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The first thing they do is try the food, sampling pop'ems and a rice puff snack. They pass several performers and then look for a game to try. Yumi selects one that involves knocking down a stack of blocks, which her training with stone stacking helps her to easily win. Her prize is a large, stuffed pink dragon eating a bowl of noodles, which Nikaro names Liyun Noodleface. She gives the dragon away and they move on to ride the Jotun Line--an attraction similar to a Ferris wheel. Yumi and Painter wait to reach the top as they discuss life, and how their goal to temporarily ignore their problems has only been partially successful.
Overproduced and Amateur at the same time...
At the Noodle Pupil Nikaro goes to speak with Design, leaving Yumi alone with the other four painters. Nikaro led her to believe his interest in bodybuilding was about being attractive to women. Yumi notes his interactions with his male friends as they discuss their weightlifting, as well as his shyness when Izzy draws attention to him. She asks him why he does it and she learns more about his true motivations. She also notes Akane's apparent interest in the man.
Relationships
She explains there is a sickness in the town and Yumi must spend the day in her wagon praying and meditating. Yumi forcefully asks to attend the Festival of Reveals, and shockingly, Liyun approves. Before leaving, Liyun pauses awkwardly and drops a piece of paper on the ground. She watches Liyun depart and notices how empty the town looks. She picks up the painting and after a moment of consideration, her memories come flooding back. Akane, Tojin, Masaka, and Izzy explain how they all believed Nikaro would be part of the Dreamwatch, and how he had told them they could be his companions.
thoughts on “Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson”
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. The painters form a tight circle to defend against the nightmares, with Nikaro running back and forth to shore up weak spots.
That’s pretty much the premise, and if you have read or watched Hikaru no Go, you will see the intentional similarities here. In Hikaru no Go, the main character Hikaru finds a haunted Go board someday. The Go board is haunted by a ghost named Sai, the emperor’s former Go teacher in the Heian era. But Sai doesn’t have a physical body of his own to control. He is trapped in Hikaru’s mind, and he tells him which move to use every time Hikaru plays Go. You can probably imagine the several frustrations that came from Sai and Hikaru’s circumstances.
Where to Find It (chapter #'s for stories)
Nikaro fears they are turning back into nightmares, but then sees that they have smiles on their faces as they fade into nothing. The shroud itself begins to unravel and Painter reaches out with his mind to Yumi. Yumi communicates to him that she has destroyed the machine. Nikaro expresses that he will come to her, but Yumi tries to explain that she will unravel soon to. Thirty-seven painters have gathered on the west side of town. Akane asks Nikaro again what they are doing, and he explains, but a full hour passes and the painters are getting restless.
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It lay there nonetheless, forming a kind of buffer between civilization and what lurked beyond. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter will be the best of the secret project novels, and it is easily one of Sanderson’s finest books in his career. Yumi And The Nightmare Painter has a lot going for it. Sanderson’s flair for vibrant settings and magic is on full display. I particularly appreciated the feeling of being eased into a more advanced Cosmere, where technology becomes prevalent but the magic doesn’t fade away.
Painter begs, but the man explains "the machine is lord now". They flip a switch on the machine which severs the Connection between Yumi and Nikaro. Nikaro feels himself being shot like an arrow back to his own home and into his body, painfully snapping his physical appearance.
Book Review: Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
He also begins to realize how difficult their situation has been for her, and is able to empathize with her better. Suddenly there is a disturbance nearby, and Painter leaves to investigate. Scholars from the Institute of Mechanical Solutions in Torio City have arrived in Gongsha. The lead scholar announces that they have heard about the yoki-hijo's problems and so have arrived with a machine that can stack rocks to summon the spirits.
Of course, having a wizard for a human means that trouble is never far away. When Sir Kipling's human goes away for the weekend and leaves him to guard her magical library, things start out quiet. But he soon discovers witches smelling suspiciously of demon magic snooping about, and quiet goes out the window as chaos looms on the horizon. Stephen Fry brings the richness of these magical stories to life in the original British recordings, available for the first time in the United States and Canada. Treat your ears to a performance so rich and captivating you'll imagine yourself in the halls of Hogwarts.
Sanderson’s book is now filled with one of my favorite artist’s illustrations! Similar to my experience reading Sanderson’s books, I have been an enthusiast of Aliya Chen’s illustrations for years. This collaboration feels like a match made in the Cosmere. No words are sufficient enough to convey how much I love the stunning artwork in Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. The lighting, the facial features, the characters, the tones, the mood; everything was superbly done.
They remove most of their clothing, to give the appearance of a common worker, and sneak the final distance to the scholars' tent. Yumi passes through the wall of the tent and watches the scholars troubleshooting their machine. Sunjun is working on the machine and believes that the problem is the power source, though Gyundok, the lead scholar, says they never had this problem with the father machine. Gyundok tells Sunjun and the lounging Honam to prime it, but they refuse. They consider waiting for the local yoki-hijo to draw a spirit, but expect this is unlikely to happen.
The novel doesn’t crumble beneath the burden of advancing the Cosmere into a more tech-savvy world. It ushers in a new era gently and with a whimsical story told by everyone’s favorite mysterious bard. This man just casually says the Uli Da are on the Daystar and refuses to elaborate?! Seriously, Yumi and Painter’s relationship is beautiful and unorthodox, but even as someone who hates romance it was pretty good. Austin is a 2015 graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College who reads a lot and occasionally writes something. He still lives in Southern Minnesota, where he works with youth and makes plans for world domination with his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth.
With nothing more to gain from the scholars, Yumi changes into her blue dress and steps into the ruins of Torio City. Yumi and Nikaro flee from the nightmare, with Painter leading the way. They turn down an alley and exit to an open area with a playground. At Nikaro's urging Yumi tries to activate the bell, but the nightmare attacks and she drops her bag.
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