Information
Goodreads: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
Series: Secret Project #3
Age Category: Adult
Source: Purchased
Published: 2023
Official Summary
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?
Review
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is yet another impeccable project from Brandon Sanderson. It brings everything I expect from one of his books — memorable and complex characters, a plot with little twists, a world not quite like anything I've seen before. He's one of my favorite living authors, and this book is a great examp,le of why.
With characters a little on the young side (about 19 or 20), Yumi and the Nightmare Painter has an accessible, almost new adult feel to it that would make it a great intro book for readers who may be a little of fantasy. Yet Sanderson also builds an intricate world filled with nightmares and spirits that the two protagonists themselves must seek to understand better if they wish to achieve their goals. Sanderson is a master of detail, but it's never overwhelming.
And while the plot twists and turns, with a bit of mystery and a bit of surprise, I do think the Sanderson, or the characters, or both lost sight of the plot for a while. There's a large section of the book where Yumi and Painter are kind of . . . figuring things out, doing things their own way. Several weeks seem to pass without the two doing anything to achieve their main quest. The book is interesting enough I didn't actually care, but I did have a moment of thinking, "Wait, aren't they supposed to be helping the spirits or something? Why are they just hanging out?"
However, what really draws me to Sanderson is his themes. One that stuck out to me here was about art and passion (it is about a painter, after all). For instance, Painter muses on the oft-repeated idea that artists do what they do out of love, that they must create, that they would do it even if no one is watching — and then admits that he is really motivated by an audience. He's not sure he would do it if no one was looking. As someone who has spent over a decade running a book blog and telling all and sundry what I think about nearly every book I read, I can relate. I do want an audience. I do want traffic. I would be writing these thoughts in a private book journal if I didn't.
I also don't know if this book was meant particularly as a commentary on the rise of generative AI (it might have been drafted earlier than that?) or if it Sanderson was more generally thinking of art vs. machine/automation, but it has a lot to say about the value of the human connection to art, of doing and practicing something yourself and putting a bit of your soul into it. I think a lot of artists will appreciate that discussion these days.
Finally, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is connected to Sanderson's Cosmere, but it really doesn't matter. Honestly, unless there's going to be some big reveal about how this planet is relevant to some overarching plot 15 books from now, I don't think it was worth connecting it to the Cosmere at all. There are some inside jokes related to the Stormlight Archives, but Yumi and Painter don't understand them, and the reader doesn't need to either. So don't let that put you off the book if you haven't read much Sanderson.
This is really strong start to my reading year, and I hope it's only up from here!
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