Table Of Content
The attendants think something must be wrong and flee. Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started.
End of Spoilers
Hikaru no Go is another childhood favorite of mine, and I knew this would bode well for me. And, of course, the other reason, Aliya Chen is the designated illustrator for this book. Aliya Chen is one of the best artists I have come across. You do not need to hear my words on how amazing she is at her art. Or, to put it more simply, read this book and witness her illustrations. Suffice it to say I had high expectations and excitement going into this book, and still, I was astounded.
Did you like the first one? You’ll love this
The effort and reward of doing this are imbalanced. You can’t possibly expect readers to read 4000 pages (currently almost 2,000,000 words) long of books to have a small benefit in reading this 110,000 words long standalone novel. That would make Yumi and the Nightmare Painter as a standalone novel inaccessible to many readers, which I’m pretty sure is not Sanderson’s intention. You WILL benefit from reading other books in the Cosmere first, no doubt about that, especially The Stormlight Archive. From now on, I will actually recommend Yumi and the Nightmare Painter as one of the good starting points in Cosmere. Especially if that specific reader is looking for a standalone novel.
"Bookaccino Live: A Lively Talk About Books"
She finds that she can walk through the walls of buildings, confirming that everything is an illusion. Eventually she finds the machine in the bailiff's house, and the four scholars with it. They are caught by surprise as she bursts in and beats the machine with a stone until it fails, making a whining sound with a release of glowing white smoke. She thinks her mission is complete, but they ask what she thinks she is doing and Yumi realizes the true threat is the father machine they have mentioned before.
This is the kind of dynamics and struggles Sanderson implements into Yumi and Painter’s story. The story is once again told through the narration of Hoid, but do not expect this to be done in the same voice as Hoid’s in Tress of the Emerald Sea. It is different, and it works amazingly for the narrative and atmosphere. Even though Hoid is narrating here, the entire book is, without a shadow of a doubt, Yumi and Painter’s story.
By Author
Painter patrols the dark streets dreaming of being a hero --- a goal that has led to nothing but heartache and isolation, leaving him always on the outside looking in. Yumi goes searching through the town but cannot find a single person. She decides to try damaging the machine, but can find no trace of the scholars or their machine, at first. She recalls hearing the scholars in her dreams and thinks the machine must be nearby if they were considering using it on her.
To this day, I’m not a hundred percent certain why. But this was close to where Virtuosity Splintered herself, and I suspect that had an effect. Kilahito was circular, and its perimeter held a final line of buildings, not quite a city wall. Outside of that was one last street, in a loop running around the city.
Disoriented by the strange setting, particularly the bright sunlight filling the wagon, Painter assumes he must be dreaming and begins testing this theory as Yumi yells for her attendants. He soon decides that the experience is not a dream, and Yumi calms as she comes to the conclusion that the boy must be the spirit she spoke to. Nikaro then looks out through the window at her alien world, spots the daystar, and concludes he must have traveled to "the star" in his own world's sky. Chaeyung and Hwanji enter the wagon carrying breakfast, walking directly through the incorporeal Yumi. She quickly realizes he must have taken her body, and is horrified as Nikaro begins to break the rituals.
Formats
Painter attempts to lead the nightmare away, giving Yumi an opportunity to double back and find her bell, but when she escapes Yumi freezes up. Tojin and Akane appear, having followed her earlier, and realize she has seen another nightmare. Yumi is reminded Painter must be in danger, and returns to her bag to find the bell is broken.
Painter then teases Yumi about her devotion to practicing the bamboo, and she goes to the window for a break and some fresh air as she tries to cool her frustrations. Painter considers how he wants to help Yumi but worries he will not be up to the real task. This fear is eased when Yumi explains they will use "art" to draw the spirits.
The story takes place on planet Komashi, a world enshrouded by a dark mist. The shroud regularly produces coherent nightmare creatures that can hurt or kill humans. Nikaro is a Painter, a group of people that use sumi-e painting to trap and disable the nightmares, thereby preventing them from hurting more people.
Wherever you listen, the unmistakable voice of Stephen Fry is guaranteed to guide you ever more deeply into this magical story and transport you to the heart of the adventure. Filled with stacked stones that call forth miracles, raised by callused hands that tremble in their work, drained with each stone lifted, settled, lifted again. He sighed, glancing to where two other nightmare painters strolled the perimeter. Akane wore a bright green skirt and buttoned white blouse, and carried the long brush of a nightmare painter like a baton.
Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings—merciless creatures that leave mangled corpses in their wake. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles. The star was particularly bright when the nightmare painter started his rounds. Brandon Sanderson’s third secret project is a secret no more! Yumi And The Nightmare Painter catapults us back into the Cosmere after the non-Cosmere Frugal Wizard stumble. Yumi is an excellent return to form, complete with an interesting magic system, intriguing characters, and a brilliant setting.
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