Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

One of the best works by the author!

This is a story of two young people who are lonely in their own way and forced to work together to accomplish a mysterious goal, and find understanding and redemption... But this is just one tiny aspect of what this book is about.

Let's start with the world building. One of the craziest and most original ones, not only in the Cosmere, but in literature as a whole. And the more you read this book, the crazier it gets. I promise you, this book will continue the surprise you all the way through.

The characters were simply exquisite! You get to have heroes, but you get to have them be utterly human - weak, afraid, flawed to heir core, undeserving and ashamed - what we ourselves often are.
And you get to see them stumble through things. But not only massive, incredible things. You see them deal with the seemingly simple daily things we sometimes struggle with, often despite all logic and better judgement.
And you get to see them face their stupid mundane ruinous fears in such a relatable way, it will likely make you weep for no (obvious) reason.
And it feels so good. It hits right home.

And you get to do that in an atmosphere of dread and high stakes. What can be better than that?

I'll tell you what - art. There is a distinct emphasis on art and more specifically what makes it valuable. And its deeper meaning to its appreciative audience, because of the soul of the creator. Yes, if you have been giving AI “art” the side eye, you'll feel seen in this book. And the author manages to perfectly illustrate his point, without denouncing technology, which people often do (rather hypocritically, I might add).

There is so much great about this book, I couldn't possibly encompass it all in one review, because I keep on thinking about it and things keep on coming to me.

I highly recommend this book be read after the rest of the already published Cosmere works (including the novellas and short stories), in order to not only avoid spoilers, but also be able to understand all that is being discussed.

P.S.: The visual art in this book is absolutely mesmerising!