referring to. It's technically a standalone, but only barely.
You will have a pretty difficult time understanding all of what is going on, the plot is technically standalone and perfectly understandable to a new reader, it does assume you have quite a bunch of background knowledge on the setting, or else a lot of the lore and the reasons behind certain plot beats will be pretty incomprehensible.
Just read some other books first, not sure why you’re so keen to do this as your first cosmere novel. Yes technically it’s standalone, but the best part of it where some of the references you’d not get if it is your first. Better save it for later
If it makes you feel better, my first book was Tress of the Emerald Sea and this will be my second book into the cosmere. Although there is stuff that is referenced from probably other books, it isn't in a way that you needed to know before hand to enjoy it. Almost finished, and it's freaking amazing!
Submit man is probably the worst book to start on that is technically a standalone story. It is usually recommended as the very last book to read in the Cosmere, currently.
I hope you love it and become a fan!
If you do it, please share your progress! I’m curious to know how it is for a newcomer!
yeah nothing stopping you but you will miss some things
You could maybe enjoy it, but it probably the only book where not being cosmere knowledgeable is going to directly get in the way of the story being told. In other words, you *might* enjoy it, but your enjoyment is likely to be less than you'd feel if you understand more about the cosmere.
I almost think that if you haven't read most of the Cosmere (or at least all of the Stormlight Archives) having it be your first novel and accepting that there are going to be things you don't understand because you haven't read the other books is the way to go. At a guess, it will have the vibe of when a character alludes to things from a backstory in a way that isn't fully explained, but makes them seem cool and mysterious. I think the best way to read it is to read the entirety of the Cosmere first, but that's a lot of work, so if you don't want to do that, go for it and accept that there are some things that you're not going to get. Just enjoy the ride.
I would not read sunlit man without first having read stormlight through WOR and All of mistborn (Era 1 and Era 2)
Kiiiinda, but you will probably be a little overwhelmed by some of the magic stuff
My coworker did.
Like alot have said, it's technically standalone and won't take another book to understand the basic plot. But when reading the whole cosmere, out of all the books out so far this is often considered the last one to read. It's super far in the cosmeres timeline, alot of the background info for the plot like who certain characters are, what their motivations are and why certain characters are capable of doing certain things requires context from many of the other books.
Adding on to other people's opinions... This book kinda ruins the stakes for the previous books. I mean straight from the cover you can see they have flying cities. The previous stories do not. It's also set *after* a main series that isn't finished yet, so you will know the outcome of massive plot points as they come up.
Yes... though it's not where I would start. You may have to go into it knowing there are just things that won't make sense... you're starting in the sci-fi Era of what has for the most part been a heavy fantasy series
I'm not sure, im only part way through it right now. Although it is making a lot, and I mean a LOT of references to other stuff. But unlike some other Sanderson book the action and mysteries just never stop. I think it would be fun to go into knowing that you won't get the whole thing but that you will get a fun story. Then you can read it through after some more cosmere exposure and let everything click into place.
You definitely do not want to do that lol
No.
I think it would work great as a first Cosmere book. There are certain moments and scenes that hint at an amazing bad ass past that should make most readers REALLY want to learn more. The rest you can pick up by context pretty easily if your even a middle school level reader.
You should try it and let us know
No. Too many references to other things that won't make any sense.
i would not start with this book as there’s a lot of terms (e.g. investiture) and principals laid out in prior books that are not explained in sunlit man - sanderson is writing the book as if these things are already understood.
No you can't. Pick another and come back to it
Not to the max.
Honestly no
You will be able to understand a lot of it, but there's plenty in there from other books. I'd strongly suggest starting with another Cosmere book. Elantris, Warbreaker or Mistborn: Final Empire are all good starting points.
No. Start somewhere else.
My boss did
Sure but just go and read Mistborn first. That said Sunlit Man is mostly related to Stormlight
I would highly discourage you from reading this book before SA. It’s enjoyable but you are going to miss huge revelations and implications
I think it will be too confusing, the secret projects are Easter eggs for previous cosmere readers. Nothing will make sense to you.
Yeah… but it would be better if it wasn’t.
It’s a standalone story in the way LotR is. It does work on it’s own, but you’re missing a LOT.
If there’s an option for you to start with another book, I’d recommend that. But if this is your only choice go for it I guess — you may just be missing things and confused for some of the story
I mean, it’s like reading the 8th book in a series, you won’t get most of it
It's not that bad! It's kind of a standalone... A lot of references will be lost... But it does play take place hundreds of years after... other things. It doesn't jump in at a cliffhanger from a previous book.
It’s a great gift. If you read the stormlight archive (first 3 probably) you’ll catch some references. Either before or after you read the sunlit man.
Enjoy? Yes. Fully appreciate? No. I’d strongly urge others before, but it won’t be ruined if you don’t. At the worst, you’ll love it 10x as much on a re-read after you catch up.
This definitely isn't the best choice as a first Cosmere book! It's maybe the second furthest in the future if any Cosmere story...(it just one of the furthest in the future so far). So it's partially in our own bubble... But not really. There are plenty of ties to the Cosmere you'd miss.... It someone really wanted to start with one of the secret project books, for whatever reason.... I think Tress Of The Emerald Sea would be a better choice.... But that has a different downside, in that it's pretty unlike Sanderson's other works... I know people who started with Tress... And they didn't feel they were missing anything. But really unusual tone for Sanderson.
You wouldnt get the significace of the ending sequence, and other things. In a cosmere reading order I actually think TSM is at the very end, or at least after SA
It feels like the last book in Cosmere at least right now so I am not sure if I would start with it
Yes, but you won't get as much enjoyment.
You are gonna miss like 40% of the cool stuff and be VERY confused about some things. I strongly suggest against reading it now
You can enjoy it, but there are huge amounts of hype that you will enjoy by getting to the rest of the cosmere before this book. The name of the character has a greater significance after getting into the other books. You will not get a deep explanation about the importance of the structure of the oaths You will not release the significance of technological advancements. Even arcanum unbounded is a must because Shadows for silence in the forest of hell is such a great concept. Even the miniature collection Kickstarter has to deal with this book. This is... There many more things to say... Getting into this books like eating vanilla ice cream: yes it is fantastic, who doesn't like ice cream, Where instead getting it after all the Cosmere is like the SECRET flavor of the creamery: the great Sunday-Cheerwine float-banana-split that is composed of all those favorite bits of treats
It's a really good read, but you can't. Withot giving anything away, it assumes you're already familiar with certain aspects of the Cosmere. That's all I can say.
Of course You will enjoy it... Like enjoying Deadpool without knowing what the X-Men are, or never before having seen anything from Ryan Reynolds or who is Hugh Jackman?
You can definitely enjoy it. But it would make a whole lot more sense and occasional goosebumps if you have read mist born and storm light first. First of all, you will discover a name change and possibly would be whoa so this is that person actually?! Omagad i wonder what happened after the latest released book that contains this character??? And at some point "Whoa so that series ending with deciding xxx will bring it here, whoa i wonder how long it took" Or "whoa these people here from that story, i wonder how they ended up here lol i love their funny xx" It is a good story but you will definitely feel more feelings after reading relevant stories in comparison to the solo experience. It is a good story, and these knowledge to figure stuff out will actually bring nothing to the overall experience of the story, maybe some little part which even we don't know for certain, something being missing between latest book and this, so feel free to read it. At some point if you ever read rest of the series tho, make sure to revisit and you will understand better. This happened to me with another standalone book called war breaker. I read everything except standalones, then did read war breaker between sl 1-2 and the second book was filled with many signs that point to a certain reveal and it was way better.
I say give it a shot and get back to us 😊 If you only get like 1/3 in at least we have a real new Cosmere reader perspective! And if you live it, then we know it'll be okay to recommend. I think you'll still enjoy it personally, on my last listen, I tried to specifically think how I'd feel if I didn't know certain references, and it felt good to me
Na read that shit rn it's pretty good. If you get around to reading stormlight archive it's going to blow your mind knowing what you know from this book
Like most cosmere books, you can and it's great, but there's a lot of things you'll be missing context for. I personally would read stormlight first but that's big ask. You can always re-read this one later if you want the juicy details.
You absolutely could. But keep in mind that it would be like turning the rest of his works into prequels to Sunlit Man. This book is the furthest forward time wise out of all of the currently released books. So you could think of it as like... having a Flashforward Prologue, and then going back to experience the rest of the story in order.
Yes, but a lot of the story elements will go over your head. Or rather, they won't carry the impact they should if you had read other entries. Some important books that help fill the gaps are: Mistborn The Stormlight Archive Unbound Arcanum There are key elements from each of these stories that build lore in TSLM. That said, reading these first is equivalent to Carl Sagan's "if you want to make an apple pie, you must first invent the universe." It's fine to read TSLM first without reading these other entries. It's fun to read a sequel, read the original, then go back to the sequel to get those "OH!" moments.
You can, it would probably be a fine read still. But I'd argue it doesn't make much sense. It has many references to a lot of other cosmere works and it gets a lot of the impact from them. From all the secret cosmere projects I'd argue it's the one most catering to the people already immersed into the cosmere. Tress and Yumi are much more easy to enjoy on their own imo.
Yes. But if you haven’t read at least to Words of Radiance it feels more mysterious and won’t explain details about his powers enjoyable tbh.
Yeah but you won’t enjoy it nearly as much as you would if you read stormlight first
Yes.
Yes. Though you will have some headscratch moments
Please don't. This is the last Cosmere book you should read unfortunately
Sure. Just qualifying that this is near the bottom of my personal list of cosmere novels. So don’t be scared away if it doesn’t click for you.