This review contains plot spoilers. They are clearly marked in their own section.
This year has been declared the “Year of Sanderson” by prolific fantasy author Brandon Sanderson due to the release of four Secret Project novels through Kickstarter. Earlier this year came Tress of the Emerald Sea and The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England (which was good, but I just never got around to reviewing). For the third Secret Project, we have a fantasy romance: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter.
Set once more in the Cosmere—Sanderson’s planet-hopping fantasy setting featured in the Stormlight Archive, Mistborn series, and other stories—Yumi is a story about how two artists from different worlds become connected through magic. To solve what has happened to them, Yumi and Painter must live each other’s lives. The resulting story ranges from comedic and heartwarming, to sentimental and even somber. While the characters begin untangling the mystery’s threads, they are drawn closer to each other, and the question of how their story will resolve looms ever larger.
The world is very much a character taking part in Yumi and Painter’s story, too. This of course plays to Sanderson’s strengths as a worldbuilder, and it fits the novel’s plot quite well. Yumi comes from a world where the ground is scorching hot, filled with floating plants avoiding the heat. She is a priestess who can communicate with the spirits. Her art—stacking stones into sculpture—draws forth spirits to transform into the tools needed for the daily life of her people. In contrast, Painter lives in a chilly world of eternal night, where the inky Shroud conceals much of the planet. He is a cross between artist and exterminator, who uses paintings to banish nightmares that are born from the Shroud and stalk the city.
The relationship of Yumi and Painter to one another comes to explore the nature of art, its influence on a person’s well-being, and how the creative act has power.
The worldbuilding grows more detailed than this—and I’m doing my best to avoid spoilers, so I’ll not go into specifics—as the plot thickens. The nature of the mystery interconnects with other Cosmere themes in such a way that I feel this book’s target audience really is readers of the Cosmere, not just readers of fantasy or romance. It works well, and I found it interesting, but I do suspect that readers unfamiliar with Sanderson’s other work may lose track.
At the same time, that’s part of my joy when reading Cosmere stories. I do love that what’s been established in one story can be relevant to another. My experience is that this enriches the Cosmere. So long as cases like Yumi where some knowledge is needed from beyond the story are an exception—not the norm—I think this is a net positive.
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Spoiler Warning
My only real gripe with this novel is that it foreshadows a sad ending, plays it out, then changes its mind. I do imagine this will please a lot of people, but as someone who likes sad stories I was a bit disappointed. It felt comparable to The Dark Knight Rises, which I think is just about a perfect movie if you cut the last five-ish minutes out. If Yumi had gone through with its initial resolution, I think it would be one of my favorite Sanderson novels.
End of Spoilers
My edition of Yumi is the premium hardcover provided to the Kickstarter’s backers. As with prior Secret Projects, it’s heavily illustrated, and the illustrations meld well with the story. Unusually for me, I think my favorite piece is black and white. This is the medium in which Painter paints nightmares, and the black and white illustrations throughout, I believe, are intended to be Painter’s own work. Naturally, one of these is a portrait of Yumi, and due to its context within the plot I love that piece. As with each book I’ve purchased from them Dragonsteel has delivered excellent production quality (also good shipping in a well-protected box—a factor I don’t think enough reviews mention when discussing a product’s quality).
Overall, I’d certainly recommend Yumi and the Nightmare Painter to fans of the Cosmere. If you’ve read one of Sanderson’s other main series, you shouldn’t have trouble tracking the allusions or details. While I’d recommend Tress of the Emerald Sea to basically any fantasy reader, if you’re not familiar with the Cosmere I don’t think Yumi is the best starting point.
It is, however, a satisfying pay-off novel for avid readers and fans.
Until next time!
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