Title: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Collection: Hoid’s Travails #2
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 480
Published: 2023, Tor Books
My Grade: 5 out of 5
Review Summary: Sanderson can write “romance” as well, but he definitely does it in his own way which is absolutely incredible as always!

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

Yumi comes from a land of gardens, meditation, and spirits, while Painter lives in a world of darkness, technology, and nightmares. When their lives suddenly become intertwined in strange ways, can they put aside their differences and work together to uncover the mysteries of their situation and save each others communities from certain disaster?

MY REVIEW

This was such a beautiful story. Cosmere and Sanderson all the way through, but in a shorter format than what I’m used to now after recently having completed the first arc of Stormlight Archive. It was not as Witty as Tress which was more of a fairytale compared to Yumi. It included the world building, the initial confusion, the perception that you thought you knew what was going on, the Sanderlanche, and of course the satisfying plot twist at the end revealing what was obvious after having read it all. Not quite, but almost. He is so good at laying out the red herring, and you think that is way too easy so you start picking up on other clues, but in the end you are hit as hard as ever with that Sanderlanche. How can he keep doing it?

The main characters are relatable, complicated and real, they are not extraordinary, they have issues like normal people do and there is a heavy focus on personality flaws. They are normal people with “normal” jobs in a fantasy setting. Not all true, Yumi is fairly special, but what she does, stacking stones to help people? Pretty odd, but it makes sense when you read it. Short book means short story arcs and quick developments and turning points, but I really don’t mind. I truly like that Sanderson manages to build worlds with interesting characters in it, still so many years after starting the Cosmere journey.

For some reason, the setting kind of reminded me of the Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell short story. Shrouds, nightmares, darkness. Also a bit Mistborn actually.

It makes me sad that I only have two published books (not counting White Sand) left in the Cosmere. What will I do with my life after that? Wait for every new release? Doesn’t sound like a fun life to be honest…

In any case, I really appreciate Sanderson’s post notes and this one specifically. He names it his favorite among the Secret projects and explains where he got his inspiration from. Old Korean history mixed with modern Japanese. It’s awesome!

I thought I knew where I was going, I ended up slipping and fell along with the Sanderlanche like usual. For sure a 5 out of 5. Would love to see what happens on Komashi next, but not sure that is in the pipeline. Cute story. Highly recommend. But only after completing the first arc of Stormlight and Warbreaker actually. There are lots of Stormlight references and spoilers.