which secret project did you like most? (no spoilers)

[The flying spider he/him]

after reading all 4 I wanted to see how the opinions of others compare to mine. so here is my ranking:

1 The sunlit man 

2 Yumi 

3 Tress 

4 Frugal

Over all I really enjoyed them all and thank him for making this great year of sanderson.

[NameIess]

My tier list:

1. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

2. Tress of the Emerald Sea

3. The Sunlit Man

4. The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

I also enjoyed all of them, and I hope Brandon does more books like this in the future.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Nameless*

[The Honorable Musician he/him]

My tier list:

1. Tress
2. Yumi
3. Sunlit Man
4. Frugal Wizard

I haven't finished the Sunlit Man yet, so this may change as I get farther through it.

[Saxsoon]

As a Cosmere book, Sunlit Man

 

In terms of overall enjoyment

Tress

Yumi

Sunlit

Frugal

[Ghanderflaffle she/her]

This will probably change as I reread, but right now:
Tress

Sunlit

Yumi

Frugal

[Aredor]

As most have said, 

Tress

Yumi

Sunlit

Frugal

Do note that I haven't re-read Yumi or Sunlit yet.... normally I re-read right away, but I've been taking longer breaks with these. 

[Galroom]

On 02.10.2023 at 10:09 PM, The flying spider said:

after reading all 4 I wanted to see how the opinions of others compare to mine. so here is my ranking:

1 The sunlit man 

2 Yumi 

3 Tress 

4 Frugal

Over all I really enjoyed them all and thank him for making this great year of sanderson.

I'd put the sunshine man at the top of the list, too

[Lord Spirit he/him]

Havent read sunlit yet, but

1. Tress

2. Frugal

3.Yumi

I honestly didn't like Yumi that much (in terms of brandon sanderson, its still really good) and I think Frugals underrated.

[Edema Rue she/her]

Sunlit

Tress

Yumi

Frugal

My problem is, I enjoyed all of them because I’m so bad at being critical about most books. (And then I’ll get to something like Twilight or kotlc and just refuse to see anything good about it). So…I loved them all.

[brandon1855 he/him]

Liked all the books, but Tress was the most engrossing story for me. If I had to rank, it would be:

 

Tress

Sunlit Man

Yumi

Frugal Wizard

[NerdyAarakocra They/Them]

Tress has to be my favorite, but I haven't read Sunlit Man yet.

[Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him]

Yumi.

Tress.

Frugal.

Sunlit (mostly because my reading enjoyment was hampered by a reading slump I was in.)

[Morningtide she/her]

Yumi

All three are tied below 

[alder24]

1. Yumi
2. Tress 
3. Sunlit
4. Frugal 

It was a hard choice between Tress and Sunlit, but ultimately I think like Tress a little better. Yumi was just amazing in my opinion and Frugal was still fun to read - I like the concept. I hope Brandon will write more standalone books like those.

[Guest]

1&2: Sunlit Man ties with Tress

3: Frugal Wizard

.

.

.

.

4: Yumi

[Ookla she/her]

Tress and Yumi tie for first, with Sunlit Man right behind.

Then there's Frugal Wizard. It was fun, but I don't think I'll read it again.

[One of the Ten Fools he/him]

1. Sunlit Man

2. Frugal  

3. Tress/Yumi

I think that frugal wizard was a nice fresh breath of air with a cool concept

[Pineap-spider Pineapple/Spider]

1. Yumi

2. Tress

3. Frugal wizard

4. Sunlit

Saying sunlit man is the worst of the bunch is like judging an art compition Between Van Gogh, Monet, Vermeer, and Da Vinci and saying The Mona Lisa was the worst. They're all so good.

[Faerie Braids she/her]

1. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

The worldbuilding was quite intriguing and the characterisation and relationship development was absolutely stellar.

2. The Sunlit Man

Glimpsing the future of the Cosmere was amazing, the mechanics of the world were fun to uncover, and comparing Zellion in TSM to Sigzil in SA was so interesting.

3. Tress of the Emerald Sea

Honestly, Tress and Sunlit Man are pretty much tied, in my opinion, but I read Tress almost a year ago, so I placed it lower. The Aether magic system made for really beautiful visuals, in my mind's eye, and I loved Tress's emotional arc.

4. The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

I loved the concept and worldbuilding, but being non-Cosmere was a little disappointing, and John's character never fully clicked, for me. Still a great book by any standards.

[Voidlit Man he/him]

1. The Sunlit Man

This one was hands-down the best for me, the themes, the character, the end of Aux's character arch, it all worked so well for me, into a story that was surprising and engaging the entire time, and there was never a moment when I wasn't paying close attention to everything. I especially liked the glimpse into Threnodite culture

2. Yumi and The Nightmare Painter

This one was also incredible, but aside from the main character, most of the others felt like cookie cutters, and I really didn't like Design. (controversial, I know). The nightmares were sick though.

3. Tress of the Emerald Sea.

I read this one, thinking Brandon Sanderson had decided to open with his best book, and I ended up putting it third on the list.  This was an amazing year!  The whimsical story and simple character arcs were really refreshing, but it didn't have as much of an emotional punch as I would've liked.

4. The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

I did like "carp diem", I thought that was hysterical, but the rest of the book, while still amazing, was not as good as other books he had written, least of all the other secret projects.

[Sir Squeekins he/him]

1. Sunlit

Exciting cosmere stuff, awesome depth of character, wonderfully paced. Also I'm a sucker for sci-fi.

2. Tress

Actually might be my favorite; it was so hard to pick between it and Sunlit. ToTES is just so unique in its style, plus all the characters are incredibly likeable.

3. Yumi

Also very good, though the story itself wasn't as engaging to me. Super cool worldbuilding.

4. Frugal

A delightful read just bursting with creativity, but most of the characters felt unmemorable and not very interesting. (The main character arc was great, other than all the introspection. I would have preferred full flashbacks instead of him just realizing things about his past.)

[Through the Living Elan He/Him]

1. Tress

2. Yumi + Sunlit

3. Frugal

BUT they're all like a hair apart.

[Shard of Frustration]

Sunlit and Tress tie for first, Frugal gets third, and Yumi gets a distant 4th

[Forts Board]

1. Tress

2. Sunlit but oh so close

3. Yumi

4. Frugal

[Ironwill2112 he/him]

1. Sunlit
2. Yumi/Tress are tied
3. Frugal