Title: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 465
Published: 2025, Tor Books
My Grade: 5 out of 5
Review Summary: The millenial bird-lover who resides in me absolutely loved this book.

GOODREADS’ DESCRIPTION

All his life, Sixth of the Dusk has been a traditional trapper of Aviar—the supernatural birds his people bond with—on the deadly island of Patji. Then one fateful night he propels his people into a race to modernize before they can be conquered by the Ones Above, invaders from the stars who want to exploit the Aviar.

But it’s a race they’re losing, and Dusk fears his people will lose themselves in the effort. When a chance comes to sail into the expanse of the emberdark beyond a mystical portal, Dusk sets off to find his people’s salvation with only a canoe, his birds, and all the grit and canniness of a Patji trapper.

Elsewhere in the emberdark is a young dragon chained in human Starling of the starship Dynamic. She and her ragtag crew of exiles are deep in debt and on the brink of losing their freedom. So when she finds an ancient map to a hidden portal between the emberdark and the physical realm, she seizes the chance at a lucrative discovery.

These unlikely allies might just be the solution to each other’s crisis. In their search for independence, Dusk and Starling face perilous bargains, poisonous politics, and the destructive echo of a dead god.

MY REVIEW

THe day has finally arrived. The last published Cosmere novel in my TBR-pile has been read (unless you count White Sand, which I am not, because that story is only published in graphic novel format for now, but will be published in normal format one day). I feel empty and it has been a long journey, although I have pretty much devoured every single book in record time even in a stressful and time-deficit adult phase.

I started this journey with Elantris in March 2023 and I’ve loved every single page of the journey, but I have unfortunately reached the destination. For now. And looking back, I do feel like I did read them all in a good order.

Before diving into the Isle book, I actually knew a bit what it was about as I had read that Sanderson had a draft of this book sitting for a long time and while he was working on the idea, the movie Moana was released and since lots of plots were similar, he had to re-write a whole bunch of the book. So I did understand that this would have to do with island explorers in a “Pacific Island” setting.

There are so many references to Scadrial (Mistborn), but obviously from era 4, which hasn’t been written yet. But understanding the different types of people from Scadrial was important. Warbreaker and The Sunlit Man definitely helped me understand BEU’s (Breah Equivalent Units), which is a measurement unit of Investiture. Roshar was also mentioned and I instantly understood what implications that shardplate would mean for a non-space-faring society. I have no idea who that was though.

But yes, reading these standalones after the main series was great. So many things would have been missed otherwise. And I can only imagine what it will be one day to re-read them all. I’m pretty sure that would be epic.

Anyway, the main characters are a dragon and a forty-year old man who has lost his place in society when it goes through massive change. He realises this and accepts it while trying to embrace the memories and is trying really hard to adapt. Sanderson manages to create relatable characters, no matter who you or they are. Dusk is not flawless, as is none of Sanderson’s characters, and they are complex and never truly black or white. Dusk tells himself he is not a good communicator following long times of being by himself, but honestly, I think he has mastered his communication skill. I could probably learn a thing or to actually. They feel real and relatable and their special-ness shows through without him having to explain anything about their traumas and diagnoses.

Next Cosmere novel is out in December 2026 and I can’t wait. But honestly, what am I going to read in the meantime? I feel sad and empty and not really in the mood for anything else. Is anyone else good enough? I know they are, but I can’t really see it now and nothing on my TBR list seems enticing enough…

I really enjoyed this book (especially because we got to see a friendly Shade – but honestly, HOW?!). And I can’t really say that this was the favorite of the standalones as all of them have been good in their own ways. So I will just stick with my normal rating of 5 stars and put them all equally.