Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

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Brandon Sanderson: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter (2023, Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC)

English language

Published July 10, 2023 by Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC.

ISBN:
978-1-938570-40-7
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4 stars (46 reviews)

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 other’s communities from certain disaster?

8 editions

Yumi and Painter

3 stars

Yumi and Painter, "practical" artists in two different cultures become somehow bound to each other such that they experience each other's worlds.

This story took me a little while to get into, and required a fair amount of "let me explain what is going on..." from the narrator to understand some Cosmere concepts that in other books/series are meted out more slowly.

Still, I enjoyed the characters and their self-exploration as well as the imaginative world.

Solid Sanderson Novel, some Weird Quirks

4 stars

Content warning Lots of Cosmere Spoilers

Review of 'Yumi and the Nightmare Painter' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

I didn't think I would fall in love with this book, and I had trouble picturing a Sanderson romance novel, but goddamn he can write anything and I will read it. I loved Yumi and Painter learning about each other, and I thought the Sanderlanch was one of his (if not the) best executions he has had.

Delightful

5 stars

Content warning mild writer influence spoilers

Review of 'Yumi and the Nightmare Painter' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

3.5 stars.

Premise:
I wanted to love this book so badly because I was enchanted by the premise, but here we go.

Plot and pacing:
So, what I liked was the part 1 and 4. In the first part, we get to know our main cast, Yumi and Painter, and their respective world. It took me some time to put all the information pieces together due to the constant change of point of view between the two of them. Brandon did his best to make the descriptions rich and vivid, though. I adored the japanese/korean spiritual vibes.
Part 2 and 3 cover the story that sees Yumi and Paint connected to each other, trying to figure out the reasons. The pacing here was off for me. The plot did not hold a grip on me and I had difficulties to see where the clues would lead. I am not sure …

Interesting Worldbuilding

5 stars

This is the third of Sanderson's "Secret Novels" and the strongest so far. It starts off slower than the previous two, but ultimately builds more emotional attachment between the reader and the characters than its predecessors. I do like that Sanderson is wringing some things that aren't of epic scope (and length), but still tell an good story with impressive worldbuilding.

Review of 'Yumi and the Nightmare Painter' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The Year of Sanderson has been a treat. A new Sanderson book every three months is truly spoiling us. I appreciate that not all Secret Project books are in the Cosmere, and if they are, Sanderson has the opportunity to try something outside of his typical epic fantasy.

Yumi and Nightmare Painter is my favourite Secret Project to date. I enjoyed Tress of the Emerald Sea but my familiarity with the concepts of the world allowed me to jump in without much resistance.

And mine you, this wasn't normal stacking. No simple largest-to-smallest tower. No, this was expert-level ceremonial, artistic stacking. With a vengeful air.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter was a bit more concealed in everything. There is a slow reveal to the magic of the world, characters are delicately expanded, everything is a little strange and the conflict isn't immediately known. This deliberate pace allowed Sanderson to play …

A clever body-swap story set in the Cosmere

5 stars

This was probably one of the more engaging Cosmere novels that Sanderson has written thus far. It features a pair of very different artists from very different worlds. The story involves a bit of a body-swap with a twist, so each gets to see how their other world looks like and learns from it. Combined with an intriguing setting and a plot focused on the mystery of what is going on, you get a formula for a book that is hard to put down. It also features plenty of illustrations by Aliya Chen which further add to the story.

For a full review, check out my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2023/07/book-review-yumi-and-nightmare-painter.html

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Subjects

  • Fiction, fantasy, general