Background
Published in 2023, “Yumi and the Nightmare Painter,” is a fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson. Set on the planet Komashi, the story follows Yumi, a spirit-calling yoki-hijo, and Nikaro, a nightmare painter. The duo must work together after swapping bodies to uncover the secrets behind a world controlled by a memory-erasing Father Machine. Narrated by Hoid, this third book in the Cosmere universe’s “Secret Projects” campaign blends mystery, adventure, and magic.
My Thoughts
The start was a little rough as the reader bounces back and forth from Yumi to the Nightmare Painter. Both worlds follow different sets of issues and seemly even basic physics and it took a while to parse it out since they were so foreign to our own concepts. However, the story pulls together and just keeps getting better and better. I loved the ending.
Recommendation
Great book.